I Am Giant
9th March 2017
Kings Arms Tavern, Auckland, New Zealand
Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Rachel Van Luyt.
I Am Giant are releasing a new single so with the help of a few friends, they are celebrating in style at The Kings Arms tonight.
First up are Armed in Advance. The three piece band is based in Auckland and was created in 2013. They recently released their full length album ‘Change/Evolve’ and have supported many a New Zealand heavyweight and even picked up a support slot with Drowning Pool last year. Lead vocalist JP Carroll has a hell of a set of lungs on him, and proved tonight that he can howl with the best of them. He has good stage presence as the front man of the band, and while it is typical for a 3-piece to set up in a triangular pattern on stage – it would be cool to see JP take more of a centre based position and really own it. Hugh Hokopaura on bass has the stance down pat and revels in making those strings hum; as well as this he provides great backing vocals on the songs that required them. Of course the backbone of any band – Ryan Thomas on drums (he seemed to have his own personal cheering squad in the audience tonight) was all arms and legs; it was like watching a well-oiled machine, and it was damn impressive. Halfway through their set, the boys did a nice cover of Deftones ‘Change’. While not quite capturing that raw passion and sense of wanting of the original, it was still enjoyable to hear and with a bit of tweaking could be a killer edition to their regular set lists.
The crowd was slowly starting to build in size when second act of the night Silence The City took to the stage. Another Auckland based band, Silence The City already have a few notches on their belt with several singles being picked up by The Rock. They also secured NZOnAir funding for a music video and they have supported both Blacklistt and Devilskin on tour. As soon as they begin to play you are immediately hit with the sheer intensity of their sound, the pounding bass lines deliciously surging through your chest. Lead vocalist Justin Pitt immediately gets points for coming out in a Sea Shepard shirt. He takes the mic in hand and with one foot on the speaker he launches into the vocals for their first track ‘We are the Voice’ – his vocals instantly making you stand and pay attention. Sam French on bass, cuts an imposing sight and Chris Starkey on guitar, while more reserved in presence lets his fingers do the talking, working the frets in an expert level fashion. Again this is another band with a strong drummer – Adam Davey driving the skins like an unstoppable animal. “Let’s get this party started!” Pitt screams into the microphone as they launch into ‘Go it Alone’ again the rhythm of the song hammering through. These guys come across like old pros on stage. They fit together well and fill the space around them with their persona – their newer songs not just showing off their skills but giving us the heads up that they are here to stay. After thanking I Am Giant for the opportunity – Silence the City launch into a few of their older songs, “our finer songs” Justin quips with a grin; their fan base certainly happy with the inclusion and raising their voices in appreciation. They finish on ‘Closer,’ a nice little number with a strong drum line and catchy chorus. It was noted that this band never took their foot off the pedal – not even once! Energy levels were kept high throughout the set and man, did it pay off!
Headline act of the night I Am Giant are basically a household name. Formed in London in 2008 by ‘a couple of kiwis’ the band had soon recruited an English singer by the name Ed Martin. Of course it’s the drummer of the band who is the huge draw card. Shelton Woolright was the well-known drummer from the very popular band Blindspott, who up until recently were the only New Zealand rock band to have both their debut and follow-up albums enter the rock charts at No. 1. Paul Matthews on bass used to play in popular bands Tadpole and Stylus. Not only that he also has credits for being a producer/engineer and along with Woolright they co-produced Six60’s double platinum single ‘Rise Up 2.0’. Recently the band went through a major change when Ed Martin left the in 2014. Following a short stint with Ryan Redman on vocals the band has now stepped forward with Aja Timu in the role. Aja Timu is not new to the band having played lead guitar with them in previous years.
By this time the Kings Arms is pretty well packed. There are quite a few I Am Giant Army t-shirt wearing fans in the crowd, many of whom are already lined up against the front. Bathed in complete blackness the stage awaits the arrival of the band; a backing track of Clannad’s ‘Robin’ overlaid with spoken word signals their arrival, an interesting introduction to say the least. The lights went up and the machine that is Woolright unleashed like a wound up spring; the band launching into first track of the night ‘Russian Doll’. Tonight the band is playing as a four piece, giving them a more multi-layered live sound. Timu with a shock of bright red hair against the long sleeved black shirt along with his general stature makes for a formidable sight. He immediately throws himself into the song, pacing around like a caged tiger in a circular pattern. Matthews shows us how it is done on the bass, thrumming out the lines with power and class. By the second song he has a grin on his face as the stance becomes more wide legged and the muscle runs through. Timu certainly can sing, his howls sending shivers down your spine. Many of I Am Giants older tracks have a required higher vocal range especially in the choruses, however throughout the night Timu handles these well.
But it is during the fourth track, the powerful ‘Let it Go’ that really sees Timu come into his own as he plays lead guitar. There is a significant change in him, like a light bursting forth. His vocals too seem to have more clout, as if with the guitar he is now the complete unit. While introducing their new single ‘Dead Flower’ Timu mentions that the album will be out around the middle of the year. He also states “hopefully I’m still the singer of the band”, a rather odd comment to make and one that many of the audience members tonight hope is a in house joke as Timu has definitely impressed and is obviously giving it his all. Dead Flower is a solid track – and has the guts behind it to make it a hit single in the charts. With excellent harmonizing of vocals, the track comes across fantastically live especially with that extra layer of guitar. The crowd is picking up on the vibe of the song, and obviously likes what they hear.
We are heading towards the end of the set and the audience is fully invested, with tracks ‘Living Crash’ and one of their most popular older songs ‘City Limits’ (which the band closed the set out with) prompting a huge sing along. I Am Giant left the stage to huge applause and calls for an encore which they gladly obliged. Finishing the night on ‘Purple Heart’. How fantastic to witness such a great night of kiwi music in such an iconic (and sadly soon to be gone) venue!
Were you there at Kings Arms to witness this good old fashioned Kiwi hard rock show? Or have you seen I Am Giant live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Armed in Advance Setlist:
- Shallow
- Stay
- Light’
- Shadow Puppets
- Change [Deftones cover]
- Hope from the Hopeless
- Same Old Story
- Banquet
Silence The City Setlist:
- We are the Voice
- Go it Alone
- Ctl Alt Delete
- Machines
- Identity
- Ruins
- Brave
- Closer
I Am Giant Setlist:
- Russian Doll
- Razor Wire
- Neon Sunrise
- Let It Go
- Playing with Fire
- Dead Flower
- Living The Crash
- Death of You
- City Limits
- Transmission
- Purple Heart
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