Nippertown’s premier world music warriors Taina Asili Y La Banda Rebelde charged into the Sanctuary For Independent Media last Saturday to celebrate the release of their debut album, “War Cry,” and it was a full-blown, packed-to-the-max party, to be sure. Actually, it was a double-barreled party – not only a CD release party, but also Asili’s birthday bash.

The explosive six-piece outfit fronted by dynamic vocalist Asili brilliantly fused together a plethora of international musical styles – ranging from Afro-Caribbean beats, Jamaican reggae, American rock, Brazilian samba, Spanish flamenco and urban hip-hop – into a performance that simply defied categorization.

Wrapped around the stage and spilling out into the street, the full-house audience danced wildly, rocking with every beat the band conjured up. Highlights of the evening included an aerial trapeze artist and samba band – complete with two additional drummers and a drop-dead gorgeous South American dancer gyrating to the break-neck rhythms.

Off to the side throughout the evening, artist Marcus Anderson was busy painting a huge canvas that he started during DJ Trumastr’s opening set and completed at the end of La Banda Rebelde’s performance.

If you missed this exquisite spectacle, well, fortunately the super-fine folks at the Sanctuary for Independent Media recorded the audio and video of the performance for a future DVD release.

Review and photographs by Andrzej Pilarczyk. See more of Andrzej’s photos from this show at the Nippertown photo archive.

Tags: La Banda Rebelde, Sanctuary for Independent Media, Taina Asili, Troy