NPR: Video: Hot 8 Live

Video: Hot 8 Live

Filed under: Music, Video

Last week I took the 1 train up to 125th street with BPP newscaster Rachel Martin and sound engineer Josh Rogosin to visit the Urban Assembly School for the Performing Arts. The occasion was a performance by New Orleans' Hot 8 Brass Band, whom Rachel had interviewed earlier in the day. We played a bunch of their music on the show on Friday, but you really want to see a band like this live.

Just for you, we've got the next best thing: crummy video! (Explanation after the jump.)

I wish this thing looked better, but here's my excuse: the band played in the auditorium of Urban Assembly, in front of the entire school. The principal started the assembly by telling everyone to pay attention and sit up straight, and from that moment on it was like I was 14 all over again. And let's just say I was not one of those kids who disobeyed an order from the principal. So even though the band was sitting at a weird angle from my vantage point, and even though flares of sunlight from the window frequently washed out the picture, I kept my butt glued to that seat. Still, you get a sense of the energy the band brings, even though they're sitting still, too.

And anyway, the resulting video sort of reminds me of those YouTube guitar clips where a guy or girl sits in front of a sunlit window with a hat obscuring their face. See? It's a perfectly acceptable artistic choice.

Jacob Ganz

12:53 PM ET | 12-10-2007 | permalink

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