Joyous fans felt like they hit the jackpot last night as Electric Six rolled into town for the final show of their tour, on none other than a Friday night. The stars had aligned, and a house party was on the cards.
With no support act – frontman Dick Valentine joking later on in the night that Tuning Fork did them a solid by making sure there wasn’t one – the crowd were chomping at the bit as the five piece sauntered onto the stage, suited and booted and hit them square in the jaw with Synthesizer, Turquoise and of course Pulling the Plug on the Party.
The last night of a tour can always be a bit of a mixed bag, artists can often be tired (and it shows) or in the case of Electric Six it made them just that little bit more dangerous, like prowling wolves who were determined to lay it all on the line for that last meal. The sold-out crowd were not only there for it, they fed off it.
Hues of purples and blues muted by a subtle haze illuminated the band while a rather appropriate disco ball lazily spun off to the left of the stage as the boys swung into The Hotel Mary Chang, its conclusion seeing Valentine get very serious as he leaned over the front rows; Come close. I’ve been watching you. Come. See. I have something to show you.
He grabbed the arm of guitarist Herb S Flavorings and declared his name out loud like a treasured possession being presented as a gift, the fans going wild as Electric Six raucously smashed out Naked Pictures (Of Your Mother), Valentine as always uncanny with his ability to add just the perfect amount of almost maniacal high notes and sultry growls to any track.
Down at McDonnelzzz saw the room go wild, the tightly packed front rows pogoing together, while those who preferred a little more room down the back broke out the dance moves.
It is nigh on impossible to not be swept up in the frenzy of an Electric Six show, their mix of New Wave, Punk Rock Metal with a healthy side order of Disco infectious to the core. A big part of this is not only the outstanding musicianship of the band, but the off-kilter charisma of Valentine himself.
Known for introducing tracks by their order on the set list (this is song number three), he is the ringleader of the whole experience, the suit he dons often at odds with the commentary tumbling from his lips, but in the most perfect way. This combination of musical talent and showmanship is the reason why Electric Six continues to sell out every time they step foot on our fair shores.
Joking about pumping gas in Napier and having the locals laugh at them and say that Electric Six aren’t cool anymore, the quintet drops into The New Shampoo, Valentine soon enticing the crowd to wave their entire arms in the air like demented window washers.
Introducing none other than The White Wolf himself on guitar, those immediately recognisable notes of Gay Bar pierce the air and the audience goes nuts. The entire room sings and dances in unison – a sight to behold and yet another reminder of why live music is so integral in today’s world.
Jesting that because it is the last night of the tour, they will throw in an extra song free of charge, fans get treated to Gay Bar Part Two followed quickly by She’s White.
By now the room was heaving, sweat beads peppering the foreheads of many, Electric Six piling it on even harder with Randy’s Hot Tonight and Future Boys. This was easily shaping up to be a dream set list for any disciple.
And with twenty studio albums under their belt and a thirty year career, they certainly have the material to choose from; their last album Turquoise released in 2023 also received an airing, Valentine declaring with just the slightest tongue in cheek that the record company insisted they play a couple of tracks off it, Hot Numbers on the Telephone and Window of Time fitting into the fray nicely.
From here it was just a flood of bangers delivered with chaotic precision as only Electric Six can do, Improper Dancing sidling up to the anthem that is Danger! High Voltage: Dance Epidemic laying out the red carpet for I Buy the Drugs and Bite Me which closed out the set.
But Electric Six weren’t done and neither were the crowd, an epic twenty-four tracks had already been played but just like a tempting dessert on a restaurant menu, there is always room for more.
A three-song encore of Riding on the White Train, Germans in Mexico was rounded out by none other than the epic Dance Commander, Flavorings and Wolf absolutely bringing it home on the strings as Valentine wailed the line I wanna make it last forever which defined exactly how everyone in the room was feeling right at that moment.
Nothing else existed, just this, strangers dancing and singing together in careless abandonment. And in that magical fragment of time, everything felt right in the world.
Electric Six still got it? Never lost it.
Sarah Kidd
Photography by Leonie Moreland
