Staff Photo by Tim Barber/Chattanooga Times Free Press/ Jan 21, 2011 – Red Bank’S Devontez Slay (5) battles with Howard’s Barry Griffin (5) in first quarter action at Red Bank Friday night.If you go ‘ What: Nightfall concert series featuring Fantastic Negrito. ‘ When: 8 p.m. Friday, July 31; Glowing Bordis opens at 7 p.m. ‘ Where: Miller Plaza, 850 Market St. ‘ Admission: Free. ‘ Phone: 423-265-0771. ‘ Artist website: www.fantasticnegrito.com. ‘ Venue website: www.nightfallchattanooga.com.
The opener Glowing Bordis is a local indie rock trio composed of Chattanooga veterans T.J. Greever (guitarist/vocalist), Jonathan Susman (drummer) and Dan Pinson (multi-instrumentalist). For more information, visit GlowingBordis.com.
Watching the music video that Fantastic Negrito submitted to National Public Radio’s Tiny Desk Contest, it’s not immediately apparent why the San Francisco Bay area band trumped thousands of other entrants this February.
First, there’s the setting: a dirty freight elevator into which lead singer Xavier Dphrepaulezz and his three bandmates have somehow contorted themselves. Then, there’s the general lack of polish, from the lack of lighting to a recording setup so bare-bones it would make a podcaster blush with shame.
But there’s a kind of honesty and energy to the performance that suits such a spartan presentation, and Dphrepaulezz’s raspy vocals and emphatic hand-clapping bring to mind the primal energy of Delta blues legends such as R.L. Burnside and Howlin’ Wolf.