The debut solo album from ex Salmonella Dub frontman Tiki Taane was released in late 2007, and to celebrate with his Australian fans he played a number of dates this side of the Tasman including Brisbane’s newly opened venue The HiFi. Looking like a stylishly converted corporate cinema, the West End hotspot had friendly door and bar staff, a very clean-cut finish in the main room, and a simple but effective layout that slopped progressively down to the stage, which (height permitting) is easy to see from almost anywhere in the room. All it needs now is to feel somewhat more “lived in” and it will be one of the premium locations in Brisbane to spend your weekly pay packet when the weekend rolls around. If their upcoming rundown of artists they’ve got coming up is anything to go by, it won’t take long for business to be booming.
Touring with Tiki on his Past, Present, Future LP tour were the Dub Soldiers in the form of a select group of Shapeshifter regulars making up the live accompaniment. Two of those members, DJs Sambora and Reno started the night off with a healthy plethora of industrial dubstep rhythms and smoothly paced reggae beats that mixed perfectly with the laidback but eager atmosphere permeating throughout the crowd. Some climactic DnB that simmered with the faintest hints of the Shapeshifter sound had the packed house moving and turned peoples’ attention to the stage almost immediately. It was the perfect warming up they would need for what would turn out to be an exhausting and uplifting performance. Sambora’s set finished with the kind of aplomb and expertise you’d expect from a Shapeshifter co-founder who is a triumvirate of ‘ists’; guitarist, keyboardist, and percussionist.
An excited tension descended on the crowd as they awaited the arrival of the Kiwi dubster, and so it was interesting just how discreetly Tiki made his way to the stage, surprising everyone. But this didn’t mean a less rapturous applause when he began, conch in hand, with the smoothly restructured dudstep prologue of Whakapuaki. The conch produced a beautifully haunting lilt that permeated throughout the room and soared far beyond it. Then, along with his live support, Tiki was joined onstage by his father Uekaha, who spoke the ethereal Māori chant of Whakapuaki and complimented the conch with what looked to be a Kōauau flute. With the combination of the synths and auxiliary percussion, this powerful incantation transported all the ex-pats home, and invited everyone else to sample the beauty of an Aotearoa Awakening.
Then the lights exploded into life and the people followed suit when Now This Is It hit. It was time to build on the atmosphere that had been created, but at a totally different pace, and the Hifi was exposed to some bass-heavy dubbed out hip hop beats. A perfect opening to a live set, this track turns up the energy levels, not to mention the sound levels, so it was satisfying to hear the venue’s sound system more than cope. Another of the Shapeshifter crew, Paora ‘P Digsss’ Apera’s vocal talents were brought to the fore on his and Tiki’s collaborative track Faded. This uplifting funky track is sure to be a dub classic in a few short years, and did its job of inspiring smiles all round. The duo certainly seemed to particularly enjoy performing it, along with the rest of the band.
The dial was then turned up to 11 when Wotcha Got followed on from the upped pace that had been set. Merging an almost jazzy percussion with an industrial DnB backing, fast-paced lyrics and a metal undercurrent, as the opening lines explained, it had a “little bit of this, a little bit of that.” Not only did it have the people at the stage really going for it, but the ripples from the combination of all these styles were spreading all the way back to the bar as the people danced waiting for their drinks and loose change to arrive. The crowd were then treated to a track not on the album that, on the night, was calledClayt Dog. An effects-infused blend of reggae harmonies and chilled out beats, it was a suitable follow-up to Faded and served nicely as a segue to Music Has Saved Me. The good feeling that had been generated from the set so far was built upon when Tiki asked, “who loves guitars?” He certainly does, and his love of balls to the wall heavy metal was plain to see on this amped up version of his most personal track on the LP. Indeed Sam Trevethick, AKA the aforementioned Sambora, looked like he was enjoying himself as he was given free reign to let loose on the guitar and rock out along with the crowd.
From such a heightened peak, the mood was vastly changed and the crowd, aside from the odd holler of appreciation, were reverently hushed to the sound of the eponymousPast, Present, Future. Dedicated to loved ones who have passed, it afforded the crowd a solemn moment of reflection rarely expressed in live music, and when Uekaha reappeared to provide some superbly poignant falsetto vocals, the atmosphere created was positively touching. Easing out of the title track was a toned down but sleek reworking of Saviour Dub that, on the album has its roots very much in the origins of jungle and DnB but here was given a more laidback reggae twist.
No Tiki Live show would be complete without the gathered masses being given possibly the most evocative track on the album, Tangaroa. This tribute to the Māori god of the sea is a terrific track on the album, but is something else to behold in a live setting. Combining a thundering drum, with razor sharp synth effects, this stirring haka epic being bellowed out by P Diggs, Uekaha and Tiki literally shook the freshly made construction dust of the new venue from the ceiling. It is one of those tracks that you can really relish when playing live as the beat is just irresistible not to move to and its fluidity means it can be forever improvised and played with depending on the crowd. The crowd on this particular Thursday night were very much up for it and bounced enthusiastically to the tribal-inspired beats that rumbled and cracked over their heads. The coming together of such primal rhythms and electronically enhanced effects really amplified the vibe in the room and got to the heart of everyone on the floor.
Tiki and the Dub Soldiers left the stage to the applause of all and as an encore, Tiki returned with his most recognisable release Always On My Mind. Showing off a love of the acoustic as well as the electric he closed (or so we thought) the night with the popular love song that you could just as easily hear being sung round a campfire as you could in an arena. Audience participation was actively encouraged, with Tiki getting all the boys to sing the chorus to the girls, and then the girls to respond in kind. With time to spare, a mini impromptu acoustic Salmonella Dub set consisting of Love Your Wayswas instantly recognised and sung along to. The rest of the band got in on the act when Tiki started up Longtime, which this time was the last track of the night. The crowd were reluctant to leave, lingering to savour the waning moments of the positive energy that had filled the room, before going out into the night to finish off the working week.
No comments:
Post a Comment