Live Music Reviews

Live Review: Nas performing Illmatic at James Cabaret, Wellington

Nas Wellington James Cabaret Illmatic Poster
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Nas

James Cabaret

Sunday 18 January 2015

Last time Nas played in New Zealand he was touring with Damian Marley promoting their collaborative album Distant Relatives. The time before that he opened for Kanye West.

Nasty Nas, widely considered one of the greatest emcees ever, opening for Kanye? Why wasn’t he headlining? I’d suggest it’s because Kanye gets radio play, and Nas doesn’t.

But fans at the Nas show last night knew better and turned out in force to witness the rap legend in the flesh. Nas may not get the mainstream radio play that Kanye does, but he has still more than earned a loyal following. And two sold out shows was enough to prove it.

And the fans were richly rewarded. Not only did they get to see one of their favourite rappers, but they got to see him perform his most acclaimed album. As advertised, Nas played his groundbreaking début album Illmatic from start to finish, to celebrate its 20th anniversary. DJ Green Lantern oversaw the music and provided backing vocals, while Nas tore through the hit-heavy set.

The setup was fairly unimposing. Nas wore a plain camo green tshirt, a discreet necklace and sunglasses. There was a screen at the back of the stage with videos. But the emphasis wasn’t on showy gimmicks, it was on the music.

The songs from Illmatic were firmly imprinted in the minds of everyone in the audience, most of whom were singing along. They best sing along moment was during “NY York State Of Mind” when everyone shouted “I never sleep, because sleep is the cousin of death!” The crowd had showed up to relive that enduring album, and Nas delivered exactly what they wanted, playing it all, followed by more songs from later in his career.

The set was a trip down nostalgia lane. The Illmatic singles all featured, like “The World Is Yours”, “One Love” and “Halftime”. There was a shout out to the late Michael Jackson for allowing his music to be sampled on “It Ain’t Hard To Tell”, as well several other late rappers on “Represent”

The second half of the set was less exciting. Nas gave an impressive cross-section of his career through the ages, but Illmatic was the attraction that had set the benchmark.

Nas clearly loved what he was doing. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and I’ll keep doing it for 20 more, because you guys keep coming back!” he shouted. “I need to keep coming back here more often.”

A number of fans had brought their LP copies of Illmatic to the show and were waving them in the air. “You want me to sign that?” Nas asked, “Help me out and take the plastic off. You got a pen?” After 20 years of touring he still appeared stunned at his fans devotion “A real vinyl record!” he muttered in disbelief as he scrawled his signature on the cover.

My only complaint was that it was extremely hot in the venue. There was no noticeable air conditioning. I was wanting the show to finish half way through the set, just so I could escape the humidity. A sold out gig and a small venue means lots of body heat if going to get generated. Nas himself kept complaining about the heat too, asking the lighting technicians to turn down the onstage lights several times.

No pass outs and no ventilation means no escape from the heat. I wonder if this is a deliberate method of selling more drinks? Apparently it was too hot and crowded at the Run The Jewels/Joey Badass gig the previous week as well, and the gig had been advertised to start far earlier than it actually did, meaning people had been trapped inside with the heat for even longer. If this continues I’ll consider avoiding shows at James Cabaret in the future.

Joseph James.

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

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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

The best of 2014

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It’s time to look back and remember some of the highlights on the year just been. Here are some of the best concerts, albums and films I saw/heard in 2014.

The year went by so fast. I was pretty busy with university assignments so didn’t always have time to write reviews. I’m sure I’ve forgotten loads of things that deserve mentioning, but here is what I do remember.

 

Live

Although it wasn’t technically 2014, it was a year ago that my friend Sam and I flew to Sydney to see The Roots play at the Horden Pavilion. I was disappointed that Questlove hid his glorious afro underneath a beanie, but the show was still awesome. “Captain” Kirk, the guitarist, threw his sweaty towel into the crowd. I caught it and gave it to Sam. He keeps it as a treasured memento to remind him of the gig. We also went to the Broadway show of the Lion King and it was too good for words. I bought a CD of the songs of the show. The Australian cast I saw live were better than the recorded version, but I still listen to the CD more than anything else.

I was fortunate enough to tick three bands off my bucket list this year. I saw Nine Inch Nails in Christchurch co-headlining with Queens of the Stoneage. They were incredible. I even got to chat to Trent Reznor at the airport the following day. It was also great to catch up with school friends in Christchurch that I don’t get to see often.

I finally got to see Biffy Clyro live at the Powerstation. I was buzzing for days afterwards. I managed to get a guitar pick and an annotated copy of the set list as well. I also saw Jimmy Eat World at the same venue. I was considering going to Soundwave in Australia to see these two bands at the beginning of the year but couldn’t afford it, so I was rapt when they each got announced to play in NZ.

The Beards were a comedy band that I thoroughly enjoyed. It was nice catching up with my friend Jason from Melbourne, who was working as their follically gifted merch guy. Another funny gig was internet sensation and rapper Ur Boy Bangs, with local hardcore band Declaration AD opening. It was pretty hilarious, but surprisingly fun.

Other live acts that stood out this year include post-rock masters Jakob, pop starlet Ellie Goulding, and modern hardcore band La Dispute.

I’m seeing Shihad in a few days and I’m sure that will also be worthy of this list. I’ve seen them at least ten times in the past and they’ve never disappointed. I’m looking forward to seeing them play material from the new album, FVEY. 

The gigs that I’m looking most forward to in 2015 so far include Frank Turner, Gary Clark Jr, and Foo Fighters.

 

Albums and EPs

There have been some great new music releases this year. Here’s some that stood out for me, categorised by genre but not in any particular order.

Hip-hop

  • Run The Jewels – RTJ2

El-P and Killer Mike stole the show at the hip-hop triple bill at the beginning of the year, and then proceeded to release an even better second album less than a year after their first.

  • Sage Francis – Copper Gone

Sage Francis continues as a veteran wordsmith wizard. Copper Gone in entertaining and thought-provoking, with great music and clever lyrics. His Wellington show was great as well.

Keith Stanfield caught my attention as a talented actor, and proved himself as a capable rapper too. A dark, tormented début EP.

Post-rock

Of course this album was inevitably excellent. Composer Rhian Sheehan helped to add masterful extra touches to help the Napier trio surpass perfection.

The latest release from one of my fave post-rock bands shows a softer side with great results.

Rock

A new sound, new direction and new name for Solemn Sun helped them create an alt-rock EP that leaves me eagerly awaiting their next album.

I’ve listened to it at least once every day since it arrived in the post. Sublime electro-prog-rock  arisen from the ashes of Cog.

  • Biffy Clyro – Similarities (B-sides album)

It goes without saying that any release from my fave band will get a mention.

 

Queens of the Stoneage – … Like Clockwork and Foo Fighters – Sonic Highways were both major disappointments. Both bands are of high calibre and had lots of hype around the new albums, but the music just wasn’t good enough to make me want to listen to the albums more than once.

 

Films

I only wrote two film reviews this year, but I saw plenty of great movies that deserve a mention

Housebound was by far the stand out film of the year for me. A Kiwi comedy/horror that strikes the perfect balance. The Dark Horse was another NZ film that impressed. Forget The Hobbit, New Zealand can produce some quality films without the need to sell out to Hollywood.

The follow-up to one of my fave movies came out in July. The Raid 2 was just as violent and intense as its predecessor, but with more varied and imaginative fight scenes. The sequel was pretty long, with a more complex plot. Fingers crossed for The Raid 3 in years to come!

The trailer was bad enough to put me off wanting to watch it, but Gone Girl was gripping, albeit unsettling. This was one that surpassed expectations. It also featured a soundtrack written by Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor, which earns it bonus marks in my book.

2013’s The Wolverine, was abysmal, but the X-Men franchise redeemed themselves with Days Of The Future Past. I was left with plenty of unanswered questions, but it was a clever way to tie in the two timelines.

Another sci-fi that I enjoyed was Snowpiercer, a futuristic dystopian film set on a train that contains the last of earth’s population. It was incredible right until the end, when it lost momentum in the last scene.

I enjoyed Frozen, although as a trainee early childhood teacher went a bit insane because of children singing “Let It Go” non-stop. Lego Movie was fun as well, but Big Hero 6 was my favourite children’s animated film.

The major let down was Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar. It was long. It was grand. But it didn’t come together in a satisfying way. I fail to understand why people rated it so highly.

I’ve been blessed to have such a good year. Since launching Will Not Fade earlier this year I’ve had people from all over the world read my reviews. One review featured at Stereofox.com. I’ve had bands ask me to review their music and I’ve gained media passes to attend events. I really enjoy doing this and I plan to continue what I’m doing.

Please let me know what you think. What did you enjoy reading? Are there bands or films you want to see me write about? Did I inspire you to listen to a new band, or watch another film? Do you have any other suggestions?

Thanks for reading. All the best for 2015!

 

Joseph James

Live Review: Sage Francis at San Francisco Bathhouse, Wellington

Sage Francis Wellington poster San Fran Wellington
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Sage Francis

w/ Alphabethead

San Francisco Bathhouse, Wellington

Thursday 11 December 2014

 

On his first world tour in four years, Sage Francis has come on a “Middle-earth excursion”, headed back to New Zealand to promote his latest album, Copper Gone.

I arrived late to the gig with hope of missing Andrew WK lookalike Alphabethead. Not late enough, it seems. I had to sit through almost an hour of his set. My friend pointed out that I looked miserable, staring at the floor. It was an accurate assessment. I would go out of my way to avoid seeing Alphabethead again.

Sage Francis arrived on stage wearing a large black habit, a white hood and a cape a made from a Strange Famous banner. The cape helped turn Francis into a wizard, a master magician who casts a spell over the audience, as suggested in his opening song, “Escape Artist”.

The reason Francis is so captivating is because he pours so much of himself into his performance. And it is a performance, not just some bearded white guy talking fast into a microphone. He sings, he dances, he pretends to play harmonica. There is a projector displaying some pictures and animations in the background, but they aren’t a focal point. Francis projects a persona that’s larger than life (you could say “EXTRA, EXTRA LAARGE!“)

There’s also a wide variety within the music. Some backing tracks are stereotypical hip-hop beats, but most are musical, and some songs are even a capella. He raps over the Nine Inch Nails song “Closer”, and an 8-bit adaptation of the Pixies song “Where is My Mind?”. The funniest is the theme song from the movie Team America: World Police, that he uses to introduce “Makeshift Patriot”, his critique of American patriotism in response to terrorist propaganda.

When I saw Immortal Technique at the same venue a few years ago the mix was too muddy and a lot vocals were hard to make out. Thankfully, this time the acoustics were good and I could actually tell what Francis was saying.

And this is important, especially with a rap music, where it all rides on what you say and how you deliver it. Francis injects so much feeling into his music. He shouts and he whispers. Songs like “Make Em Purr”, “Thank You” and “Best Of Times” expose him as open and vulnerable, offering up his secrets for show. He portrays real emotion, something that is vital for creating a true connection with the audience.

Francis ended his set with a group hug, before selling merch out of his backpack just in front of the stage, like a true an independent artist.

Sage Francis is 55 years old. He has a wealth of experience to draw from, both on stage and in real life. He may not be the best singer or have the flashiest setup, but he commands the stage like the veteran he is, armed with sharp rhymes and a microphone. His fans love him for his talent, his wit, his realness and enthusiasm. And last night in Wellington that’s exactly what they got.

 

Joseph James

Live Review: Ur Boy Bangs at Zeal Welly

Bangs Wellington Zeal
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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