Live at Studio
30 November 2024
Live Music Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall
Ladi6 at The Others Way Music Festival
Having attended more live shows than Gordon Ramsay has recipes, I’ve seen it all—from the painstakingly meticulous to the gloriously chaotic. As a songwriter and musician with an ear for just about every genre under the sun, it was no surprise that tonight’s lineup at The Other Way festival served up something for everyone. In fact, it was nothing short of a sonic smorgasbord, a carefully curated feast of aural sculpting that tantalised every sense.
Ladi6
When Ladi6 steps on stage, time seems to shift. At the Studio last night, the Kiwi queen of neo-soul didn’t just perform; she transcended. Backed by her ever-evolving band, the night was a masterclass in groove, grit, and unapologetic artistry.
One thing that drew my immediate attention was the wall of sound and the unmistakable beats that were being thrown from the stage like some demigod drummer was cascading these perfectly timed beats into the audience. However unfortunately there was no drummer on stage and the entire show was playing out to a backing track, controlled by two deck wilding DJ’s which was most disappointing for an artist of this calibre. Even Ladi’s 2014 Hold Tight tour had the dynamics and drive of a live drummer and ten years on I would have expected the show to be even bigger. The performance however was more like watching an episode of Top Of the Pops rather than an actual live performance.
Ladi6 announces to the crowd “OK this is a new one, unreleased but it will come out at some point”, unfortunately she doesn’t tell us the name of the new track so we are left guessing.
At one point the noise level reached 107bdA through the studio sound system of which the clarity was great but the live aspect was nothing more than disappointing. Another unusual aspect to the show as the audience with a sea of coffee cups so I had to go and ask the bar person whats the deal? Alas everyone was not hyped up on coffee at midnight moreover the cups were for alcoholic drinks and a way to stop them spilling onto the floor and then the consequent sticky clean up, so a very novel idea, which should be shared.
Reviewer: Paul Marshall
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