Odesza
14th September 2017
The Town Hall, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by David Watson.
It’s close enough to the weekend that the hundreds in attendance are letting their hair down this evening, with full intentions of dancing the entire night away. And what better way to do it than with Catacombkid and BeachesBeaches aka Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight; or as the pair are simply known in most circles; Odesza.
But before the festivities can begin with what is being hyped as a gig not to be missed, the crowd is being warmed up by another high flying act in the form of The Kite String Tangle (Danny Harley) on his first visit to New Zealand. Realizing that he had a huge catalogue of music that he was unable to use with his current band Pigeon, Harley created The Kite String Tangle and released his track ‘Given the Chance’ back in 2013; immediately placing him into the Triple J Hottest 100 Top 20. From there TKST has moved from strength to strength culminating in the release of his self-titled debut album in July this year.
Dressed simply in a long sleeved black tshirt and cap, TKST looks perfectly at home behind his Keyboard/Synth/Drum Pad set up, eliciting ethereal and striking structures of sound that are often overlaid with his velvety vocals. With a nod to how he began, ‘Given the Chance’ features early in the set; longtime fans whooping as they recognise the opening notes. TKST’s latest single ‘The Prize’ featuring the outstanding vocals of Bridgette Amofah of Rudimental, quickly gets the crowd bobbing along to the beat, TKST obviously feeling the love as he uses a pair of drumsticks to hammer out the infectious beat.
Accompanying TKST on stage tonight is a live drummer; however this is not just any run of the mill session drummer. One half of electronic duo Vigilantes, a producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist; Dave Jenkins Jr has a resume that would make most people blush. Having worked with artists such as Daniel Johns (Silverchair), Bertie Blackman, Kirin J. Callinan, MKTO and Adam Lambert to name but a few – Jenkins can easily lay claim to the title of most sought after session musician in Australia. His addition to the set is a stroke of genius, the two at either end of the stage working in perfect harmony; even on a quieter ballad style track as ‘Arcadia’ (the song causing a collective sigh to rise from the female contingent of the audience), Jenkins added another tier of musical mastery. “First time in New Zealand, hope to be back soon, real soon” TKST speaks softly into the microphone as he clasps his hands together and nods his head in thanks to the appreciative fans; ‘Selfish’ taking the set out in style.
By now the GA section of the Town Hall is brimming with bodies, many of them pushing together as tight as possible against the front barriers, drinks in hand ready to be baptized by the Seattle Duo Odesza who are making their third trip to New Zealand in support of their latest album ‘A Moment Apart’ released just this month.
As the lights drop and the crowd shrieks in delight, lightning bolts of white illuminate the stage in short bursts, the bass rattling the very plaster on the ceiling. Figures can be seen for a brief second at a time, silhouetted against big screen visuals of grey clouds of smoke with a distinctive wash of violet. Odesza stand across from each other, their backs turned as they theatrically beat on drums; between them a guitarist is wildly playing the strings as if his life depended on it. To the sides trombone and trumpet players hold their instruments high. Combined with the venue lighting (always superb at the Town Hall, but tonight they have outdone themselves) and the imagery behind them, it is such a visual and aural fantasy that for a split second the entire crowd are left slack jawed by its intensity.
As Odesza fully come into view however and the first notes of the evening’s set spill forth from the stage and cavort through the venue, the audience surges forward, arms flung high into the air as they let the music flow through their veins. If it wasn’t enough to have three outstanding live musicians with them, Odesza had another surprise tucked up their sleeves as they introduced Naomi Wild to the stage to sing ‘Higher Ground’, her voice soaring towards the heavens themselves.
Tonight would prove to be an eclectic mix of old and new original songs along with a range of popular remixes that Odesza have released over the years since their inception in 2012; Grammy award nominated hit ‘Say my Name’(feat. Zyra) an early highlight of their set. While the music itself kept the energy ramped up to eleven throughout the night, it was the big screen visuals that had many transfixed; some audience members moving to the back of the room for short periods of time so that they could truly appreciate it in full. Geometric symbols, spun and shattered only to reform and give way to rainbow coloured billows of smoke bursting forth on screen. Molten lava showers of sparks so realistic that you could swear that the temperature crept up by a couple of degrees upon seeing them. The symmetry of Odesza and the live musicians who filtered in and out of the set with ease was yet another visual element to the night; it filled you with an overwhelming sense of satisfaction and almost relaxed you to the point that you could indeed just give yourself over to the music without a second thought.
‘Late Night’ had the crowd bouncing in time with Mills and Knight, the aforementioned duo never once caught standing still, fully invested in the music they played with enthusiasm and vigor. The ‘One Day they’ll Know’ (Pretty Lights) remix saw the bass notch up another level, while ‘Line of Sight’ provided those who didn’t already have the latest album another taste of new material. “Auckland let me see you one time!” Mills bellowed into the microphone as he raised his arms in the air and almost impossibly bounced higher, the crowd responding in like.
The remix of ‘Faded’ by ZHU was accompanied by graphics of hot rods and neon lights that made you feel as if you were in downtown Tokyo, the fans singing along to the chorus, while the very popular remix of ‘Something About You’ by Hayden James brought a more mellow, loved-up vibe for many of the couples attending.
All too soon giant confetti canons on either of the stage were showering the audience with red and white paper, fans delighting in scooping up handfuls and throwing it back into the air. Unsurprisingly the entire floor of the Town Hall shook as the audience stamped their feet in demand of an encore, Odesza gratefully returning and hyping the crowd up once again by asking if they wanted “one more”. What they got was in fact two more tracks, Scott Flynn on Trombone and Brennan Carter on Trumpet once again returning to the stage to add some brass flavoured goodness before leaving Odesza to deliver their last track of the night ‘It’s Only’ (feat. Zyra) against a spectacular backdrop of haunted eyes and full moons; the confetti canons once again raining down upon the crowd, one of which, hoisted high on her friend’s shoulders waved a giant American flag in the air in salute of the duo. “Thank you so much Auckland, we love you so much”
No Odesza; thank you.
Were you there at The Town Hall for this sound and light extravaganza? Or have you seen Odesza perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!