The Austin Music Minute has gushed about these cats before, and chances are good it’ll happen again. A band like Hard Proof Afrobeat continuously blows me away. I’ve seen them in just about every sort of venue imaginable, from the larger places they seem to take over with their mammoth sound, to the tiniest of stages where the nine-piece band is crammed rather tightly without much moving space but rocking the room just as hard. No matter what size the venue is, their performances are always golden.
They’re one of the few groups in Texas that plays African funk – arguably one of the only bands in Texas to do so, with a well-executed hybrid of funk and jazz inspired by the sounds out of sub-Saharan Africa, and rhythmic drumming originating from Southern Nigeria. Every element they incorporate, from the multiple horns, melodies and rhythms to the percussion, borrows a lot from the style of Afrobeat pioneer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Fela Kuti.
One of the best places to catch a Hard Proof Afrobeat show is at The Continental Club, 1315 S. Congress Ave., which is where you can see them perform tomorrow night. They hit the stage at 10:30 p.m. And don’t think you’re gonna be sitting down for this show. You’ll be up and moving to the massive grooves. Recommended.
