Paa Kow at Globe Hall [Review]
Paa Kow packs a punch at Globe Hall
By Stephanie Esposito
March 28, 2017
I had been waiting a year to catch Paa Kow again after their set at the Big Wonderful and have pretty much been telling people about him ever since. “It’s like an African dance party!” I would say, as my company would emptily nod.
Bridging the gap between traditional Afro-beat music and the “highlife” style with funk and jazz, the band also experiments with psychedelic sounds and dense polyrhythms. They are such a unique and talented band and one not to be missed!
Originally from Ghana, band leader and drummer Paa Kow first came to the United States in 2007 on an invite from CU faculty, to become one of them. He mentioned in an interview that he knew before leaving his home country he needed to form a band, and here he found just that kind of receptive and talented community. While he is the energetic and captivating front man, each member of the By All Means Band is equally talented in their own right.
It was my first time at Globe Hall, so I was very comforted to see “barbecue and dancing” as the tag line on their marquee. While it took a long time to get my drink (and it was kind of terrible), the old style chairs and tables that looked like they came from a church basement were pretty homey. It was also nice to see long pews on the sides of the music hall, and many people were taking advantage by sitting down when we walked in during the set break after The Guestlist.
I wondered if drummer and bandleader Paa Kow was playing with a more stripped down band, as the stage looked VERY tiny and his drums looked huge, taking up almost the whole space. The set, I found out, was designed by Paa Kow in Ghana, made of traditional atumpan and fontomfrom drums. The former is a sacred “talking drum” of West Africa, used to communicate as it is toned to mimic the sounds of their language. They would traditionally make a sacrifice to the tree before cutting it down, but Paa Kow's was made with African Teak. I also gathered that his are much larger than the traditional ones, which can be held in one arm.
It was funny to see everyone walk on and delicately squeeze between each other's instruments and mic stands. The clown-car stage had just enough room for the keyboardist's 4-piece set up behind the guitar player, with a percussionist, bass player (and his dancing) and two horns probably blowing out his ear drums right behind him. I was happy to see all the members from the last time I saw the band and the first song started out on fire right away.
In the back, the trumpet player had a huge solo and it was nice to see him using his sheet music. As someone used to watching jam bands, I liked that the timing and technical aspect of the song was intricate enough to warrant such guidance. Then before the song was over, the keyboard player Solomon Goldbas had a huge solo and made some very unexpected sounds that accented the song in a surprisingly electronic way. My ears perked up and I knew we were in for a really good show.
Sometimes I feel music is so technical that it's hard to dance to, but Paa Kow has curated a very dynamic and still inescapably danceable sound. He is happy using his gift as a musician and he mentioned being free because of music. That energy is palpable when you hear songs in either English that you can understand - catchy tracks “Realize” or “Black and White” - or in his native Fante. While mentioning that he is not trying to be political with his music, he says his favorite place to be is “Earth”, because everything is connected so it's really all the same anyway, and that we should all love each other whether we are related or not.
His second album, 2014's Ask, speaks to the concept of asking for help so people don’t have to suffer, and not just accepting what comes to you. The following album Cookpot is a self-explanatory exploration of how all types of styles are fusing together in Paa Kow's tasteful and nourishing recipe.
While his name means “Thursday born” in his native Ghana, Paa Kow was born to play the drums. From before he could reach the kick drum pedal, when he was putting together his own drums out of cans at the age of 5, to playing with his uncle's band, to playing with the best musicians in Ghana at the age of 14, he has been on a musical journey. Not only is he an insanely intuitive drummer, he can play all instruments and actually writes the bass lines of the songs first.
I wish I could find more information about the other members of the band as they are integral parts of the sound. Tom Ogunribido plays a most celebratory bass, while Jonnie Cohen has a perky and light funky touch on guitar. Peyton Sheffield adds to the explosion of rhythm on stage with hand drums and other percussion. The fabulous brass consists of Joel Michael Timm on trombone with Noah Fulton-Beale and Brad Goode on trumpet.
Please don’t miss their next Colorado show: May 20th at Five Points Jazz Fest at 2pm.