2015 in Review – Live Music at Will Not Fade

What a year it has been! We’ve been blessed to have so many amazing bands to come to our shores this year, and we are just as lucky to have strong local talent that we can depend on seeing throughout the year as well. I’ve summarised below some of the highlights and letdowns of my year, concluding with a discussion of the live music scene.

The best shows of 2015

Jurassic 5 blew me away with their incredibly fun and interactive show. Great music, great showmanship.

Frank Turner has been one of my favourite artists for years now. There’s no way that I could see him play his rousing music and it not be a highlight of my year. It was a cool bonus to meet him and have a chat outside the venue after the show as well. His new album, released a few months later, was also excellent.

This Will Destroy You. Image: Fergus Cunningham

I actually thought that Australian post-rockers sleepmakeswaves put on a far better set than the more established headliners This Will Destroy You. There was so much energy and joy on stage. Many post-rock acts just let their music do the talking, but sleepmakeswaves put on a show as well as playing great music.

Most insane show award would go to either powermetal lords Dragonforce or mathcore act Dillinger Escape Plan. Although both could be classed as metal bands, they are at different (extreme) ends of the spectrum. Both played at a packed out Valhalla, and both bands featured musicians who were ridiculously proficient at their instruments.

I finally got to see what I consider an original hardcore/punk band this year. I’ve seen OFF!, Misfits and Corrosion of Conformity in the past, but they may as well be covers band,featuring more ring-ins than original members. A group of us hired a van and drove up to Auckland to see Gorilla Biscuits play at The Kings Arms. I think it is as close as I’ll ever get to seeing one of those pioneering punk/hardcore groups live, and it was great. Such a fun and positive band.

It is always a pleasure seeing perennial local heroes Jakob and Beastwars (the two bands toured as a double bill), and I managed to see my favourites Shihad play three times this year (at Homegrown and AC/DC).

The set that Shihad played both nights. They also played the song "Pacifier" for the encore on Sunday.

The set that Shihad played both nights of Homegrown. They also played the song “Pacifier” for the encore on Sunday.

My last highlight was Declaration AD, although I say this with a hint of sadness. They released their final album (Sometimes It’s Us) earlier on in the year, along with the announcement that their time as a band was coming to an end. The lineup for their final show at Zeal included some of the best current punk/hardcore/metal acts in New Zealand. Declaration played a mammoth 16 songs and finished on a high. They made a big impact, not only in Wellington, but also in the wider New Zealand hardcore scene.

Disappointments

Every show I attended in Auckland this year left me feeling disappointed.

It started off with Foo Fighters cancelling their intimate Town Hall show because a truck with their gear had en route, leaving them without the equipment they needed. My friends and I took the opportunity to see American rapper Freddie Gibbs instead. Gibbs was brilliant, but making fans wait for hours just to see a short 40 minute set was disrespectful to those who paid good money to see him perform.

The following night wasn’t much better. The Foo Fighters weren’t bad, but it was nothing compared to their previous few NZ concerts. They had stopped trying, choosing instead to rest on their laurels. They included a handful of covers throughout the set that dragged, and I was bored and ready to go home well before they had finished. I was glad to see that Rise Against were on form though. I didn’t think much of their latest album, and their opening set wasn’t very long, but it was actually one of the better sets I’ve seen them play.

A month later I was up in Auckland again for Westfest. I was most excited to see grunge icons Soundgarden. They started off with my favourite song of theirs, “Spoonman”, and it sounded terrible. Frontman Chris Cornell’s voice sounded strained and the band couldn’t keep energy up. I ended up leaving halfway through their set, because a free ride back to where we were staying was more attractive than seeing one of my favourite bands struggling onstage. Thankfully my other drawcard, Faith No More, were great, and metal pioneers Judas Priest put on an outstanding show earlier in the day, making Westfest worth attending overall. Cornell came back to New Zealand at the end of the year and all the reviews I read were glowing, but I couldn’t bring myself to buy a ticket to attend after he had put on such a dismal display at Westfest.

Faith No More playing at Westfest in Auckland. Photo taken from Faith No More’s Facebook page

Wellington venues

Venue Shed 6 has been refurbished as an alternative to the infamous TSB Arena that it sits beside. I saw both Gary Clark Jr and Jurassic 5 both play there, and had no complaints either time. It’s a versatile space and I hope that it gets utilised more in the future.

I attended two concerts at the Westpac Arena this year, and I would hesitate to attend another there. I have no issue with Elton John’s show, but his fans were totally ripped off, being charged extortionate fees for limited visibility. Likewise, AC/DC put on a brilliant show, but when 40 minute delays left fans exposed in the cold wind and rain I doubt many present were happy about the choice of venue. Sound and visibility issues coupled with overpriced tickets and cramped seating do little to suggest value for money.

Robbie Williams played a successful show at the Basin Reserve in October, indicating that the Basin could be a better alternative as Wellington’s primary outdoor venue.

Mogwai at James Cabaret. Image: Bradley Garner Photography.

At one time Wellington’s best live venue, James Cabaret really let things slip. Lack of adequate air conditioning and no passouts made it hard to cope with the hot overcrowded conditions, especially when shows ran later than advertised. It was a real let down during Nas and Run The Jewels. And I don’t know if it was the venue’s fault, but there were complaints made about the excessive noise levels at Mogwai. After a handful of bad experiences I was seriously considering if I ever wanted to attend the venue again. And then without warning, the venue closed. Gorillaz Sound System had been booked to play James Cabaret, but got switched to Bodega last-minute. That was the last I ever heard of the venue.

We still have the trusty old bars Bodega and San Fran, who tend to get most bands. Meow has also been hosting more big bands this year. I’m embarrassed to admit that I still haven’t been to the new venue MOON in Newtown yet. I hope that the Town Hall will get revived one day, but from what I hear about the costs of earthquake restrengthening, it is too costly to be considered viable.

The festival scene

The established staples in the festival scene seem to be surviving. Homegrown promises to be exactly the same as it has always been. It’s almost the musical equivalent to the 7’s rugby tournament. Hipsterfest Laneway is potentially expanding next year. Raggamuffin promises to be a hit, with Wu Tang Clan announced as headliners.

Trusty old Big Day Out has experienced a rocky past few years, and has since been re-branded as Auckland City Limits, with affiliations to the similarly named Austin festival. It will be interesting to see how well ACL fares. Headliner Kendrick Lamar will be a major drawcard, and it is held later in the year, so won’t be competing against other festivals and events to the same degree.

It’s a risky time for promoters at the moment. Soulfest was cancelled last-minute due to poor ticket sales. New festival Mclaren Falls had to change venues due to complaints from locals. After the change of location they renamed as Echofest. And Echofest also cancelled and announced liquidation, leaving ticket holders potentially unable to get refunds.

The future of Westfest 16 is up in the air. NOFX have confirmed that they will not be coming.

Somewhat related, Australian festival Soundwave has ended. Promoter AJ Maddah has a history of dodgy dealings, and it sounds like the responsibility for the festival can be shared between Maddah and ticketing agency Eventopia. Fans are understandably upset, especially because neither party are willing to refund ticket holders. This has wider implications for live music in Austalasia, because it has undermined concertgoers faith in promoters and ticketing outlets. There is no way that Soundwave’s cancellation is a good thing, although some people are trying to crowdfund a Soundwave replacement called Legion.

It also places the future of Auckland heavy music festival Westfest in question. Westfest has ridden on the coattails of Soundwave for a few years now, offering very similar lineups. Westfest 14 and 15 both ran at a loss, and Westfest 16 had a noticably smaller lineup, reflecting and foreshadowing Soundwave’s issues. With many bands no longer travelling to Australia for Soundwave, it remains uncertain if they will travel further to New Zealand. However, despite being unprofitable, Westfest has done wonders to boost ODR Productions’ profile, and I have faith that whether they retain their festival or not, ODR will continue to organise most of the best shows for heavy music fans in New Zealand.

2016

2016 still looks bright. Wellington is offering their bi-annual Arts Festival, with acts like Sufjan Stevens and Death Cab For Cutie attending. I’m sure that we will have plenty of sideshows from Laneway and Byron Bays Bluesfest to look forward to as well.

David Dallas is playing at Victoria University O Week, and although I expect that will be awesome, I’m apprehensive about going to a gig that will likely feature a crowd of 17-year-old drunk first year students (probably dressed in togas as well). I’m also looking forward to seeing Iron Maiden play in Christchurch in April, and comedy/percussion show Blue Man Group in June.

What were the best shows you attended in 2015? And which ones are you looking forward to attending next year?

Joseph James

Album Review: Declaration AD – Sometimes It’s Us

I need to admit something before I start. I consider the boys in Declaration AD some of my closest friends. I even lived with a few of them for a few years. And frontman Sam Coates designed the WNF logo for this site. This review cannot be impartial.

I’m pretty sure that I’ve attended more of their shows than anyone else. I was their first show back in 2010, at the now defunct Happy Bar. I tagged along on their first tour. I helped them print their first lot of t-shirts, and I loaned them my lungs when they recorded the gang vocals for their first two releases. I’ve watched them grow and evolve into who they are now. Obviously this is going to be a biased review, but it’s a two-way thing. My familiarity with the band also means I can give an insider’s perspective.

Declaration AD formed in Wellington late in 2009. The Wellington hardcore scene was in a re-building stage at that point, after some of the previous bands who had carried the torch had either broken up, or were in the process of doing so. We would have to road-trip up to Palmy if we wanted to attend hardcore shows.

I still remember the first one they took me to: The Chase on their final tour (I was honestly terrified. It was my first experience seeing people throwing down like they do, and I kept getting hit by backswings.One girl standing next to Kirk got knocked out).

Declaration AD would play shows with pretty odd lineups, simply because that was the only option – there were no other hardcore bands in Wellington to play with. It worked alright when they played alongside punk and metalcore bands, but often they’d play with indie bands, powermetal acts… anyone who was willing to have them on the bill. Last year they even opened for internet sensation rapper Bangs.

Over time the boys have helped to revive the Wellington hardcore scene through constant touring and inspiring friends to start their own bands. They would befriend bands in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga and Palmy, and then invite them to play shows in Wellington. Our flat was known as The 44 (short for “44 hardcore”) – named after the street number. As Wellington hosts, we’d let visiting bands stay over, crammed into our limited floor space and draped over couches. It was pretty common to have the entire place filled with sweaty sleeping bodies after a show.

The hard work led to success. Declaration AD have shared the stage with heavyweight local acts like Saving Grace and Antagonist AD, as well as international artists such as Terror, Trapped Under Ice and Sleeping Giant. They released two EP’s and a full length album over this period.

Sometimes It’s Us is Declaration AD’s most recent offering, the first that they’ve recorded in a professional capacity. Previously they’ve had help from friends with recording gear, but this time the band saved up to pay for time at a proper studio.

The album begins with static and tuning, like the faux-radio intro to Queens of the Stoneage’s Songs For The Deaf. It kicks off with the furious ‘Spent’, the grooviest track Declaration AD have written in ages. And it’s from this first song that the new dynamics start to pop up. Kirk Hodgson’s guitar playing is eerie and high pitched at times, unlike the usual chugged open chords. And during the bridge vocalist Sam Coates’ delivery is almost spoken word.

There are two key aspects that make Sometime’s It’s Us standout: the energy and the use of dynamics. These songs are heavy. They’re fast and angry. Listen to the blistering ‘Enfleshed’ and you’ll see what I mean. But they’re also well written. There’s the cut outs in ‘Mental Hell’ and ‘Belonging’ that add impact. The different styles of vocal delivery. The changes of pace, the guest spots from other vocalists, and the use of powerful gang vocals. All these elements are used to make the songs more interesting.

One of my favorites, ‘Mental Hell’, is frantic and speed driven, with a doomy break down juxtaposed against the breakneck beat. Towards the end it sounds like Sam is shouting through a megaphone. I also really like ‘Picket Sings & Protest Lines’ because of the enormous sounding gang vocals.

In fact the entire album is pretty relentless. ’04-14′ steps it down a notch for some slow burning self-examination, but on the whole there is a lot of aggression coming through.

Perennial crowd favourite ‘Better Man’ features in its third incarnation. ‘Better Man’ first featured on the NZ Hardcore Compilation CD in 2010. I remember the Declaration boys being so excited during the lead up to the compilation release; recording their first song and featuring alongside some of their heroes. The recording session didn’t go as ideally as hoped though, leaving them slightly disappointed with the end result. Their next attempt was with début EP MMX later that year. Again, they realised that this recording lark was harder than they’d initially thought, leaving them despondent about another recording that didn’t really capture the sound that they had wanted. So they’ve decided to test the idiom “third time lucky” with their first professional recording, and give ‘Better Man’ another go.

I’m reminded of how Anberlin re-recorded their song ‘Feelgood Drag’ as a single, three years after they’d first released it. The song became their breakthrough hit. The re-recorded version sounds darker and edgier. But I prefer the original version that I grew up listening to, simply because it’s more familiar. In the same sense, this newer recording of ‘Better Man’ may be better, but it will take me some time to get used to. Naturally, the song has evolved over time, as the lads have learned to play their instruments better and gel as a band. One of the more noticeable aspects is that vocalist Sam Coates is no longer at the forefront, but sounds somewhat distant in the mix. And the gang vocals are more prominent, as is the case in their usual live setting. Long story short: ‘Better Man’ has finally been given the treatment it deserves. Few people actually have a copy of either of the first two versions, so it’s only right that the band’s most enduring song get’s proper recognition.

L-R: Dan Drower (bass), Kirk Hodgson (guitar), Sam Coates (vocals and Dave Morrison (drums). Image: Grace Gemuhluoglu

The stark images throughout the album depict anguish, loss, anger and pain, but the overall there is a theme of hope. There are personal issues laid bare, and although this makes Sam the lyricist vulnerable, it makes him all the more relatable as well. Many of the songs explore identity – who we are, how we act, what makes us feel validated, what we stand for. During the contemplative ’04-14′ he shouts “my flaws are too real to deny”. I’m sure that none of us can deny that we have similar battles. Words have always been Sam’s gift. He’s a genuine, unassuming guy who can brighten anyone’s day with an affirmation. He writes with conviction and shouts with such power that he has always stood out as great frontman.

Sometimes It’s Us showcases improved musicianship from the band. I love how Kirk uses treble to bring balance to the sound – an oft neglected aspect of “heavy” music, with its frequent drop-tuning and distortion. His sound has changed, with a very metal tone, tight riffs and plenty of pinch harmonics and Dimebag-styled squeals. Drummer Dave Morrison has really stepped up this time round, going for the no-fills approach. His efficient style gives the music momentum without over-complicating things. And the times that he does include an aspect like a fill or something flashy, they stand out. And bassist Dan Drower always was known for his musical abilities, and finally gets to cement his role in the band by recording new material, after having joined the band early in 2013.

Sometimes It’s Us is a big improvement for Declaration AD, showing how far they’ve come during the three years since their last release. It’s furious and focused while at the same economic and efficient. They’ve put planning into the song writing and recording that has led to tighter and more dynamic sounding songs. This is easily the longest release, lasting almost half an hour, but it’s also one of their best.

… And it’s also their last. After roughly six years, they’ve decided to call it a day.

I was there at the start, and now I can say I was there until the end. When the Declaration boys look back over their time as a band there will be no shortage of achievements to reflect on. They’ve survived a few line-up changes and left a legacy to be proud of. It’s bittersweet that this album features some of their best work, but they won’t be around much longer to celebrate it.

Declaration AD: Facebook Twitter Instagram Bandcamp

Joseph James

The best of 2014

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.

Moors’ self-titled EP

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

Post-rock

Jakob – Sines

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

Maybeshewill – Fair Youth

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

Rock

Solemn Sun – §

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.

The Occupants – Hindsight EP

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: Ur Boy Bangs at Zeal Welly

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.

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

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