Reggae has always held a special place in the hearts of New Zealanders. Although geographically and climatically separated from the genre’s traditional home in the Caribbean, the laid back people, proliferation of Rastafarianism and easily available marijuana have contributed to a long history of Kiwi reggae. Bands such as Bonjah and Katchafire have since found success across the Tasman, while OMC’s nineties-stalgia hit ‘How Bizarre’ is perhaps the best known remnant.
The Black Seeds have established themselves as one of New Zealand’s best-known, most loved acts and musical exports. They also hold the privilege of counting Grammy and Oscar winning musician Bret Mackenzie, better known as one-half of the Flight of the Conchords, as a former alumni. The Black Seeds have been plying their dub/reggae/afro beat inspired tunes for about the past 15 years and have built up a solid fan base across the world.
Reggae is a genre that seems to go to an extra dimension live. There’s something about the distinctive wah-wah guitars, bongo drums and heavy bass that need to be felt pulsing through the sternum. That, and the distinctive whiff of ganga that usually accompanies it. Certainly the management of the Corner was determined to avoid any smoke alarms mishaps with the air conditioning system set to a low gale.
Support for the night arrived in the fashion of Brisbane’s Cheap Fakes, currently touring their second album Hand Me Downs. An energetic set was highlighted by moments of virtuosity and the band never overstepped the line between crowd pleasing stage antics and novelty stunts. The horn section was particularly impressive, especially on Triple J fave ‘Sand on the Beach’.
The Black Seeds in their eight-piece splendour set an easy going, swaying rapport from the opening tune ‘Fire’. Daniel Weetman in particular is a vividly energetic frontman, lording over the stage, bashing away at drums and shaking tambourines. However, he often seemed preoccupied with the modulations on his keyboard, and despite many occurrences of peering down and twiddling knobs, ended up creating the same effect every time.
Guitarist and vocalist Barnaby Weir’s interactions with the crowd were generally entertaining, and his singing has a beautiful soulful quality that translates fantastically live. He may have had trouble reading the setlist, after one particular moment where he gave a considerable introduction to new song ‘Pippy Pip’, only to be informed they were playing something else.
What sets the New Zealand veterans apart from most other reggae bands is their bevy of musical influences which sees them go off on musically interesting tangents. These were some of the most impressive parts of the act, with the stage lighting accentuating some of the instrumentation.
Fan favourites ‘Rotten Apple’, ‘Make Your Move’ and ‘So True’ kept the set ticking along, while songs from the new album Dust and Dirt, including the title track, ‘Pippy Pip’ and ‘Rusted Story’, were sprinkled throughout.
Despite a mid-set flat spot, the Black Seeds fought their way back to finish very strongly. However, they lack that killer tune that would have closed the set off at an absolute high.
They have a massive canon to draw upon and a dedicated base of expatriate fans (in fact the Kiwi expats dominated this audience in particular) that lapped up anything they played. To the uninitiated Australian ear, the evident passion, musical diversity and solid back catalogue ensured a consistently high quality set.
– Jacob Robinson
