Nicky Bomba sits alone onstage behind his drumkit. His dreadlocks bounce as he takes us through a global journey of beats, sampling sounds from Africa, Jamaica, Brazil and New Orleans. Good as it sounds, I'm hopeful the other instruments onstage will be played by others, and into the second song I am not disappointed. Bomba is joined onstage by a double bass player, and another drummer, while he himself takes up the guitar to sing about a Rocksteady Woman. Two more guys join him onstage to play the Djembe, casually ignoring a wayward blonde in a red dress who also climbs onstage and gracefully dances behind them. Usually security are good at stopping people doing that, but no-one does, and she leaves the stage when she wants.
It's a chilled, happy hippie kinda vibe at the Northern tonight. Bomba goes acoustic and leads his drumming crew onto the dancefloor. The crowd becomes excited and then chills out and sits on the ground. It's an unusual sight - crouching Nicky Bomba playing the wooden dancefloor with his drumsticks, bathed in coloured light, the crowd seated on the floor chanting around him. He gracefully accepts a beer placed on his drum skin by an idiot who walks into the centre of the group, and then goes onstage to play Bomba's drums up there. Again - no security to stop him, the performers get his attention and he sees enough sense to stop. There's no aggro, Bomba smiles the whole night, which was overall an enjoyable performance.
Have a listen on his Myspace.
I’m sure there have been plenty of comparisons made to the Cat Empire for these guys. The six piece all male outfit from Melbourne includes a brass section and they’re fond of the Dub element. Dé Jah Groove is what Cat Empire would be if they replaced the Latin Gypsy with Rock, stripped back a few harmonies, bounced instead of danced, and looked street.
You don’t know how sorry I am for not taking my camera to this gig.
Dé Jah Groove bring a vibrant energy to the Beachie despite playing the same venue several hours earlier on Saturday night. They meld reggae, dub, rock and a touch of salsa to get our hips shaking. “Me mates tell me I can’t salsa,” a drunk nearby shouts at me “I’ve got avocado and tomato, dunno what I’m doing wrong.” I’m too sober to smile politely and turn my attention back to the stage. Hot hot Harley and Delaney Stewart on vocals (also guitar and bass respectively) sound identical and look similar - I’ll assume they are twins. When David de Podolinsky steps away from his timbales, Will Bakes and Gus Rigby from the brass section can’t resist the urge to cross the stage and play his drums. In the finale, de Podolinsky and drummer Lach Hall trade places without missing a beat.
Check their Myspace page or www.dejahgroove.com to have a listen if you missed them.
Image taken without permssion from their Myspace.
RSS Feed