On the opening night of the Australasian Worldwide Music Expo, a killer lineup of some of Melbourne’s most interesting funk/soul/groove acts congregated at Max Watt’s.
The amount of work The Seven Ups have put into honing their act is now paying off in spades. After cutting their teeth on smaller stages and touring interstate, it felt natural to see them occupy the boards of Max Watt’s. The inclusion of congas is central to their take on Afrobeat, providing a looseness to the groove that’s reminiscent of Antibalas, and the dancing horn section added an element of showmanship.
As the night’s enigmatic MC Chris Gill exclaimed, “You won’t believe these guys are from Melbourne”, but there was nothing hybrid or localised about the salsa dura that Quarter Street were putting out. At one point five of the nine band members were playing percussive instruments; the constant rhythmic pulse allowing the upright bass and keyboards to cascade their melodic lines and move around the beat.
Throughout the majority of their set, Emma Donovan & The Putbacks kept the tempo low and soulful, as the singer impressed with her dynamic and powerful vocal delivery. More than a slight nod to Booker T. and the M.G.’s could be heard in a few of the songs, with The Putbacks’ country guitar licks, jazz drumming and funky basslines never overshadowing the emotional scope of the material. An a cappella piece stunned the room into silence, save for a few nattering at the bar, before the band tore in with the heavy funk strut of Black Woman.
Mojo Juju possesses a gutsy blues growl that’d make Howlin’ Wolf, Tom Waits and Sister Rosetta Tharpe crack a sly grin. However, the diminutive singer knows to use this device sparingly, thereby magnifying its power. She opened the set with the downtempo Your Love, which was all single bass notes and brushes. Parisian Rain’slatin feel showed the diversity of her roots music repertoire, as well as the proficiency of her band, which featured half of The Cactus Channel as well as baritone saxophonist Darcy McNulty. A gospel revival song complete with call and response backing vocals was a highlight, and got many up the front shaking everything they had, before Juju rounded out the set with a cover of Leon Payne’s Psycho.
Answering the crowd’s pleas for more, Juju and McNulty returned to perform a stripped down but no less passionate take on Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ classic I Put a Spell On You – an obvious selection that was immediately vindicated by the duo’s delivery.
BY ALEX WATTS
Loved: What the world needs now.
Hated: Dr. Pepper. It tasted like cough syrup, amiright?
Drank: L’aqua della vita.
