On a rainy night in Brisbane, the Hi Fi were playing host to two of New Zealand’s best exports, one who’s been doing the live circuit on both sides of the Tasman for well over a decade, and the other who was simply doing a gig for a $50 bar tab a few short years ago.
Thankfully the rain hadn’t dampened anyone’s enthusiasm for coming out and the queue was well stocked with soaked music fans. Once we were finally in, The Mighty Asterix was showing off his enthusiasm for reggae and lyrical dexterity with some nicely chilled out beats that encouraged people to make their way from the bar to the floor and sway along with him. The room really got warmed up as Ladi6 took to the stage alongside able accomplice DJ Parks.
The Queen of NZ hip hop has been touring with some of the best Kiwi and international artists for years, and finally, with the release of her debut album Time Is Not Much the fans have something they can truly get their teeth into when not seeing her live. Her attitude and flair on stage all lent itself to her being much bigger in the future; she has a wonderful mastery over her lyrics, and with DJ Parks backing her up with the beats, it’s a finely crafted performance that you can’t help but groove to. The fans cheered when she brought out Call You Out, a particular favourite from the album, and her vocal contribution to the Fat Freddy’s Drop wunderkind track Roady went down with style.
But it was new 12” Go Get It that really hit pay dirt. This bouncy little 2-Step track has a fantastic big band rhythm section and with Ladi 6’s sultry vocals all over it, it’s a smoking release that will undoubtedly be a popular choice when included in all of her future tours.
In the interim between Ladi 6’s fantastic appearance and the main act for the night, Asterix helped drop some drum n bass with the help of Paddy Free from Pitch Black to get people moving, including the odd hint of who was up next here and there. Soon enough the kiwi dub royalty Salmonella Dub took up their places and kicked off the night with an effects-driven reworking of Dub Survivors. Almost instantly the smell of something illegal was in the air, and the mood was set.
After a percussion-driven jam that ebbed and flowed with the skill of seasoned dubsters,Push On Thu was met with enthusiastic recognition. Love Sunshine and Happiness too was a popular choice, the chilled summer tune being infused this time around with a more DnB vibe than the mellow original. Their tour of the remix EP Freak Local was obviously allowing the band the freedom to play around with some older tunes.
For the most part this worked, but a divergence from the usual way some of the tracks were played had an element of roughness to them, as though alternative versions of tracks hadn’t been as ingrained as the studio versions. Having said that, the performance of title track Freak Local was played with an animated funky vigour that spread throughout the band and into the crowd.
Another DnB jam was called for and the band let loose with some towering improvisations, Dave on the drums really working the toms and getting as much funk out the jam as possible, and Mark slapping the bass with relish. The floor was bouncing and jiving (mostly) in time and having a lot of the fun with this fresh approach to Sal Dub’s sound.
The band slipped back into a on older favourite Slip n Slide, and finished with a relaxed and soulful dub sound that allowed everyone to take a deep breath and end the night in a chilled mood. The band benefited greatly from Asterix’s inclusion, his enthusiasm and authoritative Rasta vocals brought up each track he came out for and encouraged the people to get into it. It was a strange gig in the sense that almost everything played was a divergence from the typical Salmonella Dub sound, but for a band that in the past have been accused of not being fresh, can’t be a bad thing.
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