The HU have taken the world by storm with their video for the song, “Yuve Yuve Yu,” which quickly became a YouTube sensation with over 25 million views. With their traditional Mongolian instrumentation and throat singing, mixed with Hard Rock and Heavy Metal, The HU are one of those fresh and exciting acts that come along once every few years. Earlier this year their song “Wolf Totem,” reached number 1 on Billboard’s Hard Rock chart making The HU the first Mongolian musical act to reach the top of a Billboard Chart. The band released their first album, “The Gereg,” on September 13th. Not to waste any time, The HU embarked on a North American Tour that runs from September through December.
The HU’s recent success was not lost on the residents of Cincinnati as their recent show at The Taft Theatre was SOLD OUT. The crowd that came to see this band was about as diverse as you could get with fans ranging from young to old, Heavy Metal to Easy Listening, local to far away. When the band took the stage, the crowd began to excitedly chant, “HU! HU! HU!” With two percussionists and several other members filling out the stringed instruments, The HU took over the small ballroom stage at the Taft. While the band did not speak much English, there was something universal in their performance as the pumped the crowd into a fury between songs. The band screamed, “Hello Cincinnati!” several times only to be met by enthusiastic cheers from the audience. By their mid set the music had transcended the language barrier with heads and bodies moving along to the trance like Mongolian rhythm.
Towards the end of their set the group busted out “Yuve, Yueve, Yu,” and the venue exploded with bodies swaying and voices singing along. Not to lose any momentum, they quickly went into their next hit, “Wolf Totem,” only to have the crowd erupt into even larger cheers and excitement. After playing a few more songs The HU said their farewells and left the stage. The crowd were not ready for the night to end and began a dog like bark of “HU! HU! HU!” A few moments later the band reappeared and performed an encore performance of “Yuve Yuve Yu.” Not surprisingly, the crowd became even crazier than they were the first time.
The HU proved that they are not some mere novelty act and that their music transcends language and cultural barriers
