Flying Nun 40th Anniversary, Auckland NZ, 2021

Aldous Harding performing live at the Flying Nun 40th Anniversary in Auckland, 2021. Photo by Doug Peters.

Flying Nun 40th Anniversary

24th July 2021
Auckland Town Hall, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Sam Duquemin. Photography by Doug Peters.

Crowds descend on the Auckland Town Hall, escaping the cool night air, to celebrate forty years of Flying Nun records. There is a tenuous cohesion to the huddled masses – young to old – clean cut to eighties punk chic. With twelve bands over three stages this promises something for everyone and one hectic evening for yours truely.

Entering from Queen Street I discover my first mistake. A tide of punters bar passage to the area called the Kaleidoscope Room. Sorry Sulfate, the few driving alt rock beats I heard through the walls suggested something more arresting than I can otherwise comment on. This will require more planning. Aldous Harding next. The Hallelujah Hall, the designation for the Main Stage for the night.

An unassuming figure facing her accompaniment, feet without shoes resting on a suitcase. Watching this set teeters on the edge of intrusive. It feels as though we have walked in on a couple during their own private folk music rendezvous. The cold crowd is thawed by ‘Old Peel’ and begin to sway. But the night is young and ten bands remain. I extricate myself to find the Fuzzy Chamber.

Double entendre not withstanding, it was my hopes to find the so called chamber to see Mermaidens. But the doors are blocked – the hall packed to capacity. A commanding voice leads a wall of heavy rock – rolling drum fills spill into the connecting corridors. All I can determine is I will have to see them in the future. No point dwelling on it now. I can finally make it down to the Kaleidoscope Room to see Womb.

The room is little more than a nook in the neo-baroque architecture of the Town Hall. Womb took that nook and transformed it into a timeless isle of inde folk peace. Angelic vocals on ‘Used to be’ mixed with the exact right amount of cowbell grant us space to just be the eclectic herd of people we are. Into this calm ‘Cut your wings’ gave vocalist Charlotte Forrester a chance to flex a vocal fry I was not expecting. I could stay for hours but the schedule is having none of it, and so it is back to finding the next performance.

At this point I noticed the lager and wine had started to take a hold on the patrons. Polite greetings made way for hearty claps on the shoulder and bear hugs. Though I was a stranger to most this did not mean I got away without a few good natured cuddles from people I couldn’t even now pick out of a line up. Friendliness aside, navigating the space was becoming easier with crowds split to their interests. Many converging on the Hallelujah Hall to catch The Bats.

The Bats are an establishment at this point. Nearing forty years as a band themselves they are a well tuned machine and their live performance does not disappoint. The old school Dunedin Sound, slightly gaelic dad rock to my ear, takes me back to childhood barbeques. If you grew up in the 90’s – as I did – someone in your family has ‘Couchmaster’. But hearing it live it is almost uncanny how perfectly polished they are.

After missing the Mermaidens I knew I had to get to the Fuzzy Chamber quickly as not to miss The Subliminals. The chamber itself, normally known as the concert hall, had a simple lighting rig complimented by a breathtaking digital projector display. Cast against the back wall of the stage an ever changing graphical display rendering the hall a tunnel through the last 40 years.

The Subliminals were an alt-rock sonic tour de force. There is no gilding the lily there. A polytonal barrage of distortion and tortured pedals. ‘Crystal Chain’ was less a song and more a platform on which to abuse a guitar into producing a cacophony of the sublime.

Time marched on and I would need to make my way down to the Kaleidoscope room again. To my dismay by the time I could reach it the space was more crowd than air by volume. I had underestimated the draw power of Voom. But perhaps so had Flying Nun as the over flow of would-be attendants could have filled the concert hall – or Fuzzy Chamber as the night insisted.

Back to the Hallelujah Hall I go. Reb Fountain takes the stage to a rise of cheers unmatched so far. A dark and ominous mood held in place by one voice. A splendid dance between lilting whispers and piercing calls. Less a musician – more a force of nature. I could wax lyrical over her capivating performance for longer than any reasonable word count would allow. But for now I must move on again.

Time for another nostelgia trip for me. This time in the Fuzzy Chamber with Superette. Suddenly I’m nine years old again hearing ‘Touch Me’ again, thinking I’m probably not allowed to listen to something like this. A fun little jaunt into the past and this alt-rock band still has the chops to take me there. Can’t complain at that at all.

Down to the nook of the Kaleidoscope Room one last time and Solid Gold Hell are closing the stage. A weighty gothic punk outfit personified by a lead vocalist draped over a mic stand. Screaming decades of angst and distain. If given a full set to listen I could see myself melting into the crowd that is less a collection of individuals at this point but a singular mass.

Hallelujah Hall hosts the penultimate act, Straitjacket Fits. Another veteran band of the Dunedin sound well practiced in the art of making me feel like a child at a family friends social event. I see people propping themselves up by walls and friends less deep in their cups swaying their heads like so many cobras to a well versed snake charmer. It is comfortable, priceless and almost made me forget that one band remains.

The final showing in the Fuzzy Chamber was Wax Chattels. A band who opt for going out with a bang. Aggressive alt-horror synth bursts with brutal fills that almost rocket the drummer from his chair. The audio tech has granted them full dominion of our ear drums. Shouts from the lead vocalist to relax seemed a touch ironic. Your passion has all the calming affects of cocaine and I shall live on it late into tomorrow morning.

With this final burst of adrenaline I was thrust back into the night. Aucklands crisp air a bracing contrast to the Town Halls warm embrace. My bones ache but it is a low price for the night I’ve had. I have old bands to remember, new bands to look up and a pair of feet in need of rest.

Were you there at the Auckland Town Hall for this joyous celebration of this legendary NZ label? Or have you seen any of the bands performing live somewhere else? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Note: Flying Nun / Live Nation provided passes to Ambient Light to review and photograph this concert. As always, this has not influenced the review in any way and the opinions expressed are those of Ambient Light’s only. This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase a product using an affiliate link, Ambient Light will automatically receive a small commission at no cost to you.

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1 Comment

  1. Amazing photos! You would have loved this gig, how wonderful that you got pictures of all of the favorites!

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