Charles Neville with Youssoupha Sidibe & The Mystic Rhythms Band
2013-05-21
Yoshi's
510 Embarcadero West, Jack London Square, Oakland, CA
8:00 PM, Tuesday, May 21, 2013

[8:49 PM House Introduction, band onstage]

1. [8:50 PM] ?
2. [9:01 PM] ?
3. [9:10 PM] ?
4. [9:20 PM] ?
5. [9:33 PM] ? pray for happiness
6. [9:46 PM] ?
7. [10:00 PM] ? music
8. [10:16 PM] ?
9. [10:25 PM] ?
   [10:47 PM show ends, no encore]

• Charles Neville: tenor saxophone, percussion;
• Youssoupha Sidibe: vox, kora;

• ?Llyndell Ra?: bass;
• ?Benny More?: drums.

Saffell opened

To the extent that I was able to shut out distracting chit-chat of the yahoos surrounding us, I really enjoyed tonight's show. While the overall set fell into a series of one chord reggae vamps, there was just enough variation in tempo and melody to keep me transfixed. I particularly enjoyed Charles Neville's contributions, and his solos were the high point of pretty much every tune. Youssoupha's kora style was predominantly characterized by bass melodies and rhythmic flourishes rather than the more arpeggiated trebles runs I expected based on prior exposure to the instrument. What with Charles sticking to tenor all night, this lent a dubby, bass heavy groove to the whole affair. Benny More's drumming was a snaptastic treat – it's too bad that neither he nor Ra, the bass player received name billing, as both were sensational in their respective roles, though I suppose not knowing the identity of the musicians adds an attractive mystery to the whole affair.

Back to the calendar!