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.
Taking a Seat for Oceans
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.
Calm before the storm in Orange Skies
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.
Time for my closeup
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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