Never having been to The Roundhouse prior to tonight, I am amazed at what a spectacular venue the converted rail roundhouse is. Deceivingly spacious upon first inspection, although decreasing every moment with each eager Fat Freddys Drop fan that pours in the doors. In no time at all, the Roundhouse is literally packed, entire first and second floors, with people ready for a night of chilled out, soulful beats from the 8 strong Fat Freddys Drop boys.
The lights dim in the capacity room, and one by one the boys wander on stage, with the biggest reception given to lead singer Joe Dukie (AKA Dallas Tamaira). The brass section, compiled of Tony Chang (AKA Toby Laing), Scott Tower and Ho Pepa (AKA Joe Lindsay), look like a version of the Blues Brothers with their suits and bowlers. Big man behind the beats DJ Mu (AKA Chris Faiumu) looks comfortable in a ‘head of the table’ kind of way, tucked away in the corner letting the other guys take the spotlight.
The octet begin with their single ‘The Camel’ from their upcoming album,
Big BW, which inspires a great reaction from the crowd and instantly has them moving along with it. The Camel is a 10 minute long song anyway, and live it runs well over 15 minutes. Dukie’s vocals lay over top of the temperate beat in a soothing and epically cool way.
One aspect almost as entertaining as the guys on stage, is the crowd. I have never seen a crowd dance quite like the Fat Freddys Drop audience. And I’m talking about more natural dancing, not the moshing, pushing, jumping, high impact kinds that haunt most concerts of this size. The laid back and spacious fashion means everyone gets a chance to enjoy the show in his or her own way.
Next, Fat Freddys Drop give us ‘Raft’ and ‘Flashback’ in an unbreakable wave of slow burning beats bringing the timer to over 30 minutes before the first proper break of the show for an introduction.
Dukie opens with a welcome in Maori, and keeps it short and sweet: “Kai ora koutou katoa…‘Sup London, we’re very blessed to be here tonight, have a good night, chur”. The most casual greeting I think I’ve ever heard at a gig of this size.
Next up is second single from
Big BW, ‘Pull the Catch’. This track also goes down well again, with a massive drum solo from Riki Gooch and bass that you can feel throughout your entire body.
It’s on this track, the lanky English guy behind me comes up with a cracker comparison for the night… “That lead singer is like a Kiwi Craig David, they’re wearing the same hat!” Genius! I feel instantly wounded that Dukie was compared to someone as trite as Craig David!
On next tune ‘Boondigga’, guest MC DJ Slave comes bounding onto the stage to help out with a calculated lyrical battle with Dukie, backed by rock star guitar from Jetlag Johnson (AKA Tehimana Kerr). DJ Slave’s witty, fast lyrics are in contrast to the relatively mellow pace of the show to this point. On ‘The Nod’, individual introductions are given by DJ Slave followed by solos from each Fat Freddys Drop member. On his trombone solo, I decide that Ho Pepa is the sexiest trombone player I have ever seen, stripping off his suit jacket and shirt, leaving us with a white wife-beater and his energetic moves.
Through ‘Dark Days’, ‘Shivaman’ and ‘Breakthru’, Dukie switches between electric and acoustic guitar and the pace changes again from chilled out to more energetic. The entire jam clocks around 40 minutes.
The final song, ‘Lonely Tour Manager Blues’ is indeed just that, a bluesy song showing of the stamina and talent of Fat Freddys Drop. This track is a smooth ride home for the Fat Freddys Drop boys, lasting around 10 minutes.
No doubt expecting an encore after this slower than usual final number, most of the packed room hang about once Fat Freddys Drop leave the stage - certainly hoping for at least one more song (possibly even ‘Wandering Eye’?), and it’s not until the roadies begin dismantling the speaker systems and clearing the stage that the crowd involuntarily admit there will be no more from Fat Freddys Drop tonight. Unfortunately, the final sound to be heard from the Roundhouse tonight is booing.
I can see where Fat Freddys Drop are coming from in terms of length of their concert, and the general showmanship and musical ability up until this point has been phenomenal. Although, technically, Fat Freddys Drop have only released one studio album, and even I have to admit that the choice to leave out their biggest single, or even to only play 2 tracks from the album, was odd.
Fat Freddys Drop isn’t really a band that plays to the commercial side of things though, more so they play what sounds good and what feels right. And judging by the looks on peoples faces as they file out, and by the line at the merchandise stand, people obviously enjoyed catching Fat Freddys Drop’s final tour show, and I’m pretty certain that their gigs next summer to promote
Big BW will no doubt sell out just as tonight’s show did.
http://www.myspace.com/fatfreddysdropnz
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DJ Mu, Fat Freddys Drop
| Features 
Fat Freddys Drop - Live @ The Roundhouse
