Nadia Reid
22nd May 2021
The Hollywood Avondale, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Alexis Brook. Photography by Doug Peters.
Celebrating her third album, Out of My Province, released a year ago (pre-you-know-what, as Nadia puts it) Nadia Reid and her band are in the middle of a nationwide opera house and theatre tour and boy they do not disappoint.
With the seating section filled to capacity leaving standing room only at Auckland’s Hollywood Theatre, this charming historical venue suited the music delightfully. The acoustics of the dark wood, resonating with the sound, Nadia’s timbre is like a chocolate fountain – so rich and sweet, while wrapping us all up in her stories.
Opening the evening was The Broken Heartbreakers, whom I’ve not seen before; two of which are Nadia’s neighbours, making this a true family band tour. With Rachel Bailey’s tones complementary to Nadia’s, they set the stage and mood of what was going to be an evening of reflection intertwined with longing. I can hear undercurrents of indie pop in some songs which now makes sense, as I read that co-founder John Guy Howell, was signed to Pagan Records with a previous band (with several albums under their belt). I’m honestly not sure how I’ve missed them before!
Snapping the mood out of chill with some vibrant music playing through the venues sound system (Darcy Clay’s ‘Jesus I was Evil’) the standing room only crowd soon snuggled back in towards the stage, as Nadia Reid’s band (who have now been a part of her life for eleven years), reset the vibe with ‘Runway’.
I had heard of Nadia before through her various awards successes, but had not seen her perform live until her cameo with Tami Neilson (who was also in the audience) last year at the Civic, so attending this concert was a true pleasure to see how talented her song writing is in person. While many of Nadia’s songs are more ballad in keeping with her folk style, there are definitely some toe-tappers in there such as ‘Oh Canada’ which saw the crowd sedately bopping.
Touring while pregnant isn’t as glamorous as Beyonce at the Super Bowl, quipped Nadia, speaking about needing the restrooms and having to change sets sometimes to accommodate what baby wants to do. Throughout the evening, it appeared the wee one was possibly playing some drums, as Nadia’s hand gently pressed back from time to time…
Her set was filled, too, with wonderfully human little anecdotes that she tossed in between songs, such as how she convinced her husband that they needed a puppy last year and so they drove three hours to pick up a ‘mongrel’ (named Joni) which cost $2,500 and which she loves now so much, but wasn’t worth that, or how she wrote a love song about going to Levin, which is 5% about going to Levin, and 95% other things. And don’t get her started on all the disrespect in the tour van – she makes sure to be rude to everyone at least once a day! Nadia’s humour is quirky, tongue in cheek, but when said with such a velvety calm voice you are often left teetering on the edge, questioning if there is more to come, or was that it?
Thanking the crowd for coming out on their Saturday night, Reid noted they were all a little too excited to be in a room listening to nearly two hours of sad love songs. Nadia however had the audience wrapped around her little finger, as they held on to every calming silky phrase uttered. At times it often felt like some kind of guided meditation; slow drum beats and gently plucked bass lines, rhythmic guitar chords draped with velvety vocals took the audience to a raw, entrancing space that was felt by all including fellow musician Amanda Palmer, who was spotted in the crowd enjoying the evening while quietly relishing the ambience of the crowd.
My favourite original of the night had to be ‘Track of the Time’, her self-confessed “drunk crush” song, but it was Nadia’s encore cover of Mazzy Star’s hit ‘Fade Into You’ that sent me on my way, humming and feeling like all was okay with the world.
Whatever troubles you may have had in the day, Nadia soothed them away, like a parent lovingly placing a plaster over a graze, gently embracing you then saying go on, out you go again.
Were you there at The Hollywood for this brilliant alternative folk gig? Or have you seen Nadia Reid perform live some other time? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Note: Banished Music provided passes to Ambient Light to review and photograph this Nadia Reid concert. As always, this has not influenced the review in any way and the opinions expressed are those of Ambient Light’s only. This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product using an affiliate link, Ambient Light will automatically receive a small commission at no cost to you.
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Just blown away with Nadias live performance she is one of our finest voices I’ve heard in my lifetime which spans nearly 7 decades.Impeccable night superb band and venue long may she run.