CELEBRATION
NOVEMBER 28, 2007
BOWERY BALLROOM, NEW YORK, NY
WORDS: ALEJANDRO NIETO
PHOTOS: JUAN CLAVIJO

Holy Fuck! Yeah, that's the name of the band that was opening for this Celebration show, and I have to say that they were wonderful. I know I'm supposed to talk about the headliners, but I'd like to start talking about another opening act from a previous show, the Blood Brothers.

About a year ago I had the opportunity to see the bloods and knew Celebration was playing after their set. I was also aware that the singer of Celebration is female, so I stayed. Don't judge me! What's wrong with thinking that the sexiest thing ever is seeing a girl in a rock band? Girls always get the chance to see guys rockin' but we men don't get the privilege very often.

I listened to both bands and I kept thinking to myself: Why are these two bands playing together? They are way too different. Blood Brothers is fast and heavy, and Celebration has, well, a completely different sound. URB Magazine describes them as "a lo-fi American answer to Goldfrapp." While I'm not 100% convinced of that description, it does gives you a sense of their sound.

I had the privilege to see Celebration again at the Bowery Ballroom last week, and it was an eclectic show, one of the best I've ever seen, in fact. The new album, The Modern Tribe, plays beautifully on my iPod, but even better live, where you can experience a sense of family and community from the members of this ultra-tight three-piece band.

Katrina Ford, the lead singer, said it best at the top of the show: "It is good to play NYC! Every time we play here we can have friends join us." She then points to the horn and percussion sections, mostly made of the members of the Brooklyn-based band Antibalas, also collaborators on Celebration's new album.

"Is so good to be here!" screams Ford to the audience, while partners in crime David Bergander (drums) and Sean Antanaitis (Hammond organ, Moog pedal bass, Wurlitzer piano, Guitorgan, guitar, vibes and Mellotron -yeah all together!) take care of the instrumentation. Suddenly, you're deep into Antanaitis' sound and multi-instrumental manipulation, but also in his "back to the audience" stance, which is by the way a must, considering that otherwise he would look like he was hiding behind all those keyboards and equipment. The dude isn't wearing shoes, and he looks like an octopus, playing all those instruments at the same time...

But then there's Ford, who in her own right is almost like her own one-woman band: while she's delivering her amazing vocals, she's also playing a floor tom using a maraca as a drumstick, smashing a tambourine against her hips, and a playing a ride cymbal with a mallet. Ford continues delivering excited banter to the crowd ("It's so nice to have these guys... I wish we can have them every night!") before announcing: "This is "Holiday" from our first record" and the audience go wild and starts to dance with a frenetic feeling and impulsive rhythm. Celebration finishes the first part of their set, and when they come back out for an encore, Ford starts passing around some percussion instruments to the audience... tambourines, maracas... here's this sense of community again... The Modern Tribe is alive! We're done. Let's go back home.