Concert Review: The Very Best

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Tuesday evening, the Observatory in Santa Ana hosted The Very Best, and our beloved station, KX FM 104.7, offered to liven up my week with the chance of meeting these literal beams of sunshine. Even if you aren’t a The Very Best super fan, almost everyone has heard “Warm Heart of Africa”, featuring Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig. Like “Warm Heart of Africa”, every song in their set was not only quirky but genuinely heartfelt, a trait usually lost in upbeat music. They spent the night not only promoting songs from their new album Makes a King but inviting the crowd onto the stage and ordering shots for the audience.

With Seye Adelekan’s London timbre and Esau Mwamwaya’s Malawian accent, their introductions alone made it clear that this is not your run-of-the-mill indie band. Grunge band tees and scene haircuts are a thing of the past. Seye’s top hat and groovy bellbottoms, alongside Johan Hugo’s henna-decorated bare chest, visually set the tone for their music, equally unique and inviting.

Being such a small venue, the atmosphere, as one of the band members pointed out, was more similar to that of a family jam session. Conversation flowed easily between the performers and the audience, even when we weren’t bouncing around with them on stage. Unlike a family jam session, however, the audience encourage nearly all of the band members to take off their shirts and they happily obliged. Seye Adelekan on guitar

Justin Taylor killing it on Bass

And most importantly, the music was fantastic. Sometimes you see a band live and, despite your adoration for their discography, you want your hard-earned money back. The Very Best, however, sounded almost exactly like their recordings, save for the jokes told between verses and boost in energy.

If you have the chance, see The Very Best live for their enthusiastic performance, if not for the shots. And if you still haven’t checked them out, a song off of their latest album is below or you can listen to them on KX FM 104.7!

Check out Morning Show host Tyler Russell‘s interview with one of the founding members of The Very Best, Johan Hugo, below. They chat about his unique pairing with Malawian singer Esau Mwamwaya to make one of the coolest sounding bands right now.