Ezra Collective do not believe in Mondays. When they took to the stage at the 3Olympia Theatre on Monday the 11th of November, they informed the audience that in their world of afrobeats and jazz, Mondays do not exist. Instead, every show of theirs is to be treated like it’s a Friday night.
As each member of the troop appeared on stage, there was a tangible energy which emerged from the audience, almost as though there was an unspoken understanding of what was to be shared between the people in the room for the next hour and a half. Drummer and band-leader, Femi Keleoso, acknowledged this early in the show as he came to the front of the stage to address the audience, instructing everyone to turn to the person next to them and introduce themselves. He asserted that even in such a historic venue, it remains true that the power of performance comes from the people who are receiving it.
Ezra Collective are currently touring their aptly-titled album, Dance, No One’s Watching. The crowd emulated this message throughout the evening as they buzzed in a constant state of motion, moving with the band’s music. The group were not interested in a slow build as they launched into the beginning of their set like it was the encore. From the outset, the members displayed a clear sense of excitement as they darted around the stage and laughed together. Whilst the music would slow down, it rarely came to a halt, with each song blending seamlessly into the next. The most muted moments of the night arrived when each member played a solo on their respective instruments. The band’s bassist, TJ Koleoso, delivered the stand-out solo of the evening as he lulled the audience into an attentive submission by slowing his playing down to produce a hypnotic rhythm, before building again and whipping the crowd into a frenzy of yelling and dancing.
As the set neared the end, Femi Keleoso took to the stage once again, this time to express the group’s gratitude and preach the message of joy. He told the audience that regardless of what life looks like outside the venue, we can all access joy through the experience of live music. The band concluded their set with one of their most popular releases, ‘God Gave Me Feet For Dancing’, and from the energy in the room, it was clear that the audience had received the group’s message, giving themselves over to this feeling of joy and embracing the freedom that can result from live music.
