Chilled Revolution

The tight crowd is throwing hands in the air to the beat boxing as Brandon from Pocket Change sings gentle urging words, sharp strumming his guitar. Pocket Change are Brandon on acoustic guitar and vocal, Pasgenic on beatbox and MC’d harmonies, tonight joined by Steve on bass and Black Moss on rhymes, playing a sort of beach skank, replete with fuck the cops type lyrics and many blunt references. There is a sweet forcefulness to Pocket Change, reminiscent of the idea of peaceful protest, of living a life un-hassled by bureaucracy, but overall it’s their skanking sound that wins the crowd over.

At Society there is a seeming change in the attitude to live music. Jack Daniel’s sponsors these now monthly, soon to be more often, events that are exposing bands that have solidified their sound to a different audience. And while the audience falls mostly into the expected demographic, it’s pleasing to see many other suburbs and subcultures passing through, stopping to check it out, joining in, getting down.

Manuvah To Land follow Pocket Change and they seem to come from the same philosophy regarding attitudes to authority and lifestyle. With drums and djembes their sound is a little mellower but doesn’t fail to move the crowd, now from hands in the air to dancing, grooving along. Jason punctuates his sentiments with wild facial movements almost out of context to the floating beach reggae that the band produces, calling for revolution while the music calls for another wave another smoke another sunset.

I find myself in a black leather chair, letting the sound wash over me, watching beautiful hippy chicks dance with girls in high heels and boys with hip hop hats, thinking, this isn’t so bad after all. Maybe it’s the spirit of the moment, maybe it’s the flowing of the Jack, maybe I’ve been lulled by Manuvah’s gentle insistence, but, really, you couldn’t ask for sweeter persuasion.