Jamming out Transcendence: Concert Review of Khalife's Temple Bar Show (2008)
Tony Khalife’s most recent concert at Temple Bar in LA revealed a new side of the Transcendence CD. If you caught Khalife’s last performance at Temple Bar, which was a CD release party, you probably got a different impression because the songs were played without much recreation from the album. Nevertheless, the release party provided the perfect introduction to Khalife’s music from the perspective of the album; not to mention, there was a beautiful belly dancer dancing in the audience all night which always scores extra points.
The most current Temple Bar show gave Khalife fans more jammed out versions of his tracks, which is how Khalife intended his works to be played live. With members of the band Naked Rhythm providing a strong backing, Khalife took songs from his CD Transcendence to new levels incorporating long drum circle jams and giving distortion to his note beaten Martin Acoustic guitar. Khalife’s lightening fast riffs reminded the audience that in addition to being a phenomenal Tabla player he can also captivate the crowd with his unique Mediterranean infused jazz rock guitar playing.
The Dead-like chemistry extended into all facets of the hour and a half long performance introducing a Lebanese singer and an oud player from opening band. As Khalife engaged the audience with potent vocals the Transcendence pieces came to life beneath the cleverly improvised passages. With no two performances alike, Khalife proves that his polished compositions can be expanded into unique improvised live representations.
The most current Temple Bar show gave Khalife fans more jammed out versions of his tracks, which is how Khalife intended his works to be played live. With members of the band Naked Rhythm providing a strong backing, Khalife took songs from his CD Transcendence to new levels incorporating long drum circle jams and giving distortion to his note beaten Martin Acoustic guitar. Khalife’s lightening fast riffs reminded the audience that in addition to being a phenomenal Tabla player he can also captivate the crowd with his unique Mediterranean infused jazz rock guitar playing.
The Dead-like chemistry extended into all facets of the hour and a half long performance introducing a Lebanese singer and an oud player from opening band. As Khalife engaged the audience with potent vocals the Transcendence pieces came to life beneath the cleverly improvised passages. With no two performances alike, Khalife proves that his polished compositions can be expanded into unique improvised live representations.
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