Mista Savona @ Becks MusicBox, Perth (21/02/10)

Wed 24th Feb, 2010 in Gig Reviews

EarthLink Sound played in the bar area before the main show and kicked off the party mood of the night. This group for tonight was made up of 2 guys on decks playing upbeat reggae dance music and 2 female singers who alternated giving their spirited vocals. Cle Morgan had a distinctive voice of depth with husky tones whilst Grace had a more soulful vibe to her performance. A few people watched and danced to their vibe and it built up the atmosphere of the night very well.

Mista Savona is a collective made up by keyboardist/producer/songwriter Jake Savona to showcase his music live. Tonight it was a 10–piece made up of drums, bass, guitar, percussion, trombone, saxophone, himself on keys and 3 distinct vocalists. Yes, it was a big band with all the positive energy that one expects from that many talents onstage.

The set was designed well, as the band started with basic instrumentals of drums, bass, guitar and percussion and Savona on keys as the foreman showing off different effects. They got into a groove jam before saxophone and trombone strolled on stage. Heavier beats were set before a laidback trombone solo that put the oft maligned instrument in favour as one of the coolest on stage. Starting instrumentally worked really well because the rhythm section set the fundamentals for the crowd members to find their groove before continuing dancing throughout the 2 hour set.

The next welcome addition was the appropriate-looking international reggae singer Jornick. Dressed all in red with dreads and beaded necklaces, he really fit the “Rastafarian” image, as did his voice. He came out scatting and was obviously very cool in spite of the difficulty in understanding some of his lyrics. To give some idea of his voice, at one stage the cookie monster came to mind (in a delightfully appropriate way) but at other times his rasp smoothed into a buttery tone. He appears as someone you’d describe as a “character”, a charming reggae enigma.

Then came vocalist Dizzy Dee who was a solidly soulful singer and although he added a lot vocally onstage he was a little overshadowed by Jornick’s more interesting appearance and the exuberance of the next singer to come out, Vida-Sunshyne. Vida-Sunshyne was a bundle of positive energy from as soon as she hit the stage until the end and showed off some attention grabbing dance moves many times throughout the night. Her first song was Where Did We Go Wrong and for a moment it seemed possible that with all the vocalists onstage they might overpower the excellent instrumentals that had been building up so perfectly.

But this worry was soon lost as the next song 40 Children slowed down the mood to more of a dub feel with a message about overcrowded schools in Africa. That sounds like it would be a downer but it was presented in such a positive atmosphere by the amazing talent onstage that people couldn’t help but dance while still being encouraged to consider this serious issue.

The mood alternated between uplifting, laidback, meaningful and just plain fun. One highlight was an impromptu a-capella performance of Redemption Song started by Jornick with Dizzy Dee joining in for some sweet harmonies and the first crowd sing along of the evening. After more impressive instrumentals, spot on vocals and dancing, the group invited the singers from Earthlink Sound on stage. The girls let loose with Vida-Sunshyne and this gave even more of a love-in feel to the evening. The next highlight was By The Way, which Savona explained was their first international release (to Jamaica) it started off a little bit funky with beats throughout. This was the last of their main set before they came back to perform Wrong Things as their encore.

Mista Savona were full of energy and had the power of amazing talent on their side. The crowd were dancing for as long as they were playing. A notable coincidence was that leaving the gig, the first song to play on Triple J was Where Did We Go Wrong. Perhaps this was a gentle reminder that Mista Savona is not to be forgotten.