Moron Says What?! w/ Bang! Bang! Eche!, Golden Axe, Nevernudes and Stress Cadet

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Cross Street Studios, Auckland

Up here in Auckland the music scene can be quite competitive. Bands squabble and spread rumours about each other and it can get very petty and nasty. Last night was free from all the bitchiness, no one tried to act better than anyone else, and best of all, the gig didn’t attract any pretentious people trying to act like K-list NZ celebrities.

To celebrate the release of their Pop Up EP, Moron Says What?! decked out Cross Street Studios with streamers and balloons, tied in with the current colourful exhibition at the gallery the venue looked amazing. The crowd came out to appreciate it too, there was at least double the amount of people who had showed up for Die! Die! Die!’s all-ages show a few weeks ago.

Nevernudes kicked off the night around 7.45pm and finally convinced me that they are one of the most talented young bands in Auckland. Their style of grunge infused noise rock in the vein of No Age revealed its anarchic energy and the band members’ shy attitudes presented the opportunity to enjoy the full impact of the music. Joe Trotman is like a fire cracker on the guitar and his short bursts of voracious energy worked well with the rest of band’s more statuesque poses. Despite their music being quite abrasive and noisy, the band has the unique ability to attract quite a good sized audience; perhaps another similarity that can be made with No Age.

Golden Axe never put on bad show and despite being quite a few years older than the average age of the crowd they got everyone dancing. Shouting reverb-y vocals through a home-made ‘face mask microphone’ and blowing smoke into the crowd, the band made riddles on their keyboards and kicked the party into life. Alessandra, Gabi and Nicole from MSW?!  were at the front the entire time, counting down the songs until the band played their cover of Katy Perry’s ‘Hot n Cold’ which brought about a dance and sing along extravaganza among the young girls in the crowd.

Bang! Bang! Eche! played twice on Friday night and we saw both shows. Third time this weekend they were equally impressive, it’s no secret they are a favourite band here at EMJ. Their new songs were a highlight, as was their motivation to come up with the ideal set list. Over the three shows they had been mixing up their set list to try and come up with the best combination ahead of their European tour, which starts in eight days. The new songs the band has been writing have a definite punk rock vibe; faster and more aggressive. Alongside their wicked live performance, lead by vocalist Zach who throws himself about the stage, into his fellow band members and into the crowd they sound superb. A minor incident saw an early end to their set; the crowd became a bit too excited and the PA came crashing to the ground, hitting Bang! Bang! Eche! bass player T’nealle as it fell. Thankfully she wasn’t hurt and the PA was not damaged.

It was Moron Says What’s night, their high school friends had all showed up to celebrate it with them. Like always their set was a bit ramshackle, but it’s kind of become part of their live show now. Alessandra’s constant apologising to the crowd for them ‘sucking’ is becoming a bit tiresome, but even if she refuses to accept her own ability to write good pop songs, you can believe us when we say she is very talented. Again their new song ‘Fight’ stood out, along with ‘Nathalie Touch Me There Again’ which both have excellent hip-hop inspired synth lines. ‘Wikipedia’ was the highlight though, Nicole’s guitar playing was brilliant and even though it didn’t fit within the original song it should remain. Alessandra’s outburst “this will be the last time we will ever play this song” disappointed the crowd and at least one of her band mates, but word is the band may not be around much longer.

Damien from Stress Cadet told me about his band a while ago, but until last night I hadn’t seen them play. Now that I have I hope I can see them again. Unfortunately the crowd cleared after MSW, but the few people that stayed to see Stress Cadet play were entertained by one hell of a crazy electronic display. Combining samples with live drum loops, keyboards and other electronics that I’m not going to try and pretend I understand, they made some very weird music. Due to its live element it also gave you a sense of interaction, I know we were supposed to dance but to be honest we were too intrigued. The entire Bang! Bang! Eche! crew stood alongside me gazing in amazement and we were all too bedazzled to dance.

More live photos

 Moron Says What?!- Nathalie, Touch Me There Again: MP3

Bang! Bang! Eche!- Fingers In The Till: MP3

 Golden Axe- Favourite New Machine (remix): MP3

 Nevernudes- Grade F Meat: MP3

Posted by Nick Fulton under Live photos
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