So I haven’t written in awhile, in part, because I was mugged this past weekend. Yeah, a total bummer. But an isolated incident here in Charlottesville. So, basically, I’m over it. A bit.
But yeah, I’m getting back on the high horse. Tonight, I indulged and went to see Bonde do Role at the Satellite Ballroom on the Corner here in C-ville. Was pretty blown that the band played here. Looking at their schedule, it doesn’t look as if they’re playing any other town of comparable minisculity, so it was bone. And the kids took it. And ran.
They started off with a bundle of songs that I recognized from this SXSW set, and then took off from there. The band got the crowd to do a corny hip-hop-hooray-type handwaving thing at one point, but nevertheless, it stuck, and the band gave back what the audience put in. By the end, on the track “James Bonde,” half the crowd was on the stage and one third of the band was in the crowd. It was definitely one of the most democratic moments that I’ve ever seen at a show and it was only improved by the fact that the front man and woman didn’t have any pesky instruments in the way. The records kept spinning, they kept rapping, the crowd kept dancing.
Bonde is a band to get excited about. Sure, I’d heard echoes on pitchfork and blogs, etc., and although I don’t know if they’re the fucking “real deal,” they’re totally entertaining and fun in a way that doesn’t transcend authenticity, but just ignores it. During the first three songs, the phrase “this is the new punk rock” was running through my head, and I didn’t put it there. It was just happening.
The band ran out of a little bit of steam mid-way through the set, which is surprising since they’re from a tropical country, and they rightfully seemed pretty annoyed by the jackass who got on-stage and started popping and locking, but they miraculously managed to bring it all back home. Whatever the band put out, the crowd gave back and vice versa.
This is one of the things I like about C-Ville — crowds here can put together a really bitchin’ night like this every once in awhile. See my Brazilian Girls review. Or a Falsies show. Etc. Or if you live in Philadelphia or Brooklyn this weekend, go and see Bonde do Role.
