The Bads, Auckland New Zealand, 2017

The Bads

7th July 2017
The Tuning Fork, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Mike Thornton.

This evening feels like a journey through New Zealand’s musical hall of fame, even the audience itself contains many a familiar face with artists such as Jan Hellriegel and Milan Borich in attendance. Losing Heroes is the fourth album from the super group that is The Bads, and in true celebratory fashion they are performing live the day of its release; a few famous friends coming along for the ride.

One of those very famous friends is none other than Harry Lyon; while most people will recognize him for his time with Hello Sailor he has also been a member of Coup D’Etat (which he himself formed), Legionnaires and even Pink Flamingos. Tonight Lyon is flying solo, ‘Big Red’ as he affectionately refers to his guitar strung across his chest “I still have the white strat, it’s just she is in a museum at the moment and I didn’t have the heart to take her back” Lyon informs us later during his set.

Dressed in a simple dark grey suit, Lyon gently held the audience with his short yet charming set which featured songs both old and new. ‘One For The Road’ sees Lyon “rocking out on his own” , while ‘Johnny Cash’ he dedicates to yet another member of New Zealand music history, Riki Morris who is working the sound desk tonight. ‘To The ‘Sea’ Lyon informs us is where he channeled the spirit of Neil Young, Young’s influence certainly coming through loud and clear during the toe tapping track. ‘Dr I Like Your Medicine’ the 1981 award winning track from his days with Coup D’Etat went down an absolute treat, Lyon finishing with “this old chestnut” Hello Sailor’s ‘Lyin In The Sand’.

With the night already dipped in gold thanks to Lyon’s performance the audience took a moment to share smiles and stories of memorable performances of many of the musicians tonight. The air was one of communal joy that rallied against the cold winter night tapping against the windows.

As The Bads took the stage, the entire audience ceased with the chatter and instead applauded the band with gusto; Dianne Swann looking absolutely stunning in a wonderfully patterned dress, while Brett Adams (who appeared on this very stage just a few weeks ago in support of Tami Neilson) looked ever the modern dapper gentleman. While Swann and Adams take to the front of stage, side by side, the rest of the band form a semi-circle behind them; Wayne Bell on drums, Dave Khan on guitar (and later in the set violin), Ben King on bass. Tonight’s show is obviously going to be all about the new album, many of us hearing the songs for the very first time; it makes for an intriguing situation observing the reactions to each of the songs on people’s faces. ‘Crash and Burn’ and ‘Get It Right’ begin the night with style; Adams vocals coming through loud and strong on ‘Planets’, while ‘Shelter Love’ sees him deliver the first real inkling of just what he can do on guitar. Adams (former lead guitarist of The Mockers) is often regarded as one of New Zealand’s virtuoso’s for very good reason.

There is a connection between Swann and Adams that is really quite something, watching them perform they subtly interact with each other, Swann often watching Adams as he sings, small shared smiles and nods peppered throughout. Adams delivers a short anecdote about driving 8 hours through a blizzard in the States to a gig that they later discovered was cancelled, the story of which forms the foundation of the song ‘Calling Home’ Adams fully unleashing with a solo towards the end that has everyone in awe. That awe soon turned to a few watery eyes in the audience as The Bads delivered the title track to the album, dedicated to the memory of Graham Brazier and Dave McArtney of Hello Sailor, two personalities (in Braziers case, a very big personality!) that are still sorely missed.

A few small technical difficulties plagued Swann during ‘Same House’ dedicated to her “Mum and Dad” Swann visibly a little upset at not being able to deliver the song exactly as she intended due to not being able to hear herself, although she should be rest assured that for us in the audience it was bordering on perfection.

The Bads had a surprise up their sleeve tonight in the form of not one but two Finn’s joining them on stage, Tim on vocals while his son Harper impressed us all with his skills on the keyboards. Their cover of Bob Dylan’s ‘I Shall Be Released’ tugged at the heart strings in true Last Waltz fashion; but it was their cover of Split Enz’s ‘Dirty Creature’ that really set the venue on fire, the younger Finn bringing the song home to the glee of all in the front row. There was not a single person standing that was not grinning from ear to ear after that performance.

“This is our last song” Adams tells the audience making exaggerated quotation marks in the air while raising an eyebrow; we laugh, all of us knowing the drill. An encore ensues, The Bads finishing their set rather aptly with ‘West’ the last song on the album.

Faultless.

The Bads:

Harry Lyons:

Were you there at the Tuning Fork for this brilliant night of Kiwi alternative goodness? Or have you seen The Bads perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!