There’s nothing like hanging out at my fave (use the whole
word! How much time do you think you’re saving!!!) spot, Moko’s in Ubud. It is
an intimate environment to watch the band play, drink arak mojitos by the jug
and dance on the table as though it is your own living room.
Last night we saw local gig-meisters Aboe, Keydux, Dadok,
Dewa and awesome ‘semangat-power voice’- Hannah take the floor. You can’t help but dance when the crew
play their more than toe-tapping tunes.
But the brilliant thing about these guys is not just Dadok’s
funky bassface and grooving style, or Aboe’s gorgeous smile – as bright and
wide as the sunset on the horizon, or Keydux’s mantap guitar playing and the
funny schoolboy tricks he plays on Dadok, or Dewa’s funny expressions as he
hammers the cajon (watch Hannah’s face when he does this!), or Hannas’s
powerful voice that pulls at your soulstrings;
but it is also that they always leave the microphone open to
random hijackers.
The first celebrity swinger was Olaf. Olaf stepped up to the
microphone, guitar in hand and blew our minds with three original songs. I had
to pick my jaw up off the floor so I didn’t dance on it.
Kum, local artist and famous for his song ‘Take Me Home’,
written in under a week for a fundraiser for the Bali dogs, was passed the
guitar by Aboe during a song. It is this mutual understanding of the love for
songs that I love too.
The highlight of the evening was Mr Khan, or Chuggekhan from
India. I was lucky to see him hijack the band with his castanets last week but
last night’s jam was extra special because he sang as well! The band improvised
an Indian influenced rock song with ease and once again I had to try to keep my
jaw off the floor. Kum and Mr Khan brought the house down with their
interactive, intercultural improvised lyrics while the band had their backs 100%.
If you are visiting Ubud, make sure you check out Mokos. They
don’t mind if you rock up in a green wig and steal the dance floor; they don’t
mind if you dance on the tables; they don’t mind if you want to run random
trivia nights there and stride the bar wearing fake moustaches.
But they do mind if you don’t join the family!
So don’t forget to get down with keluarga Mokos; it’s where
the locals go.
Semangat!
