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Live Review: All Mighty Senators @ The 8X10 (2009.12.26)

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MP3: All Mighty Senators – Culture Shock, Live @ All Good Music Festival 2008 from Live Music Archive

Of all the crimes committed in the first decade of the 21st Century, none may be greater than the fact that the All Mighty Senators did not become the biggest band in the world. Their music is a combination of hard grooving rock ‘n’ funk and an other-worldly stage show: lead singer and drummer Landis Expandis – usually decked out in some Superhero pimp outfit – standing front and center on a bright pink standup drum kit, guitarist Warren Boes and bassist Jack Denning flanking him, and a trio of horn players behind. The Senators blasted out weird transmissions of funk that seemed to originate from some planet that worshiped Parliament Funkadelic, Sly Stone, Frank Zappa, and the Meters with equal gusto.  The sound they create is a wholly unique musical experience.  There was a moment right before the decade dawned when it seemed like they might take over.  But bad luck, illness, and the usual band dysfunctions seemed to steal the wind from their sails.

For a generation of people in Baltimore, The All Mighty Senators, still represent the pinnacle of what live music can be.  And following Expandis’ lengthy battle with kidney failure, the band was off the road and out of the spotlight for far too long. All this made The Senators’ “Boxing Day” show (the day after Christmas for those who don’t know) that much more special.

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