Spiritualized with The X Features

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

The Powerstation, Auckland

Stepping into the cavernous hall that is the Powerstation when there’s barely any people in it made me feel like I was walking on the moon even before Spiritualized launched into their psychedelic space jams. But first there was The X Features, a renowned, cult-like post punk band, purportedly Auckland’s first great band of this kind, according to a friend who said they were always on the outside of that whole AK79′ crowd. They rocked out with some sombre prog classics, and I expected them to be like dirty old street punk! Not even. But they were classy for their kind and their keyboardist had multicoloured lights on his fingers(?!). To be honest I didn’t like them much, I found their lyrics pretty naff in the quieter songs and the pained looks on their faces awkward. But at the same time I felt lucky to be seeing them, a classic old Auckland punk band who doesn’t appear to gig very much anymore. When my friend said that if I liked them I would like Spiritualized I worried – I hadn’t really heard their infamous space jams before. But when they finally took the stage a bit after 9.30 I was blown away by their Pink Floyd-esque ambient jams, complete with in-synch lights and two epically awesome gospel singers. Apparently we were really treated with the 7-piece band, as they rarely tour in that capacity. For the hardcore Spiritualized fans there was a good mix of gospel and gospel-free songs, I personally preferred the glammed-out gospel jams. Then they went a bit too prog and I lost interest. The venue was at a good capacity to be able to walk around and get different vantage points, and observe the slightly older, more well-dressed audience. Then when they started hitting the strobes hard my eyes ached and I had to cover them and hide in a corner. By the time the two hour-mark rolled around they were still going at it; then they left the stage after a ten minute epic noise jam that I could barely stand but others clearly dug beyond belief. When they came back for an encore minutes later, my eyes and ears were threatening to give up, so I went home. But it was a freakin awesome, spacey, out-of-this-world gig. Even though Jason Pierce didn’t say one word to the audience or his band the entire time he was on stage, nor remove his sunglasses, he was possibly the closest thing to Syd Barrett I’m likely to see in my lifetime, and his songwriting and sonic abilities were showcased perfectly that night.

More Spiritualized and The X Features live photos

Posted by Sarah Gooding under New Zealand, UK
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