On Saturday, October 3rd, cross-genre festival favorites BIG Something took part in Democracy Comes Alive, a one-day, nonpartisan virtual music festival aimed at channeling the power of music to make a critical impact on civic engagement in this November’s elections and beyond.
BIG Something welcomed fans to the Ovation Sound studio in Winston Salem, NC, which also served as the site of the band’s Escape From The Living Room livestream series. With the artificial sound of a roaring crowd in the background, BIG Something kicked off their two-song set with “Timebomb” from the group’s new album, Escape. Released earlier this month, BIG Something’s sixth studio effort found the band returning to their roots, as evidenced on the dance-friendly track “Timebomb”.
The song displayed the group’s versatility as keyboardist Josh Kagel donned the trumpet for the song’s intro. Joined by Casey Cranford, who is known for his unique use of an electronic wind instrument, the chorus of horns added some serious funk flavor to the new track. Meanwhile, lead guitarist Jesse Hensley came in hot for the solo with some two-handed tapping.
After that, things took a darker turn as BIG Something dropped right into the heavy-hitting riff of “Kashmir” by Led Zeppelin. The song is a serious undertaking and is far from the standard Zeppelin blues affair, but BIG Something was up to the task. Frontman Nick MacDaniels was especially equipped for the daunting challenge of fulfilling the Robert Plant vocal duties, which he nailed in stride.
While the cover didn’t feature much in the way of improvisation, it was instead a by-the-book telling of the Physical Graffiti track that showed reverence to the iconic stadium rockers. Meanwhile, the two-guitar interplay between MacDaniels and Hensley achieved the overdub effect that Jimmy Page utilized in the studio. The band then added their own personal touch, if minor, with the atmospheric implementation of the Cranford’s EWI.
Relive BIG Something’s performance at Democracy Comes Alive in the video below. If you enjoyed the performance and have the means, consider making a donation to HeadCount and the Democracy Comes Alive artists via DemocracyComesAlive.com.
BIG Something – “Time Bomb”, “Kashmir” (Led Zeppelin) – Democracy Comes Alive
BIG Something will once again go live on Friday, October 30th for their a Halloween streaming event. Officially dubbed the ‘Big Something Halloween Special’ as an ode to classic Halloween night TV, the show will feature live artists, flow performers, and homemade zombie footage created by the band and crew as well as a zombie-themed virtual costume contest with fans dressed as zombies while joining the stream via Zoom. The best zombies will be featured live on screen during the show and will each win a signed limited edition vinyl of Escape. For more information, head here.
BIG Something joined 50+ performers and 10+ other speakers as part of Democracy Comes Alive, presented by Live For Live Music in partnership with voter registration nonprofit HeadCount. The 10-hour streaming event, powered by Nugs.TV and Plus 1, generated $40,000 and counting in funds for HeadCount as well as the participating artists, who remain out of work as the pandemic continues. In addition to the funds generated, Democracy Comes Alive led thousands of people to HeadCount’s tools to check your voter registration status and register to vote. For more information, head here.
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