The All Our Truths Tour
Feat. Decades, Skinny Hobos, Dead Favours & Bakers Eddy
15th July 2017
Galatos, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Matt Henry Mendonca.
Four bands, one venue; all NZ Music. Sounds like the perfect combination for the ideal night out on the town doesn’t it? And you would be right. The All Our Truths Tour kicked off last night in Hamilton, tonight seeing it hit an almost sold out Galatos Basement Bar in Auckland. Proudly hosted by The Rock, there was the promise of a glorious meat pack up on offer (yes you read that right ladies and gentlemen) and MC for the night was none other than Mike Garvey from the Rock Nights show.
If you ever wanted the opportunity to get up close and personal with one of your favourite kiwi bands, tonight’s venue was definitely the place to do it, the crowd gathering around the rather intimate stage to ensure the best possible view. First up on the bill is the four piece Baker’s Eddy. Originally hailing from Wellington the boys made the move to Melbourne four months ago, but are obviously happy to be back on home soil as they take the stage. Kicking off with ‘Big Man’ lead vocalist Ciarann Babbington let loose on vocals despite having a touch of the dreaded loogie. Unfortunately due to the rather cozy box style stage, the boys were unable to take flight in their usual style, the band well known for their on stage antics. Instead all energy was focused outward, a solid wave of it pouring forth and washing over the audience as they ripped through a set of solid rock tracks. With twins and a pair of childhood friends making up the group it is of no surprise that these guys are so damn cohesive. Songs such as ‘Loaded Gun’ and the very Nirvana-esque ‘Talkback Radio’ whipped the front rows into a frenzy, the crowd appreciating such an in your face act to start the night. A volunteer from the crowd was summoned (and willingingly supplied) to skull a beer on stage through a straw, everyone still cheering in support when said volunteer decided to chug it down the traditional way instead.
Next up on the bill are the fairly new but highly anticipated Dead Favours. Formed just last year the band features a bit of a who’s who of kiwi musicians with ex members of such bands as Bloodnut, Eqwanox and of course the ex Steriogram drummer Jared Wrennall on lead guitar and vocals. During their blistering opening tracks a rather overzealous fan decided to join them on stage for a bit of a mosh, which was great until he decided that he too could help play by smacking a symbol with his hand. He was luckily convinced to remove himself fairly quickly – Wrennall noting that it was entertaining … for about 30 seconds. Following their track ‘Protest’ an audience member called out for the band to play “louder and faster”, Wrennall repeating the request with a bit of a laugh before the band did exactly that, impressing all with their efforts.
Their music has a definite Queens of The Stone Age feel to it, with solid riffs and an impressive bass line delivered in absolute style by Ross Larson his long fingers moving up and down the neck of the bass with ease. “Alright, we are gonna bring the energy up now, we did a couple of slower ones, we all slow danced and that was nice” Wrennall joked with the crowd before diving into the punchy ‘Red Light’ and latest single ‘Dig’ his vocals tearing the roof off. Finishing on their brand new track ‘Heatstroke’ which had had its first live outing only last night; Dead Favours delivered the goods and will certainly be a band to watch closely moving forward.
Following a short break to allow the stage to be re-configured, fans began to grin excitedly as they watched Sam Holdom and Alex Ferrier (Texas and Elvis respectively) take the stage. If you have not seen Skinny Hobos live yet then make a mental note to yourself to rectify this immediately as these boys are of god damn international quality in every sense of the word. It is hard to believe that a duo can deliver such a full and rounded sound, yet with the clever use of looping and musicians who are highly crafted in their skill set, Skinny Hobos provide all that and more. More being some of the wittiest banter around, including a rather entertaining discussion as to why Holdom’s ear plug (that he has just accidently placed in his mouth) tastes like cinnamon.
Latest track ‘Suburban Living’ makes an early entrance in the set, the fans lapping it up. In celebration of the glory before him, one member of the front row loses his shirt in solidarity with Holdom who while perched behind his drum kit is already down to his trade mark dress pants and red tie, hairy chest on full display. Hobosexualness (if you have no idea what that means check out our latest interview with Texas himself) was oozing out of the pair tonight, the bluesy-rock styling’s of Ferrier’s playing a delight to behold. Ferrier is obviously a perfectionist, consistently changing guitars and twiddling with settings, but it pays off tenfold. A surprise cover of Steriograms ‘Walkie Talkie Man’ featuring Wrennall on drums saw Holdom take centre stage as he rapped the song with perfect precision, the entire venue bouncing along to the classic track. Finishing the night with their hits ‘Jokers and Fools’ and the ever popular ‘The Merchant of Tirau’; Skinny Hobos once again proved that they are here to stay.
Having released their debut album ‘The Truth and Other People’ just yesterday, Decades were chomping at the bit to deliver their set to their Auckland fans. Earlier this year the Christchurch based band opened for Aussie rocker Jimmy Barnes, impressing the sold out crowd with their outright professionalism. Thanks to catchy singles such as ‘I Was with Him’ and ‘Terrified’ the band have gained plenty of air play on both Hauraki and The Rock.
Lead vocalist Emma Cameron looks like the epitome of a true rock chick tonight; front and centre she grins at the front row before ripping into ‘Empty Words’. One thing is for certain, the girl can sing, Cameron’s vocals confident in their delivery. Making up the front line of the band are Liam Muir on guitar and Curtis Booth on bass, both musicians adding their own personal flair to the band. Once again the rather small stage means that the band is unable to really break out in a physical form.
Any good rock band needs a drummer who can tie everything together and Daniel Perry does this with ease, his performance an absolute pleasure to watch. Decades were first created in 2009 and since then have tucked a number of achievements under their belt including successfully crowd funding $10K for their EP ‘Music is Boring’ and being awarded a further $10K from Artistsignal.com. Through their endeavours they have developed a rather dedicated and staunch fan base, and it is easy to see why when songs such as ‘Get Me Home’ are just so good in a live setting. While the band refer to themselves as ‘Dark Pop’ there is definitely a rock vibe to their sound, which is perfectly demonstrated with their cover of ‘Celebrity Skin’ which prompts a rather raucous crowd sing along. Proving themselves worthy of this headline tour, Decades will be sure to be a hit with fans everywhere and with several more dates to go there is ample opportunity to get out there and see them live for yourself.
New Zealand music; alive and undeniably kicking.
Editors Note: The galleries below were shot during the first show of The All Our Truths Tour in Hamilton the night before. This was decided on due to the intimate nature of this Galatos show and the issues this may have brought up for our photographer in regards to many things including equipment safety, quality of images and impeding audience enjoyment.
Decades:
Skinny Hobos:
Dead Favours:
Bakers Eddy:
Were you there at Galatos for this brilliant kiwi rock showcase? Or have you seen any of the bands on the bill perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!