New Zealand music month in Melbourne is here again, and what better way to off kick off proceedings than with one of New Zealand’s finest electronic dub acts Pitch Black. Miss Libertine provided the venue for the night with supports from Melbourne based Kiwi band Deep Fried Dub and some great Melbourne DJs and acts: Shikung, DJ Delay and Systa BB.
The crowd at Miss Libertine, as I would have expected, seemed mainly to be a collective of Kiwi’s brought here, joined, bound and connected together by the love of the music of Pitch Black. Although it seems as though the Kiwis are not alone in their love of the music, with a huge crowd of locals as well. Hell even Paddy, Pitch Black’s Jonny Rotten look alike, revealed during the night that he was born in Melbourne’s southeast suburb of Glen Waverley! When Deepfried Dub started playing only a couple of people were in the dancefloor. About a quarter of a way through their set, the crowd on the dance floor were grooving and shaking, hopping and jumping in a way that dancing to electronic dub can make you do. Deepfried Dub’s set consisted of quite a lot of new tracks that the duo of Ben and Ben have been working on lately. The use of the melodica – a cross between a harmonica and accordion – was magic and was used to almost hypnotise the crowd, almost like a snake charmer and we were the snakes slithering and grinding on the dance floor.
Pitch Black were given a huge welcoming when they came on stage. “Hi we are Pitch Black from New Zealand…baaaaa baaa,” Paddy yelled out to the packed out room. The set was long and good. Pitch Black ‘s music has a way of making you feel like dancing with earthy, organic, fat and raw beats fused with ambient soundscapes with a dance beat. The crowd favourites seemed to be 1000 Mile Drift, and some old tracks off Electric Earth and Other Elements which showed just who were the band’s groupies.
Paddy danced around on stage while never missing a beat, and worked the crowd into a frenzy. Whereas Mike Hodgson stayed in the background letting Paddy take centre stage, but making his mark on the music in a talented yet modest way. The last time I saw Pitch Black was at Rainbow Serpent and I thought that it would not be the same seeing them at an inside venue in Autumn. They proved me wrong though, as I danced as though I was out in the bush on a balmy evening with dirt between my toes. The music of Pitch Black is the beat of New Zealand, and pure magic!
