Okayplayer got back seriously into music promotion in 2012, and last year presented the Blood Orange gig as part of Summerstage’s 15 years of Okayplayer -an online music promotion website headed by Questlove. This year we are getting London disco, French-Cuban drum based folk and a singer songwriter with a neo-soul side.
Sounds good, right? It was fine. But no more than fine.
LA native Sunni Colòn was just signed to Roc Nation and with just a guitarist to help him, wove some lovely mood music into the drizzly night air, but with the tough sell opening act to the notoriously chatty Summerstage, he didn’t really connect. Even so, all the songs were strong and soulful and Sunny is a youthful presence and passionate performer with a lot to give.
The best moment of Ibeyi -the French-Cuban twins who sing in the Nigerian dialect Yoruba and English, and whose eponymous debut album has been well received, was when trumpeter Roy Hargrove joined the duo on a cover of Jay Electronica’s sublime “Better In Tune With The Infinite”, the women singing the hook and Hargrove rearranging the keyboards for trumpet. It was completely magical and suggest Lisa-Kaindé Diaz (lead singer and pianist) and Naomi Diaz (Cuban percussion) might be better off expanding their sound. I wasn’t crazy about the album, though many people were, but on stage they have a forthright self-confidence and gentleness of attack which is completely disarming. The first song was an acapella wonder and the second song “Ghosts” one of their bests and a triumph of melody and cross-pollination. “I love you” came the cheer from an audience member and that was before they performed “Mama Says”. A singalong to “River” worked. But they sat for most of the performance which made them difficult to see, a pity because they are attractive and attentive performers.
Jungle are a UK disco band with a funky backbeat and three falsetto voices like triple your Prince and jumped out with all guns blazing with songs off last years debut album. With a huge stage filled with musicians, a full band plus electronica, and a dance aesthetic, “Platoon” and “Julia” completely exploded in ways they sure don’t on record. It was hi-energy Kool And The Gang with an extra dollop of funk. The band didn’t stop moving at all and if they could’ve maintained it over the evening… well, how could they? They slowed down the tempo and I left a little early (nothing to do with the music, it was my third concert in three days and I was wiped out).
However, place Jungle alongside Rudimental with less electronic mayhem but better beats. Josh Lloyd-Watson is as close to focal point as they have, and he takes well to the position, but this is a collective buzz and the next album should tell the story. Meanwhile, great to see them and free of charge.
Grade: B
