It was an apocalyptic night anyhow - weather not withstanding, my husband was actually going out with us to see Chant! All that storming and lightning though, it was hard to not feel charged up already, so it was kind of a bummer that when we got there, the club was pretty dead. It was early though, so there was still hope.
The opening act had come all the way from Brownsville, which, if you're not a Texan you've quite possibly never heard of ... for me, having grown up in Corpus and visited Brownsville a few times, it was kinda surreal getting to see Sin D.N.A. up there with their Macbook and keyboard, rockin' out hardcore. Didn't go with my memories of Brownsville to be sure, and props to them for that! Fortunately, more people seemed to arrive during the set - I'd been worried for them that they'd be playing to a rain-dead crowd after traveling so far.
But really, Chant was what I'd been waiting ... god at that point what, three weeks to see? And just watching everyone setting things up for his show was a sight to behold - I pointed out to my husband that some nights, that's as entertaining as the performances themselves when someone has enough gear and enough people running around with it. You get to recognizing faces, as so many people in the local scene are friends and help each other out, you spot folks from other bands helping haul gear about, and it's really very heartwarming - I like that there's cross pollination going on, not just tiny little insular circles of divadom! Makes me happy. I didn't stop to count the drums as they loaded up the stage, but I couldn't figure out where there was still going to be room for Bradley when they were done. Yeah, there were that many.
Mmmm but the show started, and I was right out there up front row with Ms. Adzuki and a few other folks, dancing to the pounding beat. See, I have a major weakness for drumming ... I've been to more than a few drum circles and bonfires, so it's safe to say I had pretty high expectations going into this. It was awesome though - the pounding sound tripped that tribal earth momma switch and I proceeded to thrash myself into an asthma attack... not that I let a little thing like THAT stop me. *grin* A brief break and I was back up front, back in the thick of the rhythm, dancing in ways I usually reserve for the privacy of my living room (probably much to the chagrin of my downstairs neighbors). The only thing I found myself wanting for the whole night was maybe an ashiko or a djembe or one of those great big taiko drums, but I'll be damned if I have any idea where he could have put even one more skin with all the other drums on stage.
At one point, Bradley made a nod to the other bands playing that night, commenting that the last band of the evening would "make everyone want to have sex." I laughed, because the mad power of the drums, visually and audially overwhelming me, already had me *quite* hot and bothered, and I couldn't imagine anyone else really topping that. There was this one beautiful moment, in fact, where Bradley came over to where the buckets and satellite dish were rigged and started wailing on them, and I happened to be right in front of that set. Water, whether deliberatly there or leftover from the pouring rain outside, spattered out and all over me, and I about fell over right there. It was this wonderfully organic, visceral moment you can only get from live performance. I can still feel it, cold droplets of water hitting my burning skin and practically steaming off me, I'd been dancing so hard. Rawr!
I sent the hubby to get cash so I could buy the Chant: Beginnings CD and the DVD he had out for sale, and I love them, but oh man, it's nothing compared to the live show. Chant is actually about to go on a tour in Florida with a few stops on the way this month, and if he's near you, GO. Sincerely. And dress light and flexible, 'cause you're going to want to be able to *move* for this one. And when the show's over, see if you can catch up with Mr. Bradley B. He's an absolute sweetheart of a man, a real treat to talk with if you get the chance. I kept thinkin' how I was kinda sorry I didn't have a silver Sharpie with me, I'd have gotten him to sign my black Chuck Taylors, seeing as how he'd gotten them moving so much, I thought maybe he'd been playing them, too.
(Included photo by Olivia, from Chant's MySpace pics. Someday I'll get my Sidekick to take a decent picture I can use!)
