The opening night of the Australasian World Music Expo (AWME) brought a trio of the finest soul bands that Melbourne has to offer to a packed and excitable Hi-Fi crowd.
One of Australia’s best kept secrets, Electric Empire, began the night and proved why they probably won’t remain a secret for much longer.
Although making inroads internationally and playing huge shows, even appearing at Glastonbury Festival, the soul band is still yet to properly break through in Australia.
After calling the crowd “beautiful” and stating “it’s so good to be back playing our hometown”, the four-piece launched in to an extremely polished set filled with smooth vocals, powerful melodies, and perfect harmonies.
The set featured tracks from their debut album, as well as their recently released EP, and even a cover of the Jay-Z and Kanye West collaboration, ‘No Church In The Wild’.
‘Have You Around’ saw the group embark on an inventive and wonderful a cappella moment that displayed each member’s impressive vocals. Finishing the set with the title track from their EP, ‘Changin’, it seems to be only a matter of time until the band receive the critical acclaim at home that they’ve seen internationally recently.
Next up is the nine-piece soul and funk infused Saskwatch, who demanded attention with a four-piece brass section and frontwoman Nkechi Anele’s strong vocals and irresistible dance moves.
The set, which featured covers of the Robbie Williams and Kyle Minogue classic ‘Kids’, as well as the now-defunct Little Red’s ‘Coca-Cola’, in a joyful display of soulful indie-pop.
‘Second Best’ fully displays Olaf Scott’s ability on the keyboard, featuring an electrifying solo, while Anele is the perfect leader of the energetic collection of talented musicians.
The Bamboos are a band that simply have to be seen live. Filled with enthusiasm, an abundance of character, and a talented three-piece brass section, the band put on a master class of soul music, and working a crowd into a frenzy to close the showcase night.
With Kyle Auldist’s undeniably powerful vocals driving the majority of the songs, including the Tim Rogers-less ‘I Got Burned’, it’s hard not to lose yourself in the Bamboos’ expansive, layered music.
Ella Thompson, who has backing vocals duties for the best part of the set, takes the lead for a couple of songs, including a wonderful cover of James Blake’s ‘Wilhem Scream’, which was given a thoroughly satisfying funk make-over.
The set also featured two other impressive renditions, including the recently Like A Version-ed ‘Lost’ by Frank Ocean, and Kings Of Leon’s ‘King Of The Rodeo’, fitting cohesively into the set, even though they are worlds apart in terms of the originals.
Despite the enjoyable covers, the best moments of the set come from Bamboos originals, with tracks like ‘Happy’, ‘On The Sly’, and ‘I Got Burned’ proving to be stand-outs in the hour-plus performance.
The opening night of AWME proved to be a raging success, drawing an unbeatable array of soul musicians, playing infectiously happy and upbeat songs to an enthusiastically dancing crowd, that sees everyone leaving the venue with a smile on their face, always the best sign of a very good gig.
