For those of you die-hard football fans who are already getting psyched for Super Bowl XLIX, you have another opportunity you can take advantage of before the big game — free, live music. And for those who are just apathetic about sports, I assure you, there will be something to do this week that’s much more exhilarating than waiting to sit on a couch all day and watch those wacky Super Bowl commercials.
An event called Pepsi Hyped For Halftime, which is part of the Verizon Super Bowl Central Party, is featuring a number of bands scheduled to perform back-to-back for free right at Washington and 2nd streets through Super Bowl Sunday.
The event started Wednesday, but you can still get your fill of jazz, R&B, cumbia, afrobeat and many other genres. This Saturday, especially, will be jam-packed with some of the grooviest music from bands like Morris Alan, Phoenix Afrobeat Orchestra and last but not least, The Roots.
It’ll be the best of both worlds, considering local bands are playing alongside well-recognized groups from different states.
The concerts are surrounded by many Super Bowl related attractions, such as autograph signing and the Grand Canyon Experience rock wall event. It is estimated that a total of about one million people will show, according to azsuperbowl.com.
It’s exciting to see that so many bands from the downtown area are performing for such a commercially large event as this one. After all, these local musicians have the chance gain more recognition at home because people come in from all over Phoenix, in addition to the local crowd downtown.
The other night I had the pleasure of talking with the founder of Phoenix Afrobeat Orchestra, Dave Marquez, among some of the group’s other members. PAO consists of more than 10 members and is local to downtown; they just played at the True DTPHX show at Civic Space Park Saturday.
People are definitely in for a treat because the Afrobeat genre — a mix of jazz, funk, and African and Nigerian influence — is not as widely known as other styles like rock and metal, but it is very intriguing.
“I think our music’s special in that it reaches out to so many different kinds of people,” said Melissa Waddell, who plays the shekere and does artwork for the band. “So many different people can dance to it, whatever your musical background is, whether it be hip-hop or jazz or Afrobeat or some Latin music.”
People should be excited to see this group because they are offering people the chance to have a lot of fun and still be exposed to a totally unique brand of music with so much history behind it.
“What we can do, what we can say, is yes, it’s awesome to dance to this type of music, but it’s also cool to hear some music from the past,” Marquez said. “Like Fela Kuti started this music, and there’s lots of pioneers of Afrobeat music.”
I think a major highlight of Saturday’s lineup will be when The Roots play. I always recognize them as the house band for The Tonight Show, but they are much more than that. When I asked the members of PAO what part of the event they are most excited about, they hardly hesitated before yelling, “The Roots!”
As a fellow drummer, I can really appreciate hip-hop music like this because there’s so much raw artistic expression in the lyrics and the rhythms.
“They are also probably like the most influential band in America too,” said Zach Vogt, PAO’s electric piano player. “They back up Drake or Katy Perry or Gaga. They get seen like five nights a week.”
Even though I don’t know much about the genre, songs by The Roots like “You Got Me” seem to convey real conflicts and situations in a very poetic way, making me thankful that there is still soulful and unique music being produced.
“What The Roots have done is they took some studio mastery in order to get all those sounds from the records. And then they do it live too so when you hear it live, it sounds like two turntables and a microphone but it’s a whole band,” Marquez said.
It’s safe to say that there are many reasons to stop by the Hyped For Halftime show — one being it’s hard to come by shows that are this highly community-oriented, packed full of the most lively performances, all held for free.
Contact the columnist at Oren.Simchy-Gross@asu.edu.
