Concerts

1. The Temper Trap- Silver Spring, MD at The Fillmore
I saw a favorite band of mine called The Temper Trap on October 12, 2012. They are an indie rock band from Australia. I never saw or heard them live before other than from what I saw on youtube videos online. I was very surprised how good they were when they performed. The show was high energy all throughout the setlist. Most people in the audience reacted excited and seemed to know most of all their songs. The best part for me was when the played a newer song called "Rabbit Hole" which starts with the lead singer Dougie on solo guitar for the first half of the song. It was really cool once the full band kicked in during the songs climax. The band members also had great chemistry playing together. I would definitely see them play live again!

2. The Danvilles
I befriended the drummer of an underground band I like called The Dustys. He is also the drummer for another band called the The Danvilles and invited me to come to a show at the DC9 Club in October. The Danvilles opened for a rock n roll band called The Turbo Fruits whom I did not enjoy much. The Danvilles play modern rock music with heavy influences in rockabily, surf, and blues. The lead singer Mike Hindert is also the bass player for a band called The Bravery. The show was on a Tuesday night and wasn't very crowded at all. The Danvilles played a good set of their songs. They only played for 30 minutes but I enjoyed it. It was interesting to see how a lot of their songs work together in one set even though a lot of them sound different from one another. Later on, I got to meet all the band members. It was a good experience.

Afro-Beat: Fela Kuti and Tony Allen

I have listened to a combination of both Tony Allen and Fela Kuti. One song that stood out to me was “Every Season” by Tony Allen with vocals by Damon Albarn. The song focuses heavily on Allen’s drum rhythms, which follows a difficult time signature. Most of Tony Allen’s music sounds like pop music with a groove influence. It uses a variety of different instruments found in modern rock and found in traditional African music. 

Fela Kuti’s well-known song “Zombie” also stood out to me. It uses a variety of different instruments to carry the melody and rhythm of the song. The singing is also reminiscent of traditional African chanting. “Viva Nigeria” is a song with a good message that uses spoken word along with danceable music in order to influence peace. I noticed that a lot of Afro-beat music influences peace and moral issues along with the happy and uplifting tone of the music. African music has definitely grown as a huge interest of mine after listening to Fela Kuti and Tony Allen.