The Wedding Present, Auckland NZ, 2017

The Wedding Present

4th July 2017
The Kings Arms Tavern, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Chris Zwaagdyk.

You could be forgiven for thinking that you had walked into the middle of a London Pub last night as the Kings Arms was packed to the rafters with English accents and pints of beer. The Wedding Present are in Auckland tonight for the first show of their extensive Australasian tour with many of their shows already close to selling out. There is a whole different atmosphere to an English gig, especially one that is being played in a pub setting such as the one we are in tonight. Banter is rife in the air and there is much laughter as the audience jostles each other in a completely friendly manner.

It has been four years since The Wedding Present were last here and the audience tonight are primed and ready to be entertained by what is sure to be an eclectic mix; with their first album George Best having turned 30 this year they certainly have a wealth of material to choose from. A crew member scuttles across the stage dropping hand scribbled set lists in front of each of the mic stands, the audience starting to quiet whilst turning towards the stage. As lead singer and only original remaining member David Gedge strides out onto the stage, dressed simply in black shirt and pants the crowd erupts, glasses raised high in the air.

Born from the ashes of Lost Pandas who disbanded in 1984, The Wedding Present was a name conceived by Gedge and his girlfriend of the time. The name is actually in homage to another famous band, that being The Birthday Party (the infamous Australian post-punk collective that spawned the likes of Mick Harvey and Nick Cave). The current line-up includes Australian Marcus Kain on guitar (who Gedge points out later in the set has never been to New Zealand until tonight!), bassist Danielle Wadey; a striking woman dressed in black with bright silver boots and Charles Layton on drums.

Two songs into the set and Gedge addresses the audience for the first time: “Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen, we are the semi legendary Wedding Present” the audience laughing along with the self-effacing Gedge. A trio of songs from their latest album Going, Going… (released in 2016) is then presented to us, ‘Bells’ with its dark undertones is so very rich that it envelops you completely. “That was a trio of songs from our ground-breaking new album Going, Going” Gedge tells the audience, his tongue permanently in his cheek in that terribly English way. He goes on to apologise in regards to how they can’t quite remember what they played when they were last here, a cheeky audience member quipping back that neither can they. At this point in time however with what we have already seen and heard, no one is going to make any complaints about the set list.

The entire band moves as a well-oiled unit, Kain on guitar is magnetic, drawing you in as he leans back, eyes closed and becomes one with the chords, Gedge, vocals on point, shifting between grungy growls punctuating the lyrics on ‘Love Slave’ to heartbreaking falsettos. Wisps of smoke curl around the members, enhancing the feeling that we are moving back and forth through time as we travel through the set list. A small break gives the audience a chance to catch their breath as Gedge introduces a new feature “Fact of the Day” which he asks Wadey to present. She is slightly disappointed however that the audience provides the answer so quickly to the question “What does Auckland have more of per capita than any other city in the world” and vows, with a smile, to come up with a better one for next time.

Back to the music and the set continues to ebb and flow beautifully, ‘Dalliance’ taking us back down into mellow overtones while ‘Dare’ features Gedge performing some spoken word – his voice deliciously projecting across the room. Gedge begins to speak about the fact that it has been 30 years since George Best came out “He came out?” yells a fan in the front row, Gedge laughing “yes, he came out – let’s move on from that topic of conversation” He then introduces the “fastest track off the LP” ‘Shatner’ an absolutely blistering addition to this already outstanding night. Tracks ‘Bear’, ‘Flying Saucer’ and ‘Santa Monica’ follow; Wadey elevating the songs to an even higher level with her gorgeous backing vocals; Kain and Gedge letting loose on their guitars for several minutes.

All of a sudden we have (sadly) reached the end of the set, Gedge telling us The Wedding Present never do encores – so he thanks us all for coming and they end on one of their most well-loved tracks ‘Kennedy’ from their 1989 album Bizarro. The Wedding Present will be appearing in several major cities across New Zealand over the next few nights – do yourself and your soul a favour and get along to one of their shows!

The Wedding Present:

Avoid Avoid:

Were you there at the Kings Arms for this classic indie rock performance? Or have you seen The Wedding Present perform somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!