Concert Review - Hawthorne Heights, Auckland New Zealand, 2017

Hawthorne Heights

5th September 2017
The Kings Arms, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Matt Henry Mendonca.

It’s taken them over fourteen years to get to New Zealand, but Hawthorne Heights are finally here. And for many in the audience tonight, it’s a chance to relive those late night, heavy eyeliner, karaoke in the bedroom sessions. Performing two of their most popular albums in full, the evening promises to be one of – to generalize – emo bliss for many of the fans.

But before that particular journey through time can begin, local support act Fire for Glory take the stage to a small but enthusiastic audience. Formed in 2011 the five piece band feature some of the most innovative and fascinating haircuts to have graced the iconic venue in quite a while. Segregated to the front section of the stage (due to Hawthorne Heights kit already being set up), lead singer Josh Pinho acknowledges the fact that there isn’t much of a crowd yet but for everyone to “grab a beer and pretend we are awesome anyways”.

Full steam ahead into their first track of the evening ‘The Place You Were’ and immediately their brand of energetic pop-punk captures your attention and has you nodding your head along to the beat; featuring a nice touch of unclean vocals and a solid breakdown the band certainly began their set in style. Pinho is quite the self-deprecating front man, often making jokes throughout the set of how no one wants to see the support act etc. however he makes a valid point when looking around the room and noticing the large spaces, a sadly all too common sight at many gigs. It might pay concert goers to remember that if the support act is good enough for the headliner then they are good enough for the punters to show some support of too. Despite this the band performs as if in front of a stadium audience, their cover of ‘Grand Theft Autumn’ by Fall Out Boy whipping the small crowd up and getting everyone singing along. A solid performance and well worthy of an international support slot – check out Fire for Glory’s latest LP entitled ‘Shipwreck’.

Taking to the rather sparsely set out stage, JT Woodruff in simple tshirt and jeans with thick black rimmed glasses greets the audience with a tired but genuine smile. “We are a long way from home, and sorry it’s taken us so long to get down here. We haven’t slept in 30hrs but we don’t give a fuck”. The crowd cheers, a collective sound of both appreciation and encouragement for the four piece all the way from Dayton, Ohio. Hawthorne Heights originally formed in 2001 and struck commercial success with their first two albums The Silence in Black and White (2004) and If Only You Were Lonely (2006), both of which they have promised to play in full for their New Zealand fans tonight. Formally a five piece, the band suffered a tragic loss in 2007 when rhythm guitarist Casey Calvert passed away. Fast forward another seven years and the departure of two core members and Hawthorne Heights are now a four piece featuring just two of the original members (Woodruff and bassist Matt Ridenour).

Sometimes the beauty in performing an entire album in full is the fact that the fans know exactly what they are going to get, and tonight’s fans are definitely ready; the hardcore and devoted lining the edge of the stage, eyes turned upwards and fixing themselves to Woodruff as they faithfully sing the words to each and every song as it is played in order. The band is quite obviously tired, but they play with gusto none the less; Woodruff’s vocals on point as they track through the first album of the night The Silence in Black and White, ‘Niki FM’ an early standout and a personal favourite of Woodruffs to play live. There is no pomp and ceremony here, just good solid playing and while the audience tonight is not the biggest that the King’s Arms has seen it is certainly massively appreciative of witnessing their High School hero’s in the flesh.

Throughout the set Woodruff pauses to thank the fans for coming out to see them or to lament the fact that they have not yet experienced “the kiwi bird”, pointing out that the band have however experienced the kiwi fruit, although they were perplexed by the fact that the flesh inside was yellow instead of the typical green that they are used to. Following a particular rousing version of ‘Screenwriting an Apology’ fans were amped for the hit single that follows, however the band moved straight into ‘Wake up Call’ instead; the crowd quickly deducing that the biggest singles of each of the albums would probably feature as an encore. Upon the conclusion of the run through of the first album, Hawthorne Heights finished with a newer track entitled ‘Beneath the Silver Strand’ off their EP Hurt released back in 2015 and an invite to come out to the merch stand and suggest some fun places for the band to visit during their short two days in NZ.

In a touch of scheduling genius, the second support act appeared between the two Hawthorne Heights full album sets. For fans of the now defunct Spitalfield (named after a section of London’s East End where it is said Jack the Ripper resided) the appearance of former lead vocalist Mark Rose is a real treat. Performing a solo set armed with nothing more than an electric guitar and his voice, Rose began his set with hands down one of the most original and somewhat disturbing covers of Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman’ that has ever been played to date; taking the normally balls out rock track and turning it into more of an emo love song; Rose explaining it was this song that inspired him to first pick up a guitar.

The Chicago, Illinois band Spitalfield enjoyed a fairly successful career from 98 through to their disbandment in 2007, with Rose continuing on to pursue a solo career while periodically performing a few reunion shows with the rest of the former members. Rose’s set is a nice interlude featuring a mix of covers (including a brilliant version of ‘Somebody Else’ by the 1975 and a very different version of Danzig’s ‘Mother’) solo work and Spitalfield songs, ending his set with ‘I Loved the way she said LA’ from the latter. Rose reminding the audience to always support live music as the fans applauded his exit.

Despite already performing an almost hour long set, Hawthorne Heights returned to the stage with renewed energy and profound thanks for the numerous suggestions of where to visit – Hobbiton making it to the top of the list despite the crowds jesting of the choice. If Only You Were Lonely certainly is the bigger of the two albums, featuring an edgier sound as it tells the story of a young couple keeping their relationship going despite the distance between them. McMillon on lead guitar strikes some nice rock stance poses throughout the set, occasionally shooting a grin at bassist Ridenour as he delivers short sharp solo’s. Popadak on drums, works away steadily behind the kit, his precise control of the symbols making for nice highlights throughout many of the tracks. Despite following the track listing, once again the band skips over the biggest single, obviously saving the best for last. Woodruff again speaking throughout the set about making memories through the collective love of live music and sticking to what you believe in because “it’s important”.

Despite not having a piano on tour, Hawthorne Heights deliver a beautiful version of the last track off the album entitled ‘Decembers’ before launching into the two singles that set the crowd on fire, ‘Saying Sorry’ and the epic ‘Ohio is for Lovers’. Gratitude abounding for everyone from the fans to the girl who made them coffee and kept them awake despite 12 weeks on the road and now 34hrs without sleep, Hawthorne Heights bid the fans goodnight.

It may have taken them fourteen years to finally get here – but for the fans it was certainly worth the wait.

Hawthorne Heights:

Mark Rose:

Were you there at The Kings Arms for this magnificent flashback gig? Or have you seen Hawthorne Heights perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!