Music Makes The People Come Together - Bonobo at the Auditorium Rome 8/7/2017

Bonobo and his band moving feet and hearts at  the Auditorium in Rome.

Although electronica is one of my favourite music genres, I am always wary of a concert in which the main protagonist is ostensibly a DJ. On your headphones the clever loops, beats and samples may offer the perfect contemplative soundtrack to your daily journeys but is that enough when transferred to a summer concert venue in the baking heat of July? I always imagine a bare stage with a bloke in a backwards cap continuously staring at and intermittently twiddling with a lap top for 90 minutes. Where's the spectacle in that?

Bonobo on guitar with Szjerdene Mulcare on vocals

Brighton born/L.A. based Simon Green (a.k.a. Bonobo) understands the importance of the live experience and so brings with him an extraordinary band that includes guitars, bass, the superlative Jack Baker on drums,  Szjerdene Mulcare on vocals and a horn section that includes saxophone, trumpet, trombone and flute. Bonobo himself picks out his often plaintive melodies on guitar or keyboards but the live accompaniment brings out the rich textures in his music - underlining the jazz and world influences (this is pretty much the same set that the band played at the Montreal Jazz festival last week) and adding real emotional heft to each song. When Bonobo did resort to DJ mode mid set, the concert lost none of its momentum with breakthrough hit Cirrus and current single Bambro Koyo Ganda (which samples Moroccan band Innov Gnawa) sending the crowd into a dance floor rapture. Yes, I too got down and threw my hands in the air (like I just didn't care) but I did stop short of yelling "tune!"at the top of my voice because I was at the Auditorium in Rome in 2017 not a field in England in the 1990s. (On a side note, last night's concert continued my love affair with Renzo Piano's Auditorium. My favourite modern building in Rome is always a pleasure just to "be"in).

The end result was a tremendous life affirming show which brought out the unifying themes of Bonobo's wonderful Migration album and moved my soul as much as it moved my feet. In a word joyous.

Rome's beautiful auditorium
once again added to the pleasure
of the live experience

Bonobo's Migration Tour continues with dates at The Citadel, London (16 July), The Forum, Melbourne (20/21 July), Horden Pavilion, Sydney (22 July), Town Hall, Auckland (27 July). The tour continues through North America in August and September before returning to Europe in the autumn. For dates, tickets and venues go to: http://bonobomusic.com/#tour