Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 14 presents Malawi Mouse Boys
2014-10-05
Banjo Stage, Hellman Hollow
Golden Gate Park, 50 Overlook Dr, San Francisco, CA 94122
11:00 AM, Sunday, October 5, 2014

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2014 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2014 event list! ☸ On to the next event!

[10:58 AM announcements]

1. [11:02 AM] Kunvera (To Hear)
2. [11:04 AM] Ndinasangalala (I Was Happy)
3. [11:08 AM] ? maso panga wada uye
4. [11:12 AM] Driver
5. [11:15 AM] ? de fu na go fana do iesu
6. [11:19 AM] ? (coke bottle slide song)
7. [11:21 AM] ? iwe ombone / macha macho maja
8. [11:27 PM] Manja (Clap Your Hands)
9. [11:28 PM] Jesu
10. [11:31 PM] Mwayenera (You Really Are Good)
11. [11:36 PM] ? iru habale sodji hassanyu
12. [11:43 PM] ? he wana nera mana
13. [11:45 PM] ? coloo gooloo
    [set ends 11:48 AM]

Malawi Mouse Boys

• Austine Banda: guitar;
• Alfred Gavana: guitar, vox;
• Gerard Haju: drums;
• Zondiwe Kachingwe: vox;
• Jameson Lufeyo: vox;
• Laurence Mpombe: vox;
• Patrick Muhondo: bass, vox;
• Nelson Muligo: lead guitar, vox.

This list was tough, let me tell you. For starters, like the majority of you, I don't speak a word of Chichewa, so all that jibber-jabber written up there in the setlist is my best attempt at teasing out key phonemes from the initial line or chorus of each song. Not that helpful, in retrospect, but good for a laugh over how my obsession drives me to such idiotic ends! Or perhaps praiseworthy, since I was able to ID about half of the tunes by comparing my original notes with the 30 second tune snippets posted on Amazon. Secondly, I don't recall that the band members were ever introduced, so the personnel list above, compiled from their records, is also suspect. That leaves very little but the timing and song count as accurate, reliable info. Oh well, best I can do for today!

How was the set? The boys certainly earned an A+,for effort, and their enthusiasm was catchy too – by the second or third tune they had a couple hundred people dancing up front – pretty good considering that this was the third day of broiling sun. The mouse boys started out real natty in shiny track suits with flashy piping, but as they worked through their setlist, they shed layer upon layer … first to white t's or tanks, then to glistening skin. Several of the boys were athletic enough to jump down off the stage (an 8 or 9-ft drop), the run about in the crowd with the wireless mic, singing, testifying, and slapping skin with the audience. Very groovy. And even more amazing to see them scamper back up on the stage. True-life parkour – no stairs necessary when you can run up walls like a mouse, boy!

Intrigued? The Malawi Mouse Boys have two albums out at this point, He Is #1 came out in 2012, and Dirt is Good came out this past March. Check 'em out!

I'm glad to have caught this set, and just as glad that it was short, because truth be told, the amount we got was plenty for my attention span. Hopefully they'll be inspired to keep playing, and maybe we'll get them back here at Ashkenaz or some other friendly venue on a return trip.

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2014 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2014 event list! ☸ On to the next event!