Turkuaz - Buffalo, NY 18 April 2014

Sometime in high school, I discovered the B52’s.  I discovered them during the more commercially successful sickly saccharine phase of their Cosmic Thing album.  As a huge R.E.M. fan, I knew of the B52’s because of their Athens, Georgia connection. I liked their music and their style because it was different. I engrossed myself in their catalog of music, but when friends would comment that they didn’t get the band, I rarely offered an explanation.  I justified it as that I didn’t need to explain why I liked the band.  The more honest answer would have been that I didn’t get it either.  As I walked into Nietzsche’s Friday night to experience my first Turkuaz show, I had no idea that I was going to connect back to my teen years and finally understand a band that had silently confused me for years. 

I can hear the cringing already. The B52’s are so campy and silly.  I agree and that to me is part of their appeal.  So how and why could I compare the two?  Really, I can’t.  The level of skill and talent in Turkuaz far outweighs any comparison.  Let me backup for a minute since it feels like I’m getting a little head of myself. Let’s start with a proper introduction.  Turkuaz is a Brooklyn, New York based band that requires a long list of musical genres to accurately describe. Take a healthy heaping of the best party/celebratory music of all time, insert nine incredibly talented musicians with natural stage presence and what you get is Turkuaz. 

Every song feels like time travel.  Hints of Motown, 80’s new wave, disco, swing, jazz and the blues emerge from their funk driven sound at the perfect moments.  From the minute they walked on stage, the crowd was ready for a party.  As the set started, I honestly felt that I had stumbled into an Easter Weekend revival rather than a bar on Allen Street.  It was spiritual salvation in the form of glorious music that reminded me that “my life is good.”  As they moved from song to song, I could only marvel at how many amazing musical genres have emerged both before and during my lifetime.  I was being offered a concise, pointed, and detailed musical journey in one neatly well put together package. Who needs time travel to experience the best music ever written, when a band like Turkuaz has already nailed it conceptually?

All of my theories are purely based on observation, so I could be totally off the mark.  What struck me about this band is that although they appear to take their positions as musicians seriously, they don’t take themselves so seriously that they strip the pleasure out their passion.  So while they are creating some serious jams, they are doing it with an intense level of personal enjoyment.  I would venture to say that these nine create what is gratifying to them and the fact that the crowd digs it, that’s probably just a bonus.  

There is so much going on with nine musicians on one platform that synchronization is crucial.  And Turkuaz doesn’t miss.  Multiple vocalists, guitars, bass, keys, horns, and drums swirl around each other in perfect timing.  It’s a beautifully well-orchestrated musical extravaganza.  There is plenty to hear, see and feel as you are taken on a musical journey that will leave you feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.  The dynamic of Turkuaz is hard to explain with nine different musicians bringing nine different personalities to the table. No one member emerges as the front person.  Vocally speaking, it’s a collective effort. Each vocalist offers a variable that is imperative to the band’s comprehensive sound. Dave brings blues, grit and heart.  Josh brings soul, revival and spirit.  And Geneva and Sammi add a jazzy, feminine vibe that infuses sexy playfulness into the vocal vibrancy of the band. There is a vocal sound for everyone.

Because there is so much instrumentation going on at one time, it’s hard for me to decipher from where all the glory is coming. The horns are crisp, clean and sharp.  As a horn section, Greg, Josh and Chris offer an entertaining and engaging blend of sound in a spirited and playful fashion.  Taylor (bass) and Michelangelo (drums) support the band with perfected timing.   Guitars subsided to horns to allow the funk to flow.  On guitars, I know that Dave and Craig are there, but the balance is so harmonious that it’s too well mixed to say exactly who is responsible for the groove. The sheer level of coordination involved in Turkuaz’s music is mind blowing.  And the music is so infectious that you really should just be thankful that they are making all that dexterity happen on such an impressive scale.

Now, let me digress for a moment and let me talk about why Geneva and Sammi are my favorite part of Turkuaz.  Even as I tried to focus on other aspects of the band and the music, I found myself drawn to them. My eyes would constantly divert back to watch them.  There is a subtle onstage sisterhood between these two women that is just fun to watch.  You can tell that they just absolutely love what they are doing while they are performing. They feed off of each other in a way that exudes sexiness, confidence and poise. In all my years in a band, I never shared the stage with another female.  After watching these two Friday night, it makes me wonder what I may have missed. 

Turkuaz isn’t afraid to cover songs.  And they shouldn’t be since they do them with such tenacity. Friday’s crowd was treated to renditions of songs like “M’Lady” (Sly and the Family Stone), “The Shape I’m in” (The Band) and “Honky Tonk Women” (The Rolling Stones). The song selection showcases the spectrum of musical influences among the band’s repertoire.  But the heart and soul with which the songs were performed are a better indication of the true respect the band has for these classics.  They played these songs like they were their own while keeping the roots of the music truthful.  Covers can be tricky.  Sound too much like the original and you lose your originality.  Take too much liberty and you’ve ruined the memorial.  But Turkuaz finds the perfect balance between the two.  So much so that it often takes a second to recognize the cover isn’t one of their own. 

Where Turkuaz shines is their originals.  Among my favorites from the set list Friday night was “20 Dollar Bill” a dirty, soulful funk based tune that exudes a seductive feel while “Snap Your Fingers” can only be described as a song that is taken to church, possessed by soulful spirit and laid out as an sweet offering. “Murder Face” is a jazz based creation with moments of 80’s synth to which my heart instantly connected.  By set’s end, I was slightly saddened with the exclusion of my favorite Turkuaz song “Monkey Fingers” but thankfully the band didn’t disappointed me as they slayed the tune in amazing fashion for their encore . 

Turkuaz lays low on my radar this summer.  I won’t get to see them again until the Night Lights Fall Music Festival in September.  I rolled solo to last night’s show and sadly I think I missed part of the Turkuaz experience by not having some else to rage with while I was there.  I’ve already warned my friends that none of them are allowed to miss the bands Night Light’s set.  Their set alone will be worth the price of admission.  If the band trundles into your neck of the woods, grab a crew and make a night of it. You will emerge from the venue feeling euphoric and energized by decades of spirited music that have inspired this band’s enraptured creations.

So now you may be wondering, what does all of this praise of Turkuaz have to do with my B52’s confessional?  It’s simple.  Watching the party that is a Turkuaz show made be better understand what I think the B52’s were trying to do all those years ago.  I couldn’t understand the band’s sound fully because I didn’t have the musical library as a teen that I do today.  I see now that through their campy and silly persona, the band was celebrating a whole different kind of tribute to its inspirational influences.  And that’s what I also see from Turkuaz.  Sometimes, when we hold something with such high regard, we tend to squeeze the life out of it.  Musicians are no different.  Sometimes reverence creates staleness. Turkuaz celebrates the greatness of musical history by bringing it life in new fashion.  It’s about showcasing their studied knowledge in a fashion that focuses on rejoicing first and respect second. And when you celebrate what you love, you can’t create music that is anything other than unspoiled and unblemished.

The Set List

Nietzsche’s – Buffalo NY April 18^th

JB Intro

Chatte Lunatique

Coast to Coast

Bubba Slide

Murder Face

Night Swimming

M’Lady

Tiptoe

Snap Your Fingers

It’s Hard

Honky Tonk Women

I’ve Got a Feeling

Back to Normal

20 Dollar Bill

The Shape I’m In

Monkey Fingers