Tagged: detroit

Soul Legend Melvin Davis at Littlefield, Brooklyn

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Some singers never lose their voice.  Everyone can think of a few that have.  Other voices were never great to begin with so it doesn’t matter so much when they start to go downhill.  Melvin Davis has never lost his great voice.  At Littlefield in Gowanus on Saturday, he sounded the same as he did on his great singles from the mid-60s, which I have to admit I wasn’t really familiar with.  It was a real joy to watch this thrilled, deeply gracious 71 year old guy talk about his life in music and sing his never-hits.  Davis has had in hand in so many different a) labels b) instruments in Detroit during its 60s musical hey day.  He recorded for the amazing Fortune label but was also Smokey Robinson’s drummer for two years, on hits like Tears of a Clown, etc.  Think about the thunderous drums on that track.  Maybe it’s because he didn’t only focus on singing that his voice never got shot.

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Melvin Davis never made much money. “My values don’t start with money,” he said humbly with a smile. “Not that that it isn’t on my list.”  Adorable.  This is a big man we’re talking about.  Literally, the dude has gotta be at least 6’5 too. He thanked the popular Northern Soul movement from Blighty for appreciating all his obscure songs that didn’t make him any money at the time but that are in our hearts now.  He showed real gratitude that he could come out and play to excited audiences, because of this renewed interest.

The Brooklyn Rhythm Band backed Melvin with a super-pro vintage sound and authentic playing.  Completely complementary and not the slightest bit distracting,

Humbleness was the overriding theme of the night and it didn’t stop with the star of the show.  Afterwards, I noticed Norton Records co-honcho Billy Miller waiting in line with a crowd of fans who wanted to meet him.  Not only is Billy his personal friend of Melvin Davis — but he’s also reissuing some of his early work on Norton!  See below.  But he patiently waited with other fans get a word because above all Billy and his wife Miriam Linna are themselves big fans.  Also, Norton’s business  was recently savagely humbled by Frankenstorm Sandy, when their entire warehouse in Red Hook got destroyed — but they landed on their feet with the help of legions of fan volunteers.

This great show was brought to us by Brooklyn-based series called Dig Deeper. — and I reckon we should all stay on their list and keep an eye out for what else they have in store.  Barbara Lynn is teed up to play Littlefield in Mid-October

Update: Just saw that Dig Deeper posted a video clip of the first song Melvin Davis did at this show, which I missed.  It’s was Chains of Love, which I just saw The Dirtbombs do earlier in the day and probably their best known song. I did not know Melvin Davis did the original.

Dirtbombs Back on the Street, Autumn Afternoon Rock Treat

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I’m single again and it was Saturday. Brooklyn Vegan pointed out that The Dirtbombs from Detroit, Michigan were playing a block party in Tribeca at 3pm in the afternoon. It was sponsored by a company called Shinola , a Detroit company that makes watches.  Between this and the recently unveiled Nokia SmartWatch, somehow I’m now aware that people still wear watches.

I first came in contact with Mick Collins at Maxwell’s in Hoboken somewhere around 1990 (possibly 1989) when his amazing band the Gories opened a show for a less memorable band, since I really can’t recall who it was.  I had never seen anything like it and to be honest I was pretty shocked by their messy assault, at first.  I thought they were terrible.  How did they even get the gig?  I thought their black singer obviously had a great voice, like a vintage soul man – but I was just not ready for the trash heap, which I found overpowering from a conceptual perspective.  Jarring.  But like many tastes, you acquire them.  Any Captain Beefheart fan will tell you that.  And I’ve been a fan of Mick Collins for awhile, through the great Blacktop record and now his shit with The Dirtbombs

I first heard the Dirtbombs with their Ultraglide in Black LP, one of the best rock albums to come out around the time of 9/11 -2001.  I also saw them live around that time and they were damn heavy — but then I lost track of what they were doing. They put out a record that was all techno covers and they sorta lost me.  I stopped giving a shit.

BUT CHRIST ON A CRACKER THEY ARE BACK!  The new record is a 60s bubblegum tribute and they sound great again.  I was intrigued by a sample I heard (see Soundcloud embedded below).  The full album is available for streaming on Spin.

Anyway, I got on my bike and weaved through endless tourist cattle walking on the Brooklyn Bridge.  I got to Franklin Street just as the Dirtbombs were about to go on. Good timing.  And they sounded fucking great. The show was way too quick but they exceeded most benchmarks for “rocking at street fairs”.  Also, considering Mick was playing a cheap ass Squier Strat with a lone fuzzbox.  Look, I have some issues with Stratocasters, both their sound and also sometimes the people who choose to play them — but he pulled it off anyway. Great version of Sly Stone’s Underdog (YouTube below).  Heavy and to-the-point, or way too short, both.  About 30 minutes. An autumn afternoon rock treat.