By ELGIN SMITH
No discussion about an afrobeat group would be complete without a mention of Nigerian musical pioneer Fela Kuti, and NOMO certainly channeled his innovative sound last night.
The first thing apparent about NOMO was that they had been jamming together for a while (seven years, to be exact). Their sound on the opening number, "Invisible Cities," was extremely tight with cohesiveness that you just can't fake. Frontman Elliot Bergman (tenor sax, keyboards, synthesizers) was the first soloist on tenor, possessing a reserved but skillful sound. That soon gave way to baritone saxophonist Dan Bennett, who's growling, raucous style deserves a lot of credit for NOMO's chaotic, colorful overall sound.
The next couple songs, "Rings" and "Waiting," featured Bergman
playing an odd, hand-held mallet instrument (imagine a small xylophone
about a foot long). The electronic sounds generated from this thing
were unlike anything I've heard before, but worked well. The
composition "Patterns" featured a long trumpet solo, and had Bergman on
keyboards using Fender Rhodes effect. The spacy tones sounded like
something out of a dream sequence, and the band held back its formerly
primal drive to preserve it.
A jungle groove soon returned with "My Dear," an inferno of
percussion and blasting horn lines. Based on this track alone, I think
NOMO could give Daptone's Daktaris a run for their money. Bergman and
Bennett played unison lines on synthesizer and bari, an odd combination
that sounded amazingly fresh and precise. Guitarist Erik Hall also
contributed to the funk with the dirtiest guitar solo of the night.
The evening progressed with a steady stream of quirky
afrobeat, and kept audience members guessing with fresh, catchy
melodies. On the last song of the night, "Nocturne," NOMO put
it all together: blazingly tight horn melody, uber-rhythmic percussion
(along with drummer Quin Kirchner, Hall played percussion on a number
of tunes), solid bass lines, and strange hand-held synthesizer. (I had
never seen such a small device like this, but it sounded like something
Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood would appreciate.) When this finale seemed
to be winding down, I noticed that Hall and Kirchner were picking up
their drums and moving them offstage, even though the rest of the band
was still playing. Soon after, the rest of the band moved offstage
also, setting up a small circle in the middle of the audience (all while still jamming). The sound was more organic when this happened, no doubt due to
the absence of electronics.
After getting most of the people at the show up in front to
surround them, NOMO quietly faded out and ended the night's engagement.
It's rare to hear a band that incorporates so many unique ideas into
one sound; but, with NOMO's intriguing melting pot of styles and
traditions, it's easy to get caught up in their afrobeat twist.
SET LIST:
Invisible Cities
Rings
Waiting
[Unknown]
Patterns
[Unknown]
My Dear
Ghost Rock
[Unknown]
Nova
Nocturne
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