Ohakune Mardi Gras ’18
23rd June 2018
Ohakune, New Zealand.
Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Doug Peters.
How many places in the world could you see a group of mutinous pirates mingle with the Teletubbies while nearby several giraffes are discussing favourite albums with glow in the dark furby’s?
Only one; and it’s right here in New Zealand.
After a two year hiatus Ohakune’s Mardi Gras is back, bigger and badder and all thanks to Audiology. Of course if you are going to relaunch a beloved festival than you have to do it in style, and 2018’s line-up was looking beyond scrumptious with a heady mix of both local and international acts with which to get those juices flowing.
But this is Mardi Gras and as such more than just a stage full of bands was provided; food trucks offering everything from dumplings to wood fired pizza filled the air with taste bud tempting aromas while just across the street you could try your luck on some traditional carnival games or stir up that freshly eaten cuisine on the Scream Machine. As eager punters swarmed through the gates they were greeted with the sweet sounds of Jimi Hendrix beckoning them down towards the main stage, Outkast and The Alchemist soon joining the party. Dj Spell was in the house and he was certainly making sure that this evening kicked off in style – a little bit of ‘God’s Plan’ from Drake never going amiss. Over on the Corona Presents stage both Option and Vancey were making sure that proceedings got off to a bangin start at their end of Mardi Gras town.
First act up for the night was the indomitable duo of Times x Two fresh off their rousing appearance at last night’s official warm-up (click here for the lowdown on that). Arriving on stage in strikingly coordinated camo tracksuits they proceeded to tear up the stage while simultaneously building an impressive audience down in front. The duo consisting of best friends Zee and Cader held nothing back, regaling the fans with several tracks before dropping a personal favourite that – judging by the height of the collective bounce they had going on in the audience – was a hit with the fans too; ‘Tokyo Drift’ by the Teriyaki Boyz sending the fans into overdrive. Celebrating with a couple of bottles of champagne it was the perfect segue into the next act for the night that of Mt Eden Official with special guest MC Tali.
While Mt Eden Official may have gone through a small name change (removing the ‘dupstep’) it certainly hasn’t affected their popularity. While normally consisting of duo Jesse & Harley, Mardi Gras saw Jesse take sole control of the decks tonight with bravura. Beautifully accompanied by MC Tali who positively glowed in her sunshine yellow puffer jacket while destroying the audience with both her vocals and her dance moves; the pairing – who Tali informed all a little later on was the first time they had ever collaborated – dropped a mix of tracks that would guarantee to get even your grandma shaking her bad stuff across the room. Prodigy and Skrillex were intertwined with tracks from Migos and ‘Woo Boost’ from Rusko before everything was stripped away for a particularly beautiful version of ‘I Remember’ by Deadmau5 and Kaskade.
Mardi Gras was now ramping up quickly, the area in front of the main stage jammed packed with audience members dressed in every costume that could be possibly imagined which made for one of the most visually stunning festival audiences ever.
Having hit the New Zealand hip hop scene to critical acclaim in 2012 with their self-titled debut album Homebrew have an almost cult like following. Witty, satirical and with a decidedly West Auckland attitude they have continued to grow in popularity over the years. Appearing tonight with a four piece live band, Homebrew arrived on stage to a cacophony of applause and more than a few declarations of love from the fairer sex in the front row. Consisting of three members Tom Scott, Lui Gumaka and Harry ‘Haz Beats’ Huavi; the trio broke out both the liquor and the rhymes as they took the audience back in time to one of their earlier hits ‘Benefit’ which quickly identified their old school fans who impressively matched them word for word. Expertly working the stage as their live backing band brought it home, another classic in the form of ‘Datura White Flowers’ once again saw the crowd go mad before Homebrew advised the fans that they were going to finish on a “love song – one about forbidden love”; ‘Bad, Bad Whiskey’ not only one hell of an infectious track but one who’s storyline would make your mama blush. After owning it at Bay Dreams earlier this year Homebrew sauntered offstage with a simple wave to the crowd safe in the knowledge that they had once again delivered the goods.
The stage was now set for the first of the international acts to set fire to the house and if anyone could do it, it had to be Stevie Stone. Appearing in a red and black checked shirt under a canopy of red spotlights, Missouri born Stone looked fresh and ready to go despite having just performed in Auckland the night before alongside fellow label artist Rittz. Having released both Level Up in 2017 and Kontra Band in April of this year and it would seem that Stone is on a roll, something that he certainly proved throughout his set as he dropped tracks such as ‘Jump’ and ‘Come Gangsta’ a Tech N9ne track which Stone features on thanks to being signed to Tech N9nes Strange Music label. Deciding that he needed to get far more up close and personal with his fans Stone introduced ‘My Remedy’ before promptly getting down onto the barrier to be eye level with them, their appreciation evident in their mile wide grins. Making his way back up, Stone had one more up his sleeve to ensure that his fans both old and new would be talking about his set for a long time to come, ‘Whippin’ Up’ [feat. DB Bantino] clearly illustrating just how much Stone has honed his craft over the last few years.
After such a killer set, one had to wonder if Rittz could match Stone’s onstage intensity the answer coming in the form of his three opening tracks ‘For Real’, ‘In My Zone’ and ‘Turn Down’ which hit the audience hard in the gut and made them stand to attention. Rittz is definitely one of the kings when it comes to freestyle rapping and tonight was no exception as he spit lines like venom acapella. Unfortunately his vocals were often lost during many of his other tracks as the soundesk ramped up the bass. Despite this minor disappointment and a verbal altercation with a member of the audience who clearly wasn’t educated in concert etiquette (i.e. giving the artist shit from the supposed safety of the barrier does not make you the man) Rittz finished his set in true Rittz fashion, swigging on a bottle of Crown Royal Whiskey while delivering the rather appropriately titled ‘Crown Royal’.
While the Corona stage was still delivering some serious Trap thanks to Australian Dj Hydraulix, back on the main stage the award for most breathtaking opening of the night had to go to Written By Wolves.
On a darkened stage, hooded figures formed a half circle, blue LED drum sticks held aloft, their faces came to life, but instead of those of human, the audience were looking at those of wolves. As each ‘wolf’ began to beat the large drum stationed in front of them in perfect synchrony the audience almost took a step back; this was a set opener of international quality. Written By Wolves are becoming a regular on the festival circuit having both appeared at Bay Dreams and Storm The Gates to rave reviews and it shows as each and every performance grows in strength – tonight’s easily their best. Much of this is down to the individual energy of each band member working cohesively as a unit, their timings impeccable; at the forefront the alpha wolf himself, Michael Murphy who this evening poured his entire soul into his performance. Familiar anthems such as ‘Not Afraid To Die’ somehow just felt far bigger as if reborn and baptized in fire. Their cover of ‘Elastic Heart’ by Sia being welcomed with open arms, but vocally eclipsed by their cover of ‘Cinema’ by Benny Benassi, its words ones that evidently spoke to every woman along the front row judging by the zeal with which they sang them back to the band. Inviting their fellow Tenfold Agency friends Times x Two to return to the stage Written By Wolves proceeded to break loose and go crazy with their hip hop label mates; being only their second time performing together (their inaugural performance gracing the stage at Auckland’s Neck Of The Woods bar earlier this month) there are still a few kinks to iron out, but there is no doubt that this is yet another exciting element that Written By Wolves will be incorporating into future sets.
Unbelievably Mardi Gras was almost over, the hours absolutely flying by thanks to the high quality of the performances and the quick turnarounds of the stage.
While a cavalcade of stage techs worked their magic, DJ Spell returned to his decks to keep those vibes circling the stratosphere, a selection of old school 90’s and hip hop tracks from artists such as Nirvana through to System of a Down and even some Pharoahe Monch throwing down the nostalgia challenge (can you sing along to every song?). The crowd now jammed into every possible sliver of space available waited (somewhat) patiently for the headliners to arrive – many in attendance tonight never dreaming that this moment would finally come.
Pendulum may be our Australian neighbours, but they are well known around the world for their unique brand of drum and bass and electronic rock. Having formed in 2002 they dominated the world with their music; but the grueling schedules soon took their toll and so in 2012 they bid their farewells and the world mourned. But a glimmer of hope appeared in 2016 when Pendulum announced they would reunite as a live band for a one off show; New Zealand fans obviously losing their mutual minds upon hearing that Audiology had secured the five piece to play Mardi Gras just two years later. Taking to the stage just a little before 10:30pm what followed was ninety minutes of pure electronically infused rock bliss; each and every offering wrapped in platinum and better than the last. Founding member Rob Swire was on form, his voice having lost none of that melodic yet powerful tone despite over sixteen years passing since their formation. With little fanfare he took his place centre stage and delivered tracks such as the iconic ‘The Island’ with surgical precision. While the audience certainly didn’t need to be told twice, every few songs Gareth McGrillen would hype them up just that little bit more while simultaneously thanking them for their enthusiasm. Exceptional stage lighting complimented Pendulum as they delivered a set laced with the classics, ‘Tarantula’ a definitive highlight featuring large screen visuals of $pyda looming over the audience.
And then just like that it was over. Mardi Gras 2018 had come to party and it had done so in style; the audience, many of their costumes looking a little worse for wear ecstatic over what they had just experienced; and all already planning for 2019.
Were you there in Ohakune for this triumphant winter music festival? Or have you been to an Ohakune Winter Mardi Gras some other time? Tell us about it in the comments below!
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