Cruelly — galleries — Jechtography

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.