Nomo - Live at El Mocambo

Last night I had the opportunity to see Nomo at the El Mocambo. I went into the show knowing very little about the band, I had heard a few songs on their myspace but that was it. I knew that they played afrobeat music and they were from Chicago and that was good enough. Since I've been getting into the habit of pretending that Thursday night is the start of the weekend, I jumped at the opportunity to go out and party.

I arrived at the El Mocambo around 10:30, and it was pretty empty. I had seen Malajube play there a couple of weeks ago to a packed house, so this was a bit of a change. I walked up to the bar and ordered a Labatt 50 only to find out that they were out.

"No Labbatt 50 at an afrobeat show at the El Mocambo? Am I in some bizarro world or something?" Not to worry, I ordered a Kieth's (not quite hipster-approved but delicious nonetheless) and moved up to the stage, where the band was getting ready.

If you are not familiar with Afrobeat music, I suggest you listen to some Nomo to get a better understanding of what it's all about. http://www.myspace.com/nomomusic Basically it involves a lot of brass instruments, cool beats, and improvised solos. I really think that it's a genre of music that is best experienced live.

The band consisted of two drummers, a saxophone/keyboardist, a trumpeter and a baritone saxophonist. Sometimes the second drummer would pick up a guitar, but as my friend Bryce remarked "You know, the guitar is cool and all, but what this song really needs is two drummers." The keyboardist would also play his homemade electric caramba sometimes.

All in all, the show was tight, eclectic, and made your feet move. Despite the crowd being a bit sparse, the people who were there were ready to have a good time. And for a small show there were a large number of Toronto music scene up-and-comers in attendance: Two members of the now defunct punk outfit Clock Strikes Music http://www.myspace.com/clockstrikes were in attendance as well as two members of the acclaimed Rexdale band Hot Soft Light, now going by the name The Big Aristotle.

For the band's encore, the band came down to floor level and started an impromptu jam amongst the crowd. This was one of the coolest concert experiences I have had in a while. The crowd began chanting and singing along with the music and it really felt like the audience and the band had connected on a whole other level. It was really great. Apparently, this was the last show of their tour, hopefully the next time they're in Toronto we'll get a good crew together and have a great night rocking out to Afrobeat.