Wolfmother
9th June 2017
Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Mike Thornton.
The role of a support band is not only to pave the way for the fans as they edge closer to seeing their idols, but to build a foundation upon which a great night of music can build itself upon. Greenfog, a trio of musos from right here in Auckland had the illustrious position of support tonight; huddled together in the middle of the stage, an open bottle of wine to the right of the drum kit, they filled the air with atmospheric wonderment.
Eliot Lawless on guitar and Scott Kendall on bass spend most of the set turned inwards and towards each other. In any other band this would be irritating, but with Greenfog it was like watching a wizard cast a spell, the three of them feeding off the vitality of the other. Their music is mainly shoegaze/doom, but it is so wonderfully distinctive that you cannot help but be transfixed by it. Many of their songs are purely instrumental, but during the last track of their set drummer Rachel Elf (yes the same Rachel Elf from The Pleasure Majenta) lifts her head and from her mouth pours forth some of the most haunting vocals you could ever wish to hear; pushing their way through the veil of her blonde hair and spilling over the top of the drums. Forget the genre labels, Greenfog are a band that you must experience live.
The venue is almost at capacity (the show having sold out a while ago) when the first jets of stage smoke burst forth, audience members beginning to howl in anticipation of the band arriving.
Last here back in February in support of the mighty Guns n Roses, Wolfmother had treated the Western Springs crowd to a superb performance; so the opportunity to see them again so soon in such an intimate setting was obviously far too good to resist for many fans. The crowd were chomping at the bit as the trio walked out onto the stage, lead singer Andrew Stockdale with that trade mark mop of hair stepping up to the microphone and smiling at everyone looking back at him.
The lights dropped and the first few bars of opening track ‘Victorious’ hit you in the face like a brick; the audience immediately launching themselves at the barriers in a wave of rock infused frenzy. With barely a moment in between to catch your breath, the band moved straight into ‘New Moon Rising’ quickly followed by ‘Woman’. This ladies and gentlemen was like the one, two, three triple combo of boxing; Wolfmother had come out swinging and had left everyone reeling in their wake and we were only three songs in! This was Rock n Roll in all its unadulterated glorious goodness.
Formed in Sydney seventeen years ago, Wolfmother have gone through numerous lineup changes – it would appear that they have had yet even another one tonight as former drummer Hamish Rosser appeared on drums rather than the expected Alex Carapetis – yet they never fail to impress live. Wolfmother are a band that must be experienced live if not just to see bass and keyboard player Ian Peres in action. Peres is a show stopper, a man who truly defines the term ‘possessed’ when it comes to playing live music. Through many of the tracks he plays his KORG keyboard with one foot upon the stand, leaning backwards, as if the ever rising cheers of the crowd had invisible strings linked to his ligaments, pulling and stretching him out. With a curtain of curls held back only with a cord and an outfit which would have slotted straight into a Woodstock Festival, Peres cavorted around his half of the stage, easily slipping between bass and keyboard duties – often playing both at the same time.
Moving into ‘White Unicorn’ it’s opening notes reminiscent of Led Zeppelin and movement above the left hand side of the stage catches the eye of many an audience member. Fingers start to point at a fan who has clambered over the upstairs barrier and is perched at the edge, looking down towards Stockdale. Suddenly he flies through the air, performing a rather impressive ninja roll across the middle of the stage before popping up and leaping head first into the mosh pit, the crowd going wild at his efforts.
“Give it up for Greenfog for supporting us” Stockdale speaks to the audience for the first time before moving straight into the next song, preferring to let his magnificent vocals and guitar playing to speak for him.
A second stage jumper appears from the right, this time clambering across the PA before running across and throwing his arm around Stockdale’s shoulders before leaping into the audience, Stockdale turning and looking at Peres before laughing. “We gotta come back to NZ more often, this is amazing!” Stockdale grins at the crowd. Once again fingers start pointing, our now resident jumper from on high is back and is this time playing to the audience, demanding their encouragement. He jumps, rolls and leaps into the crowd, however this time as he surfs the wave of upturned hands, security manages to get a hold of him and it’s off out the door he goes.
Throughout the night there are several more attempts at the stage by punters, but by this time security are no longer amused and shut them down quickly. The crowd surfing and shoulder riding continues unabated however, everyone riding high on the energy of the band. Wolfmother have yet to take their foot off the pedal, wave after wave of sweet music washing over us, cleansing and renewing. An unexpected break in the momentum occurs as Stockdale twiddles with his guitar just after ‘Colossal’, “Our roadie couldn’t get a visa so we have to tune our own guitars tonight” Stockdale laughs as he addresses the audience, “So thank you for your patience.” For a moment he seems to lose track with where he is in the set “What’s next…where’s the set list, ummm haha bass solo!” Peres taking the cue to let loose on the strings. The set flies past in a blink of an eye, and before we know it we have arrived at the last track of the night, the brilliant ‘Dimension’ from their 2005 self-titled debut album, the crowd and Stockdale both delighting in the other’s singing.
Wolfmother hadn’t even left the stage before the chant of “one more song” was echoing around the rafters, the band returning a few moments later to deliver one of their most infectious and infamous songs ‘Joker & The Thief’, Stockdale stomping back and forth across the stage while Peres almost lost control of his keyboard as he turned it on its edge and played it like his life depended on it. Upon the songs conclusion, the trio stepped forward, slapping the outstretched hands of fans before taking three deep bows and waving their goodbyes.
Rock n Roll baby.
Greenfog:
Wolfmother:
Were you there at the Powerstation for this amazing mind altering rock show? Or have you seen Wolfmother somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
- Victorious
- New Moon Rising
- Woman
- White Unicorn
- Apple Tree
- Gypsy Caravan
- Vagabond
- The Love That You Give
- How Many Times
- Colossal
- Where Eagles Have Been
- The Simple Life
- Pyramid
- Mind’s Eye
- California Queen
- Dimension
- Joker & The Thief [encore]
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.