Sublime with Rome, Auckland NZ, 2017

Sublime with Rome (with support from ManaLion)

2nd March 2017
Bruce Mason Centre, Auckland, New Zealand

Review by Sarah Kidd.

There may only be one original member left from Sublime [now officially called Sublime with Rome] but that hasn’t stopped their NZ fans from coming out in vast numbers to witness the epic Ska Punk Band of the 90’s.

Opening for Sublime with Rome tonight are New Zealand’s own (and perfect choice for the support slot) ManaLion. The three piece hailing from around the country have a style all of their own. With a crazy mix of roots, soul and funky dubtronics they had audience members heading straight for a front of stage position halfway through their opening song 3RD Eye. ManaLion were created in 2012 and consist of ‘Duan & Only’ on vocals/guitar, ‘Mondo’ on drums and ‘Slam Duncan’ on bass and keyboards. At one point during their set Duan ripped out a Melodica and played some trippy space like melodies as Slam [who was totally repping Adidas with an awesome black and gold combo tonight – someone get that boy some sponsorship!] got down and low on the bass. Halfway through their 6 song set and the entire room is grooving along to their beats. As they headed into their last track ‘Become the Master’ Duan – now wearing sunglasses to go with his fantastic faded Hawaiian shirt – jumps on top of the speakers and calls out “Are you having a good time?” before jumping back down, catching a drum thrown to him by Mondo and hammering out a fearsome rhythm for the gut rumbling instrumental finale to the set. These boys should be on everyone’s playlist!

A rather lengthy wait then ensued while waiting for Sublime with Rome to take the stage. The drinks continued to flow as small pockets of people amused themselves by singing old school Sublime songs.

As the house lights finally went down and a DJ appeared on the stage; the fans were already screaming for the band. Rome Ramirez dressed in a simple black t-shirt and jeans with a backwards baseball cap, stepped up to the microphone and greeted us with a simple hello and a huge grin. We hung in suspended limbo for a split second and then as the opening notes of ‘Date Rape’ came cascading down an explosion of movement ripped through the masses.

And so began an epic night of relentless hits.

The story of Sublime is relatively well known; the three piece not really hitting the big time in terms of being famous until their third self-titled album which was released a couple of months after the tragic death of lead singer Bradley Nowell in 1996. Cue a lengthy legal battle over the use of the name, 13 years and the inclusion of Rome Ramirez on vocals and Sublime with Rome were born. Eric Wilson on bass is now the only original member left since Gaugh left in 2011 and while Josh Freese was drumming for the band for a number of years he too has now been replaced by Tribal Seeds drummer Carlos Verdugo, who is an impressive watch with his intensive style.

Rome Ramirez has an infectious smile and it barely left his face for the entire set. “Auckland, I know you must hear it all the time, but this ain’t no bullshit – you guys are the best crowd ever! We have never had so much fun playing a show!” The hard-core fans sang along to each and every song; while hits like ‘Wrong Way’ and ‘Garden Grove’ prompted huge mass choruses of voices threatening to swallow the bands sound whole. The atmosphere in the venue was one of pure joy as people laughed and smiled at one another; everybody singing along to the words that most of us had memorised back in our college days.

The addition of a DJ to the band provided an extra layer and depth of sound to the live tracks and while many would argue that it’s just not the same without Nowell as the front man; Ramirez is more than worthy of the position. Born in California, Rome Ramirez may only be 28yrs old but he already has a respectable body of work behind him. While he continues to work on his solo career his main focus is with Sublime with Rome; his obvious love for the music [he is a self-confessed fan of Sublime] certainly shines through. As the band moved through their set the energy levels never wavered, the audience proving that they were here for the long haul and were ready to give it all that they had. Ramirez often noting that Auckland were certainly bringing the vibes tonight and how crazy it was that they were even in New Zealand at all – “We have never even been here before – never!!”

Finishing with ‘Scarlets’ the band bid goodnight as they sauntered off stage. But with the vitality levels still high – even for a school night – the crowd weren’t quite ready to let the band go just yet. The floor violently shaking as people stomped their feet demanding the band give them just a little bit more. So once again Ramirez (with that gorgeous smile) and co came back onstage to deliver a blistering 3 song encore that left everyone drenched but finally sated.

Peace out.

Editors Note: Due to the unethical practises and the attempt to play a large amount of New Zealand concert photographers off against each other by Sublime with Rome’s social media company (Geofffunk.com / Restless Digital) we have decided to not cover this show photographically. We stand in solidarity with the need for photographers to be compensated for their work when used for commercial purposes, and to not sign ‘rights grab’ styled contracts. For more information you can view this story on The Music Photographers Network.

Were you there at the Bruce Mason Centre to witness this nostalgic show? Or have you seen Sublime with Rome live somewhere else? Tell us about it in the comments below!