Bayboro’s Coquina Club welcomed a trio of talented bands for a free weekend concert on March 2 sponsored by the Harborside Activities Board.
Headlining the event was Mighty Mongo, a four-piece with local roots that has recently struck out onto the national music scene. The band, describing its sound as a fusion of rock, punk and ska, has gathered quite a following in the Tampa Bay area, and will be playing a good leg of the Van’s Warped Tour this summer.
Joining Mongo for the performance at Bayboro were opening acts Danfield and Assemble the Skyline. Danfield, a local three-piece, initiated the night with their unique blend of groovy, multi-genre rock. Songs ranged sporadically from funk and alternative rock to ska and even country, all of them riddled with randomly inserted dreamy jams.
Assemble the Skyline, a visiting L.A. band whose members included a couple of St. Pete natives, also made a worthy addition to the show, emitting a solid barrage of Blink 182 inspired pop-punk rock.
Mighty Mongo topped off the evening with a lively and raucous performance. Their playful interchange of male and female dual vocals layered over a backdrop of reggae and punk rhythms made for a refreshing soundscape, one that called to mind radiating sunlight and the roll of ocean waves. All three bands managed to create a highly engaging and down to earth experience that kept the crowd shaking and swaying along throughout the evening for a musically induced good time.
For those interested in experiencing first hand, Mighty Mongo will be hopping onto the Van’s Warped Tour at the Boston show in July and finishing out at Portland in August. Their high-energy presence and unique sound will be sure to please the ears of more music-lovers this summer and swell the ranks of their fan-base. In the meantime, you can catch them and Danfield playing at a multitude of local shows, the dates of which are listed on their respective Facebook pages.
File photo by Daniel Mutter
I attended this concert. Things got weird.