John Brown's Body played an amazing show to a lively crowd at The Tralf Saturday night.  Dub is a Weapon played a nasty opening set that got the crowd energized and ready for JBB to come tear it up. 

Dub is a Weapon, a dub-reggae band out of Brooklyn, NY opened the show around 9pm.  Their set was definitely more mellow and trippy than JBB.  Band-leader Dave Hahn worked his mixing board to accentuate the effect of their presentation, tweaking the reverb and delay from song to song.  Tenor Sax player Maria Eisen stole the show in my opinion.  Her horn lines and solos were dynamic and entrancing, also accentuated by dubbed out delay effects.  Percussionist Larry McDonald, a veteran reggae musician who's played with some of the biggest and best names in the history of the genre, also added a unique element to the presentation.

John Brown's Body came on around 10:30 and grabbed the attention of the crowd from the first note.  Lead vocalist Elliot Martin definitely was the focal point of the performance, but the musicianship and talent of the entire band shined throughout the performance.  I've always been blown away by JBB's horn section, but I was particularly impressed by the rhythm section Saturday night.  Drummer Tommy Benedetti and bassist Nate Edgar were totally locked in and together drove the crowd into a dance frenzy throughout the night.  Edgar even showed off some dance moves of is own as he plucked his five string bass to perfection.

Time and time again, JBB continues to impress the hell out of me when I see them live.  They bring a special energy and power to their live show that you don't see in every band that plays out as much as they do.  Often times bands will mail in a performance after playing so many dates in a row, but JBB doesn't step on the stage unless they're absolutely ready to throw down.  Elliot Martin is as dynamic of a performer as I've seen.  He almost appears as if he's in a trance on stage, enveloped by the music that's channeling through his body and pouring out of his vocal chords.  $15 was money well spent for all in attendance Saturday night.