Tower of Power - Photo from www.towerofpower.com

Group leaders Emilio Castillo (tenor sax) and Stephen "Doc" Kupka (baritone sax) lined up with the brass on the front line and jumped into “We Came to Play,” featuring some big ol’ horn lines and, in contrast, some really bad guitar tone from Bruce Conte’s replacement.  What soon became apparent about the group was that they teetered between smooth R&B and the grittier sound with which I’d become familiar. If the grit comes from the rhythms of Prestia and drummer David Garibaldi, the smooth comes from the Vegas style singing of Larry Braggs. With his white linen threads, ultra-slick trained vocal styling and hyper-enthusiasm, well, let’s just say if Wayne Brady ever needs a stand in, Braggs could easily fit the task. Braggs works, but doesn’t have the grit of a front man I usually dig, but I’m sure he garners some fans of smoother styles of R&B like Earth, Wind and Fire.

The band hit their high point with “So Much Oil in the Ground,” a fast, in your face, pop-funk tune with a great hook. And throughout some of the band’s James Brown styled jams, the entire front line danced. Hilarity ensued as Kupka did this strange wiggly-jiggly dance in the midst of some of the songs. Other James Brown stylings came with “Time Will Tell,” featuring a spirited trumpet solo from Adolfo Acosta. On the tune “Nothin’ Stoppin’ Us Now” Prestia (who was sadly not hot enough in the mix) took a funky ascending bass interlude into “You Ought to be Having Fun.” The group then jumped from “Get Yo’ Feet Back on the Ground,” into another signature piece, “Diggin’ on James Brown.” As expected, the group took on their signature pieces “What is Hip?” and an encore of “You’re Still a Young Man.”

So going into a Tower of Power show, you are going to get what you want as a fan: signature tunes, super tight arrangements and a long set. According to my friend who’d seen the group before, even though the lineup was different, the set list deviated little from the last show he saw. So if you are looking for a unique live experience with interplay, subtlety and nuance, then look elsewhere. But if you want an accurate, classic and tight experience of a classic R&B band, Tower of Power is a safe bet.