Music / dance music
Review: Honeyfeet/KOG & The Zongo Brigade, Trinity
Review: Honeyfeet/KOG & The Zongo Brigade, Trinity
At this time of year you expect to be heading for a party and this gig didn’t disappoint. To be fair, Honeyfeet seem to bring a party at any time of year, but on this occasion it was laid out on a plate by a very partisan audience gently steered from laid-back hip-hop to hard-nosed reggae by DJ Dad’s opening set. Thus, when the band eventually appeared, the reception was tumultuous and the music kicked off accordingly.
Honeyfeet’s mesmerising Rioghnach Connolly
The obvious thing to notice about Honeyfeet is front woman Rioghnach Connolly’s fiercely diminutive figure, for this night topped with what looked like a Japanese Kabuki headdress and brandishing her trademark wooden Irish flute. If you’re not careful that could be the only thing you notice: as well as possessing a voice that combines fine modulated tones with raw power the singer has the kind of commanding presence that draws you in and holds your attention unwaveringly. Tear your eyes away, however, and you immediately notice that the other six members of the band constitute a rock-solid rhythm section capable of moving from sleazy swamp blues to jaunty folk-pop or stadium funk without missing a (heart)beat.
is needed now More than ever
Having just released their new album Orange Whip – only their second in nearly a decade of playing together – their Trinity set was mostly new numbers in a predictable hodgepodge of styles unified by a twinkling of lyrical humour and serious musical intent. Quickball, for instance, matched Rioghnach’s light-touch flute with Biff Roxby’s growling trombone to tell a tale of passionate cannibalism, Sinner’s defiant moodiness had something of Beth Gibbons but with the Dap Kings backing her, notably John Ellis’s classic organ sound. Possibly the freshest sound came with Meet Me On The Corner, a slamming four-to-the-floor one-chord rocker gilded with howling blues harp from Rik Warren and simmering with blues-drenched soul.
Other numbers dipped into bluesy Balkan two-step, a lost funk-rock collaboration between Queen and Sly Stone and an 80s 3-chord power pop number that might have been in the Mute label’s back catalogue somewhere. Needless to say, the singer swept imperiously through it all, with either a fearsome glower or radiant delight on her face, alternately berating and beloving her subservient crowd. Whether judged as music or as entertainment this was all top quality stuff and exactly the party a cold, wet night needed.
Afro-party fusioneers K.O.G. & The Zongo Band
It was definitely a case of ‘follow that’ for Sheffield’s KOG and the Zongo Brigade but follow that they did, after a helpful set from DJ Hiphopapotamus took us Africawards in readiness. Bursting out with Turn Up The Music Please, they introduced their hip-hop influenced take on HiLife’s brass-embellished riffs. The energetic frontline pairing MC Franz Von and singer K.O.G. seemed equally at home riding the Ghanaian beats as Congolese soukous (complete with convincingly ringing guitars) or even straightforward reggae. It was another party set, for sure, rewarded with an energetic dance floor and much warm appreciation.
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
