Concert Review - Andy Grammer, Auckland New Zealand, 2017

Andy Grammer

18th October 2017
Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Leah Victoria.

Andy Grammer has certainly come a long way from his days of street busking on an LA promenade; but one thing is for sure, those three odd years he spent doing it have certainly allowed him to hone his craft. Coming off the back of his latest single ‘Give Love’ and with the promise of a new album out very soon (his last album Magazines or Novels came out three years ago) it is a smallish but appreciative crowd that have shown up at the Powerstation tonight to check Grammer out in person.

Instrumentally welcomed to the stage by his outstanding and considerably polished band, Grammer arrives in a simple red and black checkered shirt and black jeans, the epitome of casual chic; waves of adoring screams wash down from the upper levels, many of the young female fans upstairs not old enough to be in the R18 section but determined to let themselves be heard nonetheless. Seating himself at a keyboard on the edge of the stage, Grammer comes out swinging with one of his more popular hits, the feel good and rather uplifting ‘Keep Your Head Up’, the fans recognizing it immediately and joining in.

Arriving on the scene just over six years ago and with two albums under his hat, Andy Grammer is one of those artists who is very ‘listenable’. His songs are nice, they have fairly standard composition and they work well on generic radio stations. Do they blow you out of the water? Well no, not quite. However, it is the combination of both his personality and live performances (when accompanied by his band) that elevate Grammars’ profile above the normal run of the mill pop act.

From the moment they stepped out, Grammers’ four piece band had the crowd wrapped around their little finger. This was mostly thanks to guitarist Greg Karas and bassist Zach Rudulph who honestly stole the show; not only were they formidable musicians but their showmanship (Karas at one point doing the splits while jamming out a solo, while Rudulph interchanged between bass guitar and a keyboard with ease) and crowd engagement were second to none. Not to be outdone the newest member of the band, Doug Wayne, provided synth and keyboards from further back on the stage, often coming out from behind his set up to rock out with the crowd on an actual keytar; tying them all together, drummer Emmanuel Cervantes who provided wonderfully strong and confident playing as well as a brilliant smile throughout.

A few songs in and Grammer is beaming from ear to ear, he genuinely appears to be enjoying himself and again this goes a long way in regards to the overall feel of the evening. Andy Grammer likes to tell stories, and he is rather good at doing so; regaling the audience with how he ended up on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ and encouraging them all to join him in a simple “one, two step” – Wayne, Karas and Rudulph gathering together in the centre to rock out some cutesy choreographed routine that had the fans baying for more. Grammer seamlessly slotting in a partial cover of Drakes’ ‘One Dance’ further working the crowd up into a fervour. Grammer cleverly breaks up his seat throughout the night with samples and covers, his version of Jon Bellions’ ‘All Time Low’ upbeat even if it was auto tuned to within an inch of its life.

As Grammer himself stated, vulnerability in his eyes is one of the best ways to communicate and form bonds with people, and this is where Grammer again excels. He is open and genuinely honest; he speaks of his love for his wife and his new born daughter and how much he misses his mum who only just recently passed away. But this show isn’t just all about Andy Grammer, it’s about the fans too; a point that Grammer brings home when he invites Ron – a fan in the front row – up on stage to sing his latest single ‘Give Love’ with him. And not just the chorus bits either; Grammer handing the young fan a mic of his own and telling him to ‘take it away’. Hopefully there were some talent scouts in the crowd tonight as Ron didn’t only take it away, he took it all the way home; his phenomenal singing voice making more than one audience member stand with their mouth agape. He even busted out a few dance moves with Karas and Rudulph before being bear hugged and lifted off his feet by a jubilant Grammer upon the conclusion of the song.

New material played, Grammer moved into some of his more well-known hits, ‘Fresh Eyes’ not only wildly popular with the predominantly female audience but with some of the parents hanging down the back of the venue; once again Grammer gave the song a little twist by working in ‘Don’t Let Me Down’ by The Chainsmokers (who coincidentally will be here in Auckland just next week) and an absolutely foot stomping reggae beat. ‘Honey, I’m Good’ was another crowd favourite despite the ‘Cotton Eye Joe’ sounding chorus and slightly skeezy lyrics.
It was at this point that Karas decided to well and truly steal the hearts of the first few rows as he placed one foot on the barrier and rocked out the riff to ‘Are You Gonna Go My Way’ by Lenny Kravitz, before swapping out his guitar for a banjo for the final song of the night ‘Back Home’.

It came as no surprise to anyone that an encore would follow, Grammer praising the audience and telling them that they have “made it all worth it tonight” before rocking out ‘Good To Be Alive (Hallelujah)’, slapping a few outstretched hands in the front row and having the band play him out. The house music comes on and the band remains on stage, handing out pics and drum sticks they look in no hurry to leave. Grammer surprising everybody by suddenly appearing back on stage again armed with an acoustic guitar and asking – seen it was a 14hr flight back home – if it would be alright to play one more. His version of Snow Patrols’ ‘Chasing Cars’ complete with intriguing beat boxing a nice little end to the evening.

Very well played Mr Grammer, very well played indeed.

Andy Grammer performs live in Auckland, New Zealand, 2017. Image by LeVic Visual.

Were you there at the Powerstation for this fun pop show? Or have you seen Andy Grammer perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!