I want to see more college–aged people at jazz and blues shows, but I didn’t know I wanted that until I saw Mindi Abair and the Boneshakers perform at The World Cafe Live in Philadelphia. Listening to the music and feeling the energy the band was radiating from the stage, all I wanted to do was let loose and dance. However, because most of Abair’s audience is older, much of the crowd was at the bar, at the tables, and on the balcony. The dance floor was dead.
The only people I saw dancing were a couple and a small, blonde–haired girl who was accompanied by her father. The girl was clapping and bouncing along to the music, but she was clearly intimated by the room full of adults.
The whole show, I couldn’t help but find myself thinking, “I wish I had brought my friends. This would have been an incredible time.” Not only would it have been a fun change from the frat parties and the typical rap and EDM concerts we usually go to, but also the performance itself was so captivating.
First, the band performed a few songs from their latest album. After wrapping up her feminist call to action "Pretty Good For a Girl," Abair turns to Randy Jacobs of the Boneshakers and smiles: “I would like to give my men on the stage equal time.” Then Jacobs takes the lead.
Photo courtesy of Mindi Abair
The whole performance was dynamic: every person on stage interacted with each other, moved around, took on a different role. At first the band setup was traditional, with the drummer and the guy on the keyboard in the back and the guitarist and bassist backing up the lead up front. But then Randy Jacobs got his spotlight, and then the bassist started dancing and playing off Abair, then the drummer was getting some vocals in. Before I knew it the whole band was in a line across the front of the stage. The keyboardist was playing a totally different instrument—I think a jaw harp. The drummer was on the bongos. Abair was absolutely killing it on the sax. They were just jamming.
I was in awe. I never thought I could appreciate instrumental music that much. In fact, I didn’t even realize the music didn’t have lyrics until I was looking back through the videos I took of the concert. The way the band performed had me completely captivated.
Despite most of the audience gravitating to the back of the venue, Abair still was able to seamlessly get crowd participation. She looked out everyone and said, “I didn’t want to go to concerts to sit in a corner and have a glass of wine. I wanted to put my hands up and dance.” After she got the attention of everyone doing just that at the bar, she challenged them to get out their “lighters, or phones, or, to the man in the back, that Zippo lighter.”
Abair also made sure to give shoutouts to her loyal fans by saying she saw some familiar faces and acknowledged people wearing the band’s T–shirts. However, my favorite thing Abair said during the performance was when she told the story of how the band was formed. Of course, she acknowledged the people who already knew the history, and that’s why she was “just giving the Cliffsnotes.”
She pointed to Jacobs and said, “Well, it all started when I saw this man play a burning guitar solo at a concert, then do a back flip into the audience.”
He laughed and joked that was a long, long time ago, but Abair shook her head and continued, “I remember thinking, ‘I gotta stay friends with this guy.’ Then Randy started the Boneshakers, which ended up playing one stage at a this musical festival where my band and I were playing another stage. I went and sat in on his band—I mean that’s what musicians do—and I was inspired. We got together after the show and were like we got to do this every night.”
You can tell they all love making music together, and it is so much fun to watch. The performance captured so many wonderful feelings at once. It felt like you got to watch this personal moment of best friends all getting together and having a good time, but at the same time it felt like the band was interacting with just you by telling you these stories and getting you involved. Somehow, it also felt like you were removed from the band and could just dance to the music.
Philly’s World Cafe Live offers so many jazz and blues performances, and I think it is a shame that students in University City don’t take advantage of these shows. Yes, Abair is known for her stage presence, so I knew it was going to be a good show, but I do think she kept the performance true to the genre’s style. For me, it was a great change of pace and a hell of a good time, and I want to see other people experience that.
