The Tivoli - Sat May 17

Bathed in a deep swathe of red light, NZ North Islanders Jakob are already in full swing as I arrive, although there’s probably a better word for their style of shoe-gazing instrumental than ‘swing’. Their drop-tuned, bass-driven sound is huge, intense and ominously dark, and I’m dirty about missing what must have been an interesting build up to this point. They soften an otherwise abrupt ending by quietly thanking the swelling crowd, a good number of who have been following closely and return the compliment with gusto.

Picking up from where Jakob leave off, fellow Aotearoans Kora emerge with a pulsating instrumental build up that pushes closer and closer to epic heights of tension before a snap change turns the intense vibe on its head; the soulful dub drop takes the crowd by surprise and leaves my jaw on the floor. A distillation of that unique New Zealand sound made famous by Fat Freddy’s Drop and Salmonella Dub, Kora win themselves at least one new fan before the end of their first track Burning – me.

They maintain momentum with only a key change to signal the start of another imaginatively off-time dub track, jumping bizarrely into an electronic diversion that I couldn’t have seen coming. With the crowd suitably shaken, they deliver respite in the form of Skankenstein from their 2007 self-titled release, which strikes me as the coolest funky synth-soul since Faith No More released The Real Thing. After an intense, yet playful instrumental, they delve into a rocking Living Colour style of funk that progresses into a speedy metal jam that pushes drummer Brad Kora to his double kicking limits.

John Farnham’s mega-hit The Voice rings out at full volume as the lights go down and a thousand proud Australians sing along, without an ounce of sarcasm. It proves a masterstroke of crowd manipulation as Cog ride the wave of patriotic euphoria all the way through their Sharing Space opener No Other Way before an interrupted attempt to start Bird Of Feather provides an amusing release. On second attempt, they drive home the now familiar lines with so much more power than an album can provide.

Delving back to The New Normal release for Resonate, its clear they’re attempting to stay “on point”, with themes of political activism and social justice featuring heavily. Singer/guitarist Flynn mentions an idea of a collective consciousness before jumping into the complex rhythms of Are You Interested? and Four Walls. Real Life explodes through an almost painfully brilliant lighting display that is, in itself, quite an interesting part of the performance. The groove-driven chorus and tricky guitar parts are a highlight in The Town Of Lincoln, before they return to their subversive themes with Swamp.

With some of the drunken audience’s attention waning, they pull out What If like a trump card and manage to pull the crowd together for one last sing-a-long. Their exit is almost anti-climatic as they close with The New Normal track Doors, leaving no time for an encore.

JAMES STAFFORD

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