Melbourne’s The Cat Empire Live
Australia’s Hot Ticket Have Two Shoes For Dancing & Great Songs
The best live band in the world in 2007 may well be The Cat Empire, with its high-energy fusion of jazz, reggae, salsa, hip-hop, rock and pure pop.
There are many great live bands around in 2007, but in terms of stamina, musicianship, great songs and sheer energy, few can compete with Melbourne’s The Cat Empire. This band from Victoria, Australia has a fair claim to being the best live band in the world at the moment. And those lucky enough to see this hot ticket in action will understand why.
Whilst well known in Australia (especially since their outstanding performance at the opening ceremony to the Commonwealth Games), very few people in the rest of the world know about The Cat Empire – yet. However, relentless gigging across Europe and the United States has raised their profile massively, and now word is getting round that here is a band that are doing some unique and genuinely exciting.
So far the band has released three albums – the eponymous debut, Cuban-tinged follow up Two Shoes and the limited edition Cities Project. However, while their fusion of jazz, reggae, salsa, hip-hop, rock and pure pop works well on record, it is on stage when the band truly comes into its own.
Melbourne’s The Cat Empire Live – The Line Up
At the barest bones, the Cat Empire consists of Harry Angus (trumpet and vocals), Felix Riebl (vocals and percussion), Ollie McGill (keyboard), Will Hull-Brown (drums), Jumps Khadiwhala (decks and percussion) and Ryan Monro (bass).
This, for example, was the line-up at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire in February 2007. Despite lacking the horn section and guest vocalists that usually show up for their concerts in Australia, the Cat Empire managed to get the whole venue dancing – no mean feat in a venue that size where much of the audience is high up in the stalls.
Harry Angus, in particular, showed remarkable musicianship and energy, co-ordinating perfectly his transitions from singing to playing the trumpet. His voice, too, as a peculiar resonance. It’s by no means a great voice, but it is certainly distinct, and he has clearly had jazz training to scat so well.
Melbourne’s The Cat Empire Live – The Songs
Part of the secret to The Cat Empire’s success is that they have come to prominence the old fashioned way, relentlessly gigging through Melbourne and then the rest of Australia. In this time, they have really learned their craft, and this means that the songs and now mere outlines, to be shaped and worked as they please while on stage. For example, at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire, hits such as Hello and Two Shoes were played relatively straight, but In My Pocket was almost unrecognisable – it was turned into an extended jam, with an intensity that wouldn’t be out of place in a house or jungle club.
