Cymande Keeps It Real at the Aladdin Theater

There’s no reason Sunday night’s sold-out performance by Cymande, the British soul-funk band whose fierce and spiritual ’70s albums have provided the backbone for four decades of hip-hop producers, should have felt underwhelming. The band, which featured original members bassist Steve Scipio and guitarist Patrick Patterson, were solid as could be, sailing through classic material like the wiggly wonder that is “Bra” and a colorful, smoldering medley of “Rickshaw” and “Dove” that could’ve soundtracked the arrival of the mothership in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. But as lovely as it was to watch these performers having a ball, something about the overall show was unshakably unsatisfying.

Environmental circumstances could be to blame. Sold-out shows at the Aladdin Theater, especially those in which you want to move your feet, can be a trial. Squeezing into the space in front of the stage that isn’t in the fire lane is already uncomfortable but was made even more so on Sunday as the indoor temperature tipped into the lower 60s from the outdoor 50s, where Portlanders don’t know how to dress comfortably. (The less said about some audience member’s obvious distrust of deodorant, the better.) And the balcony can be a chore when it’s packed with people, some of whom kept up a habit of getting up and dancing in front of their seats during the songs that they liked before plopping back down again.

None of this is the fault of the band—who deserve to be playing sold-out shows everywhere they go—or the venue or its staff. The audience doesn’t deserve full blame either, as they were doing exactly what concertgoers are supposed to do: get out and have a good time. This one might just be a personal problem. With a better attitude and some lighter clothing, this reviewer would have no doubt had the time of his life.