Live Review: Nas & Damian Marley

Distant Relatives Tour

TSB Arena, Wellington – 16 February 2011

"New Zealand weed is better than Australian weed;" an appropriate way to introduce a Nas & Damian Marley concert. It started later than expected, it was almost 10pm by the time they hit the stage but once they did they got straight into it.

First up was the lead single As We Enter which had Nas waving his hands and getting the audience bouncing around. This was swiftly followed by Tribes at War where Damian Marley came into his own; whereas Nas had encouraged the crowd’s participation, Marley commanded their attention through his powerful lyrics. “Every man deserves to earn, and every child deserves to learn,” indeed.

Nas, decked out in an All Blacks jersey, had his turn with a couple of songs before he once again teamed up with Marley, churning out Count Your Blessings, Land of Promise, and Dispear, with Strong Will Continue and Leaders being particularly powerful in their message. “Let’s all change the world!”

A brilliantly reworked “Jr Gong” version of Exodus was followed by the crowd pleasing Welcome to Jamrock complete with Ini Kamoze’s; “out in the streets, they call it murder!” Marley had lighters (and cellphones) in the air for Road to Zion and kept the crowd awake for Africa Must Wake Up; “the sleeping sons of Jacob.”

For the encore, Phil Collins’ In the Air Tonight provided the introduction to Nas’ One Mic, complete with Marley on the bongos. And soon it was Nas’ turn on bongos while Marley had the crowd in a frenzy performing his father Bob’s hit Could You Be Loved. Fittingly Nas and Marley walked off stage, brothers in arms, while the band played on.

Both hip-hop and reggae fans made up the three-quarter full TSB Arena, some a mixture of both, any that weren’t had certainly been swayed one way or the other by the end of the night. All the while one of Marley’s crew kept the reggae flag flying, never tiring, caught up in the infectious enthusiasm of it all.

2010 (…& another):

Last installment of releases from 2010, a few from here in New Zealand this time:

Cornerstone Roots – Future Is Now
(Rhythm Method/MLR, 2010)

Lines such as “Plant the seeds of positivity, little by little grow your crop” (Seeds), and “Hold on to your roots, maintain your integrity” (Roots) sum up the Cornerstone Roots ethos. Once again Raglan roots husband and wife duo Brian Ruawai and Naomi Tuao have put together a bunch of tunes inspiring positive and proactive thinking for their third album Future Is Now. Joining Cornerstone Roots are appearances from heavyweight Jamaican reggae deejay Ranking Joe (on Rising Sun), local vocalist MC Mana (on Roots), and the introduction of Brian and Naomi’s 10-year-old son Reiki who contributes backing vocals on Everybody before taking the lead role on the album’s final track Bedlam.

With only eight tracks on Future Is Now I was expecting a few longer songs to fill the record up, so I was a little disappointed when it clocked in at little over 36 minutes. Still its 36 minutes packed with good vibes as one would expect from them… future is now, future is here.

Disasteradio – Charisma
(A Low Hum, 2010)

 

Picture a group of girls straight out of the eighties; frizzy hair, big sunglasses, fluro spandex, jumping around and waving their arms. Recall the sound effects from your favourite Atari or Commodore 64 game. Chuck in a couple of electronic dogs barking and a synthesizer or two. Add Luke Rowell to the mix and you have the lead track You Win off the latest Disasteradio offering Charisma. The rest of the album has more of the Disasteradio formula; geek from nineties playing with technology from the eighties making music to appeal to robots of the future. I’m stuck for more ways to describe this album so I’ll let the video for No Pulse do it for me.

The other great things about Charisma are the cover artwork (see above) and a name your price method to share all this goodness. Go get it here.

Matiu Te Huki with My Golden Soul – EP
(Independent, 2010)

More goodness here with a small taste of the talent of Matiu “The Hook” Te Huki. Matiu has lent his voice to many Kiwi acts over the years but he is at his best when performing originals from the heart. It is clearly evident that he sees beauty in everybody, reassuring listeners of their potential and encouraging them to follow their passions. The EP contains five tracks; Poppies, What’s This Thing, and two versions of Come To Me Now which reflect the positive vibes of Matiu’s home on the Kapiti Coast. Also added is a remix of Poppies offering an alternate take and filled with heavy bass.

This is a small offering filled with love and best enjoyed with family and friends out in the summer sun. Hopefully a full-length release is on its way.