The Battle of The Bands Auckland final.
The Mothership is a great downtown Auckland venue on lower Shortland Street. The dysfunction of the city made parking a nightmare of course.
The sound in the venue is impressive. Impactful and professional, but not too loud. Great PA. Simple but effective lighting.
Always have doubts about Battle of The Bands final results. From personal experience, a 50/50 swing. The vibe at this event seemed legit though.
The promoter and organizer, Andrew Featherstone, is a professional musician. He has a firm handshake. Always means something in my book.
Faithe Wilde opened the show with her band, Goodnight Faith.
She has all the assets of an attractive young talent. A lot going for her. She has been excelling at writing emotive tracks in the Country realm.
The songs I’ve heard have depth and experimentation, particularly lyrically. Major improvements on the genre of modern Country that is lacking Soul.
Tonight, she shows her skills as an entertainer. She centres the stage and enjoys herself, fronting a Pop Rock band with its own interesting quirks. She has a great spectrum, and lots of choices about where she can take her music.
Next up, Fool’s Lagoon.
Straight in, they poured out a healthy strong influence of the best music of the 80’s. The Cars, Simple Minds… All of it.
Vintage synth pads, funky guitar, Rock guitar, modulation effects. They mess with musical accents. Skilled arrangements. The front of house mix demonstrated the anchor of the fat kick and bass parts.
Importantly, the melodies and singing are strong. Three songs in, they mix Stevie Wonder’s Higher Ground in with a Franz Ferdinand style intro. They cross the bridge from the 70s to the millennium.
Zyfus. Dark metal.
I’m impressed by their aesthetics. The band has invested in matching stage costumes. Black leather boots and grim reaper hoodies.
The left- and right-handed guitarist salute the crowd with the necks of their guitars. A V for Victory. The effect of the onstage look, and a bands image, is important.
They are brave dressing up on stage in little old NZ. Shows they can take risks. With a bit of luck that can lead to an international market.
The songs sound like them. For a dark Metal band, they smiled a lot.
It Comes Easy. Smartly dressed. The have The Knack for it.
Power pop. A Fendery 4 piece. They are pulsing together onstage. Power Pop stretches from the 60’s to now.
The guitar tones, melodies, and beats, follow the road from The Kinks, along past Weezer. Good-looking energetic guys. They are on track. It does come easy.
Rik. Soulful singing and grungy grooves. Touches of Americana, almost Counting Crowes.
Authentic and Kiwi though. I recognized the drummer from Red Adair, a great 80s band. He is doing as solid a job as he did back then. Grant Thunder on bass and bv’s is always a quality add.
Blind Eyes. A montage of many musical styles, with a strong lean in into alternative music via the vocal. Another example of artful cross blending, which always keeps music interesting for me.
Head Lock Grave. Off the hook, out of control Metal. Letting go of the reins and going for it. Some of the other bands were in awe.
Highly energetic. They managed to stir up a circle pit in the middle of the venue. It was good to see the support of the bands for each other.
Blind Eyes, Head Lock Grave, Fools Lagoon, It Come’s Easy and Zyfus made the national final
Well done. You worked hard to get there. All the bands tonight though, had the talent, the gift, and the drive.
Like a sports game. Teams have hotspot days.
To all the bands on the bill, just keep going, no matter what. Not to take anything away from the achievement, winning the final doesn’t guarantee success. In fact, sometimes it can be the end of the road for a band.
Though it’s hard, in the moments of nerves before walking on, or sadness that comes with disappointment, just let go and express yourself. I saw you all do it this evening. That’s the way forward.
Whatever happened tonight, just keep going.
John Kempt
Photography by Leonie Moreland
Goodnight Faith
Fool”s Lagoon
Zyfus
It Comes Easy- ICE
Rik
