Northern Lights Tour: Homecoming Show

1st December 2023

Review: It's the Homecoming one - Sidewinders Northern Lights Tour

Jecht December 29, 2023

You've seen this review show up and probably thought to yourself 'oh look, Jecht's put out another Gig Review, cool' or 'who's lied about being at a show again and pissed off Jecht enough to do a third review?'. What you should be asking is 'this gig happened on the first of December, why is Jecht only now doing a review?', because I have an answer for that one. Uh, I didn't have the drive. Yet now I do have the drive, and that's directed at past-Jecht for agreeing to write a gig review with the main act and not following up on it. So the passive-aggressive tone shall remain for a third time running!

DISCLAIMER: I had been hired by Sidewinder to provide photography for them during this show, with the intent of also providing video to produce a potential live video recording and a non-biased review of the show. Cherry Punch has also compensated me for providing media after the show. Due to the gig taking place three weeks before this review was written, I have refreshed my memory with the full set recordings of all three bands I had taken on the night.

Cherry Punch

Keep Up
I Am Nothing
Midnight's Creeping In
They Know
Messages
You Should Be With Me
Sick Puppy
Leave Your Man
Rot
Little Boys
Supermarket Bleach
He wants to hurt
Please

If you're reading this after checking out my 2023 Supercut (publicly released on my Patreon simultaneously to this review, coming to YouTube in January), then you'd recognize that Cherry Punch ranks amongst the bands I've seen the most of during the year alongside other bands like Dave and the Dirty Humans, Electric Tapestry, SKRAM and Sidewinder. That's partially because they're enticing performers for a primarily photography focus person, but also due to the intense mahi they've been putting in this year that's caused me to miss a handful of shows due to conflicting schedules. Probably the best problem to have tbh.

For those of you that might've missed it, I wrote my first gig review earlier this year in March thanks to being irrationally miffed at a reporter lying through their words and doing less than the minimal effort at covering Homegrown 2023. Of course, I wasn't there at Homegrown, but I was at Store Bought, so I wrote a review of the show I was 100% at on the night. Cherry Punch put on that show (played it too ofc), and getting to the point of this tangent, I've been able to watch a band and critically think about them four months after forming, and now once again nine months later.

There's one immediate thing that came to mind at another show I caught them at a week later, and it's that they've evolved and expanded their footprint in many ways since they've landed in the scene. Weird analogy, I know, but follow me on this one. This band's knack for creative song writing has led them to stretch out what defines alt-punk, to the point where it's difficult to give an umbrella genre to their music, and the way they've molded the songs to dance with the lyrical content is stone cold. You'll get a blurb at what the upcoming song is about, and like a deer meets headlights, you'll be confronted with a shock to remind you that you should probably be paying attention to the story being woven into the songs you're singing along to. Another thing of note is the live experience. Where Cherry was the main star of the show last time in March, you've got that time and experience rubbing off onto Cody, Nate and Emily lately. Everyone looks much more comfortable and energetic on stage, which can be chalked up to the built-up expertise over the months, and translates extremely well to the audience's general reception.

Sidewinder

Depths
Prisoner
Wasted Space
The Desert Song
Disarm the King
Walk of Ishi
Sirens
Red Moon
Guardians
99mph
Encore - Mississippi Fire

Wrapping up their Northern Lights Tour, Sidewinder returned to their local haunting grounds in Valhalla with vigour. Having caught their previous show in Palmerston North the week prior, I was surprised to notice that their setlist had changed between shows, alongside a brand new set intro paired with projector graphics to lead us into their recently revamped song Depths. Heavy riffs upon heavy waves came crashing down practically the whole time Sidewinder were on stage.

Of particular note here is the singer Jem's vocal performance on the night, and how her onstage persona has developed over time. She's the second long-time lead singer for the band, after Mel's brief venture in the band and Aidan's quick stint at Lovelands 2022, and like Cherry Punch, I've been able to track her growth in the band and how she's helped direct the sound going forward, and what growth she's had. Her commanding stage presence that wastes no unnecessary theatrics alongside her powerful vocal performance melds with the rest of the band seamlessly, as the personalities of each member has their own charms. Sean's going to show off and pose any chance he gets on stage with his repertoire of bass's, exerting the rule of cool alongside reliable chunky bass riffs, with Tom sneaking smiles at the crowd like a puppy dog high off praise, Grant's stoicness keeping the family in check (though he gives me some cute goofy facials at times) and Ben being the too-cool-for-school kid on stage, coming up with new ways to fling his guitar around like he's taming a wild beast. Side note, Ben's expecting me to say he went out of tune and I had to photoshop their drummer into the crowd photo, and yes I'm sorry everyone for tricking everyone, but I did photoshop Grant into the group photo. The dummy trapped himself in with the drum kit, so we made do. Oh, and I didn't really notice the guitar going out of tune, so we'll hold the 1 star for a truly ruckus showing.

Pull Down The Sun

Aka
Whare Ra
Of Rivers and Glaciers
Weta
Kehua
Utu
Pierce the Sea
Awa
Of Valleys and Mountains

I’ll always admire the dedication of these Wangas lads to come down and perform all the Poneke shows that they do, and their attitude to roam the nearby music venues they aren’t playing on the night to support and keep in contact with our music scene. Even if I’m booked to shoot a show elsewhere, I’ll eventually see a number of the boys making the rounds.

Onto the show itself, if you’re familiar with PDTS and their album, then you’ll know they typically start their set with the first three songs off their debut album (Aka, Whare Ra, Of Valleys and Mountains). A classic trilogy in its own right, but for the last year or so now they’ve altered the setlist to include ‘Of Rivers and Glaciers’ from their upcoming second studio album, moving their crowd favourite ‘Of Valleys and Mountains’ to the finale. Back to the point of this paragraph, these songs follow a very intentional buildup to gradually introduce themes present in the PDTS lineup. Our first two tracks are both, for all intents and purposes, instrumental tracks, with the first one paired well with a healthy dose of hazer to produce an atmospheric palate cleanser, with the second bringing the meat and bones, ala the heavy groove sound they’re well known for. Of Rivers and Glaciers, much like its older sibling, elevates further what Whare Ra brought before it, pairing it with Koert’s vocals to start weaving narrative stories into the set.

Speaking of musicians, you’ve got Bass Drum player Stefan out back, with Bassy Guitar player and Bassier Guitar player Jason and Koert (names not in any particular order) making up the Pull Down The Sun lineup. If I were restricted to reciting one thing from each band member from the night, it’s that Jason’s the perfect unicorn specimen for catching the most visually appealing hair-tendril photo as usual, Koert’s got the best stomps in town, and Stefan’s drum kit smashes during Pierce the Sea scare me (the good kind of course).

This is where I had put personal gripes in my past reviews that spurred me to type these out, but uh I don’t have that this time, so let’s do something nice and simple. Stats are fun to look at, and I did some counting for this year’s SUPERCUT video, so let's have a quick look at them. 17 international bands and 241 kiwi bands covered, with 110 shows and 425 sets covered (as of the 29th December), which means an average of a show being covered once every three and a bit days. That’s a lot, like a whole lot. Big lot. A huge thanks to all the bands, venues and people I’ve worked with this year and the years prior, as well as everyone on the sidelines, I couldn’t make this work without you. Enjoy your Holidays to the best you can, and I’ll see you in 2024.

Cherry Punch

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Sidewinder

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Pull Down The Sun

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SKRAM Strawberry Dream Tour

22nd July 2023

Review: Unforgettable - SKRAM Strawberry Dream Tour at Big Fan

Jecht July 28, 2023

We're doing it again! Welcome back to your quarterly monthly Jechtly reviewly gig review, where I put down the camera for five minutes to furiously type out a passive aggressive Gig Review for reasons probably more personal than they should be. This time the trigger lands on the attitude and sense to report. Misusing the archaic three song rule literally and fudging your attendance to make it not seem that bad, interesting use of ‘Relaxed Musical Vibe‘ as a descriptor, getting the only song they played from their EP wrong incredibly as well as failing to declare a possible Covid-19 hotspot the day afterwards. Yeah that would be really good to know for the bands, tech and gig enjoyers the day after and not... via an article edit hours after the review went live four days later, yeah nice one. I’m also keeping the Relaxed Musical Vibe too, at least own up to your shadow edits and be forthcoming that you were tired and couldn’t stay for the whole set, the bands would’ve appreciated the honesty instead of thinking you wouldn’t get called out.

Introducing SKRAM's Strawberry Dream Tour, currently a Three Date tour around the North Island with more being added to come, began at the upper end of Aotearoa with their shows at Tauranga's Totara St and Tāmaki Makaurau's (Auckland) Big Fan chronologically, with Te Whanganui-a-Tara's (Wellington) San Fran scheduled for this coming September the 8th. Our story takes place during the Big Fan show, where SKRAM was joined by the welcoming local cast of Marmalade and Borderline alongside Kirikiriroa's (Hamilton) Bird Machine as our opening band.

Disclaimer: I am the photographer for SKRAM, and I have been hired by Bird Machine for this show to provide photos and videos for both bands respectively, but I have not been hired or taken on-board to provide a review of any capacity for this show. With that said, there will undoubtedly be some bias underlying behind my words, but please be assured that I will approach this gig review from the most neutral point of view I can muster while giving you a light hearted reading experience.

Bird Machine

Our Kind
Hellos and Frowns
Time and Space
Moneyache
St Elmo’s Fire
I’m Right Here

To begin warming up the crowd, figuratively and literally on this winter tour, we had our fellow out of town band Bird Machine take the stage. Drawing the crowd around the stage, the band kindled the night with a one-two punch of both their top performing song and latest offering Our Kind and Hellos and Frowns. Invoking the encompassing feelings that labels like Indie and Folk bring, infused with a bit of Pop here and there, the opening salvo both acted to bring out feelings of self-declaration and navigating challenges in life. Hard hitting with hints of melancholy to come for the rest of the set. Special mention goes to Coleman for giving Rick Allen of Def Leppard a run for his money after a stick mysteriously disappeared during Hellos and Frowns, yet kept the beat going until the end (of the song). What followed for the rest of the set was a mixture of their currently available music as well as the unreleased track St Elmo's Fire, which could be their next charting single!

Marmalade

Bright
Awkward
Houston
Teenage Dirtbag - Wheatus Cover
Cigarette Habit

Following up, we were given a tasting of the local delicacy Marmalade for an unforgettable set, maybe because of the fire trucks, we'll get to that. Following the tradition of putting one of your best feet forward, Marmalade illuminated the stage with their recent debut single Bright, immediately drawing the crowdgoers back in with their catchy Indie Pop sparkly sounds. Like a daydreaming moth, the mood in the venue turned into that of smiling wonder, wondering about shining in the current music climate and sharing that fascination with the room. Leaning further alongside a more Rock inspired beat, we were treated to their next song Awkward. Now, the song itself and the performance was very enjoyable, and the crowd participation was very wholesome to be a part of, the name in hindsight was a bit of a foreshadowing moment. Their next song Houston rolled in, and as the first lyrics of the chorus 'Somebody help me out' describe the situation perfectly, the fire alarm siren started to go off, and everyone was escorted outside to the designated assembly point. By the length remaining in this review, it should be obvious that the show didn't end there. Once outside, we were serenaded by the members of Marmalade and SKRAM's Henry Ashby continuing their set acoustically, and while Wheatus' Teenage Dirtbag was meant to have distorted guitars and a crashing percussion section, the acoustic singalong version on the sidewalk with Fire Trucks roaring by was a glorious moment of keeping spirits high until we were clear to go back inside. For clarity sake, the siren went off because the back door behind the stage was left open while the hazer was on, tripping the alarm. This door remained closed during the rest of the night while the bands were on. After returning back inside, we were treated to one last hurrah with the fun and catchy song Cigarette Habit, and thus the night was back on track.

Borderline

Cinderella
Spinning
A Night Out With
Girls Just Want To Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper Cover
This Is Not Love
Divine
Going Home (Bitter)
Jealous

Making their way to the stage to a densely packed crowd, Borderline instantaneously captivated the front rows of girls with their month old latest release Cinderella, bringing forth Ronan Keating'esqe vocal swells and tight instrumentalism to a clean finish. Inverting the approach that Bird Machine took with their setlist, Borderline followed through with their debut single Spinning. The evolution between the two songs is evident, yet the same core flame can be felt within both songs, with Matthew McFadden providing the inter-flowing stand out guitar solos between the two songs and beyond. A similar story can be ridden throughout their next song A Night Out With, the band embodies the teen heartthrob trope in the most sincere way possible, and their little spin on Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Want To Have Fun popped off to a sea of flailing arms, overjoyed with the take that Borderline introduced to the mix. We even had a broken string happen just before the last song, but alas, it wasn't the fabled G string. In between the last song mention and now, Borderline presented a slow but controlled expansion from their Rock Pop influences, but their closer Jealous took the show down to a Prog Rock tinged woah-along, a bit of 70s to bring into the 20s with their future endeavours.

SKRAM

Serendripity
Cause I Got You
Strawberry Dream
Don’t Change
Disney Medley
Walk Into The Sun
Be Mine
Oceans
It’s Okay To Be Scared
Rainbows In The Fire
Stay The Night
Love Sleep Die
Orange Skies
If We Die

With the blacklights bearing down, and the intro backing track of goosebump inducing wailing harmonies bearing down... it seems that technical difficulties come in twos. This time the culprit was the click track failing, which were replacing the onstage monitors for the added stage roo- AND CRASH, foregoing the failed click, life erupts on stage as SKRAM begins with the opening sputters of Serendripity, one of the many tasty new offerings from their next round of tunes. Of note here is their current touring member Ruby Fraser laying down sultry synth lines, complimenting the disco tinted guitar riffs, catchy phat bass lines courtesy of Tane Butler, attention grabbing drum solo and power vocals on display. Coming up next was a change of pace, exchanging the previous electronic feel for the more Indie Pop Rock focused Cause I Got You, opening up the overarching themes that SKRAM's songs encompass and preach, spreading positivity, having fun and making memories. Making a quick return to the ethereal feel that Serendripity laid out in our mouths, they then played their tour namesake Strawberry Dream, a little cute tune of pink bubbly feelings. Switching up the gears into the next song, Don't Change cooks it's parts from the start all the way to the pay-off in the ending chorus, serving a satisfying crowd singalong at the end. Speaking of food metaphors, and following the local-band-plays-a-recognizable-cover trend, SKRAM broke out an original Disney Medley full of references to classic songs to, well, I'm gonna leave that a surprise for their next upcoming show that you can catch live this coming September the 8th at San Fran /shill over.

Next came the only song they played on the night from their debut EP Walk Into The Sun, Walk Into The Sun. Love doesn't come close to the feeling I keep in my chest when I heard this live, me and the audience were sweeped away with the metaphorical tides, waiting with bated breath as each chorus hit. Smashing all expectations from their previous songs, SKRAM broke out into the full on Rock ballad Be Mine, enticing all those keeping up in the crowd to join in the age old tradition of head-banging to the riffs. Where the song truely shines is the breakdown, where the trio of guitarists formed a three headed rock god, and then transitioned to the band's babyface guitarist Conall Ryan taking the solo reigns. With that high mountain crossed, we softly fall into Oceans performed mostly solely by Henry Ashby, transcending conventional norms for what defines music with a gentle Ballad that eventually crescendos and falls away, not unlike, say, the waves from the sea. If your heart strings were getting tight from that last song, then you'd need to brace yourself for It's Okay To Be Scared. With a soft Folk like instrumental laying down the tracks, we're left with lyrics that don't shy away from the implication that the title lays down, being completely open about life, fear and insecurities, while affirming that it's alright to have those feelings, that there's still hope no matter how hopeless your perception makes you feel. With one big "You'll be alright" declaration, the band swells into a huge rock song, implying the other-side of those feelings is so full of opportunities, of growth, of a future that doesn't have those mind goblins plaguing your mind. Special note goes to Felix Nesbitt on the drums, the tight snappy and beefy playing throughout the night has been nothing short of inspiring. With a short break, we are taken into an 80's meets 2023 Pop number Rainbows In The Fire, an ear-worm chart worthy song to groove to. Props to the prop light up whip on stage for being a fantastic addition to the performance side, accentuating the dance element within the song. Taking it a step further in their next song, Stay The Night brings the princes of rock 'Kings Of Leon' to mind. Bursting with an innocence to want to spend more time with loved ones, the song takes the idea to it's potential with the usage of harmonies.

Having a little Freddy moment with the crowd before the next song begins, front-man Henry takes the crowd through some vocal exercises, subconsciously implanting the next song's singalong into the crowd's minds. Love Sleep Die starts at completely different junction from what we've heard all night, as we're planted in the middle of a New York-like RnB jam that evolves into a Stadium filling Rock song. Along a similar vein, Orange Skies goes further into sounding like it's own thing, the band Indulging themselves with creating what can only be described as Epic. Both being dedicated love songs, emotions ran strong and infectious though every inch of their beings. With that, we're standing before the last song of the night, If We Die. After an endearing speech thanking everyone for coming out, and everyone involved with making the show happen, SKRAM goes full on Theatrical Operatic Prog Rock. If you love songs with a journey, songs with acts, songs performed by Meat Loaf and Queen, then you'll love If We Die. Expending every last drop of energy left in the band, the song embodies everything that the set has been building up until now, the stories and the feelings, the positivity and inevitabilities, until SKRAM is immortalized in the venue's memories, forever.

And with that, the show ends only 15mins overtime, a rather respectable outcome given the fire alarms going off (remember that?). I did go off quite a bit on SKRAM, and yeah that might be the bias talking, but it should be said that NZ bands already have a hard time getting playback as it is, not to mention being able to make a living off bringing joy to their fans. Royalties are basically non-existent nowadays, and the costs of putting on shows is a potentially good payout for bands, but only if the people are there to appreciate them live. We also have to acknowledge that the cost of living is also going up for everyone, proportionately more so for those of us on the lower income spectrum, so we need to better ration our spending habits in order to survive a full-filling life. That said, if you can financially support your local bands like buying their merch, or even pre-buying your tickets well in advance to give the event organisers reasons to keep the show happening (not every event cancellation is due to illness), then I encourage you to do so. Even if you can't, you can do them a massive favour by sharing your experience with the bands online, make a Tiktok dance with the song, start linking songs whenever you upload a story, or even just messaging the bands themselves talking about how their music has made you feel. All of these small things have the potential to make a big impact on both your lives, all you need to do is give it a try. Verbal diarrhoea over, enjoy your day/night.

Bird Machine

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Marmalade

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Borderline

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SKRAM

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Review: Store Bought, Freshly Grown - Store Bought at Valhalla

Jecht March 21, 2023

Can you hear the rumbling? No no it’s not the recent earthquakes, and Ruapehu’s still snoring. It’s music harvesting season down here in Aotearoa, where we start revving up the combines to prepare for the big annual May Music Month celebrations. Before we dine in on the dessert though, we must follow proper dining etiquette with our New Year appetizers out on the fields- wait we’ve already done that haven’t we- what do you mean you’re full- yes yes there were a lot of appetizers this season, now make room in your belly for the main course.

Store Bought, hosted by Cherry Punch at the legendary Valhalla venue in our capital city Te Whanganui-A-Tara (Wellington), delivered a much needed modest approach to celebrating our diverse music culture that otherwise would be overlooked by a more casual audience. Taking place last weekend alongside major NZ music displays, Store Bought delivered a night focused towards genres that are often under-appreciated by todays mainstream media, such as Punk Grunge and Hard Rock, with all the extra seasonings of Post and Alternative flavours to boot. With attendance numbers remaining high throughout the night despite the large draws beyond Vivian Street, Store Bought left a strong impression on those that came out to party and mosh.

Disclaimer: I have been paid to provide photos and videos of the night to all the bands, but this review comes after the fact and directly as a result of the recent Stuff article on Homegrown by Bridie Witton. NZ Music deserves better mainstream journalism than the embarrassing representation she portrayed, and this review of a gig I absolutely went to and stayed for is without a doubt spite driven because of her. As such, there may be a bias in my review, but know that I’ve attempted to stay as neutral as possible.

Before we continue, there’s something we need to bring up. Cherry, the lead singer of Cherry Punch, was spiked by an unknown perpetrator at some point before her set, and the effects started to take hold roughly three songs in, which ended up affecting their ability to perform at 100%. Thankfully Cherry was quietly taken away to safety with friends after the set ended, which I’m sure was meant to keep the vibe upbeat at the time, but acts of this nature needs to be addressed and talked about and vilified more than it does, especially when it happens way too often to our Women, Femme NB and beyond community. Please look out for each other when you’re out at gigs, even if you don’t personally know the person. If you suspect foul play has occurred, inform the Venue Manager and stay them until they’re better or at a safer place. Such behaviour has never and will never be tolerated in our community, and as Cherry put it, “Just know karma will be coming your way“.

“Cruelly and Cherry Punch both had insanely good sets!”

- Kaleb Ryan

Preparing the night with a helping of dreamy Alternative Rock and gut punches of Punk was Cruelly, making their first big stage debut at Store Bought, having been cooking up a storm at various house parties until their first outing last weekend. A four-piece mixed band, Cruelly opened confidently for an already impressive turnout, immediately winning over the audience. Full of attitude, the band displayed hallmarks of a tight outfit that had been honing their craft over years, so taking into account this was their public debut, I can’t wait to see what kind of slingshot effect Cruelly achieve this year.

“I was so so gutted to hear it was The Feins last show because they go so fucking hard. Watching them perform and interact together on stage is such a ride, they have such a mean vibe and they’ve got this awesome sound that I’m not really hearing anywhere else”

- Eden Mair

Turning up the heat with the raw ingredients was The Feins, a band no stranger to venues or house parties, played the next set as if it were their last gig. Well, actually it was. With that opening declaration (and a guitar solo of ‘God Defend New Zealand’), The Feins dove head first into the set with their grounded blend of Garage Punk, with the occasional recognizable earworm here and there (could anyone predict ABBA would be making an appearance that night?). Like a Careless Whisper, we’re never gonna dance again, the way we danced with The Feins.

“0800 Belly Up were so tight and clean I was so impressed and again the vibes up on stage were just vibing”

- Eden Mair

It’s not a proper Store Bought show without some imports, so Cherry Punch had 0800 Belly Up specially couriered down here all the way from Mangawhai to bring in some diversity to an otherwise overpowering Wellingtonian palate. Delivering that distinct northern-North Island knack for injecting an ever-so-slight Surf Rock influence, 0800 Belly Up’s after taste could be felt well after the bar closed. With themes firmly rooted in Kiwi adolescence, partying with mates and having Sex With A Shark, specifically, maybe, I’m not sure, 0800 Belly Up was the missing jigsaw piece you needed even though it didn’t come from the same box.

“Cherry Punch are one of the most exiting bands in the Wellington music scene. For them to put on an Anti-Homegrown show is inspiring to me and they curated a great mix of bands. They’ve solidified themselves as a force not to be fucked with”

- Harrison Heaton

Next up we were upgraded from a regular Store Brand Churro 4-Pack to the Gourmet Standard Cherry Punch. Delivering lefts and rights all night, Cherry Punch is also another one of those bands that recently came out of nowhere, yet have all the makings for greatness, as they came within spitting distance to rivalling the likes of Miss June’s performance last time I covered them. If your music taste gradient falls within the realm of Punk and Post-Punk all the way to Hard Rock, while drawing upon lyrical influences that challenge the seedy underbelly of abuse, then you’ll fall in love with the ruckas energy that Cherry Punch brings.

“Kane Anaru Dunlop is very attractive”

- Kane Anaru Dunlop

Dave and the Dirty Humans. A band that at this point should need no introduction, but it seems like not many people know that not a single one of them is called Dave. Maybe it should be known that their own unique blend of Hard and Alternative Rock, mixed in with semi-juvenile on-stage antics, creates a aura that always gets the crowd popping off. I could mention the constant good vibes they emit, perhaps even the occasional well placed cover song that gets snuck into every set, or even the slowly evolving dynamics in the band that keeps their sound from developing tonal whiplash when mixing old and new songs, but I clearly don’t have the time to cook, so pick up some Dave and the Dirty Humans next time you’re out at the store.

“Deluxe tele.... yum 😋“

- Anonymous Facebook commenter

So it’s time for the midnight snack run, but cooking up canned food is too much effort and there’s not enough time to do a takeaway run… lets not even mention the month old leftovers in the fridge. The only solution then is a hard and fast, quick to digest onslaught from The Flash Harry’s. Store Bought was wrapped up with their Punk-Rock stylings, with many offerings invoking that classic 70’s British anarchy spirit. They may have raised the average performer age for the show, but they easily kept the night young until the end.