Albi and the Wolves
20th June 2022
Matapiro Hall, Hastings, New Zealand.
Review by Rob Harbers, photography by Andrew Caldwell.
In recent years, the Danish concept of “hygge” has been much discussed. It’s a term that doesn’t have an exact English translation, but it expresses qualities of warmth, comfort, familiarity, homeliness and the like. This has led some, inevitably, to attempt to commercialise and monetise the concept, leading to sales of many kinds of tat claiming itself to be “hygge”, often getting nowhere near the true meaning of the word. However, the English word that perhaps may best encompass the myriad elements of the term (and the very similar Dutch “gezellig”) is “cosiness”, such as that experienced in front of a warm fire on a cold night, in the company of friends and family – or by seeing Albi and the Wolves play in a Small Hall Session on a cold and dark winter’s night. This trio of minstrels will chase the chill from your bones, giving you a warm, companionable glow to help keep you going until sunnier times!
Led by the irrepressible Chris Dent, (aka Albi – but not to be confused with the bigoted fire-breather chronicled in song by Flight Of the Conchords!), the Wolves entertained a select, but vocal and enthusiastic audience in the intimate Matapiro Hall. Their songs of love, hope and reminiscence filled the venue with a warmth and bonhomie that is the perfect antidote to any fears or uncertainties that may be prevalent in the wider world.
Taking to the stage with an acapella repetition of the line “he’s a lowdown dirty scoundrel dog” (while resisting the urge to dedicate it to any one of a number of eligible candidates currently on the world’s stage), which was then augmented by the instrumental line-up of electric violin, acoustic guitar and double bass, it could be said that the only way was up, lyrically speaking. This proved to be the case, the remainder of the set consisting of thoughtfully crafted tales spanning the band’s entire (8-year!) career, with a consistent thread of hope and joy radiating through.
To try and pigeonhole the exact sound of the band into a specific genre is difficult, as admitted by Albi himself, so probably best not even try, so just go with a finely crafted expression of joy, love and hope-and couldn’t we all use a dose of that? I know the night’s audience palpably benefited from this infusion in to their senses – and you can too!
In addition to Albi himself, the Wolves consist of double bass player Michael Young, and violinist/wandering minstrel/audience wrangler Pascal Roggen, and all three mesh together perfectly to form the overall sonic tapestry, the length of their time playing as a unit evident in the way they complement and cue off each other.
My mere words, however, struggle to adequately describe the experience that is an Albi and the Wolves show, particularly one as intimate as a Small Hall Session. Surely the best way to overcome the deficit between my inchoate, incoherent ramblings and the real thing is to experience it for yourself – consider this your call to arms! There are 4 more opportunities to get amongst it, in venues ranging from Flemington to Clive – so go on, give it a try! Don’t let another one slip by, instead feel the buzz and find your new favourite band!
Were you there at the Matapiro Hall for this intimate gig? Or have you seen Albi & The Wolves perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Note: Ambient Light was provided passes to review and photograph this concert. As always, this has not influenced the review in any way and the opinions expressed are those of Ambient Light’s only.
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