Bonjah

WARNING: This review was written by a Bonjah fan.

It is hard to be objective when reviewing a band that you love and I have followed Bonjah from about a year ago when they performed as a four-piece band as the support act for another band whose drummer later became the fifth Bonjah member.

Bonjah is creating quite a stir on the live music scene at the moment the guys have been touted as being one of the best live shows around. The buzz is literally spreading across town, true story: the night after the launch I was on the other side of town and quite randomly struck up a conversation with a couple of female travellers who had seen Bonjah play in one of their regular spots a few weeks ago. They were so touched by their performance that they bought the CD and joined the growing throng of fans. This buzz obviously precedes them, evident in tickets to their single launch selling out on the night.

The single launch was more like a medley of performers rather than the standard band/support act gig. Beginning with the sweet sweet acoustic pop rocker Emilie Gassin who wowed the small crowd from first strum of her guitar to the last line of her raspy Aussie chick voice.

Next was the increasingly popular Tom Tuena Band who always charm the crowd with their young fresh faces and easy listening melodic Indie Pop sound. Belting out some numbers that a handful of audience members recognised probably should have seen them ‘promoted’ to be the band before Bonjah, but even so they definitely entertained admirably, giving the night that ‘value for money’ feeling.

Just before the headlining act, Nick Vorrath from Custom Kings jumped up on stage and pearled out a few acoustic songs. I must say I enjoyed his music and in all honesty I probably will try and get along to a Custom Kings gig soon. But by this stage of the night the East Brunswick club was sold-out and we were all beyond ready for some ‘Bonjah action’.

Finally, stage lighting dims, house lights all but off, Regan (Vocals and Guitar), Maj (percussion), Dan (Drums) and Dave (Bass) appear on stage and begin the gentle jamming to bring Glenn (Vocals, acoustic guitar and harmonica) and his totally mesmerising voice to join them on stage.

Bonjah have created a unique sound that cant be pigeon holed in to one particular style or genre, throw in some Reggae, some Folk, some Funk, some Roots and you may get close to an idea. I also think the uniqueness of Bonjah is attributed to the vibe experienced in their live shows; it is the kind of music that will feed your soul, a true testimony to all the hard work they have put in over the years.

They busted out a few favourites mingled with some music from their new album and truly before we knew it, it was time to debut the single Bring Back the Fire and my god did they ever! With lines like “I’ve got thoughts in my head that never get released, even in these peaceful dreams” that we can all relate to and the tight musical arrangement, Bring Back the Fire is going to mean big things for Bonjah – mark my words.

A live performance wouldn’t be complete without the ‘drum-off’ that sometimes occurs during a set break between the young spritely percussionist Maj and the passionate drummer Dan. This little interlude has the boys plaster ear to ear smiles on their face as they challenge each others talent and has the audience in an awed hush interjected with “oh what? Wow, that’s fantastic!”

The night wore on with little concern for time or the recognition that the boys were now up to repeating songs the audience just wanted more. Regan, (yes, yes bit of a crush on this funky rocker) and Dave (who may be short in stature stands very tall in talent on the bass) had their own fun as they joined for a guitar verse bass strum off. You know you own a crowd when you can throw a microphone to them and they don’t miss a beat, this was perfectly read when Glenn threw up his microphone during one of the last numbers, and I do love this as an audience member because it always feels like a bonding experience between the band an its followers.

I had gathered a small crowd of friends for the evening, one of whom had never seen Bonjah play before, his praise went to Bonjah in saying they alone were worth the dollars he had spent on the cover charge. All agreed, though the encore saw them repeating songs it was a captivating show from start to finish. I do personally wish they had finished on their second last song and my all time favourite Moments We Breathe, but you can't win 'em all.

Now, *sigh* they have taken a month off from performing to record their new album well I guess August isn’t that far away…

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