Nuits D'Afrique:Grupo Fantasma

The 25th anniversary of the Festival Nuits D’Afrique is turning out to be one of the most party oriented ones that I have ever witness. Over the years, I have attended and taken part in some of the festivals; they were all entertaining and fun, but the 2011 edition of the festival stands out as a marriage of new musical ideas from all the bands that I have seen so far.

It all started with Manu Dibango & Le Soul Makossa Gang opening the festival on July 13th at Metropolis. The result was a night of dancing and fun. I then took in the series of the Syli D’or finalists for 2011. That in itself became a carnival at the Cabaret Du Mile-End on July 17th.

On July 19th I went to see Grupo Fantasma, a Latin American band from Texas. They're a band that should not be missed the next time they grace our shores for a show.

They really focus on the funk elements of Latin American music. In consequence, they began their set with the lead singer announcing that the front part of the stage was there for dancing and that’s how it was for the rest of the show.

The horn and rhythm section keep it nice and tight, while the guitarist reminded us all of living legend Carlos Santana. The bass player had this deep melodic sound which gave you that real groove of a reggae bass player that just seems to make you say “YEAH!".

A good show by a groovy band is all that it takes to keep the house dancing on a hot, July Tuesday night in Montreal, and this band did it all and then some.

-Pete Douglas hosts The Live Wire Show every Saturday from 9-10am