Kongos Brought The Beat to The Wiltern

Stephanie Hernandez

Hailing from Phoenix Arizona, via South Africa and London, Kongos is composed of four brothers, all sons of famed 1970’s songwriter John Kongos. The band of brothers had had quite the past year, being hit by fame rather quickly after their single, “Come With Me Now” received national airplay. Currently on their “Lunatic Tour” in promotion of their sophomore album of the same name, Kongos made sure to pay Los Angeles’ own Wiltern a visit on March 13.

Brothers Johnny, Jesse, Daniel, and Dylan have been musically inclined since birth. From a young age their father, John Kongos made sure each of his sons was trained to play multiple instruments, but it was not until 1996 that the boys finally came together as an official group. Somewhere in between receiving college educations and 2007, Kongos’ self-titled debut album was released. Though not commercially successful the album allowed the brothers to take the time writing new material and getting their performing chops up to speed.  Their hard work finally paid off in 2012 with the release of “Lunatic.” though initially popular in their home country of South Africa, it took Americans a full two years to catch onto their addicting sound. Both singles, “I’m Only Joking’ and ‘Come With Me Now” charted high and caught the attention of Epic Records, who eventually signed the family act and re-released “Lunatic,” this time around hailing a much larger response. Kongos have been on the road since late January with touring partners Sir Sly an Colony House, artists that were definitely worth arriving early.

Los Angeles was the second to last stop before a jump back to their homes in Arizona. The band’s commanding presence took the stage and held the audience’s attention from the first note to the last reverb. Playing fourteen songs including a rocking cover of The Beatles’ classic, “Eleanor Rigby” left the crowd excited to see what direction the night was going. Rounding out their set with energetic performances of their hit singles, Kongos left the stage feeling good and their fans screaming for more. The crowd’s chanting was eventually appeased with a three-song encore. The boys paid tribute to their father by playing his hit song, “Tokoloshe Man” followed by a dance inducing mash-up of The Beatles’ “Come Together” and Dr. Dre staple, “What’s The Difference,” finally rounding out the night with an inspired cover of New Order’s “Blue Monday.”

Kongos proved themselves a well-oiled machine. Their brotherly instincts and family chemistry made for an extremely tight musical performance with enough spontaneity to feel alive and fresh, and the audience was definitely grateful. Kongos showed off the musical prowess a band can only gain once it has played hundreds of shows and truly knows its strengths. Varied song choices and genre bending covers made the night one for the books, and definitely a highlight of the tour.

The Kongos performed at The Wiltern March 13.