A grass field, filled with people from ages 6 to 80. College hipsters, drunk old women and those random-aged ambiguous guys that can’t wait to tell you that they’ve seen this band more times than you have.
This past Sunday, I had the incredible pleasure of seeing the indescribable Snarky Puppy perform at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh. This group just released their first studio album in many years, entitled, "Culcha Vulcha." With no live tracks or guest appearances, this album is pure and true, Snarky Puppy.
Drawing a quilt of different audiences, this show was incredibly refreshing and something that I have not seen in a matter of years. The setup of the show -- from audience to literal scenery -- was different than what most of my friends would think of when they go to a concert nowadays. The amount of shows we have gone to at the House of Blues, just to shove our way up to the front and jump up and down, is a lot, and they get tiring. Being able to just sit down and listen to some instrumental tracks was great.
That is not to say that this show did not get people moving. Everyone’s heads were bobbing in unison, from every age, compelled by the groove. (Haha, that should be an album title).
Anyhow, this group has been a struggle for music journalists to capture since they dropped their first track. In their new album alone, they include sounds of South Asian percussion, plus Northern Brazilian influences, juggled in with jazz, funk and this electronic swing that reminded me almost of Daft Punk.
Funkaaaaaaaaaay.
A huge part of their show and just incredible music, in my humble opinion, is their usage of double drum kits. Though one of their percussionists utilized things like chimes and maracas as well, there were times that both kits were going strong -- and damned if that didn’t make a difference. Considering how many instruments are used in their tracks and shows, it makes sense that they would double the amount of drum sets used in general. (For those who do not know -- it’s a big band).
All in all, the show was everything I could have dreamed for.
And now I can say I saw a jazz concert at 6:30 p.m. at a museum and my dad didn’t even force me to do it. He’ll be rubbing that in for sure.
Check out my two favorite tracks: "Semente" and "What About Us?" And download Culcha Vulcha here. Also here is a sick video of Snarky performing with this Grammy-winning Dutch orchestra.
