Punk It Up
17th February 2018
The Kings Arms, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review & Photography by Sarah Kidd.
Walking through the doors of the King’s Arms tonight feels bittersweet. While there is no doubt that this evenings event will go down in the annals of history, it is also the last of its kind to ever be held within this iconic venue that has housed some of the most iconic punk bands in the world including The Exploited, Bad Manners and The Dickies. Entering through the sports bar there is a wonderful array of merchandise from the bands, historical photo’s being projected on the wall and even some gorgeous furry friends from Auckland’s Humane Society (Remember; Adopt! Don’t shop!). It’s inviting, it’s different and it elevates the entire night from just another local gig.
Tickets having sold out a while ago, the venue was already in full swing as The Rocket Jocks from Gisborne took to the stage. No one could miss the giant silver robot with his painted grin; Drummy being the source of much amusement as he bopped about with a drum machine strapped to his chest. The three piece kicked off their set with ‘Day The Earth Stood Still’ and their foot tapping brand of punk music; having formed in 94 under the original name of TK 421, which then morphed into The Scholnicks and then finally settling on their current name they have certainly picked up some musical influences along the way.
Next up a young band from Wellington who go by the name of Mishap; a band who Andrew Boak – the hard working organiser of tonight’s gig – touts as the future of New Zealand’s punk scene (which is one hell of a compliment!). The three piece have a raw and frenetic vibe to both their onstage presence and music; Datu Beech on bass pulling the ultimate poses as he whips his hair about. On vocals Isaac Lundy shows definitive depth to his voice despite his youth. Completing the trio Sean Beales on drums keeps the pace and adds the perfect touch to his drumming during their cover of the 1973 The Stooges classic ‘Search and Destroy’.
In between bands the audience circulates and socialises in the wonderful King’s Arms gardens, a particular aspect of this venue that will indeed be sorely missed. Old friends are reacquainted and new ones are made as mutual friends introduce people to their circles. Such is the beauty of the community punk spirit.
An invasion of Aussies in the form of The Wolfpack unleashed their brand of hard hitting intense riffs on the crowd, impressing all with their first ever appearance on our shores. Hailing from Melbourne, the three piece are 100% not for profit and have raised thousands of dollars for charities that benefit humanities furry friends. With Tom on drums delivering not only break neck precision on the skins but vocals as well, this is certainly an act that everyone should add to their listening rotation ASAP.
By this point the Kings Arms was at capacity, the stage being turned over at lightning pace to ensure that the crowd were never left waiting for long before the next set of incredibly good music was kicking them in the face and churning the mosh pit.
New Zealand history was played out in front of us all as Flesh D-Vice took to the stage and delivered classic tracks such as ‘Friday Nites’ from their 1983 album 12 Inches of Hard Flesh and a particularly raucous cover of ‘Summertime Blues’. Followed closely behind by The Johnnys and the audience couldn’t get enough as the mosh pit doubled in intensity for the Sydney ‘pub rock’ band who delivered their tracks such as ‘There’s gonna be a Showdown’ and ‘Injun Joe’ to an extremely appreciative audience, the joy of the moment clearing showing on all three members faces as they left the stage.
Anticipation was now running high as we were only one set away from the headliner of the evening, Proud Scum. However first a short but visceral set from No Tag, the Auckland four piece notorious for breaking bar consumption records. With Andrew Boak killing it on guitar and vocalist Paul Van Wetering staring down the fans as he drew a square in the air slowly and deliberately with his index finger during their rendition of ‘Round or Sqaure’ it was a set that was undoubtedly short, sweet and easily had one of the biggest crowd interactions of the night.
Finally the moment had arrived; Proud Scum, the Auckland band who in 1979 were noted as one of the more influential of the second wave of New Zealand punk arrived to mass applause and cheering. Last year’s Punk It Up saw Jonathan Jamrag join the Bankrobbers for a cover of I Am A Rabbit, while tonight’s fans got eight glorious tracks from Jamrag and co. A particular point of note for Proud Scums set was seeing John Atrocity once again on stage with Jamrag having left the band in 1979. Proving once and for all that the punk family is indeed a family and while fall outs may occur, time heals all. With tracks such as ‘Sid’, ‘Reuben’ and of course ‘I am a Rabbit’ which saw the fans chant the chorus at the top of their lungs, Proud Scum’s heralded return to The Kings Arm stage was unquestionably a huge success!
But the night was far from finished as Boak introduced the Bankrobbers who in his words (tongue in cheek firmly wedged into place) were here to “ruin your night”. With their collection of covers, they gave the audience a chance to sing and dance the last of the evening away; tunes such as ‘Teenage Kicks’ and ‘Mysterex’ popular with the older members of tonight’s audience. A plethora of guests joined in on the act which even saw a short X-Features set thrown in for good measure; ‘Party’ being the ultimate theme song for this evenings escapades. With talent such as the ever stunning Lise Wesseling, Matt Rew from City Newton Bombers and his epic stage moves and the infamous Dean Martelli from The Terrorways joining the stage line-up for ‘Never Been to Borstal’ and ‘Short Hair Rock and Roll’ it was the ultimate end to a night that will never be forgotten. As Andrew Boak so poetically stated earlier in the evening, tonight is all about keeping the punk community spirit alive. We are all brothers and sisters in one big extended family and every single person present, whether they be performer or punter made the night what it was.
Never Forget. UP THE PUNX!!!
Were you there at The Kings Arms for this magnificent punk rock festival? Or have you been to a previous Punk It Up event sometime else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlists:
THE ROCKET JOCKS
- Day The Earth Stood Still
- Te Iwi E
- Leave Me Alone
- Miss Elizabeth
- 3 Investigators
- 52 Weeks
- Pen To Paper
- She Ran Away To See The Huntingtons
MISHAP
- Scrumpy
- B.T.M
- Not Feeling This
- I Had
- Search And Destroy
- Better Things
- Toaster
WOLFPACK
- Death Dealers
- Toxic Times
- Regret
- Web Of Hate
- Sterilise Society
- Speak Out
- Remote Control
- Brainwash Blues
- Screamin’ Queens
- G.T.S
FLESH D-VICE
- Heart Of Pain
- My Evil Woman
- Legend Of Lugosi
- Summertime Blues
- Hamburger
- Where The Wild Things Roam
- Friday Nights
- Family Love Song
- Rockn’ Bones
- H&C
- Suicide City
- Megaton
- Some Bloodstained Morning
THE JOHNNYS
- Move It
- Dead Men
- Injun Joe
- No Excus’N
- Buzzsaw
- Showdown
NO TAG
- Doc Martens / No Tag
- To Be
- Round Or Square
- Legalised Dogs
- Mistaken Identity
PROUD SCUM
- Suicide
- Boot Girls
- Blitzkrieg Bop
- Sid
- Whiteman
- Suicide 2
- Ruben
- I Am A Rabbit
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