Hard Proof Begins August Residency Tonight at The Continental Club
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Austin-based ensemble Hard Proof is nine members strong. I’ve seen them rocking large venues, and basically starting an earthquake when they’re all tightly crammed onto tinier stages but rocking just as hard. They have a tremendous presence, and their sound is equally as big and brilliant.
They’re one of very few groups in Texas that plays African funk – arguably one of the only bands in Texas to do so. They create a tantalizing hybrid of funk and jazz inspired by the sounds out of sub-Saharan Africa, and rhythmic drumming originating from Southern Nigeria. It’s an explosion of multiple horns, melodies and rhythms that groove and sway, an homage to the revolutionary father of Afrobeat, Fela Kuti.
Hard Proof always puts on an electrifying live show, an absolute blowout of non-stop percussion action and blasting brass, mixing classic styles and plenty of their personal panache to own the show. In Hard Proof’s own words: “Internationally inspired, locally produced.”
Hard Proof starts their August residency at 10 p.m. tonight at The Continental Club, 1315 S. Congress. You can see them play there each Tuesday night this month. And don’t expect to be sitting down the whole time; be prepared to dance. Recommended.
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