Show Review/Free Download: The Great Socio

When I saw The Great Socio's return to The Grape Room on April 13, I was very impressed with the new material. It is substantially funkier, fully living up to the "groove rock" description that keeps getting thrown around. The new drummer holds it down behind the kit, fulfilling the promise he showed at the Bong Hits for Jesus jam at Dobbs a while back. Alberto and the boys are poised for some serious business, and you should probably grab this free download and tell all your friends about it. I did, and then I played it at a bar, and people liked it.

As far as the show, it peaked when Supreem from Da Rezarekt and Alberto from The Great Socio dropped a verse and a trumpet solo, respectively, on a song from headliners Love Panther. Thereafter everyone stumbled out into the night, headed for the obligatory afters at the TGS house. They're going to be all over the place for the next few months. I plan to catch them at MOJO in Newark, DE June 20th, and they'll be back at The Grape Room July 28th. That gives you plenty of time to learn all the lyrics to this and their many other excellent jams.

Show Review: The Great Socio

Around the time I got holiday busy and stopped posting, I caught one of The Great Socio's December residency shows at The Grape Room in Manayunk. The guitarless band, fronted by singer/trumpeter Alberto Munoz, throws down some serious rock'n'roll. Keys, bass, and drums round out the lineup for a full sound that almost physically impacted in the intimate space through a consistently entertaining set of originals and covers. I was most impressed by their excellent covers of songs with iconic guitar riffs rendered with keys or bass instead, like The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" and Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name". This year they are taking a brief break from playing shows to focus on recording, so we can look forward to new material in the near future.