Ohakune Mardi Gras Warm Up
22nd June 2018
Hot Lava / Kings / Turoa Lodge, Ohakune, New Zealand.
Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Doug Peters.
Under a crystal blue sky with the picturesque snowcapped mountains in the background, the town of Ohakune began its transformation process into party central. Already on the cards is a Saturday night that promises to end all others, a stellar line-up being topped off with the almighty Pendulum.
But you can’t just throw yourself into a marathon of mind-bendingly good music. No siree; you have to limber up first! Do some stretches and get yourself into the groove. And what better way to do that then with an official Warm-Up party to end all others, with not one, not two but three venues each laying on a smorgasbord of musical delights from which to choose from.
As darkness fell one of the first to light up the evening with some incredible beats was Hot Lava playing host to both Lacquer and Grynd. With a heady mix of drum and bass and hard house they soon had the dance floor heaving as punters took in the geometric visuals projected just above the decks.
Just around the corner and Turoa Lodge was also churning out some hard hitting drum and bass courtesy of both Rothman Reds (TheDjNotTheDarts) and Auckland based trio Sly Chaos; each raising the temperature by more than just a few degrees. Of course a little bit of the old school tunes never hurt anyone and the crowd tonight certainly showed their appreciation of both a bit of Scribe and Ginuwine’s ‘Pony’, the latter prompting some rather orginal tongue in cheek dance moves.
Back up at Hot Lava and the roof was being torn off by Auckland based hip hop duo Times x Two. Currently in the middle of their tour which has already seen them take in Sydney and Melbourne they had the crowd eating out of their hands with their high octane set which saw them drop some tasty covers of ‘Look Alive’ by Bloc Boy, Lil Pump’s ‘Esskeetit’ and following a rousing ‘I say Mardis you say Gras’ chant a nod to the popular Fast and the Furious film franchise with Tokyo Drift by the Teriyaki Boyz.
If bowel shaking beats were not your thing then a short walk round the corner past some picturesque moonlit trees saw you arrive at Kings where some self-described “milky musical goodness” was being poured out from the one and only The Butlers. The fans having been entertained with a DJ set that included some of that 90’s goodness in the form of ‘No Diggity’ laced with a little ‘Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It’ soon settled in at the front of the black and white checkered dance floor to welcome The Butlers to the stage. Hailing from Christchurch the five piece bring some uniquely reggae infused tunes that are guaranteed to get you grooving, and quite frankly how many bands do you know that feature not only an outstanding saxophone player but one that is the ‘double brown box mask’ man of mystery? Songs about drug dealers – ‘No Good Nina’ – and favourite beverages – ‘Gin and Milk’ – allowed the band to show off their musical skills in style, bass player Jordan Kennedy delivering some funk induced notes before Bradley King would swoop in with his outstanding solo’s. Highlight of the set had to be ‘Robbies on the Run’ which is the featured bonus track on the their album The Halfway House released last year; live it was full bodied and catchy as all hell, a sweet little breakdown in the middle allowing drummer George Berry to show off his vocal skills with a short rendition of the soul inspiring Nina Simone classic ‘Feeling Good’
The Butlers will soon be embarking on a ten – yes ten – date tour of the country over July and August and if you want to experience some of that goodness for yourself make sure you grab a ticket!
The night had transitioned into the early morning hours, and this Warm-Up was now piping hot. Mt Eden destroying the patrons at Hot Lava with a set that featured everything from Prodigy’s ‘Omen’ to ‘Make It Bun Dem’ from Skrillex; the punters showing their appreciation of the addition of a little Andersoncali, Spag Heddy and Boombox Cartel.
But it had to be one of Saturday night’s headliners that really showed everyone just how to kick start a killer weekend; Concord Dawn owning Turoa Lodge by throwing out some The Vanguard Project before sending the crowd into the stratosphere with their own celestial track ‘Fly Away Home’. Of course what would a Concord Dawn set be without the iconic ‘Don’t Tell Me’ from their 2003 album Uprising? A little ‘There For You’ by Culture Shock bringing the crowd back down into the fold.
One things for sure – if this is what the Warm-Up has to offer, then Mardis Gras is certainly going to be a night to remember!
Were you there in Ohakune for this magnificent multi-venue party? Or have you been to an Ohakune Mardi Gras Warm Up party some other time? Tell us about it in the comments below!
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