Blue King Brown

First act of the warm evening, as usually is the case in a venue such as The Zoo, Beth Preston nonchalantly took to the stage solo. With her charming and almost Canadian-esque sounding vocals, just her and an acoustic guitar set to entertaining the alternative & comfortably dressed crowd. Her asphyxiating voice and confident guitar strumming appeared to be well accepted amongst the restlessly milling crowd. A little bit further into the set, Beth was accompanied by two guest percussion players, and as an added extra, introduced a bout of whistling to her songs, which gave a twinkle to her performance. I believe she stated that one of her tracks was titled; “Which she will remain nameless”, if it was, it had a great reggae flavouring due to its gorgeous deep percussion sound.

As Skin setup, the vibe in the zoo instantly heightened. It was quite clear that most of the crowd were here to get a taste of Natalie and Carlo’s brilliant percussion work both in the form of Skin and Blue King Brown. The heat was definitely felt at the front of The Zoo’s stage and its dark confines with the barometric pressure still rising! All that was needed was a quick drumstick count in, and off Skin went bursting into a mad and frantic tribal percussion set. The Zoo was instantly transported to a place reminiscent of their many festival performances. As soon as the second track began, its tribal beats kicked in and threw the crowd into a frenzied overdrive. I knew I could no longer contain myself, and had to immediately join in with the dance floor groovers! The insistent beats were calling to all wild brothers and sisters of this precious land! Natalie and Carlo’s energy was irrepressible! Bringing on hard, fast and furious drum beats, there’s nothing else you can think off when these beats are pounding in your ears, traveling up through your legs, and rewiring every sensor in your body! The last track of the set had a nice Italian / Polish count in and was very feverish indeed! I couldn’t help but lose myself in the intensity of it all!

From the moment Afro Dizzi Act stepped onstage, Jamaican flavours flowed into the crowd. Comparisons could be made with local reggae-fused act Dub Doubt. It’s all about the music in this place tonight. The Act’s funky vibes, limitless buzz and obvious crowd support kept bodies dancing incessantly. Ending on a massive crowd cheer, everyone in the place were totally and uncontrollably hyped for what was yet to come!

Blue King Brown’s group dynamics are so tight, just watching them its hard to breathe.
Talk about some fucking vibes and energy! I totally lost myself in their set! Highlights include a few tracks off their new self titled Ep (see single review): ‘Reasons Why’ with its phat bass lines, ‘In The Middle’, ‘Coming Through’, ‘Better Spent’, “Us and Them”(I think)- with its “aha” crowd response. A special pre-song commentary on the origins behind ‘Water’ allowed its important issues concerning indigenous land and its ancestral lineage to get a well deserved mention. It’s a shame time wouldn’t allow for an encore, as the crowd was so energized they could have outrun the energizer bunny. If you haven’t seen any of these acts before, I suggest you get out there and see them, just don’t forget to be prepared to break it down!

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