Hideo

So with Jamie Lidell (featured with the awesome Señor Coconut Mix of "Little Bit Of Feel Good" on Summer Hump) and now Nomo under my belt, my live music-going days in Chicago are officially off to a pretty, pretty, pretty good start. For those not in the know, Nomo is a modern afro-funk ensemble whose new record Ghost Rock drops on Tuesday. Last night, they played the new record in its entirety for the lucky few (including me) bold enough to venture out on a Sunday night. To spread the good word about Nomo, here's their incredible take on one of supreme space commander Sun Ra's tunes.

Nomo - Rocket #9

A Glimpse Of The Future

One of the most exciting things about the now impending move to DC is the exponential increase in exciting live music options. Not that Iowa City has been bad to me, but a major metropolitan center the IC is not. So when we were out in DC, the other JD and I got a taste of what's to come, and it was mighty impressive.

Femi Kuti is the son of legendary Nigerian musician Fela Kuti, and continues in the vein of the genre his father created, Afro-beat. While I am a huge fan of Fela, Femi's albums had failed to grab me quite as strongly-but the live show was freaking incredible. Freed from the constraints of the studio versions, his songs took on a tremendous rollicking groove, aided by Femi's enormous charisma. So I was incredibly excited to get back and find a live record of his for download on Emusic (and also for sale as a CD/DVD(!) on Amazon). Check out my favorite track below.

Femi Kuti - 1, 2, 3, 4

(PS - due to the annoying ads on z-share, I've switched to divshare; click on the link on the right side of the page to download the file)