Nikki Glaspie & the Homies @ The Mint
Few of us boast cooler friends than Nikki Glaspie, who knows all sorts of cool “cats” across the music industry.
With 10+ friends in tow, ranging from horn players to guitarists to vocalists, Glaspie brought a big sound to this tiny little venue. This marked the sixth gathering of Nikki Glaspie and the Homies, a collection of venerated musicians Glaspie’s met and jammed with over the years. Glaspie began the project through her work with the Harold Robinson Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing opportunities to underprivileged youth in Los Angeles.
“At the first show, Verdine White of Earth Wind and Fire showed up,” Glaspie said, who still seemed in disbelief. “I kinda put the pressure on myself to make it better because that’s the whole goal of life: get better.”
In honor of Black History Month, Glaspie chose a setlist appropriate for the occasion – funky, resilient, and unapologetically celebratory. Selections ranged from Donny Hathaway to
Their sound is marvelous and Glaspie makes for a fantastic MC, who shares bits and pieces about her song selections in-between each: “You all know Schoolly D? Then you know Billy Paul.”
She and her assembled musicians are as entertaining to watch as they are to hear. In the midst of a jam, you’ll see guitarist Ariza twisting his face at Glaspie or Amanda Brown and Monogem exchanging a look after a well-hit vocal riff. You realize that these musicians have as much fun, if not
The Mint provides an ideal spot for Nikki and the Homies, who thrive off of the audience’s enthusiasm as much as their own. It feels as if you’re as much a part of the Homies as the rest of them, a rare but nonetheless amazing aspect of live music. Even for someone as accomplished as Glaspie, she still says her best moments happen not in stadiums but in venues like this.
This weekend, Nikki will take her Homies to New Orleans for the first time, sure to be one for the ages if it’s anything like LA’s.