Shihad

LOUD FOREVER final tour

w/ Con Carne, Mim Jensen

Trafalgar Centre, Nelson

Friday 7 February 2025

 

I still remember the first time I saw Shihad play.

I’d missed out a few times when I was younger, because the venues were R18. I recall Shihad and The Datsuns played a double bill at Riwaka Hotel, just out of Nelson. My dad went with his mate Mo, but I couldn’t go because I was underage. The injustice!

So I jumped at the chance when Shihad played the inaugural Homegrown festival in Wellington. Many Wellingtonians I’ve spoken to lamented this new festival, saying it replaced the vastly superior X*Air, but I was hyped. There were a bunch of bands that I wanted to see, and under 18s could go. From memory, the ticket price was roughly $60. A small group of us – four schoolfriends – took the ferry across to Wellington for the weekend.

Shihad were the headliners for the rock stage. They had just released their album Beautiful Machine. I had preordered it and been sent a comically oversized XL t-shirt with the album that looked like a tent on my runty teenage frame. But I wore it with great excitement, and finally I managed to see Shihad for the first time. They made a hell of an impression.

I made a point of seeing Shihad every time I could from then on. I moved to Wellington after highschool, which made this easier. A handful of times at Homegrown – the lineup never appeared to change much. I managed to see them twice at Riwaka during Christmas breaks – which made me feel redeemed somehow, seeing how I missed opportunities to see bands play there when I was younger. I even wrote a review that Rip It Up Magazine posted on their website, which was a big deal for me. I saw them open for AC/DC. I even saw them play at their old highschool.

The gigs that felt most special are when they played their albums Killjoy and The General Electric in full at San Francisco Bathhouse. I also saw them play TGE the following year at Big Day Out festival (probably my highlight of the day – I was pretty soggy and exhausted by the time Tool came on), and they played their debut album Churn at the Auckland Town Hall in 2023. I think I’d seen them play 20 times before tonight. The only bands I’ve seen play more times are ones I’ve toured with.

I’ve always featured them pretty prominently on this site. The first album reviews I wrote when I started Will Not Fade were of a maybeshewill record and Shihad’s FVEY. I also reviewed their most recent, Old Gods, and have written about gigs I’ve seen them play a handful of times.

Late last year Shihad announced their final tour. Touring requires a lot of time away from their families and priorities had shifted over the years. They’d barely played in support of their latest album and had decided to call it a day, rather than half-arsing it. I had noted that they’d slowed down and weren’t playing as frequently, but that was a reality for many bands because of the pandemic, so the news came as a shock.

Money has been tight recently, but I’ll be damned if I’m missing their final tour. I decided the Wellington show was not the appropriate send off. Homegrown is sponsored by alcohol companies and it’s always plagued by annoying drunks who are legless not long after midday. There are annoying drunks at most gigs, but when an event like a festival lasts longer than a standard gig, things can get a lot messier. Outdoor stages can be fickle in terms of acoustics. It seemed like a disservice to their hometown fans, choosing to end things at a festival. I want to see the band do their own thing, unconstrained by festival slots. And I think most people would agree. Festivals are cool for seeing a variety of acts and can be good value in that sense, but if you care about a band, you’d prefer to see them play a stand-alone show.

Napier was an attractive option – with one of my favourite bands Jakob opening. But I opted for Nelson. This way I could make the most of Waitangi Day and spend some time with my family.

I probably hadn’t been in the Trafalgar Centre for close on 15 years, but upon entering I was taken back to Smokefree Rockquest. I remember playing on that same stage with my friends in sixth form, and how it was such an amazing experience playing to so many people in a huge space with a big PA. The space felt pretty amazing tonight too. They’d installed temporary carpeting and curtains and brought some bleachers in at the rear. The sound was better than I’d anticipated (Dad had told me that last time Shihad played Trafalgar Centre they’d played the Victory Room because it offered better acoustics than the main hall), and the lighting was fantastic. The room felt full but not too cramped.

In the past, Shihad have often had Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” play just before coming onstage. I was surprised that this wasn’t the case tonight, with some kind of fanfare playing instead. They gave a wave before launching into the blistering “Tear Down Those Names”, from their latest album Old Gods.

This is the final tour, so the band knew they had to cover the bases. They worked through their catalogue in reverse order, playing at least a few songs from every album. They’ve been doing this for years now so I’ve come to expect it and it made the setlist somewhat predictable, but there were some treats thrown in there.

Shihad are rooted in metal and rock, so we could rely on them to deliver some songs with mean riffs. From “You Again” to “Empty Shell”, they always bring the energy. “Alive” felt a bit messy but they kept it together.

I wasn’t in the best frame of mind when I reviewed Old Gods, and probably came across jaded and defeatist when looking at the state of affairs they were tackling in the subject matter. But somehow things just feel more and more dire with time, and I appreciate seeing that these men in their 50’s are still using their platform to unify their fans and stand up against injustices. They still have that fire in their bellies and brought the ferocity with songs such as “My Mind’s Sedate” and “Think You’re So Free”. It was weird seeing a National Party MP standing in front of me singing the lyrics ‘when do you think we’ll wake up?’ to a song that was written about how his government was selling our country down the river.

But they’ve written a lot of songs in an array of styles over their 36 year career, so it wasn’t all piss and vinegar. We had some some tender moments, like “Pacifier” and “Feel The Fire”, and some fun pop numbers like “One Will Hear The Other”. I’d never previously noticed guitarist Phil Knight playing synth on songs like “Ignite” and “Deb’s Night Out”.

I remember that Beautiful Machine era, the band went through a image rebrand of sorts, getting haircuts, wearing button-up black shirts and looking more clean cut than in the past. They’ve stuck to this look for the most part, but bassist Karl Kippenberger and frontman Jon Toogood both had long hair and facial hair again. Toogood laughed about how surprising it was that he could still grow long hair like that, at 53 years old.

One of the things that make Shihad stand out as a live band is that they’ve written songs specifically to be played live. They worked out the tempos that people want to move to, the choruses that people want to sing to. I highly recommend the Studio Stories podcast, especially the two episodes that explore Shihad’s process of writing and recording The General Electric. (There’s also an episode about Killjoy). They would have written the “Sleepeater” bassline for people to bounce along to, and “Pacifier” would have been written to entice people to hold lighters in the air for the ballad (or phone lights, in this modern era).

They played a few tracks from the Pacifier record. It was maligned at the time because of its commercial nature and because Shihad had changed their name to appeal to the American market. But I always loves the album and those songs stand strong. Toogood noted that “Everything” sounded fantastic. His comment sounded tinged with regret that they’d never given that song the attention it deserved, and the realisation that they won’t have the opportunity to remedy that now that the band is coming to an end. Toogood also revealed that drummer Tom Larkin had written the riff to “Semi-Normal”, from the same album.

I mentioned that Shihad sets have become a bit predictable. They’ll almost always play the expected hits. But now and again they’ll throw in a deeper cut to keep the diehards happy, like the aformentioned “Everything”. Shihad fans can be extremely loyal and I expect many will be travelling to multiple final gigs, so the band have tried to mix up the sets somewhat. Toogood mentioned that they’d played eight songs in Nelson that they hadn’t played elsewhere on the farewell tour.

“Ghost from the Past” sounded fantastic – a song I hadn’t heard them play much. I could see that some people were fizzing about “Empty Shell” as well.

They finished their set with a blistering version of “Screwtop” from their first album, Churn, and then we were left wondering what would come next. A cut from Devolve, their first EP? “Home Again” was a given. “Run” was likely. I expected “Cheap As” – Toogood always mentioned how it was his favourite Shihad riff when they played it.

As expected, for the encore they came back with the anthemic “Run”. It sounded huge. This was followed by an even bigger singalong: a cover of Split Enz’s “I Got You”. I hadn’t actually thought of that one because it’s not on a Shihad album. They played another Churn track, “Derail” before ending with the obligatory “Home Again”. There was no other way to end it. It’s the alternative national anthem, alongside Dobbyn’s “Loyal”. Shihad have many, many jewels in their repertoire, but “Home Again” is the defining Shihad song.

I’m sad that Shihad are calling it a day. There’s a reason I’ve made a point of seeing them play so many times over the years: because they’re bloody good. And even though I’ve come to know what to expect for the most part, their shows always feel vital. Every time I hear them sing ‘Doesn’t it feel good just to be alive?’ from their song “The General Electric” I have to appreciate how true that line feels in the moment. They’ve chosen to end on a high, and I respect their decision. They did a damn fine job of summing up their career tonight, and I’m glad that I was there to help say farewell.

 

Joseph James