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

Standard

ShihadShihad

w/ The Datsuns, I Am Giant and Cairo Knife Fight

Riwaka Hotel, Nelson

Tuesday 30 December 2014

I last saw Shihad play Riwaka in 2010, promoting their previous album, Ignite. They’ve since released FVEY, a heavier nod to their first two albums. This is their first NZ tour in roughly two years, and they’ve brought some premier Kiwi rock bands on the road with them.


To my surprise, the music had already started when I arrived at 7.15pm. The tickets had advertised that doors open at 7pm, but bands don’t usually start until at least half an hour after doors open.

I only saw the last three songs because I was late, but Cairo Knife Fight put on yet another impressive set. It seems that they are the perpetual opening act for many notable rock bands. Drummer Nick Gaffaney continues to leave me in awe each time I see him play, dominating the drum kit as well as singing, playing synth bass and operating looping pedals. Ex-Weta guitarist Aaron Tokona wasn’t playing tonight, making me wonder if this has anything to do with his other band, Ahoribuzz, who are headlining New Years Eve celebrations in Nelson.

Their new single “Rezlord” from their forthcoming album reminded me of Muse, and the final song was rather Tool-esque. I love watching how two musicians can create such a full sound using effects and looping pedals. They had silly little moments in which they went wild making as much meaningless noise as possible, but it wasn’t enough to detract from the overall experience.


When I first saw I Am Giant in 2010 I thought they were pretty cool. “City Limits” had received regular airplay on the radio and they had released their début EP that week. I bought a copy of the EP at the show and their singer signed it for me and we had a great chat. How things have changed…

Since then their egos seemed to have skyrocketed and their performances haven’t improved at the same rate. Their singer Ed Martin has recently left to pursue a solo career and replacement singer Ryan Redman (ex-Exit Ten) has only exacerbated the inequality between the standard of the music and the pompous attitude of the band members. Redman is a twat. He clearly thought he was all that, making eyes at girls in the crowd and blowing kisses and thrusting. Too bad for him he couldn’t actually sing well. At first I thought his voice was hoarse because his collar had been buttoned up too tight around his neck, but it turns out he just wasn’t any good. He couldn’t hit the high notes and he could barely do justice to the rest of the singing. I Am Giant had the arrogant rock star attitude without the talent to match.


Australian rockers Airbourne were originally billed to play but have since been replaced by The Datsuns. I’ve seen both bands a few times each in the past and I prefer The Datsuns spacey garage-rock over Airbourne’s AC/DC impersonations.

And I’m glad for the lineup change.The skinny Cambridge rockers got thrust into the limelight when NME called named them “Best Live Band” in 2002, and they’re still killing it over a decade later. I swear they were all dressed exactly the same as last time I saw them play, a few years ago. Three of them had long hair and they were all worryingly thin. To add to their classic rocker appearance, the drummer played a transparent perspex drum kit like the kind Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham used to play.

The music was relentlessly energetic and they worked the crowd well. Rudolf, the singer, had everyone sit down and instructed us that once the band let loose we were all expected to “jump up and go bananas”. They had us clapping along and singing the ‘woahs’. One standout song was “That’s What You Get” from the new album Deep Sleep. Of course, they played the obligatory hits as well.

During their set a drunk bogan hi-fived me and told me “The Datsuns are the epitome of New Zealand rock music!”. Well, I don’t know about epitome, but other Kiwi artists could certainly learn a thing or two from them.


The lights dimmed, Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” rang through the speakers, and then the almighty Shihad tore into their set. They opened with the visceral single “Think You’re So Free”. I was excited to hear them play new heavy material from their new album, FVEY. Songs from Churn and Killjoy always go down a treat, as do heavier songs like “My Mind’s Sedate”. But The FVEY songs didn’t make the same impact.

The new songs are certainly aggressive, but they are also quite long and don’t change much. I like it heavy, but I need more variety. Being pummeled by such a consistent barrage of bass got a bit boring. Lead guitarist Phil Knight needed to be louder in the mix. He usually brings some treble into the foreground to balance out the sound, but was lost to the murkier low-end.

Frontman Jon Toogood vehemently dedicated one song to our prime-minister,  making it very clear that this was not a respectful act. There was a built up anger that shone through the songs.

Over half the set consisted of new material. I actually preferred the older, more familiar songs. As always, Shihad were tight and professional and energetic. They delivered a blistering show like only veterans of the stage can. It was enjoyable, but the new songs didn’t appeal as much as I’d anticipated.


There were a few surprises for me tonight. Cairo Knife Fight had a new guitarist. I Am Giant’s new singer was rubbish. Shihad’s heavy new material isn’t actually that exciting live and The Datsuns stole the show. Overall it was a great night out.

Shihad's set list.  Eight of the songs are from the new album, FVEY. The pick belonged to bass player Karl Kippenberger

Shihad’s set list. Eight of the songs are from the new album, FVEY. The pick belonged to bass player Karl Kippenberger

EP Review: Paint The Sand – Embers

Paint the Sand Embers EP Cover
Standard


I’m writing this up on a Friday evening after a long week and I can’t think of anything right now that I’d prefer to listen to.

It has been two years since Ben Maurice released his début Where I’ve Been EP under the moniker of Paint The Sand. This third EP, entitled Embers, showcases just how much he has improved over that period.

Paint the Sand stands for all things surfing, summer, beaches and barbecues. I would have been surprised if the album art didn’t relate to a beach or road trip in some way. Sure enough, the cover is a shot of ripples on the sea. It reminds me of Signs of Life, from the church Edge Kingsland

Embers evokes the feeling of huddling round the fire on a cold night. Opener “Flicker” offers the sounds of a match being struck and flames crackling, followed by a sparse reverberating intro.

“Flicker” is in itself an indicator of how far Ben has come. I listened to “Flicker”, and then to “Intro” from his 2012 release. Both are similar: instrumental interludes played on guitar. But the new recording is crisper and Ben has advanced from relying on his prized Baby Taylor acoustic guitar to using an electric guitar with effects that offer new possibilities.

“Embers” is a slow burning track that slowly ebbs and swells. The drumming is basic but does enough to add plenty of depth to the song.

“Stop, Wait, Feel” is the highlight of the EP. It sounds like it has had the most effort put into it. There is some great layering, with backing vocals and guitar harmonizing and piano. Ben has become more confident with his guitar playing and singing to the extent that he even includes a guitar solo

The untitled final track sounds raw and grungy at first, but it pulls back to leave a cappella vocals lingering in the air.

The production sounds good. The extra instruments have added new elements to the music. Using electric guitar has allowed Ben to play with his sound and inject new dynamics into his songwriting. It’s nice to see how far he has progressed over the past two years.

Embers is short , as one would expect from an EP. The three songs and an intro only take 11 minutes to listen to. But after a long week those 11 minutes have done wonders to help me unwind.

Joseph James

Live Review: Ur Boy Bangs at Zeal Welly

Bangs Wellington Zeal
Standard

Ur Boy Bangs (Melbourne)

w/ Declaration AD (Wellington) and FLYBZ (Melbourne)
Zeal Welly
Thursday 27 November 2014

Sudanese born Ajak Chol, best known by his stage name Bangs, moved to Australia in 2003 and took to building his rap career with great gusto.

Bangs achieved internet notoriety in 2009 with his viral hit “Take U To Da Movies”. At the time of writing the YouTube clip has had 9.7 million views. Honda even commissioned Bangs to help them promote their Jazz range of cars. Bangs was also prolific on the social media. He had so many followers on Facebook that he reached the limit and had to create a secondary account.

The reason for this is because his music was so bad. The lyrics didn’t flow, the beats weren’t catchy. His music videos contained plenty of badly green-screened backgrounds like maps of Sudan and Australia, and pictures of cash and sports cars. His attempts at wooing girls by calling them “Shawty” and offering to take them “to da movies”, or chat to them on “the Facebook” were hilarious. So people showed the funny videos to their friends, who in turn show the video to their other friends, and so on.

A rapper who gains worldwide publicity and fame from one song because of how bad it is. Welcome to the internet age.

Since then this has become common practice, things that are bad or unusual going viral. Take Sharknado or Gangnam Style, for instance.

Last time Bangs played in Wellington I decided it wasn’t worth attending. This was mainly because the show started at 10pm, plus there were a number of opening acts, meaning that Bangs probably wouldn’t have even come on until close to midnight. I wasn’t willing to pay $20 and stay up so late on a school night just to see an internet joke in the flesh.

But this time Bangs has announced a last-minute all ages show, two days before playing. This suits me fine because it means I won’t have to stay up so late to watch him.

The joke gets even funnier with the announcement of the opening act: local hardcore band Declaration AD. I was living with Declaration guitarist Kirk Hogson in 2010 and I’m pretty sure it was he who showed me Bang’s video in the first place. Original Declaration bass player Tom White spent a lot of time pestering Bangs over Facebook. I bet he still has a screenshot saved on his computer saying “BStar Bangs likes Declaration AD”. They joked about it at the time, but I don’t think anyone actually expected that they would get to share a stage with Bangs.

Declaration AD were on form, even with their former bass player filling in at last minute’s notice. They’ve just been in the studio putting the finishing touches on their fourth release, so not doubt performing live would be a pleasure after recording in a sterile studio environment. They’re well-known at Zeal so enough of the audience knew what to expect, but it was pretty amusing seeing the shock on the faces of the others present. Imagine young kids showing up to the show expecting to see an internet sensation from five years ago, and instead having four hairy men playing loud hardcore music and shouting at them.

Declaration AD

I would have loved to seen Declaration AD collaborate with one of the rappers, something along the lines of a rap/rock crossover like Aerosmith and Run DMC doing “Walk This Way”.

The turn out was fairly small. Most people present were Zeal volunteers or friends with the boys from Declaration AD. But there were 20 or so others who had shown up to just to see Bangs. I’m surprised at how many young teenagers even remember who Bangs is. If most of the people in the audience are underage, it means they would have been roughly 12 when Bangs was at the peak of his hype.

The second act was another Melbourne based rapper named FLYBZ. FLYBZ was a former child soldier from the African nation of Burundi. He surprised us by being quite good. He worked the crowd and got us dancing and singing along. He even asked one boy from the audience to come onstage and help him by sing the chorus for a song about equality. It was funny how when he decided that a song was finished, FLYBZ would reach over to his laptop and stop the music abruptly, instead of having an outro.

FLYBZ also took over DJ duties and backing vocals for the star of the night, Ur Boi Bangs.

Bangs’ set almost had a linear narrative. He rapped about how his life is hard because he comes from the ghetto. But no matter what you have to keep your mind right. He had a song ready for each point he made. Then he taught us the process for courting a woman. “First you need to meet her somewhere” he told us, before playing “Meet Me On Facebook”. Once you’ve met her you take her shopping. Then you take her “for a deena!” [Dinner]. There was a song about Christmas that interrupted the musical date that Bang’s was taking us on. And of course, he finished with the obligatory “Take U To Da Movies”.

Just like Adam reaching out to the Creator in Michelangelo's famous painting at the Sistine Chapel

Just like Adam reaching out to the Creator in Michelangelo’s famous painting at the Sistine Chapel

Was it worth going? I’ve seen bands that I expected to be bad before for the sake of a joke. Guitar Wolf can barely be classed as musicians, yet I’ve seen them play twice and both times the performances were amazing.

Bangs doesn’t seem to mind the haters. He gave us a speech about it before performing his song “Hi Haters”

“Haters make you famous. If you can’t love your haters you can’t love yourself”

– Ur Boi Bangs

He’s like Tommy Wiseau, the man behind The Room (widely regarded as one of the worst films ever made). His product may be terrible, but it has earned him fame and a cult following so why fight it?

I expected Bangs to suck. I went for one famous song that seemed like a joke. I went to see how everyone would react. I went to see Declaration AD scare children. I went for the nostalgia, because we all thought it would be so exciting to see Bangs when he was all the rage back in 2010.

Bangs surpassed my expectations. It was actually an amazing night. Everybody was having so much fun singing and dancing along and waving their hands in the air. There was crowd surfing and stage diving. I think the Snapchat and Instagram headquarters much have been under extra stress based on the sheer volume of selfies that people in the crowd were taking.

I’m glad the show was cheap. I’m glad that it didn’t run late. And I’m especially glad that I went.

Ahaa!

Joseph James

Live Review: Jakob at San Fran, Wellington

Standard
Jakob guitarist Jeff Boyle adjusting his effects pedals at the Wellington gig on Friday night

Jakob guitarist Jeff Boyle adjusting his effects pedals at the Wellington gig on Friday night

Jakob (Napier, NZ)

w/ Bachelor of Architecture & Spook the Horses

San Francisco Bathhouse, Wellington

Friday 24 October 2014

It seems that it has been quiet on the Jakob front for a very long time. Their last record, Solace, was released in 2006. And the semi-regular gigs seemed to have stopped since they opened for Tool in Auckland during May last year. There have been a few side projects like Mean and Desbot to whet our appetites, but still fans were left hungry for more.

And now, a tremendous new album, Sines, with an accompanying tour to boot! To say I am thrilled is an understatement.

It felt so right being back at the freshly renovated San Francisco Bathhouse, watching such a glorious band. I have missed both the venue and the band so much.

Although no mention of opening acts were on the tour poster or the website, Wellington had two.

Bachelor of Architecture started the night with his sonic soundscapes. The most interesting part for me was seeing him play an unusual instrument: a metal fireplace shovel with a bow. Although BoA may have seemed suitable to open, his music was too long and directionless to be captivating.

Spook the Horses were more exciting. Their driving music seemed more stimulating, with polyrhythmic drumbeats and riffs propelling the music forward. They broke the mould be adding hardcore vocals to some songs, in the form of bearded roaring.

Jakob were always going to be good. The place was packed and everyone knew what to expect. They may not be showy, but their music is enough mesmerise.

There is something primitively attractive about it all. The band is bathed in rich coloured light, shrouded by the thick smoky haze. The building hums from the bass. You can feel the vibrations in your chest cavity. The guitar rises and falls in waves and layers, gradually immersing us in aural bliss. The repetition of a tribal drum tattoo is hypnotic. Everyone watches in awe, drinking in the sights and sounds.

And then: the most exciting part. That moment when guitarist Jeff Boyle leans forward to step on his distortion pedal and usher in the climax of the song. It’s that anticipation that keeps you on edge during each song, waiting, wanting.

They rest on the strength of their songs. Each one is immaculately written and played with such finesse and control. Like any three-piece band, each member really needs to pull their weight to make it work. And these three musicians are clearly experts of their craft.

I love how down to earth they are. Dressed plainly in black and delivering no-nonsense, high-quality music. Many bands of lesser calibre would expect stage hands to do the set up and menial labour, but these three were sound checking and tuning their own guitars between songs.

Seeing Jakob at San Fran was the same as it has always been. The same awesome music. The same straight forward delivery. The same songs, but now with a fresher expanded set. The same Jakob: consistently excellent.

Joseph James

Set list from the Jakob show at San Francisco Bathhouse, Friday 24 October 2014

Set list from the Jakob show at San Francisco Bathhouse, Friday 24 October 2014