Last night a few of my favorite peeps and I went to the “Black Violin” show here in San Diego, and little did I know how much they would rock our world. Left to our devices, San Diego would lure them in with mimosas and brunch until the end of time. We did not stay for the meet and greet, because it’s safe to say at least half of the audience got out of their seats to stand in line to meet the band.
“Black Violin” popped up on my Facebook feed a couple years ago, and a steady stream of friends would post their latest videos on my wall. I watched them, and was impressed by their hip hop styling and technique. It did not prepare me for their live show.
The venue was the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation in Barrio Logan. It was a gorgeous amphitheater. The president of the association gave a very spirited introduction, and it was on.
“Black Violin” consists of a violinist, violist, turntable dj, and live drummer with a full kit (behind a shiny see through box.) He had his own pope-mobile onstage.
They were immediately playing songs and talking about the message from their latest album, “Stereotypes.” They said that everyone faces stereotypes, from being too old, too young, women, men, black, white. We all need to work on breaking those stereotypes.
The music was amazing and full bodied; the strings were gorgeous, and the viola and violin traded riffs easily. They made it look effortless!!! So clean!!! A few songs in, the viola player, Wil Baptiste started singing. Hello, secret weapon. Then he sang a version of “Let’s Get it On” TO HIS VIOLA as a thank you for all the amazing things she’s done for him. (Her name is Tiffany.) So many levels of awesomeness were happening right here.
Their songs were all unique and had a great flow to the show. They “freestyled” and improvised a whole piece, and every player got a solo, even the amazing DJ. He played a track that said “Thank you San Diego,” and the whole crowd was putty in their hands. A little kid was about 3 years old brought his own violin, and was playing in the back row, and he was getting down so hard. It was amazing to watch.
Another message they delivered, is to do anything you want, and just do it differently. Then they rocked a tune based on the “Hindenburg Concerto.”
The violinist, Kev Marcus, knew exactly how to interact with the crowd; lots of smiles and winks and fantastic playing. He got creative with the effects on his electric violin, and the effects matched the vibe of the songs without being overpowering. The Drummer was fantastic!!!! His moment to shine was definitely in the Freestyle part, and it blew my mind how the band suddenly switched on their jazz brains, and kept the groove no matter where the Drummer went. It was an amazing journey!!!
After the show I was on cloud nine of Bliss. My friend Justin said he thought I was feeling really deep emotions because they were playing the same instruments I play, and the music was fantastic. He was totally right. I needed to process them for a little while first, and then needed to write them all down before they fade.
Next time “Black Violin” comes to San Diego, my guess is they will either play multiple shows or book a bigger venue. And we should ALL GO. Their message and their groove needs to be heard and shared.
Thank you!!!
Ps. Extra special thank you to Skandar, for wrangling us all into going, and making sure we got there on time. It was very very good.