Don't change Don Chani: Good thing they're headlining (they're a tough act to follow. Watch the video below.)
Don Chani is a busy band: for the last two weeks they've been out on the road playing a show every night. They've traveled as far as Madison, Wisconsin, and as close as Galveston, Texas. In the past, they've been regulars at the Austin Reggae Festival as well as played with reggae giants Eek a Mouse and The Skatalites. The first time I saw them was with Sister Carol at The Boiler Room back in December. Don Chani did what so many opening bands should do but don't: they played with the excitement and intensity of a headlining band. It sounds obvious, but so many bands fall short with a safe, technically accurate but not anything spectacular performance. Don Chani is the antithesis of a mediocre opener, and I just had to see what they could do in a headlining spot.
You can always tell if a band is on or not, and these guys have been dead on both times that I've seen them. They had such a good onstage vibe going that there were girls dancing at the front of the stage before they struck the first chord. Once they started, the dance floor was immediately populated by shouting fans unafraid to crowd the stage. How is that possible on a Sunday night? Simply put, Don Chani's music and stellar performance just make you feel good.
Every member is a multi-instrumentalist or vocalist, and they're all so good at everything they play it's hard to tell what their main instruments are. Their collective, increasingly boisterous energy on stage brought the weekend festivity to the Boiler Room on an otherwise average weeknight. Rhythm guitarist Mike Franklin is fascinating to watch: the way he moves across the stage to jam with his various band mates created an interesting sideshow for us to enjoy. Every time he moved to the right, he'd coax a wilder piano line out of keyboardist Matt Jacobs (a solid vocalist and melodica player). When he moved to the left, Erick Bohorquez's guitar riffs would suddenly move into more risque territory with an enthusiastic crescendo. Bassist Nico Sanchez egged them on, playing aggressively funky at times, at other times carrying the weight of the world on his bass. Richly textured reggae rhythms, superbly delivered by drummer Dr. Dubbist (aka Jacob Benenate), are perfectly blended with the subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle Latin grooves. Chris Nerren's astonishing array of percussion instruments adds yet another array of unusual colors to their already varied musical palette. His voice fuses in perfect harmony with lead singer/guitarist/dancehall veejay extraordinaire Mark Shaddock and Erick Bohorquez.
Throughout the whole show, I couldn't get over the amount of energy and enthusiasm that Don Chani puts out. There are hardly any breaks between songs: instead, they play these sublime interludes that last just long enough to get you interested. Then, with a sudden tempo change they begin a completely different song, leaving you wanting more. I felt like that the entire show, always wanting to hear how they would transition into a completely different realm in a mere matter of seconds. They play with the poise and assurance of well-seasoned musicians, jumping between genres with ease.
How did such a lineup assemble? Just what are they putting in the water down in Austin? According to their myspace page, Don Chani formed as most bands do: a group of friends with similar tastes got together and started making music. Lead guitarist and vocalist Erick Bohorquez said he and lead vocalist Mark Shaddock met at Greenshores on Lake Austin, calling it "a magical place where we fused reggae with Latin and harmonies of our voices. It sort of grew from there to include other members." Don Chani currently has two CDs available: From the Hilltops and a dub version Dub the Hilltops. Their next two shows are in Austin, but hopefully they'll make it back to Denton sooner rather than later. After all, as the many fans yelled last night "Denton loves you!"
