![\"summer-cut-15-10\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Summer-Cut-15-10.jpg?resize=640%2C427&ssl=1\")
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There were shades of\u00a0James Brown\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Jimi Hendrix<\/strong>,\u00a0<\/strong>a\u00a0soup\u00e7on of Al Green\u00a0<\/strong>and a smidgeon of\u00a0Prince\u00a0<\/strong>as Negrito, real name\u00a0Xavier\u00a0Dphrepaulezz<\/strong>, swept seamlessly from rock to folk, blues, punk, funk and gospel.<\/p>\n To the delight of an equally eclectic audience – preppy university types, afro soul divas, hip hop kids and ageing black-clad Velvets fans (guilty!) – he fully delivered on the promise of the much acclaimed\u00a0The Last Days of Oakland\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>album.<\/p>\n Gripping the assembled throng by the scruff of the neck, Negrito and his talented four-piece backing band, never let go for a second.<\/p>\n Audience participation was not so much encouraged as rendered compulsory as the waist-coated Pied Piper of Black Roots called the tune.<\/p>\n As his keyboard player thrashed his Hammond organ to within an inch of its life, Negrito whirled like a dervish, striking extravagant shapes and leaping skyward\u00a0Pete Townshend<\/strong>-style.<\/p>\n There were a few\u00a0sound problems, most notably at the start of\u00a0Appalachian folk standard\u00a0InThe Pines\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>– covered\u00a0by Lead Belly\u00a0<\/strong>and Nirvana <\/strong>among others – but by then everyone was having too much of a good time to care.<\/p>\n All too quickly\u00a0it was over, Negrito disappearing back stage as his band whipped out their phones to grab videos of the cheering crowd.<\/p>\n The only disappointment was that Bush Hall<\/strong> was only two-thirds full, but then again it felt like we were all in on \u00a0a closely-guarded secret.<\/p>\n A few more shows like this and Fantastic Negrito will not be secret for long.<\/p>\n