New Zealand dub and reggae has experienced an explosion of activity over the last decade with acts like Fat Freddy’s Drop, Salmonella Dub, Pitch Black and Kora all contributing their own angle to it’s rhythms and rhymes. The Black Seeds are the most accessible of the bunch and with four albums (and a remix album) under their belt they have also shown longevity and proficiency.

The Red-Eyes were up from Melbourne to open the show and they well and truly warmed up the crowd and had them swaying and cheering as if they were witnessing the headliner. They stick to a fairly straight reading of dub flavoured reggae with the bass riding high in the mix and the dual keyboards providing some trippy sci-fi soundscapes. Singer El Witeri strode the stage with passion and a confidence that bridged the often wide gap between first band and audience. In terms of what was to come The Red-Eyes were the perfect introduction to the chilled party vibe of the evening.

The Black Seeds cover wide ground with their melding of reggae, funk, soul and pop and from those cornerstones they create an impressive beast of a groove. All the instruments focused strongly on rhythm and it was only really the horns that took solos under the spotlights, greeted by cheers from the audience.

The spirit of Jamaican legend Ernest Ranglin was in the air with the twanging guitar intro to Come To Me and it was a great example of the heavier and more authentic dub sound they achieved on their last record – Solid Ground. Their evolution from a bunch of reggae fans to a solid and sophisticated unit was evident right from the start of their set and dispelled any of the ‘New Zealand’s UB40’ cheap shots that many had leveled at the band (myself included).

The tracks from the On The Sun album received the biggest cheers with Cool Me Down, Turn It Around and Fire all proving to be funk-pop fueled anthems. The Metro was a sea of arms and the crowd response genuinely moved the band with many exchanged smiles and frequent laughter. From the same album they also played the sunny pacific flavoured So True, one of the smoothest and delightfully slice of lovers rock they have written.

Frontman Barnaby Weir played the role well through the 90 minute set, never resorting to Jah preaching or false exhalations for crowd participation. He let the music lead the way and scattered comments of praise and thanks when they were needed, all the while providing those distinctive soul pop vocals over the top of the riddims.

The Black Seeds showed once more that they are an absolute killer live band who look like they are having a bunch of fun on stage. They have long transcended any issues of authenticity and they held the audience in the palm of their hand from start to finish. Reggae and dub are perfect partners for soul and funk and when seamlessly intertwined in a loud and packed club the end result was an irresistibly heavy sound leaving no option other than to smile and dance.