Don’t Tell Me What’s Point Chev and What’s Not
The DHDFDs with the Demi-Whores, Flick and Golden Axe
Whammy Bar (that’s Auckland, people), Friday 6th June
So lately I’ve a) been so busy with school that I haven’t been out in months and b) turned into an alt-country wuss who listens to way too much Elliott Smith. It took a visa appointment in Auckland to actually get me out of the house, but hell, I should get out more often.
I assumed Whammy was going to be uber-shiny, but it sits somewhere between Valve and Happy on the cleanliness stakes; that is, not very high. And it’s a fucking rabbit warren, with this awesome little bar next door that somehow leads into it. Very similar to a cave. It gets crowded. And violent, as I found out. It’s underground.
Golden Axe played first, we know they’re great. They make my heart beat that much faster. Definitely make the effort to see them next time they’re our way, and dance too. If I had a lot of money, right, I would have this awesome party in the forest with fairy lights, and they would play. It would be fantastic.
Flick I hadn’t actually seen before; totally out of my genre but really impressive and kind of puts a lot of bands to shame. You think you need a drummer, a vocalist, a bassist and a guitarist to play metal? You’re wrong! You only need one person! And a loop pedal!
The Demi-Whores played their first show in fourteen months. In that time they must have been cultivating facial hair because they had a bunch of impressive moustaches. The three-piece play grungy kind of grunge stuff, I don’t know a hell of a lot about this kind of music so I won’t say too much. People enjoyed them, and I really like Marcus.
And! The DHDFDs! Blew my mind! Up till this point the gig was good but this band were insane. No, I mean literally. You have to see them. This is youth energy on a totally different scale, they move like ten times faster than normal humans. Their singer was bleeding by the end of the first song. People were dancing on stage because it was safer than being in the audience; the front of the crowd was a thrashing mash of arms and legs. Apparently their fans get themselves psyched up for the show by punching each other. Their music is rock, and roll; their guitarist is incredibly fast; the recorded song I’ve heard (off the first Real Groove Awesome Feelings) is a lot more melodic. But it’s hard to be melodic and kick at the same time. The singer kind of looks like Anton from the Brian Jonestown Massacre (if you squint) and likes to take his clothes off.
So we need more gigs like this in Wellington. Not that I want to go home with a broken arm. I don’t know if this kind of riot would be allowed in a Wellington bar; the only bouncer was kind of apologetic when he asked for my ID, and if things were out of control I don’t know if anyone could have stopped it. But this was a party like it was the last night in the world. This is the fire that shakes a city; this is the self-defeating anger that makes us cry and keeps us young. This is alive, and Auckland have got it.