Hailing from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Konono Nº1 delivers the sort of utterly joyous musical experience one rarely hears from contemporary bands (at least, not ones from Africa). The bazombo collective centers its sound around the electronic thumb piano, a traditional Sub-Saharan instrument that, when amplified and distorted, sounds like something you’d hear as background music for a lighthearted Wii game. The rest of the group is fitted with percussion they nabbed from a local junkyard, occasionally piling in whistles, megaphones and a gaggle of other pseudo-instruments best described as “some clangy sound.” Nevertheless, Konono Nº1 possesses such a raw rhythmic attack that it’d be difficult not to fall prey and lose oneself in the band’s persistent raucousness. The group’s newest record, “Assume Crash Position” (which is how the band interprets its name into English), does little to add to its organic techno sound, but the band does join with a couple of buddies from the Congo to add electric bass and guitar. (Andy Seifert)
July 20, Empty Bottle, 1035 North Western, (773)276-3600, 9:30pm. $20.
Last Punks Standing: A Preview of Mekons at Hideout Mekons have endured by refusing to adhere to anyone's ideas regarding what is and isn't punk rock (which is in and of itself a defiantly punk attitude).
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