St Jerome’s Laneway Festival
27th January 2020
Albert Park, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Doug Peters.
With Christmas trees long since been packed away and New Year’s celebrations now nothing but a distant memory, Auckland Anniversary weekend is like a sweet reprieve that brings with it the sacred tradition of St Jerome’s Laneway Festival, a day filled with more musical goodness than you can shake a stick at.
Based once again amongst the lush greenery of Albert Park, those wanting to consume all that the day had to offer lined up at the gates early to catch not only top New Zealand acts in the form of Soaked Oats and Mermaidens – Gussie Larkin reflecting the gardens of summer with the sunflowers on her sky blue dress – but North Londoner Col3trane’s futuristic take on R&B, his rendition of fellow English musician SG Lewis’s track ‘Smart Aleck Kill’ upon which he features bringing with it a groove that demanded immediate attention.
The immense and almost overwhelming heat of the midday sun wasn’t enough to put fans off from congregating on the concrete outside the main Princes St Stage in ever-growing numbers as American singer Omar Apollo brought a heat of his own kind with a set that pulsated with both rhythm and colour, tracks such as ‘Kickback’, ‘Ashamed’ and the recently released divine ‘Frío’ – his first track to be sung completely in Spanish – providing more than enough room for Apollo to impress his kiwi fans, his live band only bolstering the headier funk-infused tracks.
A short trip over to the Rangers Stage, nestled amongst a half circle of trees and it was the turn of Welsh-Australian singer songwriter Stella Donnelly to lay down some indie pop-rock, ‘Mosquito’ and ‘Old Man’ both from her Beware of the Dogs album released last year providing some early hits, while on the visual side, Stella and her band decided to bring a personal element to the stage with adorable baby photos of each of the band members; Donnelly’s fans soon getting the chance for a bit of a sing along as she weaved in a well-timed cover of Dido’s ‘Thank You’. A hop, skip and a jump back to The Princes St Stage and the first mosh pit of the day had arrived in the form of The Chats, the Australian shed-rock trio of Eamon, Matt and Pricey tearing it up as they only they know how, their entrance to the Rocky theme tune keeping in with their sense of humour.
Having already sold out both previous tours of New Zealand, The Chats had a legion of fans ready to party, early set hits such as the ferocious ‘Nambored’, ‘How Many Do You Do’ the undeniable classic ‘Mum Stole My Darts’ and ‘Bus Money’ hyping up the frenzied crowd. With their debut album about to be released at the end of March, it seems the Queensland trio can do no wrong, their musicianship only becoming tighter by the minute as displayed by much of their guitar work; Pricey soon taking charge and asking their crowd about their STI history in the form of a show of hands which segued rather nicely into the recently released ‘The Clap’.
Over on the Rotunda Stage Canadian rapper bbno$ (aka Alexander Gumuchian) brought the first taste of the hip-hop vibes. Recognised by his OG followers since he began his solo career on Soundcloud in 2016, it was last year’s collaborative hit ‘Lalala’ with Y2K that brought him to the attention of the mainstream forum. Well known for his collaborations with Yung Gravy, his fans were obviously stoked when he dropped both ‘Whip A Tesla’ and ‘Rotisserie’; on a roll bbno$ soon followed it up with ‘Sriracha’ and ‘Super Saiyan Flex’ which saw him make his way down into the mosh pit for a more personal experience. Demanding full crowd participation during ‘Moneytalk’ where he encouraged all to chant the word ‘Talk’ repeatedly in time to the beat, and it was soon time to roll out the hit that had put him on the map, bbno$ instead completely rick-rolling the crowd much to their amusement.
Soon rewarding them with what they wanted to hear ‘Lalala’ saw Gumuchian once again disappear into the crowd, this time reappearing atop of their shoulders, before turning back the clock with Vengaboys ‘We Like to Party! (The Vengabus) which saw his fans go wild; the set soon going full inception style as ‘Pump It’ by the Black Eyed Peas featuring the rather distinctive guitar track sample of ‘Miserlou’ by Dick Dale blasted from the speakers, bbno$ bidding his farewells to none other than ‘Axel F’ by Crazy Frog.
Middle of the afternoon and it was Kiwi music overload, fans having the choice of splitting their time between Vodafone New Zealand Music Award winners The Beths and Benee over on the mainstage or Stoneyhunga originals SWIDT (a last minute replacement for J.I.D who disappointingly had to cancel at the final hour due to health reasons) with the added bonus of Ill Baz on decks. If that wasn’t quite enough there was also Eleven7Four who after impressing at both Festival X Rising with the Katayanagi Twins and as support for Horrorshow just two nights later brought the fire and plenty of friends (including none other than Mikey Dam) to the Puma Blockparty Stage; twin brothers Muche and Shingi quickly moving up the ranks of must see NZ hip-hop artists. Keeping in with the Australasian flavour, Hockey Dad (complete with new bass player) from New South Wales brought their own brand of unique surf rock to the Rangers Stage and with it a decent sized chunk of the audience, ‘Sweet Release’ and the catchy chorus of ‘Join the Club’ keeping punters more than happy.
Hailing from Perth, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets – another last-minute addition – brought guitar vibes a plenty along with lashings of hair action, lead vocalist Jack McEwan rocking an old school Nirvana shirt to complete the look. Mixing together mind-bending multi-coloured images on screen with their fast finger work and hypnotic beats they soon had everyone on their knees with tracks ‘Bill’s Mandolin’, ‘Keen for Kick On’s?’ and of course ‘Marmalade March’ from their 2016 album High Visceral {Part One}. Easily one of the highlights of the day, the five-piece finished their set with ‘Cornflake’ a behemoth of a track filled with just the right amounts of groove and melody to make it an absolute masterpiece. Bringing a whole other kind of rhythm, one infused with the marked flavour of Reggae, British singer Mahalia opened her set over on the Rotunda Stage with ‘Do Not Disturb’ before handing out a little wisdom to Laneway attendees about consent and what it entails, a topic she soon divulged that is still sadly taboo in her home town of Syston; the track ‘Good Company’ driving her point home in a musical format. Accompanied by both a live guitarist and drummer, Mahalia sizzled as she worked her way through ‘Simmer’ and ‘He’s Mine’.
Consent was also on the table back over at the Puma Blockparty Stage as Half.Queen worked her magic during Filth AKL; originally a club night started back in November of 2018, Filth AKL provided a designated space for ‘QPOC, women and non-binary darlings’ yesterday at Laneway where they could dance their hearts out for a glorious ninety minutes, Half.Queen mixing together absolute bangers such as Benny Benassi’s ‘Satisfaction’ with DJ Sliink’s ‘Put Cha Back In It’ before throwing in a little Kelis and TT The Artist, a shout out to South Africa coming in the form of Sho Madjozi’s ‘John Cena’.
Early evening brought with it the smallest of breezes, a reprieve from the punishing sun, and yet another Australian singer; Ruel – who is a frequent visitor to our shores – bringing a Rubik’s theme to his set with vibrant visuals and a giant green cube imprinted with his name. Dressed in the very hues of summer itself, Ruel sported an oversized yellow and white jacket and a dazzling smile as he serenaded those in the front rows with ‘Dazed & Confused’, ‘Not Thinkin’ Bout You’ and an extended version of ‘Real Thing’ that Ruel finished with an epic guitar jump that he later mused hurt his knees on account of his thinness. But while ‘Face to Face’ told the story of watching someone’s life through the avenue of the internet, over on the Rangers Stage a rather different tale altogether was being told…
With a Ph.D from Stanford’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics, American composer Holly Herndon brought to Laneway something so spiritually moving that the sheer act of attempting to capture it in word form feels like a travesty. Combining elements of ASMR, experimental sounds and her AI baby affectionately referred to as ‘Spawn’ who magically through two laptops on stage processes then electronically vocalises what it hears, Herndon’s set moved from within.
Joined on stage by her partner and digital artist Mat Dryhurst as well as the ethereal voices of Albertine Sarges, Colin Self and Evelyn Saylor, her set was not focused on herself but rather the group as a whole. Those who let go of the world around them and opened themselves up to the music may have believed that they were indeed hearing the voices of heaven, as the various vocals from Herndon and her chorus hung in the air with crystalline clarity. In between tracks such as ‘SWIM’ and ‘Frontier’ from her latest album PROTO, attendees also had the chance to add their own voices as Herndon requested them to follow Colin Self’s call and response so that it could be recorded and then taught to Spawn at a later date.
With all consuming joy her set came to a close on an extended version of ‘Fade’ which saw Self, Saylor and Sarges bound around Herndon and Dryhurst with an exuberance that had to be experienced in person, their final crescendo of vocals seeing all those who were watching intently explode in rapturous applause. May requests of a headline show fall at the feet of the powers that be.
Changing gears completely Californian rapper Earl Sweatshirt brought a more aloof vibe to his set, the first half seeing him almost channel the sprit of his father, poet Keorapetse Kgositsile in the way he delivered his first few numbers; the former member of Odd Future throwing down ‘East’, ‘Pre’ and ‘Homebound (Gotta Laugh)*’ in quick succession, ‘MTOMB’ and ‘The Mint’ soon following them up. While it may not have been the set that some were expecting, for those who lined the front of the stage it was exactly what they came for.
Towards the back of the venue a war cry had broken out, red flames and a slow turning skull of some unknown beast beckoning all to come closer. Last seen within the confines of Whammy! Bar where they sold out consecutive nights, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard made a triumphant return with a set that was brutally loud and mouth-wateringly good. With seven members it would be easy to fall into the trap of just becoming a wall of noise, instead King Gizzard channelled their sound into a mythical beast that careened around the space, each muscle clearly defined. ‘Open My Eyes’ saw the devoted revel in the pit, while the sheer rock n roll vibes of ‘Mars for the Rich’ drew the curious closer to the stage for a better look.
‘Superbug’ soon took everything to the next level, mile-wide grins painted across the faces of both band and listeners alike before a delve into the archives provided a more laid-back Beatles persona with ‘Her & I’, the addition of some killer piano and harmonica work ensuring that it wasn’t just another everyday track. Straight back into the psychedelic jams and ‘Perihelion’ threatened to melt faces off skulls before the lament of “I wish your Prime Minister was our Prime Minister” brought about what had to be a dig at the Australian leader Scott Morrison in the form of ‘Self-Immolate’.
Laneway was drawing to a close, and the mad dash to catch the headliners had begun. With more of a Top 40 angle than has been seen at Laneway previously, Charli XCX brought the pop-princess party to the Rotunda stage. Dressed the part in black and blue and standing before a giant white cube around which swirled plumes of smoke, Charli gave it everything she had and more. Flashes of light pierced the smoke as everyone bounced to the Icona Pop track ‘I Love It’, Charli keeping her foot fully on the accelerator as she tore through ‘Gone’ and her re-imagining of the infamous Spice Girls song ‘Wannabe’ which she christened ‘Spicy’. A little ‘Track 10’ from her Pop 2 mixtape swiftly took her fans into the posable ‘Boys’, ‘Blame it on Your Love’, ‘Unlock It’ and ‘Girls Night Out’ culminating in her popular duet ‘1999’ with Troye Sivan as set closer.
Those wanting to continue in a similar vein soon made a beeline back to the main stage for none other than The 1975 who were rather a surprising announcement on the Laneway bill last year considering they had only just headlined Spark Arena back in September. Still their fluro drenched set complete with vivacious dancer was just what the doctor ordered for those who were starting to fade, ‘People’ and ‘TooTimeTooTimeTooTime’ kicking it all off before an early taste of what is to come with their new album Notes on a Conditional Form (due for release on April 24th) was gifted in the form of ‘Me & You Together Song’; ‘Sincerity is Scary’ once again taking fans back into familiar and cherished territory.
For many though the choice of who to finish Laneway with was simple. With EDM act Rüfüs Du Sol cancelling, there was a big gap to fill. And only one man with the outstanding vocal abilities to do it; New Zealand’s own beloved Marlon Williams.
Yarra Benders in tow, Williams once again turned in a performance that will leave people entranced for days to come, his cheeky smile turning the corners of his mouth as he began with ‘What’s Chasing You’. Brimming with cherished favourites, Williams set also included some very unexpected surprises, the first being a delightful tune about New Zealand’s Bird of the Year the Hoiho (Yellow-Eyed Penguin) and a new song about inclusivity entitled ‘Soft Boys Make the Grade, Soft Girls Too’ which followed a breathtaking version of ‘Dark Child’.
Almost cavorting about the stage, ‘Party Boy’ saw Williams let loose before taking things down a notch or two for ‘Nobody Gets What They Want’ for which he was joined by the lovely Julia Jacklin to complete the duet, Williams soon serenading those in the front row with ‘Make Way for Love’.
A Marlon Williams set never quite seems long enough, but the clock was ticking, Williams once again channelling Screamin’ Jay Hawkins as only he knows how. A toast to the audience, vodka shot downed and cigarette lit, Williams version of ‘Portrait of A Man’ was visceral and raw, the gut-wrenching fire with which he performs it still burning strong, his admirers hanging on every word. Final line hanging in the air and Williams made for a quick exit, his audience refusing to let it end there.
Returning with acoustic guitar in hand and an appreciative smile, Williams proffered ‘When I Was A Young Girl’, his cover of the Nina Simone classic gratefully received by all as the perfect ending with which to disappear into the night’s dark embrace.
No doubt planning for next year’s Laneway Festival is already well underway, but of course, what treasures it will bring remains to be seen.
Were you there at Albert Park in Auckland’s CBD for this brilliant summer festival? Or have you been to a prior version of St Jerome’s Laneway Festival? Tell us about it in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this content, please consider donating towards the running of Ambient Light, covering expenses and allowing us to expand the coverage you love by visiting our PressPatron page.