11 July @ San Fran Bath House, Wellington
I don’t think I need to give any background information on these guys, everyone knows them and what they are about, and if you don’t then…where have you been? These guys have been spreading the irie reggae vibes around Aotearoa for the last ten years and also more recently world-wide.
Walking into a very packed San Francisco Bath House, I was greeted by the Blackseeds track, Cool Me Down, some Sublime, then the classic Bob Marley tune, One Love all played by DJ Ara.
Katchafire then stepped to the stage, did a quick sound-check (big ups to the sound-man, the sound was tight all night) after which the percussion, keyboards, guitar then the drum and base kicked in and had the crowd skanking and singing away to one of my favourite Katchafire tracks, Sensemilla. Lead singer Logan told the crowd to get rowdy and we did (well not so much me, I was more irie).
This was the first time I had heard any of Katchafire’s new material and I was impressed. I especially enjoyed the tune Love Letter with its harmonious chorus. This World is also a track that after hearing live I’m playing on regular rotation.
Time flies when you’re having fun and before I knew it Katchafire had been playing over an hour and it was time for a break. I popped outside to get some fresh air while DJ Ara kept tings irie inside. After the break the crew came back on and opened with a cover of Bob Marleys’ Rebel Music, then making it a true family affair when Logan wished and sung happy birthday to his aunt.
My personal highlight of the night came with a cover of Bob Marleys’ Remdemption Song which started off on an acoustic tip with a roots flavour and built its way into skanking reggae, with everyone singing along all the way. More classic Katchafire tracks followed as well as more Bob covers. Three Little Birds had the crowd singing, ‘dont worry bout a ting, cos every little ting gona be alright’. Katchafire ended up the night with an encore (of course they did).
All in all yet another solid reggae jam with Katchafire, DJ Ara and of course everyone inside which made the night what it was.
Bless up Katchafire, NiceUp, San Fran and all Aotearoa reggae fans.
Hawk I
