Finn Andrews
29th November 2020
St Andrew’s Hall, Hastings, New Zealand.
Review by Rob Harbers, photography by Olivia Robertson.
After much rescheduling (damn Covid!), Veils lead singer Finn Andrews finally made it to the stage of the appropriately-named St Andrew’s Hall in Hastings, on this, the final night of his current tour presenting tunes old and new, strictly solo.
Local legend Stretch, with accomplice Paula in tow, opened the evening with a short set, the tunes displaying subtle evolution from the last time I saw them played just a few short weeks ago in his Arts Festival performance. “Lonely Star”, in particular stood out in an impassioned rendition, showing even greater depth than I’ve previously heard in it.
Finn then took to the stage, with an appreciation of, and meditation on the spirit of those who are attending concerts and supporting local artists through these difficult times (“getting pissed as philanthropy”), before launching into opening song “Time”. A new song written during lockdown, listing many of the qualities – both positive and negative, of temporal measurement with a recurrent piano motif reminiscent of Nick Cave at his most melodic.
“Spirit in the Flame” was introduced as being inspired by the words of a storyteller with whom Finn was familiar in his younger years. “Birds” perhaps arose from a more paranoid wellspring, reflecting a level of mistrust of avian beings, while still liking them in totality!
“Hollywood Forever” juxtaposed a beautiful piano arrangement against potentially morbid lyrics, expressing the desirability of one’s final resting place being the cemetery of that name (after a long and happy life, it must be stated!). This led in to another new song, to be recorded in sessions commencing next week, titled “No Limit of Stars”, promising a worthy addition to the canon of his recorded works.
“One Piece at A Time”, inspired by the concept of agnostic church services, introduced an almost Gospel feeling in to proceedings, somewhat ironic given the subject matter. “Axolotl”, the tale of an accidental amphibian was potentially something of a risky choice given that Finn once broke a wrist while playing this song – hardly surprising given the fervour with which the keyboard is assaulted as the Cave-ish elements get turned up to 11. Giving all for the art!
Although other new songs were played, none was as fresh as the two day old “Rings of Saturn”, a meditation on concepts of imagination vs reality against a backdrop of star-gazing. Heady stuff, preceding “One By The Venom”, a list song introduced as having over fifty verses, either realised or potential, only a few of which we were treated to tonight while being given a teaser for the day on which the song is played to that extent. Maybe on the next visit? Although it will require the right frame of mind being a listing of many ways to die – not everyone’s first choice of uplifting ditties!
This brought the main set to an all-too-quick conclusion, but after a very brief call for an encore (cut short by an enthusiastic bounding back on to the stage – Finn describing himself as an easily-suggestible encore-giver) “Not Yet” preceded a cover of Tim Buckley’s “Song To The Siren”. An unwitting closing of the loop back to the support act, given that Stretch also performed this as an encore number in his Arts Festival show. No I’m not going to judge who did it better – both took on the same great song and imbued it with their own character.
And then it was over, as the audience filed out of Finn Andrew’s Hall, into a cool evening breeze warmed by a beautiful and passionate set of songs played by one of New Zealand’s most under-rated musicians (in his own country, at least). Return gigs have been promised – keep an eye out and catch one if you can!
Were you there at St Andrew’s Hall for this beautiful solo gig? Or have you seen Finn Andrews perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
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