Fat Freddy’s Drop at the Sydney Opera House forecourt, review

There were bizarre scenes at the Sydney Opera House when a sold-out concert of thousands on the forecourt was unexpectedly interrupted.

There were bizarre scenes at the Sydney Opera House this weekend when a sold-out concert of thousands on the forecourt was unexpectedly punctuated by fireworks — suspected to be from a nearby boat party.

New Zealand’s soul fire collective Fat Freddy’s Drop lit up the iconic venue with a massive party under the night sky when the impromptu display kicked off midway through a song.

The seven-piece juggernaut — who mix reggae, funk, electronic music and soul into their sound — didn’t seem to be put off by the booming cracks of the fireworks and treated the audience to a rave to remember.

It was trombone player Joe Lindsay — who looked like Kenny Rogers in 1960s gym attire — who had the audience particularly enthralled.

Fat Freddy’s Drop play the Sydney Opera House forecourt. Picture: Mikki Gomez

Before launching into a trippy funk jam, Linsay was gyrating around on the floor with a harmonica in his mouth like a fish that had been dragged to land, and at one point he even whacked out a tuba.

There were howls of approval from the audience who were letting loose to songs from Freddy’s new bush-alchemy driven album WAIRUNGA including ‘Bones’ and ‘Shady’.

The seven-piece then hurtled through classics such as ‘Shiverman’, before bidding farewell with a full crowd singalong for ‘Hope’.

The sold-out crowd was singing along. Picture: Mikki Gomez

Lead vocalist Dallas Tamaira appeared to be genuinely touched by the response from the crowd and in awe of the surroundings as the band played out beneath the sails of the Opera House for the first time in their career.

He explained how they had meant to play in Sydney three years ago, but that the world had got in the way.

For those fans gathered there on Friday night, it was certainly worth the wait.