1 Giant Leap at the Grand Hotel

By STEPHEN JEWELL

It was somehow appropriate that 1 Giant Leap held their only New Zealand show on the outskirts of Auckland in semi-rural Helensville.

Saturday night's venue, was the newly re-opened Grand Hotel now co-owned by tattooist Inia Taylor. He first introduced 1 Giant Leap's Jamie Catto and Duncan Bridgeman to the mesmerising voice of Helensville's Whiri Mako Black, who appeared on the English electronic duo's self-titled 2002 album alongside the likes of Michael Stipe, Neneh Cherry, Asha Bhosle and Baaba Maal.

Catto and Bridgeman were in Auckland as speakers at the Resonate music industry conference and the show was less a fully fledged gig than an after-party for the event.

Consequently, the pair travelled light but, rather than play from the laptops upon which 1GL was composed, Catto and Bridgeman performed acoustically with the help of a local bassist and drummer.

Unfortunately, the fact that Catto and Bridgeman had never rehearsed with their new bandmates was evident from the way that the two kept stealing nervous glances at each other.

However, drummer Leyton Greening did a specially good job of holding the set together while others jammed loosely around him.

Catto and Bridgeman began slowly with a couple of new tunes before playing their first single, My Culture, which reached the British top ten.

Unsurprisingly, My Culture's original guest vocalists Robbie Williams and Maxi Jazz were absent, meaning that Catto - a regular singer for former band Faithless but not a contributor to 1 Giant Leap's vocal jamboree - had his work cut out for him.

His performance bordered on the schizophrenic as he attempted to fill both stars' considerable shoes.

Bridgeman then took the lead as the band performed an impassioned cover of John Lennon's Working Class Hero, which brought to mind Marilyn Waring's oddball version from some years ago.

Catto then returned to the fore with maudlin ballad, Don't Leave, his biggest Faithless hit, before the night moved up a gear as local hero Whiri Mako Black performed her main 1GL contribution, Ta Moko.

For the first time that night, the band really came to life and, with some much-needed momentum behind them, Catto and Bridgeman finished their set with a rousing version of The Way You Dream, originally sung by Michael Stipe and India's Asha Bhosle. Fortunately, Catto does a mean impression of the REM vocalist and was ably supported by Black, who features fleetingly on the album version but took centre stage as she filled in for Bhosle.

And with that, 1 Giant Leap's all-too short set was over and it was time for the 40-minute drive back to the city.

But with cheap beer, pleasant surroundings and an impressive roster of upcoming acts, the Grand Hotel should become a permanent fixture on the greater Auckland musical map.