Arriving at the Corner Hotel on Monday night it was no surprise that we were greeted by two lines around the block, after all three time Grammy Award winner and son of one of the greatest people in music history was on the bill.
Despite it being cold and wet outside, the vibe of the Corner Hotel was something like a tropical island full of free loving hippies. By 8:30pm the venue was already packed out as local band The Dub Captains took to the stage. Before the music started it was hard to say what was about to come as an eclectic mix of people kept pouring onto the stage (thirteen people to be exact) and you could have easily confused this for an Arcade Fire show. These comparisons were quickly thrown out of the window as a timid looking Hamish Knight opened his mouth to reveal a surprisingly soulful voice.
It took a little while for the band to warm up, but this was probably due to the thought of “HOLY SHIT WE ARE SUPPORTING ZIGGY MARLEY, IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING!” Once they got into the swing of things, they really kept with the tropical island vibe with Josh Bridges picking up the ukulele for calypso tune “Once Again”. Ending the set on a high not with “Going To The Ocean” the crowd was undoubtedly ready for the reggae beats to continue.
Before we knew it, the time had come. The lights dimmed. Dreadlocked men appeared. Then the smooth sound of “Higher Vibrations” kicked in as Ziggy Marley made his way to the stage. Starting off the set with mostly songs off most recent album Wild and Free, the room was swaying in time as Ziggy sung about freedom, peace and love in “Personal Revolution”. These messages carry through in all of Ziggy’s music, an obvious influence from his father and reggae roots.
Making music since the tender age of 11, his first of 3 Grammy Awards with the Melody Makers came in 1989 from album Conscious Party with songs like “Tomorrow People” that still resonate with the crowd after almost 25 years. Playing songs off both Dragonfly and Love Is My Religion Ziggy had the crowd captivated. As soon as the crowd heard those keys and that guitar riff the vibe was taken to another level as he played a cover of his father, Bob Marley’s track “Is This Love”. The Corner Hotel at this point had somehow managed to teleport itself to the sunny beaches of Jamaica, as everyone sung at the top of their lungs.
To end on a high there is another key part of the reggae culture that couldn’t have been left behind, something that everyone in the crowd got excited about as Ziggy played the title track off Wild and Free. The crowd sung along taking Woody Harrelson’s spot as they grooved to the reggae sound of “I see marijuana trees blowing in our breeze”.
After only a short encore Ziggy ran back on stage and got straight into “Changes”, a song off Wild and Free, which features his son Daniel. Keeping it in the family the classic reggae sound of “Jammin’”, a Bob Marley hit, filled the room followed by title track off his 2006 album Love is my Religion. Even though he payed homage to his father through playing songs that are recognised as being some of the greatest songs ever written, it is a true testament to Ziggy’s talent as an independent musician as the highlight of the set was ending it with “Look Who’s Dancing” off his own Grammy Award winning album, One Bright Day. Sadly, 45 minutes later than expected we all had to go back to reality on the cold streets of Melbourne having only the memory of our short but ever so sweet trip to Jamaica.
– Stefanie Miltiadou
