Concert Review: Deep Dive Festival 2020, Whammy Bar/Wine Cellar, 25 July 2020

The Cavern, The Kaiserkellar, CBGBs. Legendary sweaty urban cesspits which were breeding grounds for developing musicians and their budding fan base. And so, it appears with Whammy and Wine Cellar, the underground of St Kevin’s Arcade. Seventeen acts lined up for this Deep Dive Festival. The only music festival on the planet since everyone being confined to quarters.

In a single take shot, we will revolve through the three stages four times, gathering up twelve of the acts percolating just below the radar.

Green Grove is a solo young guy playing ambient electronic music on a keyboard/ synthesizer. Brian Eno style moody cinematic soundscapes with intermittent sound effects over the first few songs. Early Sixties Joe Meek Telstar sci-fi minimalism.

Then more rhythm is added on the next few songs, the quieter passages of My Life in the Bush of Ghosts.

Jazmine Mary is a talented young female multi-instrumentalist (previously going under the handle him). Singing ethereal, folk noir songs accompanied by guitar and keyboard. And some minimal and sympathetic drumming from Courtney, making her debut public performance.

The second song has a slow moody, atmospheric keyboard opening. Jaz’s vocal starts low and quiet and builds into a strong and very impressive voice. She finger-picks a mean Western sounding electric guitar break. Twin Peaks sparkling, dreamy mood music.

The next one starts in the Sun recording studio and a Carl Perkins rolling rhythm guitar break. The singing is folk emo and floats between soft and dreamy to intense and emotional. A stand-out song.

Roy Irwin has been active for at least 10 years, in various groups and solo. Initially heavily influenced by Michael Jackson, one of his albums is called King of Pop, he has played in a wide variety of styles. Tonight, he is playing a quieter, Shoe Gaze style of atmospheric songs.

Melodic Folk Pop vocals. Third song sounds like the quiet Velvet Underground third album and Doug Yules softer singing voice.

Chris Knox was a New Zealand musical idol for a lot of us when we were raging around in the late Seventies and Punk was King briefly.

The Enemy/ Pull down the shades/Rebel/Squeeze/ Who’s lying at the bottom of your swimming pool?

Continued to make great music for a long time, either with Alec Bathgate as Tall Dwarfs or solo. Famously dissed Lux Interior of the Cramps and started a public feud. Great to see him on stage tonight after a long absence. By himself, voice only.

Human beat box/ Grumpy old man getting up in the morning/ Acapella Blues/ Captain Beefheart field hollers/ Screams like Vega/ Goon show squawks and radio effects/Growls and roars.

Somewhere Rubber Biscuit is sampled. Groans of pain. Bad bad bad to love love love.                  Music that comes from deep within, the endless eternal spirit.

Disciple Pati I first saw at the Milk and Honey Festival early this year and they were a highlight. Sapati Apa-Fepulea’i has a superb Seventies Soul Jazz voice, and she is matched with a band that can really cook.

A funk bass kicks off the opening song, then moves into a disco groove. Next song Cry Baby, Pati winds up the vocals and stretches out, modern Soul a little like, let’s say, Ariana Grande.

Next song is Chic at their Funk Disco hardest, the band really showing off their chops. Bone shaking and sexy. Pati moves the singing towards Rap.

Jennifer Lewis an original song, I think. Strong Soul vocal, Ain’t nobody gonna fuck with me.

Hans Pucket are a trio who play wide-ranging brand of Power Pop.                                                    Starter has rapid drums and some great guitar thrashing. Then it’s ringing, jingle-jangle guitar. More melodic with a nice pop vocal.

Surf guitars appear on a couple of songs, each one welded to bright Pop vocals.

Guardian Single and we are back to late Seventies Punk and the New Wave that followed. Two guys on guitars and vocals, two young woman who provide a terrific rhythm engine.

First song is straight-ahead first-generation UK punk close to Belfast thrashers Stiff Little Fingers. Next has a jangling guitar intro until the girls lay into the bottom and bring it back to Punk.

Great Ramone’s style bass guitar and relentless drumming throughout.                                               Song number six and the guys get to stretch out on some twin surf guitar interplay, underpinned with tribal drumming.

Closing song is about rape culture, angry fast and revved up like the Clash and Buzzcocks.

Without nary a pause to take a few breaths and the camera keeps moving on its relentless tracking shot to Dick Move, setting up on the Wine Cellar stage.

Three young women and two guys. Straight ahead stripped-back Punk. With a diminutive powerhouse female vocalist. The Slits, Poly Styrene, Exene Cervenka of the early X albums.

In saying that the opening song is Sixties Garage Rock, but it speeds up and the audience is instantly revved up. I have seen them before; the singer has an infective stage presence with a great fun attitude. Serious music but don’t take them too seriously.

They move everything along with a well-drilled and disciplined Ramone’s style brevity.

Great example is their signature song Dick Move. Let me see your dick move/ I wanna see your dick move. It is and it isn’t what you think it is.

Earth Tongue are a Wellington duo, Gussie Larkin and Ezra Simons who play a type of Garage Band thrash mixed with Psychedelia. Therefore, they appear to be more kin to the underground UK Garage Psych music scene of the late Sixties which arose in the wake of the early Syd Barrett Pink Floyd.

Guitar drones, rapid drum riffs, slightly- echoed haunting vocals from Gussie. Until she lets go on one song and builds up into screams. On the following song, after some heavy portentous music the mood is lightened with some B’52s style playful singing.

A very enjoyable duo, as they build a relentless groove throughout the set which has the audience moving.

Leaping Tiger is young musician and producer Jacob Park. On stage solo, playing keyboards and loops and effects, he winds through a large and impressive array of musical influences which touches on early Hip-Hop, Techno, Soul Jazz, Ambient.

Take the second number. An ambient groove, a relentless techno beat like the Jonzun Crew, loaded with pings, vocoder, scratching and rumbles. A funky Lee Scratch Perry.

Park has an impressive Soul voice. Often, he starts a song on a moderate tempo and then ups the speed and invades the spine and gets everyone moving and swaying. Doubles up the beat impressively James Brown fashion on some.

Taking the above to a more stripped back and relentless groove is Two Farben. Jonathan Crayford on keyboards and Julien Dynes on drums.

Booker-T styled jazz matched with a steady funk drum riff, then the music continues to build and expand, becoming trance-like and hypnotic. Visceral and mentally transporting. Acid House Parliament Funk. Brilliant stuff.

Echo Ohs sound to me like a great Power Pop band who incorporate many styles of music going as far back as the early Sixties Joe Meek sci-fi Surf Music, Garage Rock riffs and drones, on up to The Goths and Siouxsie Sue and the Cure.

All moving along with great energy and dance-friendly rhythm. They even manage to fit in some wet reverb. Melody to the fore in all the songs.

I come off the relentless tracking camera for a breather at the bar. The night continues with the DJs.

I give a huge commendation to the team organising this festival. Superb sound throughout, up to the usual high standards of the two venues. Smooth band changes so the music runs seamlessly.

An excellent showcase for the young musical talent that is flourishing in this country, and I believe may be on the crest of breaking out. As we continue in this strange and interesting time of curses and blessings.

Rev Orange Peel

Also performing DJs:  Aw B, Native Bush, Totems, Amamelia, BBYFACEKILLA