(Sound-checking at SwampFest UltraMegaParty 2013 at the Regent, Palmerston North)
Thanks to a few well-placed bribes,
FaderC (Craig Black) let me MC the big Swampfest gig at the Regent again this year.
I was really interested to see what the crowd would be like this time
around. I've been lucky enough to be present at many SwampFests and
have consistently been blown away by the quality of performances.
Last year I introduced Benny Tipene by
saying “ Fairies
and pretty birds tumble out of the soundhole of his guitar as he
thrashes it to within an inch of its life”, and he was only one of
the formidable talents onstage that night. Since then the rest of New
Zealand has witnessed his gifts on television. So I was very hopeful that
people who had seen him on telly would come along to the gig. People
who might not normally go to a SwampFest gig, who would then be
exposed to more of the local colour, as Captain Malcolm Reynolds puts
it.
Well
I don't have a demographical breakdown of the crowd but I can tell
you it was a very enthusiastic one! One of the best crowds I've seen
in terms of showing their appreciation. And SwampFest really turned
it on for them.
Once
again I was really impressed by the quality of the performances, and
I'm left thinking that more of these local artists deserve to be
getting more exposure. Luckily, more of them are aware that they have
to put in the hard work to make it happen. Look at show openers Dick
Tracy. They had a solid set of hard-rocking songs but they didn't
just stand there and hope that people liked them. You could tell that
they had actually thought about presentation and audience engagement.
It's not hokey to actually talk to the crowd – it's called
entertainment, and they did it well. They showed obvious pleasure as
they played, you could tell they were having a good time and that
translated over to the audience. A great, high-energy start to the
show.
In
an inspired piece of sequencing, FaderC decided to
follow that with the solo acoustic guitarist Shayla Armstrong. She
spoke directly to the people through her charming songs, and also
by... well, by speaking directly to them. Again, another performer
who has spent some time thinking about interacting with listeners,
but in a completely genuine way, not a calculated fakery of banter.
A
high point of the night for me, among a series of jagged peaks like a
musical mountain range, was the Jefferys. I'd heard some of their
stuff on FacePlantTubeCloud and thought it was pretty cool in a
clever, poppy, alt-y kind of way, but seeing them play the songs live
unleashed their full energy and made of me a stalwart acolyte. They
were loud, quiet, tight, loose, aggressive and tender. Kudos.
When
I called for another round of applause for the Jefferys the audience
went nuts. I thought that they must have had a similar epiphany as I
had, until I looked around and saw that Benny Tipene had walked
onstage!
That
ruined my plan of doing a Dom Bowden and drawing out his. Intro.
With. Excessive... Pauses. But, like a band at a wedding, I had to
remind myself that it was his night, not mine. I cried into my wig
later when no-one was watching. In the meantime I sucked it up like a
professional cowpoke and kept riding that steer. Or something.
(Benny Tipene and David Stevens)
Watching
Benny play live some of the same songs I'd seen on the TV was
particularly interesting because of the addition of David Stevens on
electric gat and vocals. So much more than mere decoration (although
he did have some fine pants on), David's contributions were like a
shimmering sheen of shiny stuff that stroked the ears. His playing
was so selfless it was like he was a Buddhist guitar nun, and the way
he worked together with Benny's clever acoustic picking and
emotion-filled voice lifted them to a musical apex.
(The Nerines)
Always
a sure bet as show closers (I mean that in a nice way!) the Nerines
delivered their usual absolutely fantastic, catchy, rowdy,
hook-filled stuff. One of the best rock bass tones I've heard in a while too (nice work Fabian), and a drummer so energetic and precise you could watch him all night (kudos, Tadhg). Great vocals, arrangements, drive and, again, good
repartee meant that I didn't want the show to end. In fact, I
experienced some cognitive dissonance when I realised I was at a rock
show that was running slightly ahead of time! I can't recall that
ever happening before...
FaderC
put out the call for an encore, and what FaderC wants, FaderC gets.
With everybody shouting for more, the heroic Nerines pulled another
song out of their goodie bag. Even though they professed to be
under-rehearsed for it, it went off like a magnesium explosion
(again, in a good way.)
So,
another blimmin' excellent SwampFest Regent show. I'm almost sad that
I've been to a few now, because I'd love to be surprised and amazed
at the local talent all over again. Thanks to everyone who makes the
shows happen, all those people behind the scenes – you know who you
are! I'm so pleased that festivals like this happen in Palmy so that
people can come along to a “sampler” gig in a safe environment
and get reminded that there's a lot of cool stuff happening in town,
and these people who live in our region are making great music for
themselves and for us.
To
hear more, and support them, have a look at the links below.
Remember
there are still more Swampfest events to attend this year! Find them
here:
Oh,
and don't forget that the Bing Turkby Ensemble are playing at
Tankapalooza this year – September 28th.
We get to go hog-wild! Come along and go hog-wild with us!
