L.A.B
2nd July 2022
Globox Arena, Hamilton, New Zealand.
Review by Courtney Tabener. Photography by Doug Peters.
What an amazing performance tonight, Masaya and JessB were the supporting acts for L.A.B and they sure did an amazing job getting the crowd warmed and pumped.
Masaya started the night off with some original hits and fresh new tunes. Including the first song they released, Tales of Moonshine. Reiki’s voice is so soulful and fitted the song well.
JessB was up next and dang that girl can rap! The bass was so good, I could feel it in my feet for the whole night. She kicked her performance off with “Shut up!” a song full of fusion of reggaeton, hip-hop and dancehall beats. Jess put on such a great performance that I had to listen to her albums ‘New View’ and ‘In Bloom’ on my drive home. So good!
Next up, the act we had all been waiting for, L.A.B. As soon as they came on stage the whole crowd erupted with excitement.
The whole set was a blur to me, just banger after banger rolling off the stage making me involuntary dance – the best kind of show.
Highlights included Mr Reggae playing and everyone joined in singing. Reiki from Masaya came back out and joined Joel on stage. Louisa who plays saxophone came out on stage and had a lil solo play with Miharo on Keyboard, they sounded amazing together. Joel then turned it down for a solo tribute to his Dad. Playing a country rock song Under the Sun. A perfect tribute. Special mention also to Lisa Tomlins for her magnificent backing vocals throughout the night, she looked like she was having a great time up there and her voice tied many of the songs together perfectly.
A couple more goodies were played and then the band said good night and left the stage. Now we all know what happened next right..?
Of course the crowd wanted more and started chanting “Encore, Encore, Encore”. Brad Kora and Dean Rodrigues came back out and kicked off a beat, soon the rest of the crew followed suit and they all flowed smoothly into Africa by Toto. Was amazing to look around the arena and see everyone’s phone torches on and swaying, looking like thousands of tiny stars. L.A.B played a few more songs and ended the night with a selfie with the crowd.
What a great night it was, if you ever have a chance to go see L.A.B live, Do it!
Were you there at Globox Arena for this brilliant celebration of New Zealand Music? Or have you seen L.A.B perform live somewhere else? 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 at no cost to you.
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