3 Gigs, 1 Day for NZ Music Month: Shihad live at Meow, Wellington

Shihad NZMM tour Meow Wellington
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Shihad

Meow, Wellington

Sunday 1 May 2016

News about this show left me both excited and nervous. Like Shihad’s live FVEY debut at Christchurch’s Horncastle Arena, this gig was ballot only, meaning that if you don’t manage to win a ticket, you don’t go. Opportunistic gig-goers could try their luck by entering the draw through iHeartRadio and 2degrees websites, but that was the only way to get a ticket. It’s an interesting promotion, because it means that there is a risk of alienating the true fans who would be willing to pay for admission if they had the chance. But then again, if you are lucky enough to win, then you get to attend for free.

Thankfully, I did score some tickets to the gig. Again, my heart sank when I realised that I wasn’t able to get to the office in Wellington central to pick up my tickets within the specified time. But I emailed iHeartRadio and they understood, and were able to sort something that meant that I wouldn’t miss out on receiving my allocated tickets. And luckily for any other diehard fans who had missed out, Shihad released an extra allocation the day before.

Shihad were to play three gigs in three centres on May 1st to promote New Zealand Music Month. It must have been a tight schedule. I know they were pushing it fine to make it to the Wellington show because I was on the same flight as them. Thankfully they didn’t hit any unexpected delays.

Funnily enough, one of the last acts I saw at Meow had also done something similar and played another show in the South Island on the same day. Meow was an interesting choice of venue. I would have expected San Fran or Valhalla as the venue of choice for a heavy band of this stature. Usually Meow is not suitable for a rock gig because it’s full of tables, chairs and empty beer kegs. Thankfully they’d cleared enough floor space to make it manageable, like when Frank Turner played there last. Maybe frontman Jon Toogood thought highly enough of Meow to return, after playing there on his solo tour late last year.

Last time Shihad played in Wellington they opened for their heroes AC/DC. It was great, but it seemed wasteful having such talent play a daytime slot when the crowd still wasn’t full. This time was far better, packed intimately into a small bar, squashed in with a hundred or so die hard sweaty fans. The band members were all dressed fully in black, with only white lights shining upon them for most of the set, which made for a sharp and simple looking show.

Shihad have recently re-released their eponymous “Fish Album“ on vinyl, along with a ten inch pressing of the Blue Light Disco EP. The band decided that to celebrate this, along with the 20th anniversary of Fish, the had better play some songs off the album. The four songs from Fish, and two songs from Blue Light, were welcome appearances. Shihad have been drawing predominantly from FVEY for their sets over the past few years over the past few years, so it was nice to hear some older material that wasn’t so chug-heavy. In fact, I think it may be the first time I’ve seen Shihad play a bunch of those tracks. And just so we wouldn’t think that they were going too soft, they finished off with four FVEY songs, which left everyone gasping for breath.

I had initially held reservations, wondering if the band would need to hold back and pace themselves in order to last three sets in a day. I needn’t have worried. Sure, the set was short, but it was intense. Shihad are simply one of the best live acts around –  on both local and international scales. Their intense energy and quality songs made for a vivacious homecoming gig.

I saw both Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath play this weekend, and although both were incredible, I found myself enjoying the Shihad gig more. Toogood actually mentioned that Maiden are one of the reasons he decided to start a band, and Sabbath are obviously influences because Shihad covered their song “The Wizard” on their debut Devolve EP. Shihad have taken the best aspects of their influences and distilled them into something more accessible for the next generation. Take the song “The Living Dead“, for example. It could easily pass for a Killing Joke song, but is easier to listen to than most KJ songs.

I have nothing to complain about. The venue worked well, Shihad were devastatingly good, and the show was free. It was a treat to hear them play some really old material that doesn’t often arise, and I honestly think it was the most enjoyable gig of the weekend.

Live Review: Black Sabbath in Dunedin

Black Sabbath The End Tour Forsyth Bar Stadium Dunedin
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Black Sabbath

w/ Rival Sons

Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin

Saturday 30 April 2016

 California’s Rival Sons started off the night with a great set. They had a bluesy swagger to their brand of rock music, akin to acts like The Black Keys and Led Zepplin. Every one of the five musicians stood out as talented, adding flourishes and details to the already excellent music. They garnered a great response for an unknown act, with the audience far more into it than you’d usually see during an opening act. It seemed that nobody enjoyed their set more than an individual nicknamed “Nambassa Guy”.

I dedicated a paragraph to Nambassa Guy in my review of the 2015 Homegrown festival, when I first became aware of his notoriety. The open shirted legend is frequently seen at rock concerts around the country, spinning and strutting along to the music, and infectiously spreading his joy wherever he goes. My two mates who I was sitting with had never seen him before, but they both agreed that witnessing his magic was one of the highlights of their night.

Compared to Rival Sons groovy music, heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath were grim and depressing. And it makes sense, when you consider their origins. Formed in Birmingham in 1968, Black Sabbath are widely acknowledged as the founders of heavy metal. The band started with the premise that if people paid money to get scared watching horror films, then surely the same people would love a band that played scary music? Their unique sound can be largely attributed to guitarist Tony Iommi, who had lost some of his fingertips in an accident working at a sheet metal factory. He used leather and plastic from melted bottle tops to compensate for his fingertips, and needed to alter his technique to allow for the lack of feeling, giving him a unique tone when he played guitar.

There are stories about women fainting and people freaking out at shows when Sabbath first started. I found this hard to believe at first, but after hearing them play the doomy eponymous “Black Sabbath” as the first song of their set last night, I can better understand the stories.

Three of the four members of the original lineup were present, with Tommy Clufetos (a drummer with experience playing for both Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne’s solo band) taking Bill Ward’s place on the drum throne, and additional musician Adam Wakeman rounding out the sound with guitar and keyboard.

At first I thought it was a bit inappropriate to have Clufetos playing “Rat Salad”, Bill Ward’s signature drum track, but “Salad” morphed into a more original drum solo that allowed Cufetos to show off his chops, and also allowed the elderly members of the band to have a breather.

Geezer Butler also treated us to a bass solo, drowning in pedal effects. But the star of the night was Iommi, the man behind the riffs that inspired thousands of metalheads worldwide. He came across as humble, downplaying his importance when Osbourne introduced him, but we all know that Iommi is Sabbath.

Ozzy’s voice was as good as ever, and he appeared more coherent than I have come to expect, based on interviews and his reality television show, The Osbournes. The Prince of Darkness didn’t bite the heads off any bats, but he sure put in a lot of effort trying to work the crowd up. He would ask us to clap and cheer and scream, shouting “I can’t hear you” every single time. Poor chap, he must be so deaf after all those years of fronting rock concerts.

It didn’t seem like it, but their set lasted almost two hours. They played a range of hits selected from the more notable albums recorded under the original line up. With six of the eight tracks from Paranoid being played, there was no way that they could disappoint. Although I called them grim before, there is another side to their music. We got the heavy metal, but we also got blues and psychedelia too.

The concert was not especially flashy or showy. There were lights, and some screens, but this was a band that relied on the songs rather than gimmicks. They’re old men now, and I think that they are lucky to have lasted so long. After the recent deaths of some of their contemporaries (David Bowie, Lemmy), it has become apparent that not all good things can last forever.  This tour has been announced as their last, and after a few Canadian dates were cancelled due to ill health, it’s a believable announcement.

I was thrilled to finally hear some of my favourite songs in a live context, and I think I can speak for everyone when I say that everyone in attendance was thankful that they took the opportunity to experience a vital part of music history.

Joseph James

Live Review: Iron Maiden at Horncastle Arena, Christchurch

Iron Maiden Book of Souls tour
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Iron Maiden

w/ The Raven Age

Horncastle Arena, Christchurch

Friday 29 April 2016

I missed out on seeing Iron Maiden in 2009 when they last came because I was at a school camp. Ironically enough it was a camp for my music class. One boy from my class skipped the camp to attend the concert, and I’d argue that he learnt more about music from attending the concert than he would have at the camp. Then again, another boy who came on the camp now tours the world playing music in Broods, so maybe my idea of worthwhile musical education isn’t accurate.

It was some consolation that I managed to see the original Iron Maiden singer, Paul Di’anno, play live when I moved to Wellington the following year. It was a good night, but not enough to make up for missing the full band.

Fast forward five years and I finally got the chance to redeem myself. Iron Maiden were returning to New Zealand to promote their latest album, The Book of Souls, and there was no way I was going to miss them this time around.

The most impressive stage set I had seen until now was Rammstein’s, at Big Day Out 2010. They had big cauldrons, and multiple levels of staging with a heavy, industrial look. This was enhanced by all the pyrotechnics that the band is famous for.

Iron Maidens set up made Rammstein’s look like child’s play. In keeping with their new theme, the stage was decked out like a Mayan temple, with Mayan imagery carved into the walls, jungle vines hanging from the lighting rig, and multiple layers of staging for frontman Bruce Dickinson to run about on. Large backdrops set the scene, while vessels overflowed with dry ice and vases spat fire onstage. Drummer Nicko McBrain could not even be seen behind his enormous drum set, with a larger than life array of cymbals and toms enveloping him. It was as if everything was prepared for a blood sacrifice to be made to the gods of rock.

Dickinson was the most theatrical, running about and yelling like a man half his age. This was especially impressive, considering his recent battle with throat cancer. Not that you could tell, with his operatic voice as epic and impeccable as ever. He donned a number of different costumes throughout the night, decked out in a red coat and waving a British flag during “The Trooper”, swinging a large noose around (and hitting the crash cymbals on the drums with) during “Hallowed Be Thy Name”, and even donning a luchador mask at one stage. The most popular though, was when he rocked an All Blacks shirt with his surname printed on the back, towards the end of the show.

Bonus points for entertainment also go out to guitarist Janick Gers, who never let up his wild stage moves as he played. For the most part he could be found right of stage, doing the splits over a speaker, but he also ran around spinning, swinging and flipping his guitar with abandon.

The set revolved mostly around the most recent album The Book Of Souls, but Maiden kept the older fans happy by playing the “legacy songs”, as Dickinson put it. He laughed at the age variation of the crowd, noting that many of us would not have been born when their song “Children of the Damned” was written.

Of course everyone’s favourite mascot made an appearance. An enormous zombie Eddie the Head walked onstage and started swinging his axe at the band members. He got into a tussle with Dickinson, who managed to tear poor Eddie’s heart out of his chest, before spraying the blood from it over the front rows in the audience.

Eddie managed to come back later, with his head and chest the size of a hot air balloon rising up from the back of stage. An evil goat figure with folded arms arose in the same manner during “Number Of The Beast”, staring out over us mortal beings with disdain.

Iron Maiden more than delivered, with both stunning musicianship and immense stage presence. They’ve been going at it for a long, long time now, and they’ve made sure not to let their quality slip. This has earnt them a loyal fan base, and just to prove it, it seemed as if 90% of the crowd were wearing Iron Maiden merchandise. Finally seeing Maiden live was just as good – if not better -than I expected. Their show was just as long, fantastic and spectacular as their songs. I doubt that I’ll see any other band surpass this kind of quality for a very long time.

Joseph James

Live Review: The Beards at Bodega, Wellington

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The Beards

Bodega, Wellington

Friday 15 April 2016

The Beards are a novelty rock act from Adelaide who sing about facial hair. They are both funny and musically interesting, making them comparable to other bands like Tenacious D and Flight of the Conchords. One difference though, is that The Beards only have one joke, and that joke is that every song is about beards. Only beards. Beards, beards, beards. Somehow they’ve managed to stretch that joke across four albums and 11 years of playing together as a band.

You’ll think that they’re either idiots or geniuses, depending upon your stance on beards. They sure are dedicated to their theme, but the joke could get tired quickly if you’re not into it. I think they do brilliantly to keep the same joke fresh and varied, and there is no denying that they play well and put on an entertaining show.

For their first set they treated us to a “classy” semi-acoustic performance, dressed in formal wear and perched on stools at the front of the stage. It wasn’t full throttle, but this didn’t stop the crowd singing along at full volume. The highlight of this set was “The Beard Accessory Store”, partly because of its rousing nature, and partly because the lyrics were so repetitive that anyone who wasn’t familiar with the band was able to join in the singalong after a few lines. Another treat was a cover of ZZ Top’s “Sharp Dressed Man”, because obviously if The Beards were to cover any other band, it’d have to be ZZ Top – the band with the two best beards in rock, and to top that: a drummer named Frank Beard.

The second set was more energetic, with the full rock band set up. They may be a comedy act, but the members of the band can still play well. There were vocal harmonies and guitar solos aplenty. Some less conventional instruments like keytar and kazoo made appearances, and even saxophone got added to the mix fairly often.

I saw The Beards play at Bodega last time they played in Wellington, and had wondered if it was just going to be a repeat of last time. Thankfully, the banter between sets seemed spontaneous, unlike last time, which was funny, but clearly rehearsed. They introduced a new segment called “Beard Facts”, complete with a jingle that the band had composed during sound check that day. The band immersed themselves in their onstage personas, using the pseudonyms Johann Beardraven, John Beardman Jr, Nathaniel Beard, Facey McStubblington. They encouraged the audience to stroke their beards, and even invited especially hairy member onstage to be presented with a prize of signed posters of the band (in various stage of undress).

Most of the crowd were in on the joke. I guess anyone who didn’t get it would have left fairly quickly. There were many burly men with fine facial foliage, and some of the girls in attendance had crafted fake beards out of wool, so kudos to them for effort. One man with long dreadlocks had tied them across his face to feign a beard, and a few guys sported some costume style fake beards.

Disappointingly, both the merch guy and the stage hand were clean-shaven. But the band explained themselves: “We couldn’t have bearded men serving us! That wouldn’t be right! But it’s fine to have someone who shaves doing the manual labour!” Members of the crowd kept buying rounds of tequila for the band. When that got to much for them, they gave a shot to their roadie, before promptly “firing” him for drinking on the job.

The Beards are a polarising band. You’ll either think that they are incredibly lame, or incredibly good. I side with the latter opinion. Rousing rock songs, sensational solos, brilliant banter and a funny material all combine to make one hell of an entertaining night. It’s amazing that the band managed to last 11 years when so few people took them serious, and I applaud them for ending on such a high.

Throw away your razor and make sure to go and see The Beards play on their final tour if you get a chance.

 

Set list from the second set

Joseph James

Here for a moment… A Tribute To Maybeshewill

Maybeshewill
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Leicester post-rockers Maybeshewill just played their last ever show at KOKO in London, supported by worriedaboutsatan and You Slut! [who reformed especially for the show].

I couldn’t make it. Sadly that means I will never see them play live. It’s understandable, seeing as I live on the opposite side of the world. I honestly think that I will miss the band though.

Like I mentioned in my review of their final album, I discovered Maybeshewill through a sampler attached to Rock Sound magazine. The song had a risqué title, and being a teenage boy, I was terrified that my parents would stumble upon the song that I had ripped to the family computer. I wonder what would have been worse – my mum finding a file named “The Paris Hilton Sex Tape”, or the also rudely named “C.N.T.R.C.K.T” from the same album?

I think Maybeshewill were the band that I joined Bandcamp for, so that I could purchase their live album Live At The Y Theatre. It included a link to download the video of the show, but I never actually downloaded it because the file size was 2 gigabytes, and my bloody flatmates always used up the internet bandwidth allowance, meaning that the download was nigh on impossible on the capped speeds once we had exceeded our limits. I’ll upgrade to unlimited internet someday…

As well as loving the band for their music, I also admire them for their DIY ethic. They started their own record label/collective, Robot Needs Home, to launch their own debut EP. I don’t think they ever anticipated growing to the size they are now.

This blogpost from guitarist John Helps aligned so well with my ideals about authenticity, resourcefulness and community. In the liner notes of Not For Want Of Trying they write “this record was performed, recorded, mixed, and mastered by Maybeshewill at various locations throughout 2007. It cost us nothing. DIY FTW”. They proceed to thank friends and family who helped them with the process, stating that “we owe more to these people than we owe to the bank”, and “this record is as much yours as it is ours”. There seems to be more integrity in any artistic project when it is independently run, because the artist needn’t compromise their values to appease any external figures. I try to run my blog by those principles, and consider my work a success, despite never having spent any money on it.

The band’s final album, Fair Youth, was released just as I started this blog. I enthusiastically reviewed it, and although it was not my best piece of writing (being among my first), it taught me a lot about what it takes to write for a music blog (including don’t let your dad leave comments that people will laugh about on the internet!). I stand by what I wrote back then – it is a good album, and one the band can be proud to leave as a parting gift.

Maybeshewill will always be important to me. They were one of the bands that started me on a journey of discovering post-rock. They showed me that music can be exciting without vocals. They combined electronica, samples and brilliant musicianship. They made brilliant music using an indie model.

To quote one of their song titles : “Our History Will Be What We Make of It”. Maybeshewill made a legacy worth remembering

Joseph James