How was I not hip to Mandrill? Sure, I'd heard the name spoken reverently by fans of old-school funk and soul and had passing familiarity with hits such as "Fencewalk" and "Mango Meat," but somehow I'd missed out on the snap-tight, brass-fueled 10-tet led by the Dominican-born, Brooklyn-raised Wilson brothers. Last night on Hollywood Beach, headlining the weekend's seventh annual Clambake, the mega-influential, monkey-monikered multiculturists put on a two-hour master's class in rhythm and groove that marks them as more than than a match for better-known contemporaries such as War, Tower of Power, Chicago and Rare Earth. It was hardly an exercise in nostalgia, either; the band sounds fresh and timeless, not only thanks to the addition of a (very unobtrusive) turntablist, as well as a rap performance by Lou Wilson's son, One Sun Lion Ra, but also because these cats were ahead of their time, pioneers of world-music and funk, and they play it like they still mean it.
The Wilson brothers, who formed the band in 1968, remain on the front line and cut quite a figure: Carlos dancing around the stage with his trombone slung over his shoulder; zebra-shirted Lou handling most of the lead vocals, blasting trumpet and trilling flute; Ric with a spray of gray dreadlocks cascading from a topknot blowing sax; and the cigar-chomping Wilfredo bopping away on congas and percussion. The ecstatic horns upped the excitement with unison lines, and vocal harmonies were as tight as you'd expect from a band of brothers, especially on the close-sung "House of Wood," which they dedicated to their granddad, and even an a cappella novelty ditty about a housefly gleefully shitting on everyone and everything.
A superb band, including original guitarist Omar Mesa, lent dynamic support, with particularly energetic drumming and Hammond B3 helping drive the action. Tunes such as the above-mentioned "Fencewalk" and "Mango Meat," as well as stone-cold acid-funk workouts on "Peace and Love," "Rollin' On" and "Polk Street Carnival" kept audiences smiling and dancing in the sand and on the dance floor in front of the stage.
For more on the band, check out Mandrillis.com. And for sure, next time they come to town, be sure to be in the house.
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