Baroness, Auckland NZ, 2016

Baroness

5th December 2016
Kings Arms Tavern, Auckland, New Zealand

Review by Kate Taylor. Photography by Doug Peters.

The Kings Arms for one night only was a time-space portal, where mystical audio-waves transported us through the continuum on a quaver, coming to rest on a lush bed of groove. Maybe it was because the venue billowed with the scent of Otto’s jacket or more likely it was the absolutely awe-inspiring presence of Baroness, all the way from Savannah, Georgia that was the reason behind this flight of fancy. Thus on this balmy early summer eve in Auckland, there was no mucking around with getting an enjoyable evening underway.

It’s always a pleasure discovering a new local act at a gig in support of an international; and this was definitely the vibe for BARRACKS as they performed, having the crowd interested and interactive. You couldn’t get more kiwi than these top blokes from Roto’s in the Bay of Plenty that sound agreeably like Comeback Kid; early Alexisonfire, Thursday or Thrice. Well-polished and practised, this little brethren were also very good-humoured, having the Kings Arms’ collected chuckling away at their top shelf, between-song dry wit banter which included; shout out’s to the dude at the mixing desk (“that delay, that’s all him that’s not me”), insights into the song writing process (“we like to finish our songs real quick so it’s a surprise, like rah!”) and inter-band struggles (“no, you can’t have a drink of my water. You should have thought about that at the supermarket.”). Such a good set. 10/10, would watch again.

As the brief wait for the main event to take stage wound out, it was recognised to me that only tall people like Baroness, as even for a Monday evening there was a good representation of punters present. Then humbly John, Peter, Nick and Sebastian took the stage launching into Kerosene with such accuracy it was an awakening. John’s pitch perfect ‘just like the album’ vocals were accompanied by him exuding this warm, happy and unpretentious presence. Shock Me from 2015’s album Purple was the incendiary moment when audience and band had become acclimatised to each other, making way for highlights from 2012’s Yellow and Green album like Green Theme or Little Things, as Baroness unfolded into their first ever and long awaited New Zealand show.

Not overly chatty to begin with, it was after a short time that frontman, artist, guitarist and phenom John thanked us “for singing along, it really means a lot to us to know you’re right there sharing it with us. Thank you for coming out tonight, I know it’s not always easy getting out and also thank you to some of our friends from the States that live here now and have supported us a long time that could be with us tonight, it means a lot to us.” Awwww, John! Everything they gave to the crowd was from the heart and boy could you feel it. With all that was given in their energy for the night, this performance felt like a meditation with a breathe for pause between songs, as they all adjusted their tuning to make sure they’d be perfection for their audience, they cared that much. Showing interest in each other’s solo’s, directing the audience’s attention away from their selves and onto one of their fellow band mates, to say that Baroness’s camaraderie is strong is an understatement.

Darting offstage for a quick gasp of air that John mentioned was “20 degrees cooler in that little room there”, it was with ire and conviction that they delivered a rousing encore of Take My Bones Away and a promise that although they hadn’t even finished playing yet, they couldn’t wait to be back for their next visit as Peter offered; “this had been a long time coming” and that together they were “just some motherfucking thankful people.” A sentiment most definitely shared by the collected Auckland fans that night too.