Five-piece Indie-popsters Marmalade launched their sparkling debut single Bright at the impressive, intimate venue in Morningside, supported by two contrasting acts.
The headliners served up hooks galore to an appreciative crowd on a wintry Thursday night at Big Fan that showed off the astounding depth and up and coming talent in Tāmaki Makaurau.
And with just two releases between them, all three rose to the occasion.
Koen Aldershof on guitar and vocals was the orchestrator of all things Marmalade before, during and after the gig.
He was front of house as he greeted the hip crowd of friends, fans, music loving veterans, media and photographers who gradually filled the launching pad. There was even a cool dad with his young daughter who’d seen and loved the band supporting Beach Bunny earlier this year.
Aldershof helped out on the merchandise table with his bandmates, liaised with the mixing guru on the desk and late in the night sparked the crowd into singalongs once his band hit full swing.
He thinks outside the square,and is acutely aware of the need to choose the right time for their next career move.
He also gives other artists from other genres a chance to shine, as he showed on this memorable night.
Lisa Grace
Lisa Grace is a young woman with a beautiful voice who warmed up the chattering early crowd with a jazz-infused set augmented by mellifluous electric piano from the groovy and soulful Eli Wilson.
Her opening ballad Sideways was straight from the heart – showing off her range and empathy with the lyrics.
Guess he didn’t realise I am done/ You don’t know how strong I am.
It set the tone for a soulful set with familiar themes of jilted lovers and surviving heartbreak.
Grace switched to acoustic guitar for a classy version of Beyonce’s all time classic, Crazy in Love.
Wilson’s sweet keyboards returned to lift a song with a sad, affecting chorus she wrote with friends, Unloveable, Love.
A toxic relationship song was next.
Rainbow tears missing all the signs/ Learning how to function with this clouded mind.
The set was interrupted for around 15 minutes after a young woman in the crowd appeared to faint and slumped to the floor, Thankfully she recovered and Grace maintained her composure and that pitch perfect voice to round out the set, with an upbeat cover of Shania Twain’s You’re Still the One and closed with her solitary release Stay ..showing off her remarkable range.
Bliss
The tone shifted to rock, blues, grunge, dirty funk and reggae as the propulsive band Bliss cut loose for act two of the evening.
Usually a five piece, they lost rhythm guitarist Grant Heyns to illness before the gig. Oliver Wallace-Pram mixed his wicked guitar leads to cover, shades of Wilco Johnson, alongside the lean and mean rhythm section of Evan Fairgray on bass and Visko Bryers on drums.
In true rock-n roll style Bliss split with their previous vocalist in recent times. But the old school new guy Harry Le Cheminant, with his shoulder length hair and powerful delivery was on the groove, clearly drawing on the likes of Eddie Vedder and Robert Plant.
Straightjacket and Hideaway were among the standouts of their set which got the crowd dancing and nodding their heads in appreciation.
They’re tradies from the Whangaparāoa who rehearse their socks off. Legendary live and local, but yet to find the right time to release the pick of their grunty repertoire.
Marmalade
Not a trace of Indie or melodic interplay early on, it set the stage nicely for a slathering of Marmalade, and you got the feeling Aldershof planned it that way.
The single Bright is pure modern pop in its recorded form, but the five band members revealed their late 90s influences as they unfurl their repertoire.
Lead vocalist Jemilah Ross-Hayes launches into the up-tempo opener Backyard, lifted by a guitar crescendo from Liam Nuttall.
Caffeine High kept the pace and feet moving before the familiar creeping intro of their debut cranked into gear with its flawless flow. No histrionics afterwards and Big Fan is humming as another gem is delivered in Awkward, with potential single written all over it.
Huston and Paper Planes follow – as the vocals are shared between the four frontliners, as drummer Dean Rodrigues kept a flawless beat from the back of the compact stage.
The affable Aldershof organised the crowd into two halves, to alternate lines from a chorus. It’was good fun.
A brand new track Queen Street hits the right spots focussed on new love and infatuation.The staples of accessible alternative music.
There were more intertwined vocals and sing-along choruses before the lone cover of the night, the Wheatus angst anthem from 2000 Teenage Dirtbag. A fan and band favourite – everyone was belting out the chorus.
Bassist Chelsea Naepi cut a groovy figure to the left of the stage and delivered the introduction to her own song Chelsea .. another slow burner building to the harmonies.
It was well after ten pm on a bleak week night.
You’re getting older. It’s a fucking Thursday night in Auckland let’s go, exclaimed Aldersof.
Two belters to finish in Find Worth and Cigarette Habit… full of hooks, relatable lyrics and those now familiar alternating vocals.
The second single is due out in October but their debut EP is likely to be held back to next year.
Fans of this talented and democratic ensemble will need to keep alert for Marmalade’s live dates to hear them continue to evolve.
Chris Forster
Photos by Leonie Moreland
Marmalade
Bliss
Lisa Grace
