NANÉ FINALÉ!
NANÉ IS GOING TO BE BIG. Phew, okay. God didn’t smite me for saying that. I said nearly the same thing about a local act TC Superstar a few weeks ago, and I meant it, though these bands are as different as cotton candy and a polychrome tiger.
Nané is a 5 piece. Vocalist. Guitarist. Keys. Bass. Drums. Their debut show was on one of the first days of January earlier this year at Stay Gold. I can’t be bothered to fact check this, but at the very least, it feels like Nané has already played close to a dozen shows since their gilded entry onto the Austin music scene. Appearing at respected venues, Nané has been taking Austin by storm with a groovy, sexy, funky rock blitzkrieg. If you’ve been to one of their shows, you’ve witnessed something powerful.
The boys x Anne-Marie Halovanic
Where does Nané derive its power? It’s not the accent over the e (although Nane, as in “inane,” would be a shitty band name). It’s not the incredibly talented musicians --more on that in a bit-- and it’s not Daniel Sahad’s deeply impassioned vocals either. Nané’s real source of power flows from Daniel’s impressive mane of curly lion locks that prosper on his head. Just kidding, the answer is actually a combination of the former. Nané is the rare unity of great musicians and a talented vocalist with a unique stage presence. It is for this reason that I propose we petition to place Nané on the national endangered species list, so that they may receive a detail of bodyguards from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service on their future tours.
First of all, Nané has CHOPS. Beneath the fun, dancey atmosphere of their shows, it’s apparent that Nané is not fucking around when it comes to their instruments. Bass player, Scott McIntyre, and drummer, Brady Knippa, both play for Big Wy’s Brass Band. Keys player, JaRon Marshall, plays with the Black Pumas. They’ve seen their fair share of crowds. Brady and JaRon typically have broad smiles on their faces for the duration of a Nané show. You know why they’re smiling? It’s because they're that comfortable with their instruments. Guitarist Ian Green notably belonged to the not-not-legendary Arctic Monkeys cover band, the Mardy Bums. He was born with perfect pitch, but his iconic guitar face and keen taste for solos- he earned that shit. Well, that about eats up my private detective budget for this quarter. Who cares where they came from? For example, during Nané’s formation, they could have dug Scott up from an ancient tomb, plucked him from a tree, or found him washed ashore on some destitute beach with a seagull eating seaweed out of his hair. The basslines and the funk speak for themselves. Thank you Scott. Thank you Nané.
Now, to Daniel, Nané’s singer. At the moment, Daniel Sahad is more man than myth BUT likely not for long. We analysts at the Culture Capital think tank believe that by year end 2020 it is very likely that Daniel eclipses his current status and evolves, becoming more myth than man. Please refer to figure 1A.
Author’s plotted depiction of the Daniel Sahad Man to Myth Theory (We are here).
I want to emphasize that this is indeed a feat in Daniel Sahad’s case because he already is a whole lot of man. I didn’t bring my measuring tape to watch Nané play the stage at the Aviator Nation shop on South Congress earlier this month, but I got the impression that Daniel Sahad is 7’ 4” tall and could swallow most lead singers whole. I promise we’ll talk about Daniel’s insane singing capabilities in a moment but HAVE YOU SEEN HIS HAIR?!
“Music scene is crazy
Bands start up each and every day
I saw another one just the other day
A special new band
I don’t remember lying
I don't remember a line
I don't remember a word
But I don't care
Don’t care
I really don't care
Did you see the drummer's singer’s hair?”
-Pavement
Ok, I kid. What Daniel really brings to the table is a rare talent. He’s a heavyweight blues vocalist with a wide range and a raspy falsetto which helps Nané make things steamy when they need to. The lowest hanging fruit to compare to his vocal ability would be Brittany Howard of the Alabama Shakes, and the comparison does a disservice to neither of them.
Daniel Sahad x Anne-Marie Halovanic
So what do you get with all this talent, the presence of a powerful frontman, and fun live shows full of dancing? You get sticking power. And Nané’s got it.
You need to see them live because:
it’s exciting
they haven’t released any music
they maybe won’t until 2020 !
in 2020, in the history of the world, it will never have been so late.
I think I was supposed to be writing a show write-up for their performance at Aviator Nation (note from the editor: he was). I don’t really feel like it. If you really want to know what the live experience is, and I hope if you’ve read this far, you do, then go see Nané Cool play Hot Summer Nights on July 26th with Indoor Creature and Mamahawk. It’s free. If free ain’t your thing, they’re also playing Stubbs on July 31st with Proxima Parada.
P.S. Stay tuned and follow @nanetheband on instagram for a big announcement coming next week.