Kool & the Gang, Roy Ayers @Enmore Theatre, Sydney(18/02/11)

Wed 23rd Feb, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Trends come and go. Britpop was fun while it lasted, Auto-Tune is beginning to die down slightly and I think we all look back on Nu-Metal with a sense of regret. But one trend that never seems to subside is retro. Take a casual stroll around Newtown and you’re bound to see dozens of Pacman t-shirts and light-up sneakers. Thus, when I was made aware of an imminent Kool & the Gang tour, it wasn’t too far-fetched to expect the Enmore Theatre to be packed full of young hipsters discussing the new Radiohead record or announcing loudly that the quality of Arcade Fire’s music has deteriorated since their Grammy win last Sunday. But that wasn’t the case. An apt description of the crowd would be a few hundred middle-aged couples and one teenager in a Foals t-shirt looking rather uncomfortable. Yet all of this became irrelevant as soon as Roy Ayers walked on stage.

Mr. Ayers has a commanding stage presence. Despite the audience’s seeming unfamiliarity with the majority of his material, he managed to keep everyone engaged for the entirety of his hour-long set. The performance consisted mostly of long instrumental jams between Roy and his five piece band. Each member had their own lengthy solo, with the highlight being the drummer, who had clearly dressed for the occasion, looking spiffy in his Batman t-shirt. He began thrashing his snare drum in a primitive manner, reminiscent of King Kong beating his own chest, before draping a towel over his face for no apparent reason, other than for the sheer challenge of playing without vision. Roy wasn’t going to allow his bandmate to steal the show though, proving his proficiency on the xylophone consistently throughout the set. It was a welcome addition to the band’s set-up, and it was definitely no gimmick. Whatever the xylophone equivalent of shredding is called – this set was full of it.

The audience remained fairly subdued for most of Ayers’ set. It wasn’t until the band launched into the well-known Everybody Loves the Sunshine that the crowd began to move. However, this boost in energy was short lived, as Roy Ayers promptly vacated the stage a few songs later, concluding an occasionally sloppy, but mostly entertaining performance.

It wasn’t long before Robert “Kool” Bell was bounding onto the stage to rapturous applause and a striking light show, and suddenly the atmosphere was drastically different. Gone was the polite clapping between songs, or the gentle swaying to the music. The crowd had entered a state of ecstasy. There was not a single seat occupied on the floor of the theatre, as the audience lost their collective shit. The band only served to intensify the crowd’s rapture, inquiring as to whether we were “ready to rock and roll”. I’m not quite sure, but I think the answer was yes.

There were few surprises when it came to what songs the crowd responded to the most. Hollywood Swingin’ and Jungle Boogie even had those at the back of the room going bonkers, and when the disco ball swung into action during Cherish, the Enmore Theatre transformed into a Year 10 formal, minus the sneaky drinking and awkward sexual experimentation in the bathrooms.

The 10-piece band performed flawlessly throughout the entire 90 minute set, the mix was near perfect, the choreographed dance routines were amusing if nothing else and the crowd was ridiculously enthusiastic. There is little that could have been done to make the performance more enjoyable. Hipsters may think that retro is so 2010, but who really cares?