Last weekend we went to the Goldenbridge in Hollywood for a Kirtan led by Dave Stringer. As we sang the last chant jam, Ganapati Om Jaya, I couldn’t help noticing how similar Ganapati Om sounds to “Gonna Party On” After I got a little chuckle out of the word play, it occured to me, the evening really was like one giant party where the guests were just as crucial to the fun factor as the hosts.

Even though I interviewed Stringer a few years back, when I wrote about the growing interest in Kirtan for Time magazine unfortunately, I had never seen him perform live. Instead, I played his CDs from time to time while practicing at home. So hearing Stringer’s band live – with the saxophone player, the awesome drummer, guitarist and his back up singers and musicians was a treat.

He's on tour promoting his new record Divas and Devas, which includes eight songs that are a collaboration with some of the ladies of Kirtan -- Donna Delory, Dasi Karnamrita, C.C. White, Kim Waters, Sat-Kartar, Suzanne Sterling, Wah!, and Joni Allen. For those who want to check out the live show, he’ll be back in Los Angeles during March.

I have to say, we had a blast. My husband was a Kirtan virgin so I was nervous about what he would think as the room heated up and people started dancing freestyle and clapping madly and just moving their bodies (and spirits) along to the beat. Thankfully, he enjoyed the sweet repetition as much as I did. When it was all over, we left feeling refreshed, like we had rebooted our brains.