The Bamboos - Manning Bar, Sydney (7th May, 2010)

15 May 2010 by Max Easton

With the release of their aptly titled fourth studio record '4', Melbourne funk maestro's The Bamboos made their way to Sydney University's Manning Bar. In turn, Soulshine's Kim Rudner and Max Easton were on ground as witnesses to a night of some of Australia's finest funk and soul.

Before we get started, don't let me kid you; I wasn't exactly keen on heading to the Bamboos. For some reason I'd had this idea in my head that I didn't like them. I figured that they were an over-hyped stack of musicians crammed on-stage with vaguely justified roles and an active PR agency. I was pretty far off the mark. I'd not only judged a book by it's cover, but judged said cover by looking at the book sitting next to it. So it came with great surprise then, that I wasn't sitting in the corner sighing in cynical outbursts, but instead up front and eager for potentially the most energetic set of music I've ever been sober enough to remember. From a whacked-out preconceived notion of dread, the Bamboos managed to turn me into a full-blown, flag-waving, card-carrying, marching member of the Melbourne outfit...and judging from the crowd's reaction on the night, I'm not the only member of said club.

The Bamboos have been doing incredibly well for themselves lately. Managing to slip their tunes into the ears of viewers of Grey's Anatomy and Ugly Betty amongst rave reviews overseas and appearances at Falls and WOMAD, they've been steadily impressing the right people...and they do it the simplest way possible; by being an incredible group of musicians. They're not necessarily doing much new with the funk or soul genre, what they do is succeed in bringing it to a new audience. Much in the way of Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, they've found a way into the hearts of a younger generation. They unearth the groove of a genre that most at the Manning Bar would have been primarily exposed to from period films starring Leonardo Di Caprio and transplant it into their iPods...thereby closing a musical generation gap.

Sure, you say, it's all well and good to say they were awesome and make some sort of half-arsed commentary on the place of Soul in 2010, but what exactly is their appeal? To tell you the truth, I was too busy having a good time to take notes. In the truest of the true sense of the phrase, it's something you have to experience to appreciate, and that's probably the highest compliment you could give them. Whether it's the power behind Kylie Audist's booming vocals, the incredibly tight rhythm and horns section or their ability to start and finish with all guns blazing is unimportant. What is important is that their live show seems to consistently be touted as one of the better nights out you can have on the town, and as a funk band, I'd say that achieving that should pretty much be your primary goal in life. 

The Bamboos are very quickly climbing the ranks of musical circles and they're no longer a well kept secret. Ultimately, that means it's high-time that you get out and see them for yourself while they're still playing modest venues, which is most definitely the surrounds they're most suited to. 

Whilst their Australian tour has just come to a close, you can get a taste of the Bamboos on their most recent album '4', out now on Tru Thoughts. 

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