Concert review: Raggamuffin, Trusts Stadium Arena

Raggamuffin Music Festival at Trusts Stadium Auckland yesterday.Herald on Sunday photograph by Doug Sherring

Reggae festival's move to Auckland provides solid but soggy start to the summer festival season, writes Chris Schulz.

Raggamuffin is known for its summery vibes, but sunny skies were too much to ask for on a day blunted by constant drizzle.

Yes, the weather gods were always going to be a decisive factor for a "summer" festival in December, and there was plenty of disappointment as overcast conditions worsened during Raggamuffin's first Auckland event, sending chilly punters home soaked and shivering.

It was a crying shame because Trusts Stadium Arena is a fantastic venue for a festival around half the size of the Big Day Out: queues were minimal, food and drink options were plentiful and a covered stand even provided shelter from the constant drizzle.

The crowds showed for a solid line-up too, swelling as Che Fu overcame early feedback issues and launched into his timely anthem Misty Frequencies, spreading out during Katchafire's smooth brand of uplifting roots and dancing during Chronixx's cheesy feelgood vibes.

If the day's reggae acts set the scene, Raggamuffin's two big hip-hop acts stole the show, starting with Cypress Hill's punchy, aggressive set of throwback rap.

Yes, the '90s icons were missing a member - Eric Bobo had "lost his passport" - but MCs Sen Dog and B-Real cherry-picked hits from their first three albums, and the blunt beats and battle raps of I Ain't Goin' Out Like That, Throw Your Set In the Air and Insane in the Brain were a timely reminder of how influential the Latino-influenced act once was.

When a mid-set medley was dedicated to their love of marijuana, like-minded fans celebrated by sending thick plumes of pungent smoke wafting across the stadium and had B-Real declaring: "We know you're high right now - you have to be."

In comparison, Ice Cube's evening set was big on braggadocio - and far more self-promotional. The NWA pioneer performed under a big screen playing a career-spanning video montage, and at the midway point debuted the full trailer for his upcoming biopic Straight Outta Compton. He then introduced the film's star - his son, O'Shea Jackson Jr - and repeatedly plugged the 2015 release date.

When you've got eyebrows like Ice Cube, all you have to do is raise one of them and you can get away with anything. The comical thug's set was otherwise the day's best, a hardcore trawl through the history books that took in NWA classics Gangsta Gangsta and Boyz in the Hood, and his own solo work Check Yourself, Natural Born Killaz and the ridiculous booty call of You Can Do It.

His slowest song, the sun-kissed It Was a Good Day, turned into the festival's irony-heavy anthem, coming just as the weather took a turn for the worse. By the time headliners UB40 took to the stage, rain forced fans to find cover, don waterproof ponchos or even retreat to the exits.

Those that stayed were treated to the day's best sound mix, and the trumpet-tinged choruses of Here I Am and Beautiful Woman showed the British reggae act's '80s hits are still timeless classics - even if front man Ali Campbell's constant gum-chewing was an off-putting big screen experience.

It was an uplifting but soggy end to an otherwise flawless festival experience. Let's hope organisers gift a blunt to the weather gods next year, because they need to chill.

* What did you think of Raggamuffin? Post your comments below.

What: Raggamuffin
Where: Trusts Stadium Arena, Auckland
When: Saturday, December 13

- nzherald.co.nz