The first time I saw them play live was in May 2005. In the midst of a week of seeing live performances by popera group, Il Divo and cabaret singer, Tim Draxl, I also saw the Australian hip-hop band, Combat Wombat. They were launching their debut at Sydney’s legendary live music venue, now closed, The Hopetoun Hotel.
“Why would I be attending a hip-hop band’s album launch?”, you ask. The answer’s simple: DJ Wasabi is the son of my good friend Kate, who I’ve known since the early 90s, and since Tom (er, Wasabi) was only a child.
Fast forward twenty years and Wasabi is a member of Combat Wombat, which had a bit of pop success with the song, “Qwest”.
Commercial success was, however, never what the band was about. Their songs have strong, political lyrics, against a terrific dance backdrop, and throughout their existence, they’ve played heaps of benefit gigs.
After a hiatus, they released a new album a few weeks ago, and they’re doing a few shows. Kate couldn’t make last night’s show at Sydney University, as she needed to babysit Wasabi’s son, so for Kate and anyone else who loves Combat Wombat, here’s a few photographs from last night’s show.
