Sydney's Wicked Beat Sound System had the unenviable task of warming up the crowd. Their latest album Inna Styles, with it's early Massive Attack meets Tracey Thorn from Everything But The Girl vibe, is undoubtedly one of the strongest Australian releases of the year, but the group still seems to be finding its feet in the live arena. The three piece were joined tonight by a percussionist/flautist/vibes guy and live guitar which fattened the sound out considerably, but there seemed to be no real connection between the band on stage. Nonetheless, the quality of tracks like "I Don't Wanna Know" and "The Church of Al Green" still managed to shine through. Definitely a band to catch in a more intimate club setting.

After a seemingly eternal wait, Ben Harper and The Innocent Criminals took the stage to rapturous applause - one might even say a hero's welcome. Ben seemed to soak up the vibes of the crowd, adjusting his setup and givng the peace sign before picking up his Gibson and taking his seat front of stage. The first notes of "Glory and Consequence" were greeted with even more screaming, and it was clear from the outset that both Ben and band were in sparkling form. As was Ben's guitar tech, who brought out a new guitar at the end of each song.
	"Excuse Me Mister" provided the first of many highlights for the night, with Ben really giving his voice (a potent mixture of the afore-mentioned Buckley boy, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder) a workout, but it was the tasty slide-guitar sounds of his trademark Weissenborn that the crowd wanted. And sure enough, "Faded" was there in all of its riff-laden glory third song in. The Lenny Kravitz-esque "The Woman In You" , "Burn One Down" (an ode to the herb which was a particular crowd favourite!), and early track "Don't Take that Attitude to Your Grave" followed in quick succession, with the latter giving The Innocent Criminals the opportunity to show their skills. These guys are an integral part of the Harper experience, particularly the behemoth that is bassist Juan Nelson, a giant of a man who seemingly has wicked basslines flowing through him and into the ether with a minimum of effort - not to mention a delicate singing voice which belies his larger-than-life stature. Drummer Dean Butterworth and new percussionist David Leach engaged in a ferocious drumming duel, with Butterworth unleashing a flurry of double-kick enhanced fills, only to be ably matched by the sublime conga, bongo and timbale skills of Leach, all the while underpinnded by big Juan's solid bass grooves.
For the most part Harper was content to let the music do the talking (and let's face it, who needs banter with songs as good as these), but after the opening onslaught he put down his guitar and opened his mind to us. "I went on an amazing walk across a bridge last weekend," said Ben, in reference to the monumental Walk For Reconcilliation which took place in Sydney. "Now I don't really know exactly what is going on here," he explained, "But is a simple fucking sorry too much to ask for?" The crowd went absolutely nuts. "These people think if they sorry they will have to give something away, but all they're giving is some basic humility - they'll still be driving their fancy cars and living in their big houses." All of which led into a sensational reading of the classic Harper standard "Ground On Down", which was as powerful as I had ever imagined and made all the more poignant by the words which had preceded it. The hairs on the back of my neck stood to attention, the familiar warm rush that a magic musical moment triggers surged to the back of my head, and I was in heaven.....
	All of Harper's albums were well-represented, with the selections from 1995's classic Fight For Your Mind perhaps the best received. But the biggest surprise for me was how well the newer tunes stood up in the live arena. "Steal My Kisses", which is admittedly a catchy little ditty but in the context of the Harper pantheon, little more than a throwaway, rounded off the main set in stunning fashion, with roadie Nick Rich contributing some fine beat-boxing and Leach stepping out from behind his percussion set up to join Ben up front and beat out a rhythm on a wooden box. Much to the delight of the crowd, Ben leapt to his feet mid-song and began jumping wildly around the stage, enticing the punters either side of Festival Hall to get to their feet and join him. Pretty soon the whole of the 4000 strong crowd was pogoing with him and yelping with delight, and the calls for an encore had begun even before the band left the stage. After much screaming, Ben took the stage armed only with his acoustic. Unfortunately many in the crowd seemed unable to contain themselves, with a general undercurrent of murmuring making it almost impossible to hear what he was playing and the yells of the yobbo element (c'mon lads, the State Of Origin was last night) destroying any possibility of creating any intimacy. Thankfully the singalong of "Another Lonely Day" calmed the punters down, but the lack of respect shown for a perfromer of Ben Harper's calibre was disappointing to say the least, and spolit what should have been a special moment.

But our cries were rewarded with one more encore, this time with the Innocent Criminals back in tow. Leach beat out a tasty groove on the djembe which lead into the familiar strains of the anthemic "Oppression". Ben really wore his influences on his sleeve in this final burst, with "Oppression" melting into a stirring take on Bob Marley's "Get Up, Stand Up", than a reading of Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" (a truly beautiful song), before the trifecta was completed with a mammoth extended jam on "Manic Depression" which would have had Jimi smiling down from above as Harper unleashed one sizzling lead break after another. And then it was all over - a gig which is sure to rate highly on those end of year polls, from a performer who has set the benchmark for all singer-songwriters that follow.