Dimmer & Straitjacket Fits, Auckland NZ, 2018

Dimmer & Straitjacket Fits

8th December 2018
Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Doug Peters.

Two bands. One musical genius. A slice of New Zealand music history.

Inside the Powerstation there was a palpable sense of excitement, memories of past performances moving through the air on the back of friendly banter between strangers. Only shows such as these creating such a sense of fellowship. As the minutes ticked by, the room began to hum, the arrival of Dimmer like a bolt of electricity through the crowd as arms were thrown upwards and feet stamped.

At the helm Shayne Carter the aforementioned musical genius, dressed simply in a blue button shirt and black dress pants; surrounding him, three key players; James Duncan on guitar, Vaughan Williams on bass and of course Gary Sullivan on drums. ‘Degrees of Existence’ filled the room, heads nodding, many more singing along. A slight pause as instruments were adjusted and the oh-so-very-cool tones of ‘I Believe You Are A Star’ took over, strutting through the crowd and whispering in their ears. Carter’s distinctive voice flowed through the microphone, it travelled down wires and through the speakers, it’s effect on his fans like an intoxicating vapour. Despite his comment about the disconcerting feeling of having people stare, fans continued to do so. It’s hard not to when a man can pull such music from the guitar within his hands.

Sure, everybody loves a well-structured song, clever lyricism hard to ignore. But instrumental tracks such as ‘Wrong Bus’ (written as Carter quickly explains about the joy of seeing your bus arrive, and then the disappointment of realising it is the wrong number and is not yours after all) is where the sorcery begins. Feet tightly together, Carter begins to rock back and forth, his lips pursed; it’s an iconic pose, one his fans know well, one that means you don’t want to miss a second of what is coming next. Beside him Williams is hunched over his bass, his legs at sharp angles, the bass yielding to his touch. Duncan moves in small circles his fingers deftly shifting along the steel wires of his guitar; at the back Sullivan, headphones firmly in place is the gatekeeper to the rhythm, his eyes often watching Carter like a hawk. The elements build, the anticipation of leaving that horrid cold bus stop, those steps towards the edge of the road, raising the hand. Then comes the realisation, the disappointment, closely followed by frustration and harboured ill feeling as you half-shuffle back and begrudgingly take your seat. All this communicated in one song, each player’s part carefully woven in and yet discernible from the next. Brilliance.

Each track saw the set build upon itself, ‘What’s a Few Tears to the Ocean?’ folding into ‘Drop You Off’ before ‘Drift’ swayed it’s hips for all to see. Carter making comical remarks about playing one more before disappearing backstage to make friends with those Straitjacket Fits guys. Finishing on the delectably slow-building ‘Seed’, Carter and cast bid their farewells, the audience left briefly to digest.

Straitjacket Fits fans have always been loyal, the demise of the band in 1994 mourned by many; but tonight, they were here in celebration, a shift in the atmosphere bringing about a sense of caution thrown to the wind as age would prove to be no barrier to maniacal dance moves and bellowed lyrics.

Once again Carter returned to the stage, the Straitjacket Fits set seeing the talents of John Collie behind the kit with Mark Petersen (a familiar and beloved face to music lovers and musicians alike) on guitar; Williams once again returning to bass before being swapped out by James Duncan midway through. What followed is something that would not soon be forgotten by anyone in attendance; the Dimmer set it seems a warm-up for Carter as he stood before the microphone with a fire burning in the back of his eyes. ‘Train’, ‘Grate’ ‘Headwind’ tore through the room, the audience giving themselves over and over again to the ‘Dunedin sound’ that mashed together raucous guitars, catchy hook lines and unforgettable vocals – Petersen impressively holding his own with his harmonies and wonderfully long held notes.

Big hitters such as ‘She Speeds’ and ‘Done’ stole the fans hearts, the sultry dark undertones of ‘If I Were You’ then locking them away in a box and swallowing the key with a crooked smile… By the time it came to ‘Dialing A Prayer’ and ‘Cast Stone’, Carter was completely immersed within the music itself; stepping out to the edge of the stage he would brandish his guitar for all to see before stalking over to the amp and then back to the mic. It was as if watching a man in a battle to the death with his life-long brother in arms, neither one willing to submit. ‘Life in one Chord’ brought it all home, it washed over the audience in unrelenting waves; eyes closed, heads tilted back, the masses embraced it in all its glory.

And yes, even bands such as this cannot escape the encore game; the audiences demands met by a hybrid of both bands, Duncan joining Petersen and Carter on guitars, while Sullivan once again took over from Collie on drums; Williams continuing to hold down his status of deity of the bass on the right of stage. ‘Crystalator’ (started and then restarted by Carter, the timing not quite right for his liking) an instrumental track by Dimmer tore through the building, the distinctive siren style wah-wah of Carter’s guitar driving the fans wild. Drawing it out, until not a single person inside the venue could remain still it was brought to a head, Williams going full rock star as he mashed his bass against the monitor before letting it drop straight over the edge and into the pit below.

In a word – transcendence.

Were you there at the Powerstation for this beautiful Kiwi indie rock gig? Or have you seen Dimmer or the Straightjacket Fits perform live somewhere else? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Straitjacket Fits Setlist:

1. Train
2. Grate
3. Headwind
4. She Speeds
5. A.P.S
6. Burn It Up
7. Done
8. Missing Presumed Drowned
9. If I Were You
10. Bad Note For A Heart
11. Dialing For A Prayer
12. Cast Stone
13. Life In One Chord
14. Crystalator [Dimmer/Straitjacket Fits][encore]

Dimmer Setlist:

1. Degrees of Existence
2. I Believe You Are A Star
3. Scrapbook
4. Dawn’s Coming In
5. Wrong Bus
6. What’s A Few Tears To The Ocean?
7. Drop You Off
8. Drift
9. Seed

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