SambaDá turned up the heat at the Blue Lamp
Mon, Jan 11th 2010

Going into the Blue Lamp on Friday night, the bouncer underwent his normal procedures of checking IDs and collecting cover fees. Noticing my notebook, he asked, “Is this your first SambaDa show? You are not going to need a book, I can guarantee that.” Although not a book for reading, it was difficult to find a moment when I even wanted to stop to take some notes. The energy surged from the very first beat. The Band's collage of instruments was fascinating, from large gourd shakers covered in shells, to tambourines and triangles. These supplemented the bass, guitar, and overwhelming amounts of percussion instruments, which are the backbone to almost all of their songs. The audience was instantly drawn in. From swayers, to bouncers, to fancy foot workers, not a person in the room could resist the urge to move. As the night went on, the energy grew higher with the band setting the precedent by continually rocking their own moves. The essence of the music can be described as Afro-samba-funk, but they by no means stuck to that genre. Add in some reggae, hip-hop, and even a moment of surf rock, in which the lead vocalist did “the swim” and my friend turned to me and said, “Wait, I’m confused.” For the most part, SambaDa's multi-genre integrations and transitions are so natural that trying to classify each one serves to be an obsolete task. One thing for certain is the rhythm and the beat never let up. The vocals produce a gorgeous harmony; the lead singers, Papiba Godinho and Dandha Da Hora complement each other to perfection. Sean O’Callaghan, a fellow concert-goer, heard about the show from a friend. O’Callaghan said he wakes up to a James Brown song every morning and said that he “expected to funk [his] ass off tonight.” He personally admitted that if the band had some horns, he would be in heaven. “Drums and bass only go so far for me,” said O’Callaghan. SambaDa threw in some surprises with their song set. “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson, “Come Together” by the Beatles, and some Bob Marley, gave the crowd that blissful moment of recognition. The grand finale was spectacular. The band was right there with the audience through call and response, and invited us to wrap our arms around each other and sway in harmony. Their overarching messages of community and peace shined through the soul of their music. If you missed SambaDa this time, they will be touring back through Sacramento in March, promoting their new CD, “Gente” to be released in late February.