Descendents, Auckland NZ, 2023

Descendents

11th October 2023
Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Doug Peters.

There is something quite wholesome about generational shows, the gathering of family members, or even just the melding of fans who have been following a band since day one with those who have just become enlightened on said acts fare.

Last night at one of Tāmaki Makaurau’s best music venues in town, the Powerstation, Californian punk band Descendents brought together a fantastic crowd under the welcoming umbrella of good vibes and inextinguishable energy.

Formed in 1977, drummer Bill Stevenson is the only constant member of Descendents since their inception. He also just happens to be their main songwriter; but combine him with long standing members Milo Aukerman, Karl Alvaraz on bass and Stephen Egerton and you have a line-up that is guaranteed to leave both your spirit and your heart rate elevated!

Two support bands on a school night might seem a little on the nose, but what is the point of life if not for living!? And after all, it was a punk band line-up!

Wellington band The Flash Harrys were first up on the bill, kicking the night off with a nice little set of self-proclaimed ‘spunk rock’. Having supported such legends as Cockney Rejects and The Exploited, the lads from the other end of the North Island certainly know their way around a stage and delivered a fast and furious set that began with ‘Waste Me’ from Post Jam Burgers. With members that go under stupendously in your face names such as Ricky Roctapussy and Cyclone Gotlieb, it is hard not to instantly like these guys if you are not already a fan.

‘Stockade Crew’ from their 2021 release of the same name, had to be a favourite of the solid set, although the Black Flag cover of ‘No Values’ was pretty tasty too. Hopefully it won’t be too long before we see the boys visit again.

Having just supported another Californian punk band Strung Out last Friday at the mighty Neck of the Woods (another fabulous local music venue located on the infamous – for all the good reasons – K’rd) second support of the night was certainly riding a high.

Comprised of former members of The Rabble, False Start and Chazz Valentine, Flirting With Disaster are a pop punk band who instinctively know how to turn it on for an audience, something which is always welcomed by any true music fan.

With a couple of albums under their name now (Live It Up and 2019’s Redundant) Flirting With Disaster laid down a set that had all the elements of punk, rock and a good dose of melodic groove, opening tracks ‘Take you Higher’ and ‘Anything but Sane’ from their debut getting the crowd down front bopping to the fast-paced beat, fans definitely making themselves known as they sang along.

Catchy choruses, vivacity that knew no boundaries and tight knit playing saw Flirting With Disaster leave the room on a high, which is exactly what any good support band should be doing.

By the time Descendents arrived at around ten thirty, Powerstation was brimming, and everybody was ready to let loose to the main act.

And what a show!

There were no fancy antics, or costumes. Hell, the stage lighting basically consisted of plain white for the entirety of the set! But it mattered none, because the Descendents gifted Auckland an evening that would not soon be forgotten.

Sporting a North American Waste t-shirt (which was the name of the touring project formed by Dez Cadena and Ron Reyes of Flag and Black Flag respectively) and jean shorts, Milo Aukerman was the epitome of relaxed style, his wickedly cool black leather studded water bottle bag slung over his left shoulder.

In fact, the whole band oozed that casual Californian air about them, as they sauntered out and thanked the support bands before having a brief comical deliberation on where they were (conclusion: Auckland) and how nice Devonport was. However, once all band members were in place, it was foot straight down on the accelerator and that is where it stayed for the next seventy-five minutes.

‘Everything Sux’ from the 1996 album of the same name (but slightly different spelling) exploded and saw the mosh pit crash together in joyous abandonment, the infectious chorus being shouted out by many of the audience members, perfectly made it would seem for a mid-week show. Diving back into their 1982 debut Milo Goes to College, ‘Hope’ proceeded a fan favourite from 1985’s I Don’t Want to Grow Up by the name of ‘Silly Girl’.

Descendents have no time for chit chat, instead they are intent on a set that barely leaves anyone room to catch their breath, which is just how the kiwis liked it. They also liked to keep everyone guessing with a set list that criss-crossed over their impressive discography and even threw in a few tracks that one may not have been expecting such as ‘I Like Food’ from their 1981 Fat EP.

While Auckerman and his animated performance were certainly the centre of attention, flanking him, Egerton on guitar and backing vocals was giving it his all, while Alvarez on bass was giving bass lines so thick and juicy that you could have thrown it down on the BBQ and fed a family of four.

The glorious ‘I’m Not a Punk’ coming in at just a touch over a minute long saw the mosh pit transform into a flailing pit of hair arms and legs; however, it was superseded in sheer ferocity by ‘Coffee Mug’ which if you blink you will miss it, which let’s face it are some of the best punk songs ever.

Slowing things down a little towards the end of the set, ‘I’m the One’ saw everyone join together in song, one arm raised in the air as they shouted the title of the song, ‘Bikeage’ and the glorious ‘Suburban Home’ with the hilarious spoken intro of “I want to be stereotyped, I want to be classified’ provided live by Stephen Egerton leading into the closing track ‘Smile’ from 2016’s Hypercaffium Spazzinate.

Descendents had barely left the stage before the chant of ‘one more song’ filled the room, punk bands not always known for delivering encores. However, Descendents were obviously keen on keeping the party going, and so they granted the crowds wishes with an encore that included ‘Good Good Things’ and ‘Grudge’ before closing the night out on ‘Get the Time’.

Punk done right.

Descendents:

Flirting With Disaster:

The Flash Harrys

Were you there at the Powerstation for this high energy punk rock show? Or have you seen Descendents perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Setlist:

1. Everything Sux
2. Hope
3. Silly Girl
4. I Like Food
5. On Paper
6. I Wanna Be a Bear
7. Clean Sheets
8. Nightage
9. Victim of Me
10. Nothing With You
11. I’m Not a Punk
12. Rotting Out
13. My Dad Sucks
14. Van
15. ‘Merican
16. Weinerschnitzel
17. Without Love
18. Coffee Mug
19. Myage
20. When I Get Old
21. Coolidge
22. I Don’t Want to Grow Up
23. I’m the One
24. Bikeage
25. Thank You
26. Suburban Home
27. Smile
28. Good Good Things [encore]
29. Grudge [encore]
30. Get the Time [encore]

_{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. This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase a product using an affiliate link, Ambient Light will automatically receive a small commission at no cost to you.}

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