Marlon Williams
25th March 2021
The Hollywood Cinema, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Doug Peters.
There is something that just feels right about Marlon Williams performing at the Hollywood Theatre. It’s the first night of a six-show run, the warm autumn air is drifting softly through the wooden doors and despite the capacity crowd, there is a sense of serenity.
Williams and venues of history just seem to go hand in hand, despite his youthful years and at times playful nature, there is an old-world charm to both Williams and his music. A connection to days gone by and musicians who have long since crossed over that he both embodies and projects. Much like his show at the Pt Chev RSA back in 2017, tonight promises to be something quite exceptional.
This is Williams’ first solo tour in six years, a show he would later divulge to the audience that he developed during lockdown. Both a celebration of the release of new material (Plastic Bouquet) and his humble beginnings, through to some of his most formative work, An Evening with Marlon Williams would also provide an insight into what truly comprises one of arguably New Zealand’s greatest artists.
As the sweet sounds of ‘Ete Iwi E’ from The Maniapoto Voices, slowly faded into the silence the venue was shrouded in darkness; arriving in full black, the hood of his jumper drawn tightly about his face, Williams stood in the middle of the stage flanked by two pale backdrops and opened with an impassioned waiata accompanied by nothing more than a rhythmical beat. Grounding himself in both the moment and his ancestry – Williams is Ngāi Tahu, with whakapapa connections to Kāti Huirapa ki Puketeraki, Moeraki and Ngāti Waewae – this opening piece set the scene for the first of the two-part set performance. Moving swiftly to the piano, Williams laid before the audience three compositions in quick succession which included both ‘Come to Me’ and ‘Beautiful Dress’ from his album Make Way for Love; his vocals, undeniably some of the best in the world, lovingly cradled by the ivory keys that his lithe fingers danced across.
Each piece was celebrated wildly by the audience, before they swiftly fell back into silent reverence, eager to show their appreciation, yet not wanting to encroach on the atmosphere that Williams was crafting around them. Without leaving his seat, Williams reached into the shadows and pulled from it a guitar, the opening lines of ‘Tahu Pōtiki’ drawing elated sighs, and more than likely a few tears, many in the room remembering Williams’ performance of the renowned waiata at the National Remembrance Service for those who tragically lost their lives two years ago during the Christchurch Mosque attacks.
Following it up with a waiata of his own whose title translated as ‘It Doesn’t Matter’, Williams let slip a little of that humour that often lurks behind his wistful smile; the piece allowing him to transition into one his earlier compositions entitled ‘Everyone’s Got Something to Say’ before the first of several new songs from Plastic Bouquet – a collaborative album between Saskatoon duo Kacy & Clayton and Marlon Williams – elicited excited whoops; ‘Arahura’ a beautifully soulful track whose roots are firmly embedded in the very waters of Aotearoa.
Closing the first set out with ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ and a brief but powerful waiata tahanga, Williams slipped back into the darkness from which he first emerged, the audience pausing for a moment to savour what they had just bore witness to before once again filling the air with thunderous applause.
The first set had been accompanied by not only stunning visuals and lighting but almost perfect sound quality, and the second set only continued with this high calibre; Tom and Simeon creating both an optical and aural aesthetic worthy of a performer such as Marlon Williams.
The second half of the show saw him arrive in a pristine white silk shirt and his almost now trademark black stovepipes, the stage bathed in blood red as he cavorted to ‘Vampire Again’, his movements throwing mirthful silhouettes against the backdrops behind him. The dance moves continued in a wonderfully karaoke style, before slightly hot and flustered, Williams collapsed into an armchair ensconced in a miniature lounge setting and poured himself a drink while musing that while his brand-new shirt, custom made by a friend felt “like a cloud” it was also proving to be quite hot.
Williams was taking the audience on a journey, the final destination still yet to be determined by himself, but this evening he was laying out the trail so far. The “moody mood board” as he amusingly referred to the first half had been completed, and now all moved together, as one, into the “fun” half of the show, a more relaxed and open artist sitting upon the stage.
And what treasures the second set yielded, from 1929 classics such as ‘Looking for a Little Sweetie’ through to latest tracks ‘I Wonder Why’ and ‘Devil’s Daughter’, there was something to sate everyone’s palate. There was even a slightly inebriated gentleman who Williams enjoyed some light-hearted banter with as said patron proudly declared that he too had visited Saskatoon and had been arrested for being drunk and disorderly.
Taking attendees back to his fledgling public entrance into the world of music, ‘Won’t You Watch Her Lillies Grow’ was embraced by fans of The Unfaithful Ways, a group that Williams founded when he was seventeen with his high school friends. Shifting seamlessly between guitar and piano, the heartbreak of ‘Love is a Terrible Thing’ was offset by the tongue in cheek, politically charged ‘Hoiho’ which had proved to be a hit at last year’s Laneway Festival.
While significantly longer than the first half of the night, it seemed all too soon that Williams was bidding the enraptured crowd farewell, ‘Dark Child’ and ‘When I Was a Young Girl’ reminding all just how accomplished Williams is as a vocalist, each crystalline note flawless in its presentation.
The encore yielded yet two more lyrical delights, ‘Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore’ proving in the most modest way that even talent like Williams is not infallible, a misplaced finger producing a chord that drew a howl of disdain from Williams, but only endeared him more to one and all; the blistering pace of the bluegrass number ‘Hello Miss Lonesome’ from his 2016 self-titled debut bringing the evening to a close in stupendous style.
Performances such as these only come around once in a blue moon.
Were you there at The Hollywood Cinema for this beautiful Kiwi soul gig? Or have you seen Marlon Williams perform live some other time? Tell us about it in the comments below!
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