Snow Rugg, Mathas
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Mojos Bar
Whenever you see a sold out sign at Mojos, you know that you are in for a fun night and Saturday night was no exception and people were already starting to gather around outside as they waited for the venue to open.
By the time the first band, Snow/Rugg came on, there was a decent sized crowd which is always good to see. Snow/Rugg is a four piece jazz/funk/blues band and it was their first show together. In fact, they are so new that their songs don’t even have names as yet. With great tunes that channelled the ghosts of Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley and Marvin Gaye, they had the crowd eating out of their palms by the end of the first song. Considering this was their first show together and most of the gig was improvised on the spot, they were an extremely polished act and lead singer Tayo Snow has a smooth, soulful voice that you could listen to for hours. If they continue in the same vein, they have the potential to go far.
Mathas was the next act to grace the stage and opened with King Ponce, Doctorshopping and the song about Perth, Enforceless. “We’ve all played in this place in different compositions so this is home.” he told the packed out dance floor. He finished off his killer set with Bravo Troll!, White Sugar and Stone Cold Sober. Mathas’ ability to command the stage and attention of the audience, along with his talent to create intelligent rap is cementing his place as one of the best hip hop artists in Perth. The added element of his new band is only making him even stronger than ever before.
As the lights dimmed, Spice Girls Wannabe blared over the speakers and people poured in from outside, Koi Child took the stage in a grand entrance. “What’s up you guys? Thanks for coming – this shit is sold out!” they screamed and opened up with Grease, Touch ’em and Cruzy P.
They continued to play many of their hits including Slow One, Wumpa, Black Panda and Rap Trash before ending with Japes. They walked off stage to calls of “one more song!” and obligingly came back telling everyone “not that we have another one but for fuck sake we’ll figure something out!” and performing an improv jam.
Koi Child performed well and they were entertaining. The crowd loved what they saw, were dancing around and were clearly enjoying the night. They are a funky/jazz/hip-hop band that cannot be pigeon-holed into just one genre. Their fluidity between different styles is garnering them attention from all corners and they have a strong following.
KAREN LOWE
Pic by Harry Bowman
