It’s a bittersweet evening for ardent fans of Melbourne’s – and possibly Australia’s – hardest working band, Bonjah, as they play one final headline show for 2012, take a whirlwind nine day trip to Europe and then spend the rest of the year working towards a new release of what will surely be more genre-bending tunes.
Along for the ride tonight are Queensland big-band, Mitch Davis and the Dawn Chorus and local outfit, Buckley Ward.
Davis and co. kicks off the proceedings with ladles upon ladles of bluesy grunge and roots to stir up the already excitable crowd forming. Davis pours his all into the set and, with firm support from the four men behind him, they create an impressively passionate, well-oiled machine of rustic, dirt-under-the-fingernails music. Here’s hoping it’s full steam ahead for the future of this 5-piece from the Sunshine Coast.
Shortly after, Buckley Ward arrange themselves on the stage, getting ready to take the evening down a more dreamy, indie-pop path. With their beautiful boy-girl harmonies (which, admittedly, could have been a touch clearer through the main speakers) and catchy riffs, we’re plucked from inner-city life and dropped into a grassy green field, drenched with dandelions and dripping in sunlight. Although nerves seem to shoot down some of their charisma, Buckley Ward is a band to keep close for warmth as the wintertime deepens.
In between the terrific line up of acts tonight is none other than former Bonjah boy, James “Maj” Majernik on the decks, spinning and mixing some seriously delightful vinyl for the chatty crowd.
There’s half an hour until the rest of Bonjah arrive for their surely not-to-be-missed set and there’s always potential it could feel like a lifetime when a band’s arrival is as highly anticipated as Bonjah’s. Fortunately, it’s such a friendly, albeit drunken crowd packing themselves into the Corner Hotel’s capacity, and in no time at all (after promising your new intoxicated best friend, “Yes! We’ve got to grab a coffee!” because you share the same uncommon first name), the red curtains part and Bonjah are on stage; the mere entrance of them tipping the audience into a fervent frenzy.
Kicking straight into “Colours”, you can’t describe Bonjah’s sound to someone unfamiliar to them without using a myriad of genres: blues, roots, reggae, soul, pop, rock, funk. It would make far more sense for the person to simply go along to a show to absorb what the lads from New Zealand have to offer. Tonight, they put it all on the table to the point where one can’t help but feel a little bit of musical whiplash.
“Karma” quickens the pulse with its tribal percussion while “Fly” gives space for the band to jam and for the crowd to dance. Tilly Aires, from the Make a Wish foundation (to which $1 of each ticket sold is donated), joins the stage early on for an explosive cover of Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie”. Frontman Glenn Mossop often leaves the microphone for the songstress to captain the helm – and, boy, she has a couple of vocal chords on her.
The years of busking and the hundreds of gigs tucked away safely under their belts really set these guys apart; Regan Lethbridge, David Morgan and Dan Chisholm form a strong backbone and they play an incredibly tight set as guitarist, bassist and drummer respectively. Mossop, occasionally grabbing a guitar or harmonica to join in, is quite a star. If it weren’t for his unmistakable voice made of crunchy gravel over too much whisky and cigarettes tying the songs together, the feeling of scrambled puzzle pieces would surely be heightened.
Despite this occasional disjointed sensation from the show, the fans know how to react accordingly. Whether we sway along with the dreamy current of the sonically captivating and addictive “Go Go Chaos” or form a mosh pit for the show closer, and crowd favourite, “The White Line”, Bonjah are simply brilliant on stage. If tonight’s show is anything to go by, they’ll have no trouble anywhere they choose to go.
– Anne-Louise Hill
