Only good things had come out of their Adelaide and Melbourne shows, so the Brisbane crowd were expecting nothing less than a very special night of funk/soul/dub/reggae goodness. The seven-piece from Wellington have been making a name for themselves as one of the tightest live bands plying their trade on either side of the Tasman at the moment. It’s clear from their earliest days that Fat Freddy’s Drop wanted to define their sound on stage rather than in the studio, which is why, after their first live release Live at the Matterhorn, it took them four years to finally give in and release the massively successful Based on a True Story. Now, another four years on, the fans are almost chewing their own arms off for the release of their second studio album Big BW.
By the size of the queue snaking its way along the outside of The Tivoli, it was going to be a busy night for the barstaff, and sure enough, as one of them later told me, they hadn’t had as busy a night as this in a long time. Rightly so; after a hugely successful UK tour where they played some big venues ala London’s Roundhouse, and the Manchester Academy, I was expecting the support a little closer to home to come out in force.
The support set the scene and had already filled out the floor when those unlucky enough to have to spend half an hour in the ATM queue finally got their drinks and made their way to the floor. That scene was one of love, as is the case at most gigs that has beautiful NZ dub on display. Couples around the venue were lost in each other and the rest of us were grooving to the chilled out mood.
Everyone united in one rapturous mass when Fat Freddy took the stage, dressed to the nines and looking smoother than warm chocolate. The crowd were almost immediately won over with the effortlessly soulful Ernie, that had people swaying all the way through the build and bouncing when the reggae climax kicked in. In fact that was the order of the night; the smooth and chilled out rise came on suddenly and then the funky peak hits and you have a room bouncing as one.
This was no better demonstrated than with arguably Fat Freddy’s biggest hit Wandering Eye that they laid down relatively early on in the set and when the instrumental climax of the track hit, much of the Tivoli bounced as one satisfied being. The seamlessness of their transitions never fails to amaze as the band don’t simply play a track, enjoy the applause, and move on. Not content with the stop/start nature of an average set, their order of songs and how they approached them reflected the liquid nature of the music.
One personal highlight of the night was a very extended version of The Nod, a song that is so crammed full of funk that you feel cooler just for being in its presence. It also gave the horn section consisting of Ho Pepa on trombone, Fulla Flash on sax, and Tony Chang on trumpet an opportunity to display their individual talents. Indeed a Fat Freddy kind of set is so laid back it gives everyone the freedom to play around with each track, whilst keeping its heart and soul still there throughout.
As never goes unnoticed at a Fat Freddy’s gig, special mention must be made to Ho Pepa, whose enthusiasm and sheer madness keeps everyone entertained. I’ve never seen a man so at one with a trombone that he can throw around in fits of maniacal dance and not smack a fellow band member in the face, a straw visor, and a blindingly gold jacket. This man is something else and shows off the possibilities of just how much you can get down with your bad self when pulling the best ‘Bad Ho Jell Roll’ moves around.
The night had had a distinctly up-tempo feel as there was very little pause for breath from track to track, but the tempo was brought down a notch or two with This Room. Fat Freddy turned it into a soaring 20 minute journey of smooth rhythms courtesy of drummer Riki Gooch, easy going and soulful bass thanks to Rio Hemopo, and production mastery at the hands of the infinitely gifted Fitchie on samples and beats and Dobie Blaze on keys.
Claimed to be their last song of the evening, everyone knew a white lie had been told and there was sustained applause and chants of “Freddy Freddy Freddy…” that would have gone all night if they hadn’t re-emerged for a beautiful rendition of Midnight Marauders. The kiwi funksters had looked like they’d been enjoying themselves all night and the encore was no different; every swayed in laid back unison and wrapped up in the evening as seemingly satisfied as the elated crowd.
It was unfortunate to not hear Roady laid down for everyone as it is possibly the most effecting when heard live, it was noticeably absent. The Tivoli had had some sound problems throughout the set so perhaps their system simply wouldn’t have been able to cope with such a fantastically powerful climax along with screams of “Fire!” coming from the backing vocals. Still, it’s impossible to fault such a solid band that are so comfortable with each other and confident in their abilities that with effortless funky soul they can produce one of the warmest and most nourishing of live sounds.
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