Live: Nahko and Medicine for The People.
Nahko & Medicine for the People with their eclectic mix of music with a social concious at the Electric Ballroom, Camden, London (Andy Sampson)
“Not really sure what to expect tonight” was my response to a number of people asking about the Nahko and Medicine for The People gig at the Electric Ballroom. The fact that it had been moved from a temporarily closed Shepherd’s Bush Empire proved their ability to fill a big venue, but despite their worldwide hit video Aloha ke Akua having over 4.7 million views, they remain relatively unknown in the UK. I shouldn’t have been concerned; whereas some bands just play a collection of songs, Nahko and MFTP give a full on performance with extended versions of album tracks, mash-up’s of songs from rock to reggae, and a genuine feeling that you’re having the best time ever.
Nahko & Medicine for the People with their eclectic mix of music with a social concious at the Electric Ballroom, Camden, London (Andy Sampson)
They’re led by the enigmatic Nahko Bear, who’s an interesting mix of Apache, Puerto Rican & Filipino descent, and who commands the stage and the band throughout the evening. Unsurprisingly, this racial mix drives a similarly eclectic approach in their musical style and lyrical content, and its fair to say they deliver songs with a strong social conscience and awareness of living in harmony with each other and nature. However, live they’re really hard to categorize and the best that I could do would be Counting Crows meets Arrested Development. But even that doesn’t do justice to the broad range of songs that we were treated to tonight.
Nahko & Medicine for the People with their eclectic mix of music with a social concious at the Electric Ballroom, Camden, London (Andy Sampson)
It was always going to be a good night as Nahko’s appearance triggered a slightly early singing of Happy Birthday from the crowd, which seemed to take even him by surprise. Having thanked the crowd, the band launched into Directions and a much rockier than the album version of Vultures of Culture, complete with interplay with bassist Patricio Zuñiga and a few of Nahko’s trademark leaps in the air. This led perfectly into the up-tempo Risk It with its messages of positive imagination and hope for the future, and which was a great example of how to extend a 5 minute album track into a 10 minute celebration.
Nahko & Medicine for the People with their eclectic mix of music with a social concious at the Electric Ballroom, Camden, London (Andy Sampson)
However, these few songs just set the scene, and it was in the middle section where things got really interesting and eclectic, starting with We Shall Overcome, a track not on any previous albums. Inspired by a poem that Nahko had read, it had a wonderful chilled Ibiza groove thanks to bassist Patricio, and violinist Tim, and featured a vocal reminiscent of Craig David. Then in the next song drummer Justin “Chitty” Chittins came out from behind the kit for a hip hop mash up duet with Nahko of a whole load of songs, merged seamlessly into one monologue. Adele’s “Hello”, HQ Rox’s “I Cant feel my Face”, Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” and Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” all within one song? Sounds messy, but it worked perfectly.
Nahko & Medicine for the People with their eclectic mix of music with a social concious at the Electric Ballroom, Camden, London (Andy Sampson)
A violin intro from Tim then led us into the world of reggae with the wonderful spaced feel of Great Spirit, and the powerful Warrior People with its messages around equality and the treatment of native Americans. And of course in amongst all this there’s space for Aloha ke Akua, which has the whole crowd singing with hands aloft throughout. There’s even space in there for a bit of R&B with Blackstreet’s No Diggety thrown in for good measure.
Nahko & Medicine for the People with their eclectic mix of music with a social concious at the Electric Ballroom, Camden, London (Andy Sampson)
So I’m sure by now you would have got the message. Musically eclectic, with a spirit of community, social change and belonging to the planet is what the band are all about. And live they translate this into a properly entertaining set that never seems like its preaching, but makes you think about things in the best possible way. By putting a smile on your face. Job done.
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Nahko and Medicine for The People
Live Review & Photography by Andy Sampson at the Electric Ballroom on 21 January 2016
Andy has his own great site here: www.soundritual.co.uk
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