Four Year Strong, Auckland NZ, 2018

Four Year Strong

18th January 2018
The Kings Arms, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Mairi-Anne Nel. Photography by Matt Henry Mendonca.

Massachusetts heavy pop punk group, Four Year Strong, very ably supported by rock group Written by Wolves and hardcore Lookin Up, played at Auckland’s popular King’s Arms venue on a dripping and humid evening.

Although differently labelled, these three bloke bands are closely related. Musically, they are the auditory equivalent of cousins, or even the milkman’s children. Their similarity shows how meaningless pigeonholing genres can be. At any rate, they made a good blend for this gig.

The King’s Arms is like a pair of well-worn jeans: it’s casual and goes well with friends. It was not full tonight, but comfortably populated by a young and enthusiastic audience emitting whoops of appreciation throughout the show. At least a third of it comprised dedicated Four Year Strong fans who sang along throughout, even at one point with just the drums while the vocalists gave them a gap.

Four Year Strong plays high volume and with a vigorous tempo, hounded by tightly executed riffs that are energetic to the point of being relentless. However, their songs are also melodic and harmonised. The rasping punk voices and guitar distortion sit unexpectedly well with the undulations of tune.

Their lyrics, although not particularly clear with tonight’s sound mix, concern themes of conflicted relationships, struggle and confrontation, defiance, revenge, confusion, and feelings of being overwhelmed. In several songs, they comprise a one-sided conversation, with the story being someone giving someone else a good telling-off. However, their passion clearly resonates with the audience.

Tonight’s concert was part of Four Year Strong’s celebratory tour of their album, Rise or Die Trying, which turned 10 in 2017, so the set list for RODT fans contained no surprises. What does the typical 10 year-old want for his birthday? This one got plenty of chanting and enthusiasm, even though there wasn’t any cake.

A young woman called Jo emerged from the audience, announcing that it was her birthday too, so she was invited on stage for a hug. Her moment in the spotlight was extended while she copped four hugs instead of one, even getting the shirtless and sweating drummer out from behind his kit to clasp him to her chest.

Her act of boldness was followed by another: she was encouraged to crowd surf. “I’ve never done this before,” she shrieked, to which the vocalist responded: “Throw yourself on those hands and just fly!” Despite the venue being of only moderate size, and the crowd not being dense, she managed to surf for about 15 seconds while the song “Maniac” was belted out, but the wave didn’t carry her very far. After that, a few other surfers bobbed up, but very quickly sank again, with the odd leg or arm flailing above the surface like the limbs of tragic victims in the movie Jaws.

The Four Year Strong performance was flawed by a few, rather lengthy pauses to retune. All musicians dread the technical difficulties that can so easily beset a live gig, but, pointed out my “plus one” at the show, it is important for the band to prevent dead air by always having some engaging verbal burble ready to fill the gap. Also, the band played for only about one hour, and at the end of the set, the crowd chanted “One more song”. I think Four Year Strong could have rewarded their warmth by obliging.

All-in-all, it was a good evening of head banging in a great venue that is soon, alas, to become the foundation of a new development. The King’s Arms won’t rise again, but it will have died trying.

Were you there at the Kings Arms for this triumphant pop-punk? Or have you seen Four Year Strong perform live some other time? Tell us about it in the comments below!