Fat Freddy's Drop.
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Fat Freddy’s Drop, Auckland NZ, 2020
Fat Freddy’s Drop 18th January 2020 The Outer Fields Western Springs, Auckland, New Zealand. Review by Kirk Lafferty. Photography by Chontalle Musson. CONTINUE READING
Breaking in the year Fat Freddy’s Drop headlined a star-studded
line up at Western Springs on Saturday, almost a year to the day of a similar
line up. This year’s offering, in order of appearance: Gates/The
Logg cabin & Printor, Bailey Wiley, JessB, Avant Dale Bowling Club, L.A.B.,
CHAII, David Rodigan and the Head Honchos themselves - Fat Freddy’s Drop.
Before venturing
out in public to an event like this comes the dilemma that all of us face,
though some of us give more thought about it than others - What to wear? Let’s not forget it is 2020, and just saying
those numbers out loud, rolling them off the tongue, while they are still fresh;
implying some sense of the style that has to be lived up to. Admittedly it’s
not yet the uber-cool 2525 but still, we can’t be going out in the Pacifica
purple flower shirt we bought in 2016, though in hindsight when I saw the
lights of Fat Freddy’s Drop it actually would have been a perfect match. If a
summer’s day concert in Tamaki Makaurau is not a fashion parade, then I don’t
know what is. Checking out some of the people ahead of me in the long line from
the outer suburbs, fashion was not necessarily the first thought on many of
their minds when they left the house that day.
Sadly, the long line, and some
confusion at the box office meant that Gates/ The Logg Cabin & Printor do
not get reviewed here, apologies but I made up for it by buying their T-shirt, fluorescent
orange log on black, height of fashion in 2020 I’ve heard on the streets.
As I arrived at the stage, Bailey
Wiley was already under way. I peeked out through my one good eye as the other
was stinging from 50 plus suntan lotion mixing with sweat dripping down my
forehead. It’s OK I said to myself, you only need one good eye and ears to
review - ideally also a brain not too overly lubricated by booze, and those
lines were already too long to justify standing in. The first thing I notice
about Bailey Wiley is what great tattoos she has, second how soulful her voice
was, deep and rich, echoing out across the slowly filling park. This was
balanced by solid simple bass lines perfectly in unison with the drum pattern.
The lyrics of Sugar, their last song, ‘Meet me in the middle, meet me half
way’, a lovely sweet introduction to the afternoon.
Jess B was up next. There was
something sort of homely about the computer sampling set up on a dining room
table that brought a smile to my face. That smile grew when the two Divas
turned into 6, with the addition of a four girl dancing troop. God damn! This
set was good. Awesome lyrical content rapped out to the beat, with 8 arms flying,
8 legs kicking, hips gyrating, sensually charging the crowd and lifting the
tempo. MC Silva did a guest appearance,
dropping in some Caribbean style dub verbosity, while Teo thumped out some
wicked beats on the skins. My only critique is of the line up order. They were
so good I wish they had more of the crowd there to hear them.
Avantdale Bowling Club were up
next, mispronounced by the introduction as Avondale, an easy mistake but not made
by those in the know. Impossible to fault this mixture of excellently executed
jazz with poetic rapped out lyricism. As far as I am concerned Tom Scott is a
god and other than that Moustache by my books can do no wrong. He rapped out ‘Get
High, Get Drunk, Get Down’, and the crowd obliges in arm swinging groove. ‘Years
gone by’ and ‘Home’, my fav’s, both on record and this day, in the sun.
He left me with a thought for the day, ‘Welcome to Auckland,
the rent price of New York, the opportunities of Invercargill’. He finished
with a poetic rant cementing his place as one of NZ’s best wordsmiths, at least
in the spoken word department.
L.A.B
open up with a Jimmy Hendrix style guitar solo from another decade. For a
moment, as a long haired girl walks past, I think I am in Woodstock. Behind
her, her boyfriend touts himself a mighty head of dreads. Yes I am in the right
place. My time warp immersion was explained when they proudly tout they are
from, Whakatane, The Mount and Tauranga. No disrespect is intended, those are
beautiful places under our long white cloud. The crowd loves it. My sarcastic
nature is held at bay. It’s harder to review music that may not be my genre,
but judging from the crowd, the sunshine, the ambience created by the flowing
long green clouds of smoke around me; they rocked like Slayer. ‘Baby can you
want me’ lyrics shone out, when the guy next to me sang loudly out of tune
along to it. Share the love, that was my thought - loving a band with its
followers who knew all the words. Bringing children on stage will always work
to earn brownie points at an all ages event where people have brought their
children. 10/10 for karma creating goodness guys. You put the west into Western
Springs. Looking around I wondered if anyone was left out there with this
concert pumping.
CHAII was up next, and here yes
again I am a fan. We have a beautiful multicultural mix here in Tamaki Makaurau.
When an artist shows videos of something we don’t have, ‘Camels’, I am all in. Please
open the doors for all sorts of culture. If it comes in Red fashionable pant
and coat suit hat ensemble, all the better. Fashion rules in the videos that
take us to other worlds. The beats Thumping out of the Pad driven drum machine
worked. Being tucked away at the side of the stage some might find annoying.
With wicked Videos to add, who cares what side of the stage you are on. It was
a nice variance from the big screens showing the band. I am always at the
front, but with the screens, if I was a little further back, I never know where
to look. Wicked set, wicked multiculturalism, bloody great thumping melting
pot. Digebasse (enough) was the mint finishing track.
David Rodigan was up next, crazy arse hats and all. To be
honest I was lost for a bit. I was unfamiliar with how to appreciate someone
who kept cutting off songs I wanted to hear with rants of information, some of
which I knew, some of which I didn’t. What grew from an irritation with this
technique was an appreciation of his taste and place in the BBC scene in
Brexitland. The crowd loved it; he played old Reggae, Reggaton and Jungle. Why would
they not? I have never seen a Pom dance around with a towel in his mouth
looking like a long-handle moustache of a walrus before. Thank you for that.
The main event: by now you may have guessed I am out of my
element at this festival. Not out of my element in an appreciation of awesome
music which is all I have heard so far. But out of my element in styles of
music I listen to. 5stars, I do have for Avantedale Bowling Club which is in my
record collection. Shame on you if you don’t have it. But I have to admit for
the main event I was overseas for a lot of Fat Freddy’s Drop’s rise to fame. I
see this as listening with virgin ears, and damn, I love music. Like a new
needle on a record player, if I could get some virgin ears to listen to a band
with I would pay a million. Here’s my million worth.
Opening song. ‘Blackbird’. I am listening to Joe Dukie
(Dallas Tamaira) and trying to describe his voice. Initially I am having
trouble finding words (a rare thing for a writer). There is a soft politeness
which makes you want to lean in and listen. As you lean in and listen you’re
hooked. There is Mana here. There is poetry. Softly through this powerhouse of
a band, whispered politely. The people who can soft speak beauty, do so to
music, capture you without shouting, tug at your heartstrings. Damn I want to
invite him over my place for dinner. That’s star power, that stuff. The thing that
galaxies are made from. These Virgin ears are hooked. I am glad I took the step
to take this review, step out of my comfort zone. The band, everyone from the Them,
multicultural diversity and proud as dudes, from the Chopstick through the hair
to the Raleigh-20 on stage. From the flowing white robes (later underwear) of
the trombone player to the dude in glasses who looked like he had just walked
out of a spy movie. I am not going to list the songs here as I listened to them
with virgin ears. I am not going to list musicians as every one of them played
a part in a seriously international New Zealand act that formed a uniform
bloody great symphonia. I left NZ when these guys formed in 1999. As a virgin
to their music, and a late starter, an unlikely reviewer- I am now in love.
Isn’t that how all virginities should be be given?
You guys rocked dudes. I am going to finish with an
Australian quote that sums it up for me the day, even though I am not from
Skippyland:
“It’s the vibe of it. It’s the constitution, it’s
Justice……and ah no it’s the vibe. I rest my case.”
Virginity lost.
Kirk Lafferty.
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