8 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, November 16, 2005
ARTS
Courtesy of FIBX
Bob Mould will perform tonight at the Ark.
Husker Du's Mould
peforms in Ann Arbor
By Lloyd Cargo
Daily Arts Writer
Bob Mould has finally begun to
get the recognition he deserves as
one of the best songwriters of the last
20 years. Most famous as a member
CONGOLESE BAND HITS THE ARK
By Kimberly Chou
Daily Arts Writer
Feverish dancing took over The Ark's main floor
Monday night - bodies twist-
ing and gyrating, krumping and
popping, doing a little cha-cha. ongoNO1s
There was no room for inhibi- Konono N01
tions: People danced with unem- At The Ark
barrassed enthusiasm as moves
from the other side of the world
collided with this one, transforming the crowd into a
sea of violently shaking hips, bobbing heads and clap-
ping hands.
Not bad for an audience whose members, for the
most part, couldn't even understand the words of
the music.
Playing The Ark as a part of their first American tour,
the Congolese Konono N*1 sparked the dance-madness
Monday night with their brand of electrified Bazombo
trance music - traditional Congolese thumb pianos
and drums miked and amplified. Comin' straight outta
Kinshasha, the group doesn't sound like anything else
around here - it's nearly impossible to describe who or
what the music sounds like. Further complicating mat-
ters, Konono's members sing in their own dialect. The
few words and phrases of English they used include
"Dance!" and "Konono is number, number one!"
Konono N*1's music has a familiar, comforting qual-
ity. The twangy sound of likembes, or thumb pianos,
turn into strong bell tones when amped, and the upright
drums, bells and miniature drum kit create distinct and
sharp metallic sounds that are decidedly homemade.
The bell set is four cowbells welded together, and the
drum kit is only a snare and high-hat made out of spare
car parts; Konono N*1's sticks of choice aren't exactly
Vic Firth - they're iron or wooden rods. The simplic-
ity and purity of Konono's means, topped with assertive
vocal harmonies, creates music that can be appreciated
without comprehending the words.
Konono N took the stage as a motley crew - one
likemb6 player was decked out in a leather-zip jacket
and DuPont racing cap; the male vocalist wore an over-
sized black trench coat over a flame-patterned bowl-
ing shirt. Monday night's lineup included a male and
a female vocalist, percussionists and three thumb pia-
nists. Launching immediately into a song with pulsing
toms and syncopated likembe melodies, Konono N*1
played nearly non stop for over an hour. Their lead sing-
er punctuated the set with sporadic whistle blasts and
shouts of "Yeah!" and "Dance, dance, dance!," akin
to an over-zealous traffic officer, backed by primitive
percussion.
It was hard to tell whether Konono's songs all blend-
ed together or if their hour-long set and encore actu-
ally consisted of three or four songs total, sort of like a
Congolese Phish. Though it seems difficult for nonfans
of Bazombo trance music to sit through so much for
so long, the majority of the audience soon succumbed
to the group's addictive and danceable beats. The few
who first hit the floor quickly multiplied as the two lead
vocalists danced up a storm on stage: While the trench-
coat-wearing leader did more of a James Brown-style
number with step-show moves, his female counterpart
was busy shakin' it as if connected to a generator.
Even after more than an hour of thumping Congo-
lese-electronic fusion, the audience was unwilling to
let Konono N*1 go. They mobbed one teenage likembe
player and another old enough to be his grandfather, the
last remaining members onstage. Clearly enjoying one
of his first U.S. rock-star moments, the younger man
soaked it up, slapping hands with everyone; the small,
serious old man shook hands with the crowd.
A refreshing take on traditional Congolese music,
the successful sound of Konono N*1 will do more
than support the current pop notion that cross-cultural
music is suddenly "trendy." Still, compared to Konono
N*1's audience-riling ability, even with all that galang-
galanging, M.IA.'s got nothing on this.
of punk-pantheon
Mould has since
lific solo career,
written scripts
for professional
wrestling and led
alt-rock pioneers
Sugar. His most
recent release
was the well-
received Body of
Song, which saw
band Husker Du,
led a fairly pro-
Bob Mould
Today
8 p.m.
The Ark
him returning to the guitar-oriented
sound of his first solo album, Work-
book, after 2003 electronica experi-
ment Modulate. He'll further strip
that sound at The Ark tonight, where
he will perform a rare solo show.
After three months of touring with
a four-piece band, Mould expressed
excitement over the opportunity to
play alone. "There are some songs
that translate to the solo setting bet-
ter than others, but a lot translate
well. I'm looking forward to being
able to delve deeper into my cata-
logue," he said.
His latest, Body of Song, has
been called a return to form after
an ill-received electronica phase,
but Mould maintains that electron-
ic music and his monthly DJ gig in
Washington, D.C. are still some-
thing he's very interested in.
"Just spinning other people's songs
and seeing how they fit together
informs (sic) how I write, so I was
influenced by that stuff constantly."
On the response to Body of Song,
Mould commented, "the album is a
continuation of the electronic colors
I was using on Modulate, but the
guitars are more forward; perhaps a
little more familiar to my previous
work."
Mould is also an ardent Inter-
net supporter: "I was a pretty early
adopter of the Internet, and I had a
sense it would change everything."
Mould has a popular blog at modu-
late.blogspot.com that he claimed
has "built goodwill and trust with
my fans" and "will be a practical
link to fans, and a great way to cir-
cumvent the record label in times of
trouble."
Mould also made sure to warn
University students, "The Internet
is the world's biggest time-waster.
Between porn and downloading
music, you will never get any work
done," he said.
Tonight is an opportunity to catch
Mould at an intimate venue where
you can expect to hear songs from
throughout his impressive career. It's
not often the punk legend steps out
from behind his veil of wailing gui-
tars and showcases his talents as a
songwriter. Mould boldly promises,
"At the very least you will walk out of
the show humming and having bought
a few CDs."
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TREVOR CAMPBELL/Daily
Frontman Ville Vallo of Finnish goth-romance rockers HIM sings during their performance at the State Theatre
Saturday night In Detroit.
Jinf
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