Princess Chelsea’s Midwinter Ball, a glorious affair of costume and cosplay, with the headliners revelling in the heavy, heavy monster sound.
Last year’s Midwinter Ball was themed from the fever dreams of Twin Peaks. Many regarded it as a high-water mark of boutique concerts of 2024.
I find a card from that event in my overcoat. Chelsea Nikkel looks like Betty Boop, red ribbons in her hair.
Tonight, she has crossed Betty with Alice in Wonderland and channels a witchy Grace Slick. All feral feminine anima energy.
The Dream Warriors around her have jumped out of the Sword and Sorcery, Neverending Story, Excalibur, Monty Python and the Holy Grail theme parks, and costumed as fair maidens, buxom wenches, knights, ghost spectres and the odd ghoul.
It seems like the whole audience tonight have embraced this cosplay, and the evening has a magical and fantastical spell cast over it.
Smoke-breathing dragons, a horse’s severed head. Excalibur’s sword phallically displayed erect in a huge boulder whilst maidens and the occasional knight grip the large handle and get their photos taken.
If I didn’t know better, I would say it’s Game of Thrones. The ladies have heightened the sexuality, and there is some near nudity.
Plenty of Circes and Jaime Lannister’s (a bannchot) but no Tyrion’s.
Joshua Worthington-Church on guitar. Near naked with a pelt for a loin cloth and can channel Captain Beefheart’s legendary axe-men Zoot Horn Rollo and Antennae Jimmy Semens.
Simeon Kavanagh-Vincent guitar, David Harris drums, Jasmine Balmer guitar, Joe Kaptein keyboards. There is a harp player (like last year) and it must be Kate on backing vocals.
Princess Chelsea starts with Everything Is Going to Be Alright Part 1 and 2.
The versions are combined as she starts with my boy he wrote to me/ He looked at the stars. A guitar storm eventually breaks. Chelsea plays some syn-vibraphones.
Time and a Brechtian carnival of a song starts pleasant and becomes edgy. Tubular bells are heard. The theatrical air of a Dresden Doll performance.
A Million Creatures is a new one, just for us on this opening show. She sings about poor people and a terrible vision. More than a hint of creepiness as she appears fraught.
Some Twin Peaks beauty and dread as I Love My Boyfriend kicks off. The ominous bass lead is played by a white-mask-shrouded spectre.
Four songs in at 30 minutes and the band have pushed through barriers and elevated the spirits.
Idiosyncratic electronic duo Golden Axe open the Winter Ball.
Chris Cudby and Daif King. One dressed as a Gandalf wizard, the other looks like a mutant Riff-Raff (from Rocky Horror Picture Show) on illegal steroids.
Dual keyboard synths and they play an engaging drone of Krautrock and Electronica. Lots of beats but an interesting layering of sound which has a curiously relaxing effect.
Two Knights barge through the crowd and start a sword fight behind the pair, to music sounding a lot like Suicide’s Rocket USA.
When they add churchy cathedral tones and bellows, they remind us of the great producer Lee Scratch Perry. It all becomes dream-like as the crowd around the pair look like Goths and Cure folk.
Grecco Romank take the curtain-raiser spot.
Damian Golfinopoulus synths, Billee Fee operatic vocals, Mikey Sperring guttural vocals, spread out across the huge stage and attempt to lay waste to the room with their scorching brand of horror movie and kitchen-sink Alternative Metal.
They are kin to Wax Chattels. Declamatory Rap chants contrasted with a heavenly female singer. The guys are costumed as Orc beasts. She is a lovely maiden in a cream dress.
Fee has long golden tresses. She tells us they are the shortest band in New Zealand and puts out the challenge.
Brutal in nature with beats sounding like they come from an industrial stamper.
I am still recovering from their extreme Eyes Wide Shut devilish meltdown that was Glory Whole at the Basement Theatre recently. Read it HERE.
With laser light shots coming off the stage, their last song starts with growls, until Fee joins in and rants about fucking around and fucking up the streets. I like her energy.
Princess Chelsea and the Dream Warriors continue to raise the bar and the intensity of performance.
Wasting Time begins with a heavy rumbling bass. Strings emanate from somewhere.
Forever. Begins with a Waiting for The Man coda. The organ swirl of a garage band rises to become drone riff like the Velvet Underground’s Oceans. Pick any extended live version.
All The Stars gets a dramatic Pop reading by Chelsea, as she lays into it with real venom. Joshua the guitarist rolls around on the floor beside her.
Everyone is asked to pile on for encore, When the World Turns Grey. Indie Pop lifting off in orbit and it is beautiful.
Princess Chelsea and the Dream Warriors have raised their own bar, and we will have another one next year, please.
Rev. Orange Peel
Photos by Den
Here’s some of the party photos!
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