The evening began rather auspiciously. I had been looking forward to seeing Ozomatli for months, but the night was rainy and the first to show up at the Crystal Ballroom were teenagers, parents with their kids and kids talking about how they overcame “white man’s disease” (as far as I could tell, they still couldn’t dance). Fortunately, my concerns did not materialize; the audience turned out to be great, and the music exceeded my lofty expectations.
The opening group, Nathan Maxwell and the Original Bunny Gang was fantastic. Though brand new and completely unknown, the Gang quickly stole our hearts. The sound was well balanced, and you could hear the lyrics (gasp!). With good singing, great guitar solos, and an infectious enthusiasm, the audience was quickly enthralled with the band. And the band was clearly enthralled with playing music: the players never stopped smiling, and even the drummer sang along despite not having a mic. Before the end of the set, I was convinced that the Original Bunny Gang was the best opening act I had ever seen.
For those of you familiar with the name Nathan Maxwell, this may come as no surprise. As the lead singer of Flogging Molly, Maxwell is a veteran of the stage. He told me after the show that he had been writing this music for awhile and decided to finally produce it. He recruited his father to jump on the drums, his best friend and first-ever band-mate to hold down bass, and a friend of a friend to play the guitar. The group had only played together for a total of seven hours prior to the show, but the lack of practice was not evident. One can only wonder what magic they will produce in the coming months or years.
And this was just the prelude to the main act. Ozomatli’s music is perfectly suited for live shows. They are the consummate performers, and this show exemplified their skills perfectly. Their music - a beautiful fusion of Latino, Middle Eastern, hip-hop, among other styles - is incredibly energetic and moves even the most lead-footed individual. As performers, they dance harder and get even more worked up than their throngs of dedicated supporters. With the audience and band feeding off each other, the concert simply ratcheted up the intensity with each passing song. Finally, in the second to last song, Ozomatli brought down the house with their popular classic, “Como Ves.” Never before have I danced so fiercely, sung so loudly and smiled so widely. It was a full-body workout that left me, the audience, and Ozomatli breathless, dripping with sweat and euphoric.
It was truly an incredible concert that didn’t leave a soul disappointed. If you have a chance to see them live, block out the night, call up your dancing-buddy and buy a ticket immediately.
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Great post! Really digging the new record a lot. The Rainwater LP has some gorgeous moments - definitely recommend checking it out. There are 3 of the new songs up on the myspace page: myspace.com/citizencope
by MattKlomp on Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 03.16 am from the entry: Citizen Cope - Paradise Theater (Boston, MA; Feb. 27, 2010 )
haha is that a compliment?
by colin on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 06.49 pm from the entry: Interview - Kelli Schaefer (Portland, OR; Winter, 2010)
love that melophobe has more “couples” reviewers, and more “Ian/Ion/Ian/Iain” than the average site…
by Ian on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 06.48 pm from the entry: sevendust + drowning pool + digital summer + the flood - showbox market (seattle, WA; Mar 07, 2010
you’re positively glowing in this interview, Colin
by Ian on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 06.46 pm from the entry: Interview - Kelli Schaefer (Portland, OR; Winter, 2010)
Hey Merseilles did a live web show at sonicbirds office gig on Friday that was pretty spectacular. Can anyone find a copy of that?
by Smallweed on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 11.40 am from the entry: SXSW Send Off Show - Visqueen + Hey Marseilles - Neumos (Seattle, WA; Mar. 5, 2010)
I was thinking of looking up some of them newspaper websites, but am glad I came here instead. Although glad is not quite the right word…
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by Abbott on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 06.00 am from the entry: Social Distortion - Showbox Sodo (Seattle, WA; July 17, 2009)
16 is great! jealous there was a fence at the market....
by nicole on Fri Mar 12, 2010 at 06.53 pm from the entry: sevendust + drowning pool + digital summer + the flood - showbox market (seattle, WA; Mar 07, 2010
love the photos Josh! good review too, well done guys!
love picture #11, Bean. way to capture a moment.
the photos are pretty legit.
Great photos! cool review! another great melophobe article!
thanks all! as jeff noted, it was a pretty great show. and when they play with chali 2na i’ve heard it’s another level.
re: #11 - pure luck.