Next up, all the way from Wanganui was
House of Shem. This is another "family band" with Carl Perkins, a
former member of Herbs, Mana and 12 Tribes of Israel Band joined up
at the front by two of his sons, Te Omeka and Isiaah. Their sound is
ultra tight with sweet three-part harmony singing underpinned by the
toughest rhythm section. Their lead guitarist Roy Venkataraman toured
for several years with The Wailers band and his solos were
outstanding. These guys ripped through an hour-long set featuring
many of the songs from their exceptional ‘Keep Rising' album.
Once again, deeply spiritual conscious lyrics are this band's
calling card, but they have enough pop hooks and compelling rhythms
to get any party started. House of Shem rocked out to the enthusiasm
of the big crowd and showed us exactly why this is one local reggae
outfit to keep your eyes on.
The final act of the evening was the
legendary Katchafire. Hailing from Hamilton and also featuring family
members, these reggae heavyweights need no introduction. They
performed a blistering two hour long set of hit songs, other material
from their three albums and even some Marley tunes. A highlight of
which must have been the crowd participation in Bob's classic
‘Three Little Birds', which at one point dropped down to just
piano, drums and 1700 voices singing - "Don't worry about a
thing, coz every little thing's gonna be alright..." Katchafire
are now taking their NZ reggae sound to the world and I can think of
no better ambassadors to represent this country on the international
stage.
So the common theme for the concert was
a showcase of Aotearoa reggae music, with plenty of Rasta philosophy
and Maori brothers spreading the good vibes. It's interesting to
note that all of the bands were from outside of Auckland and that all
of them contained whanau amongst their members. The spirit was
overwhelmingly one of upliftment, positivity and inclusion and the
large crowd of mixed ages and ethnicities was treated to four hours
of first class local roots music. Despite a few light showers the big
marquee kept most people dry and everyone had a damn good time. It
was just what the doctor ordered before the ordeal of exam season
begins. Props are due to all the bands that travelled so far to play
for us, to the AuSM team who put on a massive gig and to the Vesbar
crew who kept the drinks flowing. Jah bless!
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