Wo Fat
11th June 2019
Whammy! Bar, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review and photography by Sarah Kidd.
Riffage. The kind that is thick and fat and hangs in the air like smoke in an Amsterdam coffeeshop. Intoxicating, it infiltrates the senses, seeping deep into your subconscious as it leads you down an earthy path framed by vivid colours. The music moves you, an instant groove played out through your limbs, a free ride into another realm.
What band could possibly deliver such sensations? None other than Dallas based Wo Fat, touring New Zealand for the first time in their sixteen-year long career. Nestled within the darkened confines of Auckland’s Whammy! Bar, sheltering from the cold kiss of winter outside, fans gathered, ready to willingly submit themselves to the American maestros of psychedelic stoner rock.
Kapiti duo The Deadbeat Dads were the first to lay down some impressive bogan blues, the duo consisting of Simon on vocals and guitar and Pottsy on drums making for an excellent opening act, especially when Simon showed a Hendrix style flare for plucking at the strings with his teeth.
Another – this time local – band that consistently show a flare for all things slightly off centre is that of the trio Bloodnut, one of probably the only acts in New Zealand that can boast of having a bonafide wizard in their ranks.
Led by vocalist and gnarly bassist Doug McFarlane, Bloodnut are a band that know how they like their music; sludgy and laden with doom. As a trio they work well, drummer Isaac Tansley -who joined the band last year – certainly now well entrenched in Bloodnuts viking ways of the ginger. While overall their music is a drawcard in itself, tracks such as the brilliant ‘Clean Green Yeah Right’ with it’s opening husky riff and anthemic chorus pulling the punters in, it is lead vocalist McFarlane that is the star of the show, the booming voice and facial expressions providing a secondary layer of entertainment.
Delivering a stomping version of ‘Red Dead Riders’ from their St. Ranga album, guitarist Doug Robertson unleashed on his gat as McFarlane’s fingers continued to produce succulent, chunky bass notes; the tongue-in-cheek ‘The Space Orangutan’ with it’s meandering intro giving fans a chance to really savour McFarlane’s vocals before the orgasmic riff kicked in. Top it off with the shit-eating grin of a chorus line ‘Praise be to the Space Orangutan, he’ll rip your arms out of their sockets and beat you with them’ and what’s not to like?
Whammy! was comfortably full by the time Wo Fat took the stage just on the hour of ten, their beers within easy grasp they smiled and nodded at the fans who were eager to dive into all that Wo Fat had to offer.
Also a trio, Wo Fats line-up remained un-changed for twelve years until bass player Tim Wilson departed in 2015, his replacement Zack Busby a familiar face to those who were fans of Burden Brothers or Descender. Anybody watching Busby on stage last night would agree that he is more than a worthy replacement, his wide-legged stance and continual head-banging throughout the evening, setting the mood.
On lead vocals and guitar, the one and only Kent Stump took a swig from his beer and grinned as he began to play ‘The Black Code’ from their 2012 album of the same name, the room soon drenched in detuned rock and blues infused goodness.
Wo Fat are heavy, seriously heavy. Their music, influenced by the likes of artists such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Howlin Wolf and the incomparable John Lee Hooker has a discernible doom-laden fuzz to it while simultaneously incorporating a swamp like atmosphere thanks to Kent’s rhythmic approach to metal and interest in both African and Cuban music. Such influences easily identifiable during tracks such as ‘Of Smoke and Fog’ from their Midnight Cometh album.
There is a definite chemistry on stage between the three members, something that has always been part of the magic of a Wo Fat live set; Kent and Busby often moving in time with each other as they blanket the room with jazz like freestyles that just roll off their guitars with ease. There is no room for banter, each song quickly followed by the next delicious sonic assault, the audience completely lost to it. While on paper the set may not consist of many songs – most Wo Fat set lists never surpassing more than nine tracks – each is an opus that is rich as it is full, leaving you happily sated.
Finishing with ‘Sleep of the Black Lotus’, once again from the album The Black Code, the just over ten-minute barrage of languid corpulent riffs that bookend some of the best solos of the night, is the ultimate closer to a superlative set. Before Wo Fat even had a chance to lay their instruments down, calls were made for one more track to be played, Kent generously agreeing and advising that the upcoming encore would be an ‘old one’; day one fans whooping with delight as they recognised ‘Enter the Riffian’ from Psychedelonaut.
Wo Fat delivered the riffage, and they delivered it good.
Were you there at Whammy! Bar for this heavy stoner rock gig? Or have you seen Wo Fat perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Wo Fat Setlist:
- The Black Code
- The Conjuring
- Lost Highway
- Read The Omens
- Of Smoke And Fog
- Analog Man
- There’s Something Sinister In The Wind
- Sleep Of The Black Lotus
- Enter The Riffian [encore]
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