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Bido Lito! June 2015 Reviews
Seawitches (Diego Piedrabuena / @fotografialive)
delivered traditional blues number entitled Love
Is The Key.
Next on is the nattily attired BRAVE MNYAY
(blood red shorts-suit, a-la Pharrell at the
Grammys), whose mix of Jamaican dancehall
and Afrobeat has the now sizeable crowd
dancing and singing along. Mnyay is a dynamic
MC, short bursts of rapid-fire vocal, delivered
over DJ Gwynz’s percussive beats, alternating
with dance and sing exhortations to the crowd.
The set builds to a rousing finale with the crowd
only too happy to join in the “1-2-3-hop” dance
routine.
Next, HAZEL MAK takes to the stage, flanked
by the aforementioned dancers, and delivers a
short, sharp set of disco, pop and afro. She has a
rich, soulful delivery and shows off some sassy
dance moves but, singing over backing tapes,
there is something of the (admittedly high-class)
karaoke performance here and the audience
dwindle a little, seeking the refuge of the bar.
Geoff then introduces a short film illustrating
the devastation wrought by the flooding, and
it is a measure of the support AmityMalawi
have garnered that the adjacent bar empties
bidolito.co.uk
and the performance area is full of watchful
sympathisers. If a slightly drawn-out (but highly
successful) raffle keeps us from the dancefloor
for too long, we are soon back with a bang, or
rather, with a low-down and dirty slice of funk in
the shape of THE SOUL RAYS.
This is the funk of the southern states, of Stax
and Muscle Shoals, of Ike and Tina, Dr John and
Booker T; a gumbo of soul, blues, rock ‘n’ roll and
gospel bubbling over a rock-solid rhythm, laced
with the spiciest of horn sections and a dash of
ska/reggae. Up front are three soul sisters: Fabia,
Madalina and Nina take it in turn to deliver
alternately soulful and raunchy vocals, clearly
delighting in each other’s talents and moving
non-stop to the slinky, funky rhythms, searing
guitar solos, sw \