Thievery Corporation performed a lively set of globally-conscious music at Brooklyn Bowl Philly

About 5-6 years ago, I walked into Brewerytown Beats, and started crate-digging. I picked up an album because it had a really cool cover. I haven’t bought a record based on the cover, maybe ever. It was Thievery Corporation’s Temple Of I&I. The band was from DC, and got their start in 1995. The music was like nothing I’d ever heard: world music with a different singer for every song covering a plethora of genres. I was hooked.

When I saw that tickets were about to go on sale for Thievery Corporation at Brooklyn Bowl, I made sure to grab a pair as soon as they went on sale, knowing that they were sure to sell out. And they did sell out, quickly. If you’ve ever been to Brooklyn Bowl, you know it’s a pretty small venue for this big band. They have 4 singers that rotate throughout the show, and the band are multi-instrumentalists, including a sitar.

The crowd was dancing the entire 2 hours the band played. Everyone had a smile on their face as they were packed like sardines in the small venue. No one cared; they just danced. The band was engaging. The singers gave their all. The energy was high, and it was an incredible show.

Thievery Corporation is a band that creates dub, acid jazz, reggae, Indian classical, middle eastern music, hip hop, Brazilian music, and Bossa Nova, but the common thread throughout their sound is that the grove is constant and paramount.

City of The Sun (NYC instrumental rock band) and Rob Paine of Solomonic Sound System (Roots & Culture reggae DJ) opened the show.