L.A.B, Auckland NZ, 2022

L.A.B

22nd January 2022
Western Springs Outer Field, Auckland, New Zealand

Review by Kate Taylor, with photography by Doug Peters. 

We’re funny, aren’t we? Us, humans. So individualistic. So very sure that our needs, our thoughts, our ideas are original, that we’re the only ones to have thought these thoughts. To have had these notions. To have sustained the specificities of our hurts, losses and loves. When really, we’re all small molecules undulating as part of a much bigger organism. Our life cycle of birth, work, breed, death; is exactly that of the cells that make up all of our personal being. We’re just following a pattern. An organic algorithm.

So, in this time when we’ve all got an opinion on how things should be, we’ve all got an ideal of what will be optimal “once it’s over”, but still with no specific plan or certainty in place; those small pockets of joy that we can derive from things that feel familiar, give us a lot of benefit and release. Even with a pervasive worry about the very thing that’s uplifting our spirits, being an incident that could lead to further turbulent day-to-day life.

Streaming into a sweltering Western Springs on a hot Auckland summer’s night, there was a noticeable hum of energy in the air. Of being out. People. Smells. The press of bodies. Fragments of conversation and laughter as you walk past. The inevitable making a new best friend while waiting in the food stall or bathroom line. The fist bumps with a stranger. Humans are going to human. Being part of a sweaty throng of jubilant people again was deeply satisfying. To sing and cheer with complete strangers over the same simultaneous stimulation. Mmm, that’s magic that is, cells coming together and multiplying in intention and momentum.

Once I’d gained entry, the evening kicked off for my viewing pleasure with The Black Seeds who delivered as they always do, with style and a heaping helping of chill and nonchalant Kiwi hybrid groove that’s taken them around the world and back on countless sojourns as this musical outfit; and as part of the many runner offshoots of talented acts we’ve had the pleasure of enjoying, afforded by this originating band. Absolutely the focus of The Black Seeds was to entice the crowd into the vibe, to celebrate the opportunity and to give L.A.B their flowers in front of this audience. Of course, ‘Fire’, ‘Turn It Around’, ‘So True’ and ‘One by One’ were absolute highpoints of an incredibly well received set and the slow build of the evening kicking in. Can’t wait to see what Barnaby and Co. get up to next; especially after being treated to a sneak peak of a new track. Bring it.

Where The Black Seeds bring a sort of relaxation to their performance of it flowing out however it does; Ladi6 on the other hand, is formidable. The precision. The presence. Ladi6’s arrival to stage really made me and no doubt others, feel like I had to sit up straight, collect myself and pay attention because I was about to be taught. Snapping it with her ever faithful band of “The Sixxes” dancers, Ladi6 delivered an impeccably tight set that felt all too short for how entertaining and polished it was. So effortless and smooth in her delivery, Ladi6 immediately raised the standard of the afternoon to international festival standard and made sure the audience took note, especially representing as one of three wahine on the bill for the evening. Ladi6’s goal was to make us “feel the bass in [our] loins”; and with the reworked version of ‘Like Water’ that we were gifted with, it certainly did just that. It would be remiss of me not to pass on Ladi6’s advocacy too; and let you know that by texting TONGA to 2256 you’ll be able to donate $3 to aid in supplies being sent to Sopu, Kolomotu’a Village via Sustainable Coastlines with the remainder going to Red Cross – so go on, pitch in if you can.

That one big, throbbing, pulsing organism feeling I was telling you about? There was another spike of that during the set performed by Katchafire. So beloved is this band by so many, that there was not a bum on the grass for their setlist. Everyone was up, swaying, skanking, smoking, touching…unfolding. Melting into the delicious feeling that these boys were giving us, with the highest concentration and potency coming through on ‘Love Letter’. Katchafire were blunt in their mission to roll through their stash of old favourites, harvesting the beautifully aged beats for us to unclench to, like Irie and Sensimilla. Soaking in early evening sun, the thick haze threading through the grounds had everyone establishing their position for the rest of the night, getting comfortable and primed. Katchafire’s ability to disarm and unite was in full effect via their groove and brass prowess; and a demonstration of their stalwart status as the premium roots act of our little collection of islands; and I’m counting the West Island (Australia) in that too. Caught up in a rub-a-dub styley, there was a palatable sense of individualism being shed, the assimilation into the rhythm, the mirrored movements of others become one big quivering mass. One love.

Sir Dave Dobbyn took to the stage next and while it was clear that he was bringing the party for a sector of the crowd, Dave just didn’t do it for me. Yeah, it was cool to send a video of ‘Slice of Heaven’ to my mate in Sydney who’s desperate to be home, to get my yob on and pretend I was pissy drunk or one of “The Wests” singing along to ‘Bliss’ or ‘Be Mine Tonight’; or to pretend I felt as moved by ‘Welcome Home’ as I’m supposed to be. A good spot for people to reset, grab some dinner, hit the bathroom, or load up on drinks before L.A.B took to the stage. I see why Dave was bringing up the rear but, I don’t know, after such a massive high from Katchafire; Sir Dave felt like a little slow down in my personal opinion. I’d have preferred to see him and his classics earlier in the afternoon, or to have had someone like Rei or Rory Noble earlier in the bill and had a blistering, face-melter of a set from Katchafire following straight into L.A.B – but that’s me. Individualist in my preference and opinion; and hey…once you’ve seen a woman twerk to ‘Slice of Heaven’ in front of her mortified teens, I think you’ve kind of seen everything. Most Kiwi moment of the night though occurred during this set where suddenly, about 8-10 people in front of me, did not like that one of the venue staff was having to pick up rubbish and not party instead, so they stopped dancing and in a helpful frenzy picked up bits of rubbish and put them in this chuckling staff member’s sack. Tidy Kiwis indeed.

The pinnacle of the evening was upon us. L.A.B. unequivocally the best live act in New Zealand at present; or so is the opinion of my mate in attendance, graced us with a big stage set up, extra screens, gear galore and a rachet up of reverence. By the end of their set, I was in total agreement that L.A.B are a highly premium live band from their song selection to the inclusivity of their messaging in song or banter, to their sense of community in acknowledging how they’ve come to be where they are by who has supported their music in getting there. A triumphant night for the boys to take to the stage as L.A.B V sits atop our charts. Seeped in influence, this reggae, electronic, blues, rock, funk outfit most definitely have a thread of metal at their core. Displayed by their entrance accompanied by ‘The Ecstasy of Gold’ by Ennio Morricone from Eastwood’s classic The Good, The Bad and The Ugly; which is of course, the instrumental track that Metallica have used to infiltrate the stage since 1983. Nice, see what you did there boys; and that led into a searing little gat solo from Joel that most definitely had Pink Floyd tinges.

L.A.B have got so much heart. There’s no other way to put it. They’ve got this pervasive ‘underdog goes big’ quality to them that I relish. This Springsteen flavoured truth at the centre of their hard-working heart. A superb setlist that hit all the right spots just as you wanted them to be, L.A.B drilled down to the bedrock of this audience and knitted us together with loud, lusty renditions of ‘Islands In The Stream’ and also Toto’s ‘Africa’ which went right the hell off. So much joy, so much terribly off-key singing from the crowd and me included, and we loved every second of it. That one organism, goosebumps feeling came back in full force on Joel’s cell phone torchlight performance of ‘Amazing Grace’ in honour of our people in Tonga, as we all sang together from our chests for them. Crowd individualism levels completely dissipated. With their full band, back up singers, incredibly sick Saxophone player slaying her solo arrangements, and us the audience; L.A.B had the full palate of audible colours to paint with, so why not just bring out Kings to the stage to make us lose our minds and bring some premium New Zealand hip hop to the fore. And here in lies where more metal peaked out…as Kings and L.A.B took front and centre stage with multiple drums for a huge drumline break down. The bogan in me thrilled to reminiscing seeing the legendary Max Cavalera and Sepultura doing this uniting ritual with band tour mates like Pantera or Hatebreed and many others.

Nary a hit of the L.A.B discography was missed in their set listing, with an encore of ‘Why’ and ‘In The Air’ that sinched up the evening into a gorgeous little bundle of catharsis that should get us all through the next embattlement on the frontline of the Omicron. Take care of yourselves, but more importantly; take care of each other and most importantly, take care of the ones that can’t take care of themselves.

The Black Seeds – photo by Doug Peters

Were you there at Western Springs for this chilled out mini festival? Or have you seen L.A.B perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!

_{Note: Ambient Light was provided passes to review and photograph this concert. As always, this has not influenced the review in any way and the opinions expressed are those of Ambient Light’s only. This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product using an affiliate link, Ambient Light will automatically receive a small commission.}

If you enjoyed this content, please consider donating towards the running of Ambient Light, covering expenses and allowing us to expand the coverage you love by visiting our PressPatron page.