May 24–31, 2001

music|festival

Get Your Jammies On

Readers of a certain vintage may recall when there was no such thing as Jam on the River, the Penn’s Landing Corporation’s annual Memorial Day blowout weekend. The megashow evolved from the 1995 combination of two financially struggling festivals, Riverblues and the Nola-flavored Jambalaya Jam. While subsequent Jams on the River have taken pains to make sure both parent festivals were well-represented, the offspring has (as kids are wont to do) branched into more popular forms of music, and this trend (a bane to purists, a boon to others) has never been more apparent.

Headlining the weekend bash are none other than The Godfather of Soul James Brown (Sun., 7:30 p.m.), power poppers Cheap Trick (Sat., 7:30 p.m.) and the drinking man’s bluesman George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers (Mon., 7:30 p.m., maybe he’ll fall in the river). Throw in other big-name acts like jazz/funkster Maceo Parker (Sat., 5:30 p.m.), southern rockin’ Little Feat (Mon., 4:30 p.m.) and Irish stompers Blackthorn (Mon., 1:30 p.m.), and you’ve got yourself a big, if not particularly bluesy or ’Nawleansy, feel.

There are plenty of performers who do fit the original molds, including Jam regulars like swamp-blues queen Marcia Ball (Mon., 6:30 p.m.), the inimitable Buckwheat Zydeco (Sun., 5:30 p.m.) and perennial favorite Terrance Simien (Sun., 6:30 p.m.). It will be interesting to see how Cheap Trick fans react to Buckwheat and vice versa.

There’s a strong Philly presence at this year’s Jam, including the aforementioned Blackthorn, the funkin’ groovy Townhall and alt-rockers Isle of Q. Most significant are two local acts, both supporting new discs, who best exemplify Jam on the River’s modified definition of "jam": Fathead (Sat., 1:30 p.m.) and K-Floor (Sun., 3:30 p.m.).

Fathead’s just-out Boundless (self-released) sees the septet’s loosey-goosey funk-hop tightened up by a sharper songwriting sense. Where in the past the band could seem aimless, letting their undeniable chops get ahead of and away from them (one of the biggest complaints against "jam" bands), Fathead is — like Luke Skywalker on Degobah — learning to control its power. Conversely, K-Floor’s new live disc, RatsLiveOnNoEvilStar (Treasure), shows the straight-up blues-breaking band at its rocking best. It’s a rare group that can really pull off the live recording, and the palindromically titled Rats captures the raw energy of singer/guitarist wunderkind Nicholas Schnebelen and his crack rhythm section in action.

—Brian Howard

Jam on the River, May 26-28, noon-9 p.m., $10 ($5 children) per day until Thu., May 24, $15 at the gate, Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing, Columbus Blvd. at Spring Garden St., 215-922-2FUN, www.jamontheriver.com.