Me First & The Gimme Gimmes
15th October 2017
Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Kate Taylor. Photography by Matt Henry Mendonca.
Why aren’t there more super-groups these days, huh? Maybe it’s because it’s difficult to co-ordinate so many differing schedules…or egos? Perhaps in the currently dire geo-political state of the world, we’ve lost our sense of fun? Well it’s ok, don’t panic, that sense of fun has been found; it was waiting for us at Auckland’s The Powerstation on a Sunday night, delivered by Me First & The Gimme Gimmes.
Kicking off the evening, local Auckland dudes and bFm darlings, Nuggiez presented a short and sweet set showcasing their post punk urgency for the jovial crowd; joined by “Joe from Whammy” on vox as their usual dude jaunts around overseas. Bringing some Hot Water Music meets unpretentious, messy-but-in-a-good-way punk, the Nuggiez camaraderie onstage and their excitement to support Me First, was clearly evident. As Joe whipped around the stage, a blur of skin, black clothes and shaggy hair; the Nuggiez dipped into their catalogue to bring us a salty-sweet set of their favourites with track Sadbois going right off. Then just like that, they were gone, leaving us in our recovered Fat Wreck Chord t-shirts and faded trucker caps, to await the Me First party.
Arriving to stage in their trademark matching lounge attire, this incarnation of Me First & the Gimme Gimmes featured the beloved Joey “Jerry” (more about that later…) Cape from Lagwagon et al; also from Lagwagon, skinsman Mr. Dave Raun, the magnificently dazed but lovely Jay Bentley of Bad Religion fame, a personal favourite of mine – Lindsay ‘The Doctor’ McDougall from Aussie punk legends Frenzal Rhomb and of course our wondrous frontman Spike Slawson from The Swingin’ Utters and Uke-Hunt. Where was Fat Mike? “He wanted me to tell you he’s truly sorry he couldn’t be here tonight…” said Spike “…he’s back home swimming in a bathtub full of your money!” Launching into their set list of punk re-worked guilty pleasures; Spike moves like a saucy, silk clad t-rex, some sort of pseudo Josh Homme making ear-love to the crowd and caressing his sparkly gold tasselled mic as he saunters around stage berating Joey Cape (with love of course…) as he encourages the crowd to chant “Jerry, Jerry” at Cape, anytime he tries to address them.
The marvellousness of Me First is that through their personas and album covers; they have us all convinced that they’re just a bunch of good-time shitbag musicians, hamming it up in lieu of actual musical talent. Nothing could be further from the truth as Spike and co. expertly cobble together iconic riffs from punk favourites with the chintzy show-tunes, country ballads or pop cuts that we know and love to create this explosion of happy all over our faces. Each with a mic in front of their lips, between songs: Cape, Slawson, Bentley and McDougall trade banter and keep up the façade of their age preventing them from really rocking out; a façade that’s betrayed by their ebullient energy, sweaty shirt-backs and grinning faces. Seemingly the entirety of the packed-out Powerstation throws their heads back together to bellow out the words along with Spike to Me First faves like Straight Up, Jolene, Country Roads, Rocket Man and more; delightfully prefacing each new song in the set with “this is a cover…” in a joke that frankly, like the band members themselves, never gets old.
Spike’s a bit of a demon on the ol’ Uke too, opening the encore with his sweet rendition of All My Lovin’. By the time Me First were fittingly closing out the evening with killer track End of the Road; the crowd was sweaty and grinning too. Throwing patterned bowling shirts or flags on-stage to be signed by Cape, as Bentley toddled around casting picks into the sea of faces, as McDougall hopped offstage to embrace and take pics with the ecstatic front row. With Cape saying “this is the last night of the tour and it’s by far my favourite show we’ve done…if this is a Sunday night, what the hell is a Saturday like?!” Farewell you merry musical pranksters, we hope you’re fibbing about retirement and that we get to see you again real soon.
Me First & The Gimme Gimmes:
Nuggiez:
Were you there at the Powerstation for this punkrock cover act extravaganza? Or have you seen Me First & The Gimme Gimmes perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
- Summertime
- Sloop John B
- Leaving On A Jet Plane
- Danny’s Song
- Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard
- Straight Up
- Jolene
- Isn’t She Lovely
- Science Fiction Double Feature
- Ghost Riders In The Sky
- Crazy 4U
- I Believe I Can Fly
- Take Me Home Country Roads
- Mandy
- Who Put The Bomp
- Over The Rainbow
- Rocket Man
- Different Drum
- All My Lovin’ [encore]
- I Will Survive [encore]
- Sweet Caroline [encore]
- End Of The Road [encore]
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