The growing popularity in hip hop and all things related has seen The Basement as more than just a venue for live jazz and lounge.

I arrived at about 11 PM, and Kid Confucius were just finishing up to a lively crowd.

After a rather long soundcheck, Son Veneno came on at midnight. I am surprised that 11 people and about the same in number of instruments fitting on a small stage. The first track started off with a Star Wars theme that got everyone dancing. The three singers (Maya Jupiter, Rebecca and this guy (penny Drop?) had the crowd going with their singing and rhyming.

All the songs they played were original. “Mama Cita” from Maya’s album (“Today”) showed off her MC’ing skills. It was
smooth, rhythmic, natural and fast! She sounds great on her album, but live it is even better.

They launched into Move and got everyone to sing along. It was fast, it was happening. Maya and Rebecca are dancing salsa on stage. A slow number followed and this is where I realise a large part of the latino community has turned up to see Son Veneno. There are couples all around swinging their hips in such a way that they could have only had years of training behind them to do so.

I’ve been to a few gigs that have made comments about John Howard and this was no difference. They called “John Howard- it’s time for a change” and the crowd waved their arms in agreement.

40 minutes in and there is no stopping this energetic soul/funk/hip hop train. Maya’s MCing continues to amaze and the music and singing soulful and fun.

An ozomatli cover is done to big cheers. Then a song written by their pianist, and finally, they invited three guests (King Kapisi if I recall correctly) + two others joining what already is a crowded stage. Guest collaborations are usually a good ending to a gig and this was no different. It’s rather rare in the live band scene to see a band play more than an hour, and they played for 1 hour 15 min! It was such a treat.

I’d never seen Maya perform before, but I know that I’ll definitely go and see her next performance.

Of course, the cheerful and relaxed crowd and the atmosphere of The Basement make it even better. I can’t quite place my finger on it, but you could almost describe it as warm and inviting (the kind that Starbucks would like to be but never could).