Turnaround/Scribes of Ra: Rising Sun, 26th November 2004

Da Posta

So I got along to Rising Sun last Friday to Manny's regular Turnaround event, this month featuring Scribes of Ra ! Unfortunately I didn't catch his set, (3.15am is about my limit, sorry guys), but Submariner sure set the tone with characteristically nice bracket - always a good sign when the DJ can seamlessly chuck a couple of full-on 70's style NY salsa tracks into the mix without the crowd even batting their eyelids :-)

Scribes of Ra were as impressive as I hoped. Despite the jokes about an incestuous music scene and half-hour songs, these big Wellington bands still set the standard in New Zealand in terms of tightness, understanding of groove and sheer chops. The Twinset kids , Rio, Mike Fabulous, all those horns - stand the **** up ! Nice to see Toby Laing out front and center (on cornet this time, I should have asked him if there was any particular logic behind that choice of horn).

It's always a pleasure to see a band doing what they do really well, and with a well-paced set of originals and Fela standards (any setlist including Water No Get Enemy would have a hard time keeping the smile off this particular face) this was a satisfying evening all round !