Bonjah

It’s traditionally a rock venue, but on a cold Saturday night, flocks of hipsters and hippies alike ventured below the city streets for a different kind of gig at The HiFi. Even if you didn’t know what you were there for, this was made obvious by the sprawling set of guitars, bongos, and earthy lighting. It became even more obvious when the opening act, Al Parkinson came onstage and everybody remained calmly seated on the stairs and floor. It was a perfect scenario though, as she sat perched above the crowd, demanding our attention as she cracked jokes throughout her short set of simple, playful acoustic tunes. Starting off with “A Bad Song” about her ex-boyfriend, she assured us that he was a complete asshole and didn’t deserve the applause that she received after playing it. This boyfriend obviously caused a lot of havoc because he featured quite heavily in Parkinsons’ songs and chatter. Switching effortlessly between guitar and ukulele, her music is overtly simple, but her typically sassy indie voice suits it perfectly and makes up for the lack of technicality.

After Parkinson gracefully bowed herself off stage, it was a fair while until the three boys from The Method Act came out. It was almost worth the wait though, as their swampy blues-rock engaged the room with echoes of grinding riffs, throbbing bass lines and raw vocals. Playing tracks like “The River”, “Rattle My Cage” and a cover of Bob Dylans’ “In My Time of Dyin’”, it seems that the band is driven by the energy of vocalist and lead guitarist Glenn Johnson. Although there was barely a word uttered between songs, the band's dirty instrumental bridges and tempo changes were enough to give them a good dose of personality.

With everybody finally on their feet again, the almost full room erupted as Bonjah finally graced the stage that had been waiting for them all night. Kicking things off with “Fly”, it was literally a matter of seconds (no, milliseconds) before the crowd was dancing and singing along. These guys have clearly built an impressively sturdy fan base and when you finally see them perform live, you know why. Fronted by South-African born Glenn Mossop, the New Zealand-bred band plays with an infectious passion and energy, and as Mossop sways and dances around stage, you can’t help but get a little bit jiggy yourself. After a bit of sound trouble resulting in some screeching microphones, they quickly settle back into the set with the bluesy balladry of “Bring Back the Fire”.

After almost constant touring over a 3-year period, the band took the last 6 months off to record some new material in their new home and stomping ground of Melbourne, and they didn’t disappoint when they played their first new song for the night… the dark but sassy “Red Sun”. They followed it up with “My Patience”, a song that really showcases the bands musical originality. As Mossop leaves the stage, the lights go dim, and the marvelous Regan Lethbridges’ electric guitar cuts through the steadily pulsing bongo-laced beat. It’s one of those musical moments that just seems to suck everyone in - breaking down slowly before building feverishly back up into an atmospheric climax. The show was far from over though, as they proceeded to power through the punchy reggae-inspired blues of crowd-pleasers “The Weight of Imagination”, “Colours” and “Atolia”.

The highlight of the night came when the desolate riff and pulsating beat of “Spin With The World” started to fill the room, and everybody whole-heartedly clapped and sang along word for word. After another well-received and yet-to-be-named new track with a fast-paced western energy, “Riseand Fall” came into play to end the set with another massive guitar bridge from Lethbridge (a Leth-bridge, perhaps?).

Of course, it’s not really the end, because this is a tour to launch their new single “Something We Should Know”, and they haven’t played it yet. Cue re-entry of vocalist and guitarist to mad cheering, followed by re-entry of rest of band and playing of the song that everyone came for. As all the energy of the night bubbled over and the swarming crowd danced as one through the awesome new song, I felt decidedly consumed by this band and their music… despite the fact that some drunken idiots were having a facebook-special photo shoot right in front of me.

It truly was an amazing set, featuring some amazing songs played with a passionate energy that leaves you with no doubt as to why Bonjah have been causing such a stir in the blues ‘n roots scene around Australia. These guys are fantastic, and there’s something edgy about their sound that distinguishes them from others in their genre and makes me think there’s every chance they’ll make it all the way to the top of the Blues ‘N Roots pile to join the likes of The John Butler Trio, Xavier Rudd, The Cat Empire, Blue King Brown, and Ben Harper. Let’s face it, they’re already a long way down the road to success and it’s just a matter of time before everyone catches on.

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