Danny Michel returned to entertain another full house at the Slice, Tuesday, July 23, but took a backseat role to show off his friends the Garifuna Collective who have been touring with him this summer.
They took turns playing two songs each, with either Michel or various members of the Garifuna Collective singing lead.
Together they exuded good vibes and happiness, proving music is a universal language even if you can’t understand the lyrics.
The Garifuna Collective provided a cornucopia of of toe tapping rhythm and a plethora of percussion as they included three drummers (two on hand drums and one behind a drum kit), two guitarists, a funky bassist and two percussionists who played literally every bell and whistle there is plus a couple things seldom ever seen, namely a jawbone and even cooler— turtle shells.
The turtle shell player had four different sized shells attached to a rack and struck and scraped them with drum sticks to evoke an array of different percussive sounds.
All of them sang and howled beautifully together, giving the room a folk fest drum circle vibe.
Even Michel took up a jawbone for one of their songs and then left the stage to completely to let them do their thing. “Lethbridge is the only place people danced at my solo shows,” he noted as he exhorted the crowd to get on their feet and dance as the band came all the way from Belize to play for them.
Everyone beamed and laughed and played on.
Michel with his stunning tenor voice had nailed that Paul Simon sound which eerily echoed Simon’s ‘Graceland’ ‘Rhythm of the Saints’ era sound while backed by the Garifuna Collective.
He did play a lot from his latest CD “Blackbirds Are Dancing Over Me,” which he recorded with the Garifuna Collective in Belize.
“Sad and Beautiful World” was one of Michel’s highlights, though he didn’t play a lot of his older catalogue, preferring to let the Garifuna Collective shine.
“What Colour Are You” was a crowd favourite which drew a lot of dancers to the front of the stage.
