Santigold’s rhythm section got on the stage wearing Max Headroom-esque caps, her backup singers walked on in outfits that were a spin on matador chic, and finally while donning a crown she made her entrance. Santigold’s been busy working on a new album for the past few years, so her high profile gigs at SXSW seem to serve as a homecoming of sorts. Jason Newman of Fuse went as far as to dub her the festival’s “prom queen”… hence the crown. While her big hits like L.E.S. Artistes sent the crowd into frenzied sing-a-longs, her new material was received almost as enthusiastically… boding well for her album release come April.
Later that eve I squeezed in a quick chat with Venezuelan rockers La Vida Boheme before heading to the globalFEST showcase at Speakeasy. Each year globalFEST brings acts from all over the world to New York’s Webster Hall, and this year they’ve taken their show on the road for the first time. As I arrived Janka Nabay and the Bubu Gang were on stage leading the crowd through their high-BPM take on Sierra Leone’s bubu music. I profiled Janka last Wednesday on The World so have a listen in case you missed the original airing.
I got to talking with the band’s keyboardist (and resident ethnomusicologist), Mike Gallope, and he mentioned some difficulty the band was encountering in making plans for a European tour.
“We’re in the midst of trying to secure a green card for Janka to have a pathway to citizenship for him, but more immediately to be able to go to Europe this summer. I think we’ve hit a bit of a delay, so if there’s anyone out there who’s heard Janka’s story and can help us expedite things, we’d be eternally grateful.”
After the Bubu Gang’s set the globalFEST crowd awaited the Colombian sounds of Queens-based M.A.K.U SoundSystem, but technical issues plagued the venue. Nearly an hour later the band finally got going. Most of the crowd weathered the storm and it seemed like delaying the gratification heightened their excitement.
I stopped in to see Glen Hansard whose devoted fans were singing along with every word. Then walked back across town to the Nacional Records showcase just in time to catch the beginning of Ritmo Machine‘s set. A collaboration between Chilean beatmaker Latin Bitman and Cypress Hill percussionist Eric Bobo, their set was a mix of impressive turntablism and percussion set to music that ranged from blaxploitation-era soundtracks to Tito Puente.
After that it was back to globalFEST at Speakeasy where Chicha Libre were playing a psychedelic rendition of Guns of Brixton. From there it was off to see French-Moroccan chanteuse Hindi Zahra who had the crowd in the palm of her hand.
My night ended with globalFEST’s final set by Boston’s Debo Band. Their take on Ethiopian pop music has garnered notice in the past year and they recently signed on with legendary indie rock label Sub Pop.
I first caught the band a little over a year ago and since then their live act has grown by leaps and bounds. They’ve been working with producer Thomas “Tommy T” Gobena of Gogol Bordello and it seems they’ve learned a few things from the Gogol playbook in terms of the energy and the ecstatic vibe they’re bringing to their performances. Keep an eye out for their release later this summer.
