Author: Joseph James

Live Review: Foo Fighters at Western Springs, Auckland

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Foo Fighters

w/ Cairo Knife Fight, Fucked Up, Tenacious D

Western Springs, Auckland

Tuesday 13 December 2011

Fucked Up

Canadian hardcore act Fucked Up brought the party. As far as openers go, these guys definitely knew what to do to hype an audience up. The band played well; energetic and fast paced. The five musicians stuck largely to their own spots on stage, while vocalist Damien “Pink Eyes” , spent a majority of the set walking throughout the crowd interacting with the punters. A beast of a man, topless with his hairy belly hanging out and a cup sitting atop his head, he threaded though the sea of people at random, sharing the microphone, giving hugs and high fives, even picking up one guy and carrying him around on his shoulder for a period. Most songs sounded the same due to the terrible live mix, but braving the moody weather and arriving early enough to catch the set definitely paid off.

Tenacious D

Tenacious D arrived onstage to a more rapturous reception. Their set was entirely what you’d expect if you’re at all familiar with the band: that is, two fat men with acoustic guitars singing songs about rock, weed, and all things crass. They gave a faux-storyline to the set, so that they could incorporate some of the narrative styled songs from their second album into the mix, along with some light drama to match.

With the help of their band, Kyle and Jack played a good mix of songs from both albums, as well as a yet unreleased song dedicated to their roadie, and a medley of Who songs. The backing band was great, each having a solo when being introduced to the crowd. I particularly enjoyed watching drummer Brooks Wackerman (of punk band Bad Religion) playing drum parts that were originally played by none other than Foo Fighters front man Dave Grohl. The set was juvenile, but entertaining nonetheless.

Foo Fighters

From the moment they charged onstage to the palm-muted strums of All My Life, to the final lingering notes of set-closer Everlong, Foo Fighters front man Dave Grohl had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. It’s almost as if even the rain subsided for him, because as he came into view scores of people removed their flimsy plastic rain ponchos and threw them into the air or started spinning them above their heads.

A Foo Fighters show is one hell of a ride. Hit after hit, both old and new, complete with lengthy solos, guitar duels and extended jams galore. They have some cool screens and lights, but the strength of their performance comes from the great music and crowd interaction. A lot of the charisma came from Grohl, who, after 17 years of fronting the Foos, knew how to work the crowd like a seasoned pro.

The band seems to have a genuine love of New Zealand; quoting a show they did at the Auckland Supertop years ago as one of the favourite they’ve ever played, and having done a charity show at the Auckland Town Hall earlier this year to raise funds for the Christchurch earthquake. Grohl loves playing Auckland so much that he chose to film the crowd for a live music video for the song These Days. He also showed a real appreciation for his fans, specially playing a few acoustic songs for the people way down the back, and sincerely thanking everybody involved, before the band finished.

After doing a bit of bartering with the crowd via a video camera backstage, Grohl came out to encore with some acoustic numbers like Wheels and Times like these, before rocking out a few final tunes with the band (including a cover of Queen’s Tie your Mother Down featuring guest appearances by Tenacious D wearing nothing but underwear and suspenders) and inevitably ending with the classic hit, Everlong.

All up the Foos played for just under three hours. With live shows such as this it’s little wonder that they’ve lasted so long, and built up such a large fan base. I just wonder how they’re going to fit everybody in next time when they play Auckland Town Hall.

 

Joseph James

Live Review: Against Me! at Bodega, Wellington

Against ME Bodega Wellington Poster
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Against Me!

w/ Off With Their Heads and The Outsiders

Bodega, Wellington

 Saturday 14 May 2011

Third time lucky, or so the saying goes. After a few failed attempts, Against Me! finally came back to New Zealand for their White Crosses tour. As annoyed as I was when they cancelled the tour last time, the Saturday night show was enough to make up for it.

Local Wellington band The Outsiders were a good choice for an opening act, their shouty style of punk being similar in style to AM! They played a blistering set of punk rock fury that set the trend for the rest of the night. Supporting act Off With Their Heads played well too, but all their songs seemed to sound the same. Not that this is a bad thing, but a bit of variety wouldn’t have hurt either.

Opening song “From Her Lips to God’s Ears” set the crowd off. The highlight for me was “I Was a Teenage Anarchist”, one the major singles from their latest album. I was also quite thrilled to hear “Amputations”, from frontman Tom Gabel’s solo record, Heart Burns. I hadn’t expected the band to delve into Gabel’s solo work to add to their set.

The venue was small, and quite tightly packed. Despite the amount of bodies crammed into such a small place, the heat wasn’t overbearing. The smaller area just made it a better, more intimate show. And, of course, the best part about having so many people crammed into a confined space is that there were plenty of opportunities for crowd surfing and stage dives. The poor stage crew were trying rather hard to keep people off the stage, but many managed to get onstage and yell a few lyrics at Gabel’s microphone before getting pushed off.

The band didn’t move around much, but there was no doubt that they invested plenty of energy into their performance. Gabel was dripping with sweat. And one of the drummer’s crash cymbals got destroyed. All the members shouted the lyrics to the songs with great gusto, as did much of the crowd. A good portion of the audience seemed to know all the words to all the songs, and for those who didn’t, there were plenty of “woahs” and “ba ba da’s” to join in with.

The set was well paced. The band kept the banter to a minimum, and just delivered the goods. Song after song, the crowd was just lapping it up.

The band left for a breather, but after a few minutes of the crowd chanting for more the band came back on for more. Rather than the usual one or two song encore that most bands seem to do these days, AM! played “Stop!”, and then a good four or five songs, leaving the punters more than happy.

This is exactly how a punk show should be: fast, fun and political.
Despite having sung about it during their set, Against Me! certainly haven’t lost their touch

 

Joseph James

Live Review: Shihad at Riwaka Hotel, Nelson (Ignite tour)

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This review was originally posted on the Rip It Up website. It has since been taken down because Rip It Up merged with Groove Guide and redid their site.

Shihad

w/ Cairo Knife Fight and The Naked and Famous

Riwaka Hotel, Nelson

Wednesday 29 December 2010

Opening act tonight was Cairo Knife Fight who, despite only having only two members, created a huge wall of sound by employing the usage of looping pedals. Particularly impressive was Nick Gaffaney’s phenomenal drumming. How he manages to sing, drum and play bass on the synth with his left hand whilst operating the looping pedal simultaneously I’ll never know. Who said men can’t multi-task? Their moody, ambient sound would have better suited a later slot once the sun had set, but their playing can’t really be faulted.

The Naked and Famous attracted more attention, the tent becoming noticeably more crowded once they’d started playing. Their style is one that has become trendy of late, dual softly sung vocals over electric sounds and synthesisers. Not what you’d typically expect from an act opening for veteran rockers, but they elicited a favourable reaction from the crowd regardless

As good as the first two bands were, they were nothing compared to the headliners. Chants for the band had been erupting intermittently all night, and when Shihad finally came onstage, they did not disappoint.

It was everything you’d expect from a Shihad show. Sing along songs, aggressive songs, jump up and down songs, old songs, recent songs. With 22 years of experience under their belts, there was really no possibility that they couldn’t deliver the goods. This gig was mainly a showcase of their latest album, Ignite, which made up nearly half the setlist. The rest constituted mainly of songs from General Electric and Pacifier, the band’s two most commercially successful albums.

One highlight was the song ‘Sleepeater’ that they closed with. Although they have played it live before, at the time it was an unreleased track they were previewing to the crowd. This was probably the first time it had been played in New Zealand that people actually knew it, and it worked well, as did all the new songs. Once they’d left the stage the crowd started chanting again. “SHIHAD, SHIHAD!”

The encore was ‘Envy’, from Killjoy, and their parting song was the wave-your-lighters-in-the-air ballad ‘Pacifier’.

The crowd kept the chant going for a good five minutes or more after Shihad had finished their encore. I was surprised that the band didn’t come back on; the crowd reaction was so strong.

I walked away with ringing ears (despite the fact I wore earplugs), and with ridiculously muddy shoes. Tonight was my sixth time seeing Shihad live. I can’t wait to see them for a seventh time at Big Day Out.

 

Joseph James

Live Review: Iron Maiden’s Paul Dianno at Bodega, Wellington

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Paul Dianno with Killrazer

w/ Entrails and Razorwyre

Bar Bodega, Wellington

Thursday 1 July 2010

 

Early Iron Maiden was essentially an epic sounding punk band. Just listen to a track like Sanctuary for example; it was punk without being an actual punk song, in the same manner that Paranoid was for Black Sabbath. The cause of this was original singer Paul Dianno, who featured on Iron Maiden’s first two albums, as well as a handful of EPs.

Dianno was replaced by Samson singer Bruce Dickinson due to issues regarding drugs and personal conflict within the band. Dianno’s voice is harsher than Dickinson’s operatic wail, but he has an ample vocal range, ranging from deep growls to punk style to higher wailing.

Opening act Razorwyre (formally known as Gaywyre) played a crowd pleasing set that they’re starting to get a reputation for. No points for guessing who their influences are: they emulate NWOBHM bands such as Judas Priest and Iron Maiden with precision, with touches of thrash thrown into the mix. The hair was huge; the riffs were razor-sharp and the solos stunning. And of course who else but a band so inspired by Iron Maiden to open for Maiden’s original singer?

When the Dianno and band Killrazer finally graced the stage their presence was certainly noticed. The dry ice was so dense I could barely see the musicians on the stage not even two metres in front of me, but I could certainly hear them.They opened with Wrathchild, which certainly did the job of working up the crowd. Though he didn’t move about much Dianno certainly commanded the stage as only a well seasoned performer can.

In between songs Paul spoke freely with the crowd, telling us about all sorts, topics including his ex-wife, a drinking incident. Sometimes the cockney accent made him hard to understand, but his jokes were funny and he seemed like a down to earth musician trying to make a living, rather than the cocaine fuelled ego that he once was. Dianno even allowed his backing band Killrazer to play a few of their own songs throughout the set. They played a much heavier technical metal style which added some extra variety to the set.

As promised on the promotional poster, Dianno and the band worked their way through all of the tracks on the eponymous Iron Maiden album, some of which hadn’t been played by Dianno for 15 or more years. He said that a few tracks like Remember Tomorrow were specially chosen to be played exclusively to Australian and New Zealand audiences.

After a heated altercation with some punter disrespecting late AC/DC singer Bon Scott, Dianno and band ripped into a rousing cover of AC/DC’s Highway to Hell. The tribute was enough to leave Dianno with teary eyes, but he pulled the song off well. Unfortunately the Spice Girls and Lady Gaga covers Dianno joked about never eventuated.

For me, the best songs had to be Prowler, Iron Maiden and Running Free, although I probably could have also guessed as much beforehand. There’s just a timeless quality about those songs that always manage to excite. They concluded with Sanctuary, a song that packs a punch and sums up Dianno-era Maiden. Not the most extravagant and epic, but more hard and fast and punk-sounding.

I had regretfully missed Iron Maiden when they came to our shores early last year, so when I had the opportunity to see Maiden in an alternate incarnation I knew I could not miss it. Whilst this was obviously not going to be as impressive as a current large-scale Iron Maiden performance, I don’t feel that I missed out so much anymore. Sure there wasn’t any Eddie, 13minutes song or larger than life stage set, but it was still one hellova good night.

 

Joseph James