Bomfunk MCs with Ken Hell and Weapon X, Mareko and Savage, Disasteradio
Thursday, 2nd of March, SubNine

Strangely, we were stoked to have tickets to one of the least anticipated Orientation gigs in history. The crowd was smaller than an out of season scampi haul, potentially due to the awful bar service, or perhaps (let’s be honest) to lack of faith in or a lack of knowledge of the artists. However…

The devastation? Devastating. Disasteradio jumped on stage, replacing the excellent DJ A-Style, and proceeded to waste the floor with a generous mix of warm analogue bass, simple distortion and resonating pop synths as fresh as scampi on the deck and two thirds as delicious. The sweet selection of vintage-video-game inspired drum beats and popular melodies (including the Paperboy theme) remained the most charming sound heard all night.

A trio of Dawn Raid’s finest, fronted by Savage and Mareko, then took up task and while the crowd didn’t provide them with the energy they usually command, they delivered a full sound with tight lyrics. ‘Lonely’ and the ‘Not Many’ remix were highlights.

Despite having the worst promotional gimmick ever conceived by even the most out-of-touch marketing department — a ‘clicker’ to count and record the number of times you got ‘checked out’ — Weapon X and Ken Hell along with DJ A-Style turned out a fluid and varied set that showed the rewards to be reaped through humour, crowd interaction and energetic performance. Ken Hell’s rendition of the Top Gun love song to a member of the crowd, while unrequited, proved uniquely entertaining.

Headliners Bomfunk MCs rounded off the night. Remembered almost entirely here for their single ‘Freestyler’, New Zealand did not receive the series of number one hits Finland enjoyed from this band. The Bomfunk live act offers a much richer sound than their radio incarnation, more Linkin Park (in the good way) than Basement Jaxx, and comprises a six piece ensemble of decks, synths and mpc, drums, lead guitar, bass guitar and MC (the freaky looking dude at the end of the Freestyler clip). The crowd, which had swelled to double its original size by now, was probably as shocked as we were by what we heard. A rocky set featuring wailing guitar riffs, powerful live drums and a richness of sound united the audience. Add to this the cameo from Minuit’s Ruth Carr and a rockier, less electro version of ‘Freestyler’ as a finale, and you have a great end to an unexpectedly good orientation gig.