The crowd was swaying, the disco ball was spinning, and eight shaggy-haired performers in flowing garments sang their hearts out and played their instruments with an infectious enthusiasm that made everyone want to let the sunshine in, despite the late hour. And no, we're not talking about a revival of
Hair.
The Phenomenal Handclap Band brought their funkadelic sermonizing to Santos Party House for the record release party of their self-titled debut.
Despite the shortness of their set, the collective brought together orchestral coordination, all the spirit and technical proficiency of their album and a ton of joyous presence to make everyone in the audience a believer. Looking like they just stepped off the Magic Bus and sounding like the hits of the last fifty years just went through a successful session of "Will it Blend?" the Phenomenal Handclap Band puts on a live show not to be missed. It was almost mesmerizing enough to make us forget the conspicuous absence of handclaps. Perhaps a name change is in order: "The Phenomenal Tambourine Experience"?
Although a moment of silence for the King of Pop brought us out of the timeless haze to remind of the day's big tragedy, the rest of the show provided an appropriate tribute to what we love about music. Keep your eyes out for Baeble's footage of the show. As a preview of what's to come, check out our
album review and
photos from the night. -
Nina Mashurova
Phenomenal Handclap Band on Tour
7/2 - Club Yo Yo @ Notting Hill Arts Club - London
7/3 - Fabric - London
7/4 - Wireless Festival - London
7/5 - Wireless Festival - London
7/6 - UK RECORD RELEASE PARTY at PURE GROOVE - London
7/7 - Start The Bus - Bristol
7/9 - The Deaf Institute (Drowned in Sound) - Manchester
7/11 - Bilbao BBK Festival - Bilbao
7/12 - Oxegen Festival - Dublin
7/13 - iTunes Festival - The Roundhouse - London
7/14 - Borderline - London
7/15 - Tabernacle - London
7/20 - Latitude Festival - Suffolk
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The Phenomenal Handclap Band on Myspace