Konono No. 1 @ Le National

Sasparilla and Sassafrass (The Pan-African Hour)

Sasparilla: What a dope show!

Sassafrass: Yes it was dope (monotone).

Sasparilla: Konono No. 1 have a very distinctive sound. By amplifying thumb harps (known in Africa as mbiras) they can distort the timbre of the instruments, creating a hazy, piercing sound, totally unlike anything else I have heard from Africa.

Sassafrass: That shit's crazy man! It's too bad their stage show didn't match the craziness of their sound. Especially that one guy on the left who was just staring at us like he wanted to eat us. He was the most skilled mbira soloist though.

Sasparilla: He definitely looked homicidal.

Sassafrass: The cowboy hats were good though.

Sasparilla: I wonder if cowboy hats are popular in the Democratic Republic of Congo (AKA: the DRC).

Sassafrass: For sure man! Cowboy hats are big everywhere, they've been cool since the '50s, just like smoking. Back to the show, they did seem to warm up during their second set. The freaky guy was smiling.

Sasparilla: Yeah, there was more enthusiasm from both the band and the audience. I was surprised by how few people attended the show, considering that Konono No. 1 is such a hugely successful band. But people really started dancing a lot. The overall vibe of the show was pretty bumping.

Sassafrass: Word! I found it upbeat and bumping and dancy, but I also found it super mesmerizing. Their 10 minute mbira jams were very hypnotic, repetitive; entrancing the audience.

Sasparilla: For sure, I found myself not so much drawn to dance as to commune with the gods in an altered state of hallucinatory exuberance.

Sassafrass: Word man, I was tripping balls myself.

Sasparilla: Word.

Sassafrass: So... The band consisted of a drummer who just worked the snare and two cymbals, and just played very repetitive rhthyms, mostly on the snare, a hand drummer, playing bongos...

Sasparilla: ...I think they were congos...

Sassafrass: ...(thanks) and a whistle (which was awesome), and then there were three mbira players and a woman who played four cowbells.

Sasparilla: Plus two of the mbira players and the cowbell woman did some sweet chanting and harmonies.

Sassafrass: Now this is true. The mbira that struck me the most was the bass mbira. It was kind of surprising how you could get such a deep, resonant bass tone from an mbira.

Sasparilla: Yeah it pretty much sounded like an electric bass.

Sassafrass: That guy was the most energetic performer too. He seemed to be having a really good time.

Sasparilla: Yeah, which was nice in comparison to the guy who looked like he was gonna murder the whole audience. Maybe he was just on some drugs or something. Oh, looks like we passed the 400-word count that is necessary for this review. Till next time!

Sassafrass: Yes very nice and good!

Sasparilla: Very good and nice!