Einstein Music Journal

Little Bushman (Live) Review

Monday, January 29, 2007

For the past three weeks Wellington has been graced with free live music. The crowds for Gardens Magic in 2007 have been amazing, with the Botanical Gardens Sound Shell being packed to capacity almost every night. Built up to showcase one the hottest bands on the Wellington scene, closing night saw the Little Bushman perform. Promoting their debut album Onus of Sand the Bushmen pulled an even bigger crowd than previously seen.
Lead by Warren Maxwell the Little Bushman offer a psychedelic, funkedelic fuse of indie rock. They could be described as a medium between The Phoenix Foundation and Odessa. So what of them live? Well too be honest I came away very disappointed; not so much because the music was bad, but because of the way the bushmen laid out their set. With such a large crowd gathered, many of who couldn’t see the stage; they failed to hold the audience’s attention. Sure Maxwell declared it was all about letting go and being free, but many of the songs were much to downbeat and chilled out for the venue. There were quite a few long periods when the sound was so quiet it couldn’t be heard beyond the main lawn. Complaints aside, when they got into some bluesy psychedelic numbers they sounded brilliant, proving they are all extremely talented musicians. It was just a shame more of the 90-minute set wasn’t dictated by the fuller sound. It was always going to be hard to better the performance of the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra, who covered a diverse range of artists from the White Stripes and Kings of Leon to Crowded House and Johnny Cash. Without a doubt my highlight from the past three weeks.

posted by Nick Fulton @ 2:18 pm