Spearhead

From the punk-industrial insurgency of the Beatnigs to the messianic agit-prop of the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, Michael Franti has been a relentless enemy of ignorance and bigotry. His outfit of the last ten years, the funk-infused Spearhead, has traveled even further into the realms of groove-locked protest. But this summer, Franti went beyond just singing about imperialist injustice; he trekked to the Middle East to observe firsthand the effects of America’s misguided war in Iraq. The result is I Know I’m Not Alone, a documentary that will premiere later this month at the Slamdance Film Festival in Utah. Such politicized passion promises to spill over into Spearhead’s as-yet-untitled new record, the followup to Franti’s gritty solo acoustic album, Songs From the Front Porch. If the band’s in-concert disc of last year, Instant Live, is any indication, tonight’s show will be as smart, soulful and incendiary as Franti’s entire career.