Michael Franti @ The PrinceBandroom, Melbourne (5/4/09)

Tue 14th Apr, 2009 in Gig Reviews

It is rather incongruous to talk of a dreadlocked 6-foot-6 gentleman, built like grandma’s brick outhouse as a warm, disarming and squishier than K-Rudd’s overfed tummy. However, if you are talking of Michael Franti, these descriptors seem almost threatening compared to his persona. Last Sunday, Franti sans Spearhead (except bassist Karl Young and his engineer Joey Boogie Bowman on guitar) took the crowd at The Prince into his soul via his not insubstantial heart.

He opened on his own with Hello Bonjour fitting not only because he was greeting us in umpteen languages but because we were in St Kilda. One language missing (perhaps crucially given the location) was kiwi. Kia ora anyone? Young took the stage for Yell Fire and then Boogie with his tasty guns during Yes I Will. Young added a dubby flavour to Rude Boys are Back in Town that combined nicely with Franti’s treacly vocals briefly reminding me of Fat Freddy’s Drop a few weeks back.

Franti was not afraid to engage in a bit of chit-chat with the crowd. Always dangerous when there were tattoos of the Southern Cross present. Even more dangerous when Franti starts talking about the Special Olympics while introducing Sometimes. However, there was not even the tiniest hint of sarcasm or condescension. Lesser individuals who are more bitter about the world would not have been able to resist such opportunities. Speaking of Sometimes, it was during that track that Young’s rich backing vocals came to the fore. I have no doubt that Franti appreciates the quality of his co-musos.

After a possible sighting of John Cusack in the audience, Franti et al moved onto a cover of Summertime which segued to a new track, Sound of Sunshine. Which was followed by Rock With Me and Everyone Deserves Music. By rights EDM should be awful with its trite lyrics and pedestrian melody. However, it was the unquestionable highlight of the evening which brought tingles down the spine. The addition of a didgeridoo contributed a local flavour.

Support act Ashley Mannix took to the stage for anoter cover, this time The Supremes/Temptations tune Don’t Look Back. Mannix was clearly very nervous, playing well within herself for the first part of the track but with a little encouragement from Franti she became more confident and was owning the stage by track’s end. It was a charming to watch Franti delight in bringing Mannix out of her shell.

After watching the entire crowd mouth every lyric in What I Got, Franti made one punter’s night by inviting him on stage to sing with the band. Like Mannix he was understandably shy, but with some gentle coaxing, he too relaxed and belted the tune out. The set proper ended with I Got Love For You (has anyone else noticed Franti has a distaste for the verb to have?) with everyone arm-in-arm. There was a short encore of Say Hey.

I have no hesitation is saying that Michael Franti is the nicest human alive. While many of his songs protest the state of the world there is no anger rather a hope and an implicit faith in humanity. If he can get a bra-boy wannabe to sing ‘you can bomb the world to pieces, but you can’t bomb it to peace’ there is no limit to his powers of persuasion. I have been meaning to see Franti since I was knee-high, and it was everything I had hoped.