Saturday night at The Zoo was bound to be a thrilling night as New Zealand dub/reggae band Kora was set to play to a sold out crowd.

The night started with Byron Bay eight piece dub band, CBD Dub Project, who had an early crowd grooving along to their funky beats and a fantastic warm up for Kora. Their high energy, soulful groove and combination of sax, trombone, keys and drums added a different flavour. Their two female vocalists provided a funk sound whilst a hip hop singer added an extra element.

As the second act started, the venue slowly began to fill but the sounds of Roger That, a Gold Coast reggae rock band, seemed to fall on deaf ears. Their first two songs had a slight reggae groove that the audience seemed to appreciate but as the set continued the reggae soon turned to rock, which lost the attention of the crowd. As I looked around the audience was split, some retreating to the bar area to get drinks or catch up with friends while others stayed at the front but seemed a little disinterested. Roger That were good at what they do and had a tight sound but in my opinion would’ve been more suited as the first support instead of the second. Their music at times wondered back into a reggae beat which received a good reaction from the audience but overall their sound was certainly more rocky, which I found disappointing as I anticipated a much more funky, reggae sounding support act. I would’ve appreciated their set more if it was under different circumstances.

As Roger That was over and out, the room started to fill and the sold out gig was starting to feel electric. The audience started chanting and five minutes later the lights came up and the band slowly made their way to the stage to their well known dub style. The atmosphere was amped and almost as if we were at a festival. I noted a number of people signalling to their friends that they had goose bumps – the vibe was undeniable, a mixture of anticipation, excitement and energy. Kora opened with an obviously well known track, Burning, which had the crowd singing along and the whole room dancing.

After their first song they asked the audience who was from Australia which received a nice loud response but when asked who was from New Zealand it become clear that the Aussies were the minority. The venue was packed with Kiwis and the vibe truly amazing but what surprised me most was the versatility of the band. Not only were their songs a terrific fusion of reggae and dub but their musicianship was impressively diverse with the majority of the band changing instruments throughout their hour and a half set.

Halfway through they started to wind the audience down with another dub number and the entire audience was moving, as the singer lost his shirt the girls around me all grinned in appreciation and then to add to the awe he stage dived to a welcome crowd. The band’s interaction with the audience was entertaining and added that extra something that you expect at live shows. Towards the end of the set they played one of my favourite songs, Mojo followed by audience favourite Politician which was dedicated to the Aussies. Overall their set was well delivered and was a highly successful night for Kora and to me proved that New Zealand is producing some outstanding acts that I will certainly be keeping my eye on and recommending to all!