Michael Franti & Spearhead – Powerstation March 29, 2015

“Best Sunday night ever!” Obviously, Michael Franti is not a Blackcaps fan, but he and his own fans had a rollicking good time at Auckland’s Powerstation on Sunday night, serving up a set that neither he nor the crowd, wanted to end.

Not only did the show run late, it started early…slated to take the stage at 10pm, I arrived at 9:45 to find Franti and his band already treating the crowd to Hello Bonjour…hands were waving and bodies jumping to the beat.

As it turns out, I had missed one song, a new one titled Love Will Find A Way.

But there was plenty more to come.

“Are there any freaky people in the house?” asked Franti. It seems there were plenty both on stage and off and they all sang along to Stay Human (All The Freaky People). Long-time bassist Carl Young took centre stage briefly to sings Sly Stone’s Family Affair…very funky.

Franti then asked if anybody had been at the Greenpeace rally earlier that day, proudly claiming, “we were!” He asked to have the house light up so he could say hi to the crowd and greeting his fans with Everyone Deserves Music, complete with a bass solo.

We were informed that Franti’s knee had been in a brace for six weeks due to surgery and that he had just had it removed, revelling in his new found freedom of movement. He also introduced us to the band which included new guy Mike Blankenship…this was only his second gig with the band. The others were drummer Manas Itiene and guitarist Jay Bowman.

During the upbeat The Sound Of Sunshine, a couple dozen huge yellow balloons were released into the crowd, giving everyone a chance to join in the fun.

And there was plenty of audience participation to come as Franti made his way into the crowd, hugging everyone he could get his hands on. During 11:59, he took to a makeshift stage at the back of the room, singing from there before heading up stairs and greeting fans. I swear, he spent more time in the crowd than on the stage.

It wasn’t all full-on partying.

At one point, Michael slowed down the proceedings by dedicating a new song, Forever By Your Side to his 16-year-old son, Ade, who suffers from a rare, possibly fatal, kidney disease called FSGS.

He followed that with the upbeat Life Is Better With You and the hug-a-thon resumed.

Finally, after Say Hey (I Love You), Franti told the crowd, “Pretend we went off stage and came back”.

The “encore” began with the equally uplifting I’m Alive (Life Sounds Like) from his 2013 album, All People which included a brief snippet of The Proclaimers’ 500 Miles.

Michael waded into the crowd one more time for All People, forming a dancing circle with his very happy fans.

On stage, guitarist Jay Bowman set up his laptop and, after the life music ended, he turned DJ, keeping the party going. Drummer Manas Itiene got into the spirit, jamming on a pair of bongos.

After singing along to Give Peace A Chance, the evening ended with a remix of Sly’s Everyday People as the crowd reluctantly headed for the exits. By then it was 11:30, the unhappy cricket result was blissfully wiped from my consciousness. Music is a wonderful thing.

– Marty Duda

Click on any image to view Michael Flynn’s stunning photo gallery. These shots show, better than words, what Michael Franti’s performance was like:

Michael Franti set list:

1. Love Will Find A Way
2. Hello Bonjour
3. Stay Human (All The Freaky People)
4. Everyone Deserves Music
5. All I Want Is You
6. The Sound Of The Sunshine
7. Crazy For You
8. Yell Fire!
9. 11:59
10. Closer To You
11. Forever By Your Side
12. Life Is Better With You
13. Let It Go
14. Say Hey (I Love You)
15. I’m Alive (Life Sounds Like)
16. Once A Day
17. All People
18. Jam