Ladysmith Black Mambazo
I marked another thing off my Life List last night. We went to GW in the city to see Ladysmith Black Mambazo in concert at the Lisner Auditorium. The band has been around for longer than I've been alive and is best know for performances for Nelson Mandela, with Paul Simon and maybe the Life Savers commercials depending on who you ask. I passed up the oppotunity to see them in college and have been regretting it ever since. I've been actively tracking their tours dates for the last 3-4 years and last night marked the first time they were in DC for awhile.
The concert was outstanding, it was everything I waited all these years to see. The Lisner was small and the are no instruments to drown out the vocals. It was just them, their harmony and what felt like a handful of people. The men had an amazingly pleasant disposition and you felt as though they were truly proud of their heritage and South Africa. They seemed happy to be alive and to share their music with the people of the world, including somewhat ignorant Americans (my own editorial addition, not their words). I really do recommend them to anyone who wants to expand their cultural awareness of the world we live in.. or just plain likes great music.
I won't ruin it by going into the story about the woman who decided to check her voicemail using her speakerphone during the performance. Inconsiderate bitch.
As a side note, we had dinner at Kinkead's before the show. I've always heard a lot about this place, the most common being that it's fairly expensive. It was in fact expensive but the food was delicious and I didn't feel like I was getting ripped off. I also tried raw oysters (love the steamed variety) for the first time last night and they were definitely... different. I'd recommend Kinkead's to anyone who doesn't mind spending cash on good seafood or wants to impress their date with a fancy meal.
The concert was outstanding, it was everything I waited all these years to see. The Lisner was small and the are no instruments to drown out the vocals. It was just them, their harmony and what felt like a handful of people. The men had an amazingly pleasant disposition and you felt as though they were truly proud of their heritage and South Africa. They seemed happy to be alive and to share their music with the people of the world, including somewhat ignorant Americans (my own editorial addition, not their words). I really do recommend them to anyone who wants to expand their cultural awareness of the world we live in.. or just plain likes great music.
I won't ruin it by going into the story about the woman who decided to check her voicemail using her speakerphone during the performance. Inconsiderate bitch.
As a side note, we had dinner at Kinkead's before the show. I've always heard a lot about this place, the most common being that it's fairly expensive. It was in fact expensive but the food was delicious and I didn't feel like I was getting ripped off. I also tried raw oysters (love the steamed variety) for the first time last night and they were definitely... different. I'd recommend Kinkead's to anyone who doesn't mind spending cash on good seafood or wants to impress their date with a fancy meal.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment