God Bows To Math, Boyfriend, The Randoms and Milo Hoffman

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Whammy Bar, Auckland

The best display of young Auckland bands I have ever seen. Two of the four bands had played less than five gigs between them and for Milo Hoffman it was their first public performance. It was so positive to witness young bands and see young people showing up to watch them. We have been talking recently about the poor state of the Auckland live scene but after last night I definitely have a bit of faith that things are on the improvement.

Milo Hoffman were rightfully nervous, and despite having just a handful of songs they were fun and forthcoming. Their indie pop was delivered causally with keyboard plops melted into simple guitar driven pop songs. A slower less excitable Moron Says What?!?! comes to mind, they even covered Beyonce.

Oscar, the bass player and vocalist for The Randoms is just 19, but he holds himself and plays like a pro. Bursting out violent post-punk inspired rock, The Randoms grunge sound was tight and very loud. I saw them play in Wellington about a year and they were a totally different band, in the past year the changes they have made have helped created a much more original band.

I should probably let Sarah talk about Boyfriend because she was very excited by their energy and catchy pop tunes, but I’ll do my best to say it for her. They are definitely a band to watch in the future. People actually were dancing while Boyfriend played, mostly due to the fact that their songs were so full of infectious hooks and bouncy pop rhythms. I haven’t seen a band in a while with as much energy as Boyfriend, vocalist and guitarist Mike jumped around the stage and tried his best to draw the crowd into their performance. I’m happy to say that Boyfriend is one the most exciting pop bands in Auckland.

God Bows To Math already have a good following, built solely on a foundation of rough but super awesome shows. Even the bar staff got involved in GBTM’s set, yelling and providing free beer. Their set, like always, consisted of short punchy songs, some lasting less than a minute. All three band members have very unique styles that compliment each other strongly, allowing them to pull together belts of noise that somehow sound great pieced together as a song. God Bows To Math are a crazy band that at times seem very unprofessional, but that is their charm. Their ability to drive incredibly noisy math rock is a compliment to their creative ambition.

 More God Bows To Math, Boyfriend, The Randoms and Milo Hoffman live photos

Posted by Nick Fulton under New Zealand