The Powerstation before Shapeshifter took the stage was already humming when I walked in. That heavy, restless buzz that means everyone knows what’s coming, they just don’t know when.
I flashed back to Homegrown earlier this year — my friend Pip’s first time in the pit that is backstage. We were with P Digsss and the Shapershifter crew before their set, the nerves and noise building. Then just before they went on, we got moved out front.
Didn’t matter. The most important band of the festival was about to take the stage. They were ready, they were waiting — and man, did they deliver.
From that moment, Shapeshifter became our favourite of the whole festival.
It’s 9:26 17th October now and the Powerstation is oddly calm. People are glancing around, whispering — what’s going on? Then suddenly, movement.
Out of the dark, Paora P Digsss strolls on stage, cool as ever, pours himself a cup of hot tea, and without a word, we’re off.
The first few notes of New Day Come hits, and the room erupts. From there it’s Phenomenon, then LWC — one after another, the heavyweights keep rolling.
Down front, I spot Tiki Taane at the FOH desk, twisting knobs on the big Soundcraft like a man possessed. The mix is perfect — thunderous, crisp, alive.
I’d caught up with him earlier in the night. Good to see an old friend back where he belongs, doing what he was born to do — making music sound enormous.
Then Stars, Dutchies, all flowing seamlessly, the crowd building into a kind of beautiful frenzy.
And then, completely out of nowhere, it happens. Shapeshifter cover War Pigs. The holy grail.
Black Sabbath. My genre, my era.
I was literally in my mother’s stomach at the Ngāruawāhia Rock Festival when Black Sabbath played that song live with adjoining burning crosses on the local horizon. Ozzy didn’t win any favours in the Waikato that night.
BUT and now, decades later, I’m standing in a sold-out Powerstation watching Shapeshifter absolutely own in their own unique way War Pigs as a tribute to Ozzy and Black Sabbath.
Look, not the way I would have played it, come on guys. It’s played in E minor with a heavy Gug Gug on the top E String. BUT it was righteous, and it was GOOD. My god, it couldn’t get BUT — but somehow, it did.
Hit after hit after hit. The sound, the lights, the precision — everything’s peaking.
The band are killing it tonight. Dan McGruer mpc and synths, Nick Robinson bass and synths, Sam Trevethick guitar and keyboards. And at the centre of it all is Darren Mathiassen, the beating heart of this band.
To say I’m in love with his playing is an understatement. The man’s a drumming genius. I first noticed it at Homegrown — the guy was reading sheet music on a 27-inch monitor in front of the kit. What drummer does that? He’s the rare mix of muscle and intellect, heart and precision. Old-school as I am, I’d put him right up there with Chester Thompson — one of the greatest of a generation past. But today, he stands shoulder to shoulder with Greyson Nekrutman. If you don’t know that name, shame on you. YouTube him. Darren belongs in that company.
He’s not just keeping time — he’s defining it. Every fill, every kick, every cymbal hit carry’s purpose. Watching him tonight was like witnessing a masterclass in groove and control. A driving colossus behind a band already firing at full throttle.
And when P Digsss leans into the mic and declares, let all the colours ignite tonight, it’s not just a lyric — it happens.
The Powerstation explodes in light and sound and colour. Bodies move as one. Strangers turn into friends. The air becomes rhythm. The whole place is alive.
By the end, no one’s standing still. No one’s untouched.
Walking out into the humid Auckland night, ears ringing, shirt soaked, I can’t stop smiling.
From Homegrown with Pip’s first time in the pit to this — this storm of sound and soul — Shapeshifter keep proving why they’re untouchable. They don’t just play music; they build moments. And tonight, they built one I’ll never forget.
Aaron Gascoigne
