#nomadic orchestra

Whoever from the Waiting Room gave the okay for a bunch of college kids to gather under a very large pinata for a night of squeezed together hips shaking was out of their mind.  Luckily for anyone concerned with broken roofs and cracked floors, these were pretty responsible UCT students doing good by raising some rands for SHAWCO.  None of those damages resulted, but what did transpire was young South Africans proving yet again what musical tricks they have up their sleeves.

The Hedges kicked off the evening on a peaceful note that all sets of ears were thankful for.  If the student body hadn’t yet heard of the harmonious trio yet, well they definitely have now considering how packed it was and the A-game the Hedges brought with them.  Standing admirably calm in front of the packed to the bone Waiting Room, the Hedges played like seasoned veterans of harmony in what may have been the best I’ve seen them.  I even overheard some peeps comparing their sound to Iron & Wine.  

When a violin and an acoustic guitar had taken the floor next, I assumed the tranquilness would continue.  Oh my gosh was I wrong.  Put together a guitar-fueled craze like the younger and more sane brother of Tombstone Pete (as well as the biggest smile a stage has ever known) and a violin-playing that any prince would be wise to throw all his rubies up for, and you get a duo destined for Sunday madness at the Flamjangled Tea Party.  As if things weren’t jaw dropping and head bopping enough, Luma decides to make things just plain magical.  Joining the balkan fest on stage for the final number comes this metal dude looking very out of place in this Waiting Room crowd.  But not even Tchaikovsky could have thrown together strings as powerful, like something in the most epic of theatres, as this unlikely uniting of violin and electric guitar.

It took a while for my jaw to lower after the mindblowingness of Luma, but I needed to get my thoughts collected and find a prime dancing spot because three girls that could get any forest swinging and shaking would be up next.  Touchwood play tunes like the South African energetic sisters of an indie folk trio hailing from Vermont called ‘Mountain Man’.  The three play this upbeat cover of City and Colour’s ‘The Girl’ that could have easily turned the melancholy Dallas Green giddy.  Speaking of Canadians in music, Ruth de Freitas spreads the good vibes and even sounds a bit like a young Neko Case.  These girls have a knack for filling folks with all these groovy feelings inside with their cool quirky jamming that makes me think they’ll be doing big things overseas one of these days.

Last but not least, it was time for the roof to get properly blown off with those never fail to bring the madness guys from Nomadic Orchestra.   I’ll admit though, I could not handle the insanity this time.  A few of us decided to take the party to the balcony for some fresh air.  Fortunately outside we could go berserk to the brass but still breathe.  Inside though it looked like this was a Bar Mitzvah gone completely out of control.  This was sheer madness well surpassing the signs of a successful party.  We reclaimed some territory back inside just in time for the most demanding of calls for an encore.  An absolutely ridiculous best-not-leave-the-night-with-any-energy-left cover of Squirrel Nut Zippers was the perfect way to satisfy this hungry for more fun bunch.  And thus P for Pinata had come to a close with a sheer lunacy that UCT students must have been daydreaming about in class the next morning.

Think of the Your LMG party as that plate of high-taste salad those professional chefs prepare.  The ones where you’re like this is too bizarre a combination of ingredients.  You’ve never even liked two out of the three components.  But you take a bite anyways.  And then the funky brilliance of the randomness hits you.  In the case of the LMG salad, the chef threw in some digital dub, Balkan-infused instrumentals, and some bass-rap to top it off.  This seemingly random musical assortment made for one high energy mesh of body moving and loving introductions to unexplored genres of jamming.  Party goers were fortunate to have their dancing muscles warmed up by some digital chillness provided by 7ft Soundsystem, who kicked off the night with an edubucation for me on my inner love for dub.  A trumpet sounds and the robotic reggae-induced Mercury suddenly transforms into a circus show.  Nomadic Orchestra has the musical powers to bring out the most boring oke’s inner gypsy. Proficiency in the art of gypsy punk dance need not be required to enjoy this set; Nomadic’s instrumental orchestrations naturally directs bodies to the balkan beat in the most easternly of swaggers.  The in-your-face presence of PH Fat suddenly warps Mercury from an Eastern European dancehall into the most absurd of otherworldly parties.  The hyphy trio manages to get a crowd going in the unlamest of ways (I suppose you could say I’ve had trouble taking electronic-rap acts seriously in the past).  While a ‘Das Racist’ style of playful delivery orchestrates the bopping of heads, the bass heaviness behind the rhymes alters the soundwaves of Zonnebloem and forces hands to be thrown in the air.  Stand still and you’d feel like the only one not struck by a bizarre urge to move, a feeling which tied three seemingly unconnected genres throughout the night.  When finally digested, the Your LMG party was an infectiously good time of three distinct ‘get your body moving’ flavors of energy.

http://soundcloud.com/7ftsoundsystem

http://soundcloud.com/thenomadicorchestra