Tom Walker
20th August 2019
Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Mike Beck. Photography by Chris Zwaagdyk.
“We just came from doing a bunch of shows in the 37-degree heat of Japan, so we’re really grateful to be here in the cold and wet of Auckland.” Oh yes, Tom Walker is Glaswegian, and the meteorological elements at play on this Auckland night, for his first performance in New Zealand are making Walker feel right at home. Bearded, and burly in stature, Walker’s energetic performance style was given an added boost by the youthful exuberance of the audience in attendance.
Spring-boarded by the success of last year’s UK top ten hit ‘Leave A Light On’, Walker has been a climber on the pop music world stage ever since, grabbing recognition at the Brit Awards this year with the aforementioned song receiving a nomination for best British single. He also took home the award for best breakthrough artist.
Rising from the damp to take the support slot was newcomer, Dunedinite Abby Wolfe. Her bracket of synth-driven pop was brief, but allowed time to exercise some strong vocals, and potential to develop her craft. She rattled off her three singles; ‘Breakdown’, ‘Win You Over’ and ‘Change My Mind’, with the economical backing of only a keyboardist and drummer. There was also some assistance from backing tracks and delay effects, which enhanced her voice, but some research (listening to her acoustic recordings) concluded that Wolfe definitely has a range and power at her disposal.
Things moved swiftly, with the main attraction arriving onto the stage in quick time. Tom Walker appropriately choosing ‘Angels’ to open his set with, the strong sense of hope and spiritual themes prompting the raising of multiple cell phones in the air, as if the church of rock n roll had just commenced its service. “There must be angels, there must be heaven in this hell that I’m living, cause heaven seems to be so forgiving.”
‘My Way’ drew some parallel to Sinatra’s song of the same name, its ethos bearing less ego, instead shifting to more of an uplift of others. Walker’s vocal delivery had gusto, and his timbre and phrasing has hints of one of his influences, Paolo Nutini. I couldn’t help thinking in another life Walker would be equally at home on a rugby field representing Scotland. There’s some thistle there.
Collaborating with English drum ‘n’ bass act Rudimental for ‘Walk Alone’, it became clear three songs in, that Walker’s music is strong on positive messaging. Yet he also has a penchant for love songs, as next number ‘Now You’re Gone’ showed. Originally a duet with Zara Larsson who appeared on Walker’s debut full-length album, this year’s What A Time To Be Alive, the well-presented Laura Oakes took to front of stage for this performance instead.
‘Fly Away with Me’ and ‘Karma’ dealt with loss, the latter as Walker explained arising from a four-thousand-dollar guitar he had stolen out of his touring van in Italy. That’s just bad juju coming that cats way. This number gave Walker’s sharp band a chance to ramp up the vibe, matching the venom evident in Walker’s vocals.
The workmanlike ‘Cry Out’ segued into the excellent ‘Dominoes’, with a pre-emptive warning speech from Walker in regard to political corruption and negative representations from the media. Brexit got a mention here. Walker exclaiming in the lyrics; “There’s still so much love on this planet, the news only shows us the damage; Cause they’re the ones with the cameras, playing into the hands of the bandits.” Yet his song writing also shows vision, the story arc challenging the aforementioned paradigm with the repeated coda; “Let the dominos fall, watch it all crash, come tumbling down.”
‘Blessings’ drew gratitude from the forming and support of friendships and included a namedrop of our very own Fat Freddy’s. ‘Play Dead’ alluded to going undercover to navigate a broken world, with the power of two being the best mode to survive. And this is where Tom Walker the artist, was revealed as something more than just another cog inside the mechanism of the music industry.
Saving his most personal song til last, Walker referred to ‘Just You and I’ as a love letter to his fiancé and partner of seven years who he commenced his relationship with while he was still unemployed, describing her as “perfect.”
A strong encore gave us ‘Not Giving In’, and rather fittingly the finale was none other than Walker’s biggest hit ‘Leave A Light On.’ The whole band’s team effort here creating a bounce in the house that disrupted the dancefloor with its reverberations. This was heart-warming, as Walker had written it out of an experience of helping a friend who needed support, the song also going on to be used in an awareness campaign for the prevention of suicide.
Throughout his performance, Walker showed musical versatility in playing both acoustic and electric guitars, at one point even jumping onto a second kit to double-drum and sing which received euphoric applause. He used his solos sparingly, and just like the slightly abbreviated playtime (twelve songs plus an encore of two), Walker understood the benefit of leaving the audience wanting more.
Walker’s music includes plenty of observations on the ways of the world, positive messages, and more relationship ups than downs. He’s not short of using an f word or ten in between songs either. It’s promising to see that his brand is resonating with generation young. In response to the warm reception he received, Walker proclaimed before exiting the stage “we’ll be back”. Let’s hope it’s soon.
Were you there at the Powerstation to witness this brilliant Indie singer-songwriter? Or have you seen Tom Walker perform live somewhere else? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
- Angels
- My Way
- Walk Alone
- Now You’re Gone
- Fly Away With Me
- Karma
- Fade Away
- Cry Out
- Dominoes
- Blessings
- Play Dead
- Just You And I
- Not Giving In [encore]
- Leave A Light On [encore]
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