 Return to Lonely Goat Features Archives DRIFTING THROUGH DOES ALIVE AFTER FIVE Is this the big time? Well as far as the Raleigh music scene goes it could be. With over 2500 people in attendance at Raleigh's Alive After Five, Drifting Through proved once again they are heading that way. Looking on was an eclectic crowd made up of tried and true DT fans, business types, hippies and the local downtown homeless contingent that always enjoy a free show, as this quintet ripped through 150 minutes of, to quote New York city's music rag Time Out New York, "straight up rock and roll." Ever since the release of their second album, Spell, these boys have proven that rock is their birthright. Drifting Through, made up of Ev Bolton's telepathic bass, Jay Doyle's riptide humdinger of a guitar, Paul Madigan's ever quick, ever present, thumping drum kit, Brian Werner's filling and resoundingly funky keys, and Randal Kirsch's concordant voice and libidinous guitar, has been giving Raleigh and the rest of the southeast what we have needed for the last few years. With their fan base growing stronger by the day, DT's tour book is seeing their show dates spread like a spider web from what was once limited to Raleigh's haunts to their current Alabama and New York City barnstorms. Set 1 Could it be? The guys let us know what it could and would be when they started off with this tickler. We got a taste of DT's funk with their rendition of 'Funky Bitch' and a taste of the crowd's funk when a particularly enthusiastic crowd member showed his approval by somersaulting and back flipping through the entirety of the song. Tearing through crowd favorites like 'Chicago' and the newly penned 'Wide Awake' they then got us even more hot and bothered with Blues Traveler's 'Alone.' After the crowd was sufficiently warmed up, DT slid on the number that they call 'The Ride.' You might not expect to see Ricky Scaggs pop up, well, anywhere these days, but he did when DT flexed their Southern roots in 'More Pretty Girls than One'. In sharp contrast to Scaggs, boot- stomper, DT showed the crowd its introspective side with 'Spell' before they suggested that we slip into something a bit more comfortable for the five minute, wholly enlightening drum trip that Madigan and a guest percussionist took us on during 'Prophecy.' From the familiar chords of the Dead's 'Franklin's Tower' to the more locally familiar crunch of DT's 'Hatteras,' the first set came to an end, as all good things must. Set 2 We could have sworn that we heard a tall, dark stranger shout "Blow man! Blow!" as Drifting Through took the stage for their second set. They opened the set, appropriately, with another new song, 'Midtown,' before they moved deftly into DT's ode to spirit, 'McMurphy', the lead track from Spell, and their ode to Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Ev's bass filled us as the crowd moved towards climax during yet another new, unrecorded gem, 'Cairo,' and the boys proved that they were no Two Minute Men when Randall put down his guitar to dance along with the crowd and preach the gospel during 'Letter.' The crowd was lathered and sweaty at this point, so DT wisely elected to slow it down a notch, rather than pushing us over the edge prematurely, with 'Twilight.' Brian's keys covered us with 'Shade' (a perennial crowd favorite), and then we heard the last set list entry, a song about a party that isn't called 'Wrong House' (also known as 'Wrong Haus' to the DT faithful). Are these guys prolific or what? DT began in earnest once again with 'Voodoo Child (slight return),' and a man that looked a little like Jimi Hendrix was seen to nod in approval. 'Centerline,' which has been hailed as, "One of the greatest driving songs of all time," by critics of repute, drove the crowd toward the inevitable before they delivered the money shot - an extended 'Sweetest Things' that certainly was nice. For what it,s worth folks, a Drifting Through ticket won,t be too easy to come by for much longer, so do your mom a favor and go see them as soon as possilble. |