The Hot 8 Brass Band @ the Waterfront

There’s something about summer gigs. It’s not a struggle to get yourself out of the house after work, you don’t have to put on a million layers and you can get your groove on alongside happy strangers. Always a good thing.

The Hot 8 Brass Band from out of New Orleans have been through some considerable trials during their 20 year career, from several band members passing away, to dealing with the aftermath of Katrina. This makes tonight’s gig an achievement in itself – to go through all of that heartbreak and still maintain the urge to make upbeat, positive music is a beautiful thing, man. The vitality and importance of New Orleans’ unique musical heritage is something that should be treasured and enjoyed by people all over the world, and we did so tonight.

Norwich’s Savage Island are up first – unfortunately half the audience are out in the back yard, seeing as it’s a balmy July evening, but hey, each to their own. Savage Island are a curious band. They play most excellent gypsy party music, and they play well, but there’s a lacklustre aspect to their performance that misses the mark for me. Add some proper wild “fuck it” abandon to their onstage show along with more colour and vibrancy and they really could be getting somewhere. It just feels a little bit dead, with very little communication with the audience and not much fun despite the drunken, wild music that they make.

Longstanding Norwich DJ Sure-D plays some beautiful soul and funk tracks for us in between sets, starting with Archie Shepp’s Attica Blues…oooof. I find myself dancing like a loon by myself, but that’s OK. Right?

As you might expect, there are eight members in The Hot 8 Brass Band, armed with two drums suspended from necks, two trombones, sax, two trumpets, and a magnificent tuba with a lovely boomy bass sound. The Waterfront is pretty much entirely full and pumped by the time the band come on at 9:45. Starting with an original number, there’s almost immediately a chant of “PARTY PARTY PARTY”. The Norwich folk, usually reluctant to join in, are well up for a bit of participation tonight, dancing and waving their arms and just having a damn good time. Covers of Papa Was A Rollin Stone and Sexual Healing are brassy, sassy, and full on. It’s a real treat to watch these adept musicians ply their craft, all done with genuine passion and energy, and rare to have no electric instruments but to have the same level of volume as if there were. They’re a real force to be reckoned with, and they feed off the crowd’s enthusiastic responses, despite some grumbling and unhappiness as they’re not able to hear themselves properly on stage – a shame as their spirit as a band is obviously thrown a little as a result. There is plenty of space left within each song for some powerful solos and the parts where two or three of the instruments take up the same part is immense. There’s a nod to Ghost Town, I Got Five On It and Who Am I (What’s My Name) but they mostly play straight up jazz and hip hop inspired originals taken from their back catalogue.

They play for a sweaty hour and quarter, and we all have a super-fun, summery, celebratory time together. I was kind of disappointed that they didn’t take the music into or through the audience, seeing as they easily could have done so, but still. Nit picking. Well done Norwich for giving back as much fun as we got from the band, and much love to the Hot 8 gentlemen of New Orleans for a great show.