Black Nature, the youngest member of the Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars rocked the crowd like an old pro, opening up for The Very Best at the Independent in San Francisco. His energetic sound is as inspiring as his story, a survivor of the warfare that ravaged Sierra Leone for years. Black Nature proved a great introduction to Esau, another African artist who chooses to share his story and culture by singing in his native language.
The Very Best lived up to their name at Monday night’s show. Their energetic, ghetto-pop sound blended African beats and electro-pop so seamlessly, the lively hipster crowd had plastered-on smiles despite themselves. No one resisted the impulse to dance. No one seemed to notice their absolute inability to mimic the movements of the vivaciously vigorous dancers on stage. No one cared, because The Very Best music has the power to leave a person completely uninhibited.
Singer Esau Mwamwaya, under a lonely spotlight, and deejay Johan Hugo (of Radioclit) in the shadows of the darkened stage, opened up with the decidedly subdued, “Dinosaur on the Ark”. By contrast, the stage exploded into the next song as Esau, flanked by two dancers and joined by guest singer, South African Molaudi Lauds, blew up the sound system with, “Julia”, props in tow. Apparently, the very best live shows require blow-up palm trees, and they came prepared! They also know how to please a crowd, inviting people to dance with them on stage and handing out Heineken bottles to ecstatic fans at the end of the show.
The set list covered all their most popular tunes including “Kamphopo”, “Warm Heart of Africa” (a collaboration with Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig), and a preview of their upcoming Mixtape. They introduced the latter by asking the crowd, “Has anyone heard Molomo yet?” An indecisive response prompted them to ask if anyone’s heard of Yeasayer and the crowd cheered. “Then you’ve heard Molomo” Esau laughed. Apparently the song was leaked and already available on the web. I wonder if this could have anything to do with Ice Cream Man’s road trip to the Green Owl Ranch at South by Southwest? It’s not the first time The Very Best has had songs leaked. Their first Mixtape released in November of 2009 was previewed the same way. They didn’t seem to be mad about it either way. And “Molomo” was an amazingly upbeat cover in The Very Best’s characteristically transformative style. Definitely plan to pick up the newest Mixtape, due out in October.
The encore began with Michael Jackson’s Free Willy theme, “Will You Be There”. Hugo asked for the stage lights to be cut and for the audience to hold up lighters and cell phones. Despite some technical difficulties and having to restart, their heavy beats swayed the audience and gave Jackson’s song new life. They followed this up with a cover of Vampire Weekend’s “Cape Cod (Kwassa Kwassa)” and the crowd roared for more. The finale was “Tengazako”, a fantastically danceable remix of MIA’s “Paper Planes”. The floor was still thumping as The Very Best exited the stage. The crowd was left wanting more when the house music started and the lights came on.
