To be honest, the Empire wasn’t as awash with urban hippies as expected. Tonight it was a different crowd, clad in swanky boots, pretty dresses and expensive jackets. Almost all of them had one thing in common; they were Australian and had come to witness the sound of home. However, Before Xavier hit the stage a pleasant warm up ensued with a fantastic set by a rather cute UK lad named Ben Howard. His folky acoustic melodies were accompanied by what some uneducated Aussie men at the gig classed as ‘a babe playing a huge violin’. In fact it was Ben’s accompanist, India Bourne, on Cello. His sound was a mix of Mumford and Sons and Xavier Rudd. If his set was anything to go by, he is definitely set for big things this year. It was a pity that most of the people watching the stage from the pit couldn’t see where Ben’s candid, raw melodies were coming from unless they were 8ft tall.
Problems were solved as soon as Xavier walked onto the stage (without shoes) and up onto a platform to sit in front of his Didgeridoos. ‘The Mother’ opened to rich applause with Rudd accompanied by ‘Izintaba’ a bassist and drummer from South Africa. The bassist was fantastic, his guitar hung almost up to his chin and he provided a slap bass rhythm worthy of the gods of funk. With Aboriginal and South African flags hanging from the roof of the stage, the scene was set for what turned out to be an epic percussion battle of African and Indigenous Australian beats. The full band and rich sound provided a fantastic live alternative to the more subdued feel of Xavier’s records. It was clear that he was enjoying it too, dancing around like a maniac, inviting people on stage and even diving into the audience. There were softer, emotionally charged moments too with the Rudd bringing out Aussie hippy hymns like ‘The Message’ and ‘The Letter’ later on. A slight pause in the middle of his set to pay homage to oppressed people around the world reminded everyone why the nature of this man’s music is so unifying. The only disappointment was the excessive noise from people who failed to register that he was requesting a moment of silence. So the question must be asked, why do expats spend money on tickets to gigs in London of Aussie bands that they aren’t really interested in just to talk the whole way through about their gym attendance and boys? Listen to the music you twats, or leave... you're ruining the show. That small issue aside, the show was amazing and the other few thousand people who really got into it will agree that all in all it was a ‘Ruddy’ good time.
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