A Kuba Christmas.. in our living room (click for video)

January 1st, 2011 posted by robb

For the past 5 years I’ve been holding a holiday party in the beginning of December, to kick off the festive season.  Last year we brought in a live act to play a blend of electro-jazz during the party. For our 5th Anniversary, we decided to bring it to the next level.

Kuba Oms, a rising soul-rock musician from Victoria BC recently launched “How Much Time”, a full-length album in 2009.  I had the luck of catching him at the Rivoli during the North By North East music festival that same year.  Since then, I’ve been addicted to his catchy blend of soul, rock and pop.

The magic of his music lies in its ability to transcend many genres, resulting in its appeal to virtually anyone.  It’s tough to find someone who wouldn’t groove to a pop track like “Beautiful Uncertainty”; a rocker who wouldn’t dig hooks ala ZZ Top from “Ride On”; or a folkie that wouldn’t feel his heart-felt sentiments from “This Heaven” or “Piece de Resistance”.

When Oms agreed to play an intimate acoustic set in our living room for our holiday party, I knew he would not only blow away some of his biggest fans in Toronto, but also spread his music to 50 other music lovers lucky enough to be there for this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Oms flew in from BC just for the occasion. He walked into a house of people without knowing a single person, except the organizers he spoke to on the phone, and his drummer Rob Chursinoff.  My hat goes off to both of them for the faith that what they walked into wouldn’t be something they’d wished they never did.

Lucky for them, we had a warm welcome ready for them both.  We’d been preparing for them for weeks, applying the simple, yet effective EAT + DRINK = KUBA MERRY approach.

The night began with a spread of food for the guests and musicians, which included:

• Berkshire Meatballs and Sausages (from a farmer in Stratford)
• Devilled Artesian Organic Eggs  (from a farmer in Belleville)
• Vietnamese Cold Rolls
• Kamut flour Pecan and Date Bars
• Rye Apple Cider

With the living room cleared and musicians well fed and liquored up, we were ready to begin.  For this to work, it was imperative that everyone remained silent for the show – and that included the peanut gallery in the back kitchen.  This was especially the case since Oms had no mic or stage.

They started off with a slow and emotive duo, “This Heaven” and “Wherever You Are”, which immediately captured the crowd.  Their attention was undivided, eyes were fixated and not a noise was made other than the 2 resident cats sauntering in the living room to see what the hype was all about.

Once Oms broke into “Beautiful Uncertainty”, currently on the MuchMore Music Countdown, he had won everyone over.  It was time for Kuba to shine.

Here are some clips. Note that this event was filmed, so stay tuned for full HD video to be posted in the new year.

KUBA OMS – “Purple Rain” clip

In the middle of his set, he asked the crowd to participate in “Piece de Resistance”:

Encore – Clip

Weeks after the holiday party, I still hear folks talking about how incredible it was to be introduced to Kuba Oms and see him play in such an intimate space, and those who didn’t make it regretting not coming out.

I personally can’t believe this either. Given his musical talent and recent profile (for example, placing in the top 5 in the Peak Performance Project in 2009), I expected him to put on a good show. He delivered a great show, and one that everyone will remember. What I didn’t expect was how approachable, down to earth and appreciative he was for the entire event.   He not only hung out with everyone after the show, he went so far as joined in on an impromptu wine tasting in the basement by our washer and dryer.  Now that’s classy

This was one party that was not to be missed.  As long as Oms keeps up with his work ethic, positive attitude and heart of gold, it won’t be long until he’ll become a household name.  I’m looking forward to seeing him again sometime soon, hopefully next time with his full band.  Keep your eye out for him and be sure to check him out next time he’s back in Toronto!

The question is, how can we step it up for next year’s holiday party?

REVIEWED BY: ROBB ENG

Section: Reviews

Tagged as: acoustic, christmas 2010, concert, kuba oms, living room party