The Budos Band @ Variety Playhouse

The live music experience can be many things depending on the energy, the performer/audience interaction, the music’s mood, etc. Friday night at Variety Playhouse might be regarded as a night of celebration.

Rogé, a Brazilian guitarist and musician, opened the evening with a solo acoustic set, some songs in English and most in Portuguese. Did it translate? Absolutely. His style reflect samba and other influences, and his songs have a corresponding “feel good” vibe. Some crafty guitar work, general enthusiasm and earnestness were a winning combination. The celebration part? He was really excited to begin a U.S. tour, and, I think, pleased to connect with the Budos’ crowd.

The Budos Band was a celebration on another level. In recent years, the band has played one or two nights occasionally where it suited them, but this was their first tour, if only a week long, in quite some time. Their tour got off to a great start by rocking the house, but what rocked the house for those unfamiliar with the band is worth some elaboration.

There’s a consistency in descriptions of this band, some their own and some by others. First, the band has been recording for Daptone records, a vessel for funk and soul, and some of its members have backed label artists over the years, notably Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley. So, as descriptions go, start with a base of “funk” and “soul.” Early on, an anthology of East African music called Ethiopique drew their interest and set their music in its own direction, including congas, bongos, other percussive elements as well as new found phrasings and harmonies. So in the world of “alt-(name a genre),” we have Afro-soul. But we’re not done.

Later recordings take a harder edge that some suggest as the influence of metal and psychedelic styles. Let’s add “Rock.” Check. We’re still not done yet.

For those that have a wide spectrum of musical tastes, The Budos fill a niche, because once you get past all the genre guessing, you’ll find that there’s no vocals. Instrumental music music is necessarily about how it makes you feel, without a singer or lyric informing you how to absorb it. That’s what can make it grand.

So it’s fair to expect and find a really grooving and/or smoldering party band, depending on the song. The drums add punch, the organ adds color, and the brass provides the heat. In my view, the hook or groove of the bass is the foundation that separates their songs from good to even better. Playing to just that, the show began with a one-two punch of “Old Engine Oil” and “The Sticks.” An audience can’t sit on their hands with that opening. They just can’t.

The setlist moves across the spectrum of many their best songs (I would have liked “Scorpion”). Live, that includes the audio spectrum as well.

Their albums are recorded on tape and recorded live in the studio. But they’re also compressed a bit to emulate the 70’s era sound. That works well for their recordings and in some ways is vital to their vision. The band is brass heavy but not to the exclusion of organ or guitar solos. But it’s the brass section that makes the concert rock. Without the sound filtering, the highs are high and the lows are low. Not to chastise earbuds, headphones or stereo speakers, but this is music that’s best heard reverberating off the walls at concert halls.

And, it’s really fun watching a band having fun. Their enthusiasm for returning to the stage was obvious, evidenced by beers for everyone, fist bumps, lots of between songs banter and smiles among members and a general comaraderie that allows anyone to have an audience moment if they want it.

The boys were back in town.