Ozomatli is about as emblematic of the city of Los Angeles as any band that has come around in the last 30 years. The group first came together in East L.A. in 1995 as the result of an attempt to form a local workers union. Together, Wil-Dog Abers, Raul Pacheco, Asdrubal Sierra, Ulises Bella, and Jiro Yamaguchi combined hip-hop, funk, Latin jazz, and Chicano rock with an activist edge, encapsulating L.A.’s eclectic cultural fabric.
Since then, they’ve toured the world, won Grammys, and collaborated with a wide range of musical luminaries, including Chali 2na and Cut Chemist from Jurassic 5 and Tre Hardson of The Pharcyde. But Los Angeles has always been home for Ozomatli, and through the first month-plus of 2024, they took up residence on the west side of town, at The Venice West.
Across four of the first five Fridays of the year, the group presented their Temple of the Monkey extravaganza. The last of those performances featured a flurry of collaborators across two scintillating sets.
Ozomatli opened the proceedings with “Morena”, from the 2003 EP Coming Up, before bumping up toward the present day with “Sacude”, pulled off 2022’s Marching On. Justin Poree, known otherwise as “El Nino,” made his first foray from percussion to the microphone to rap on the anthemic “Saturday Night”. He then ceded vocal duties back to Raul and Asdrubal for “Eva”, one of the many iconic tracks from the band’s eponymous debut album in 1998.
After dropping “Tus Ojos” into the setlist, Ozomatli welcomed their first guest of the night to the stage. Danny Avila, from Philosophy of Soul, put his guitar to wicked use on “Elysian Persuasion”, an ode to the neighborhood that surrounds Dodger Stadium.
From there, the band closed out the set with “Una Mas” followed by consecutive plays of Manu Dibango’s “Soul Makossa” featuring Rocky Dawuni on the mic. The double play was intended as multiple takes for an upcoming music video, with Rocky and the camera operator working their way from the back of the venue up to the stage during the second go-round.
A short break gave way to a second set resplendent with Ozomatli standards and surprises galore. The group returned with “Ya Viene El Sol”, followed by a clarinet solo by Ulises—dedicated to the late MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer—as an entree into “Cumbia de los Muertos”. That set the stage for guitarist Joey Delgado ofThe Delgado Brothers to wail away on the feel-good track “After Party”, off 2007’s Don’t Mess With The Dragon.
Joey’s appearance kicked off a run of four straight cameos. Once he stepped off, Adelaide, who opened for Ozomatli, came on to sing a cover of Peaches & Herb’s “Reunited” with Asdrubal to promote their upcoming EP, Cumbias for Lovers. She then gave way to Bobby Easton, who brought his guitar to bear on “El Otro Lado”, a 2019 single crafted to critique harsh policies along America’s southern border with Mexico. He, in turn, handed off the spotlight to singer Veronique Medrano, who led a jubilant rendition of Greg Walton’s “Dear Dorothy”.
The evening ended with a strong closing run of “La Temperatura” and “Paleta”, along with a version of “Como Ves” that saw Joey and Bobby return for an encore of their own. After those songs were through, the band hopped off stage and marched through the crowd before settling in for a surrounded jam that included bits of “The Hokey Pokey”. That made for a fitting conclusion to the show and the residency as a whole. After all, Ozomatli is nothing if not a band of, by, and for the people of Los Angeles.
Looking ahead, Ozomatli will leave their nest in West L.A. to share their vibes with lucky fans in other parts of the country. Their upcoming calendar includes a show in Saratoga, CA, a film festival in Waco, TX, a community event in La Verne, CA, a concert in Hartford, CT, and a visit to The Caverns in Pelham, TN. For a full list of the band’s upcoming tour dates and to purchase tickets, visit the band’s website.
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