Live Review: Thievery Corporation

Thievery Corporation were trip-hop's sunny side. They were a weed-soaked adventure through Moroccan alley ways, or an aimless wander through a Middle Eastern bazaar. While everyone else was still tearfully reading the liner notes of Portishead albums alone in the dark, fans of TC (and there are plenty) were sipping iced tea and getting high, enjoying the company of friends, most likely. The one-two punch of The Mirror Conspiracy and The Richest Man in Babylon was the high water mark in terms of creative output, but they continued to press records for another decade, softly prodding at the rotting heart of capitalism with their psychedelic dub anthems of love and inclusion.

Their sellout performance at the Enmore was surprising — not only for the fact they still have the capacity to fill a venue like this (no offence intended, but they're a legacy group now, and their current cultural impact is debatable), but also that they could wring so much energy out of material that's so deliberately stoned.

The key was the players. The band consisted of around a dozen performers, all talented, including seven vocalists. They all had their own styles that they brought to bear on tracks like Lebanese Blonde, The Richest Man In Babylon, and Take My Soul giving personality to even the most rote songs. Rob Myers on the sitar was far better than Rob Myers on the guitar, but his scratchy Les Paul riffs were enough to add nice textures when required. Jeff Franca was great on drums, providing real heft and bounce with some nicely animated patterns. Ashish Vyas on bass earned a lot of love, dancing barefoot across the stage from start to finish, black hair flowing wildly. His constantly dour expression was at odds with his bandmates and it made him the focus of mischief from Franca.

Of note: Rob Garza represented the duo on his own. Eric Hilton does not look to be joining them on their tour at all, either here or in New Zealand. What his role would have been on stage anyway is pure speculation, as Garza played a minimal part, letting the band do the heavy lifting.