Peking Duk
21st February 2020
The Town Hall, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by David Watson.
Bringing their biggest headline tour to date to New Zealand, Peking Duk threw down a set at Auckland Town Hall last night that was as both amusing as it was entertaining; the Aussie duo’s distinct flavour colouring their performance.
Adam Hyde and Reuben Styles have had a rather interesting rise to fame, their career as disc jockeys and music producers seeing them slowly morph over the last decade into the live act standing before their ecstatic fans pumping out a plethora of hit singles. No strangers to New Zealand, they have appeared previously at festivals such as Auckland City Limits and Bay Dreams, adding to the already impressive list of Australian festivals such as Splendour in the Grass, Spilt Milk and Falls that they have furnished with their presence.
With their audience at peak levels, ‘Fake I.D’ by Riton & Kah-Lo being hollered by all and sundry, the lights were extinguished, and the stage brought to life, the arrival of Peking Duk celebrated by their fans at a level of decibel that made the soundsystem itself blush. Wasting no time, Hyde and Styles on guitar and bass respectively launched straight into ‘Stranger’, the song given the full live treatment as the duo were joined by the phenomenal Cat Hunter on drums (Joel Farland taking a well deserved break it would seem) and Michaela Baranov on vocals.
It’s easy to see why Peking Duk have risen so quickly in popularity, their ability to not only produce singles that are instant hits – several of them having have achieved platinum status over the last few years – but to also portray a genuine sense of fun, a winning combination. Hyde and Styles really are just two friends having the time of their lives.
Unlike most artists of a similar nature, Peking Duk aren’t afraid to be themselves, their performances peppered with all the usual predictable add-ons such as streamers, confetti and CO2 cannons that make crowds lose their minds, but also including their own personal touches that set them apart from the rest. Love it or hate it – and their fans last night certainly loved every second of it – it’s inherently and undeniably them.
Following another turn on vocals by Baranov for ‘Let You Down’, it was Styles’s chance to lend his voice to ‘Ur Eyez’, and while not as accomplished as their other guest singers joining them throughout the night it had a certain charm to it; his bass playing however on point, no doubt thanks to his years spent with indie band Rubycon.
Slipping straight into one of their earlier singles from 2013, ‘Feels Like’ introduced Chris Sebastian to the stage, the younger brother of the first ever Australian Idol winner Guy Sebastian proving to one and all that chops runs in the bloodline. Injecting some humour into the set, Hyde then led the crowd in an enthusiastic chant of dedication to a certain legendary New Zealand rugby player; Waisake Naholo’s name matching perfectly with the time signature of The White Stripes ‘Seven Nation Army’ which Hyde performed with a distinctly distorted twist. Continuing to hype up the crowd, he made a play on his statement of having the ‘time of his life’ by swinging into the first line of the Green Day classic ‘Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)’ before abandoning it in favour of playing the multi-award winning ‘(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life’ from the iconic 1987 film Dirty Dancing over the speakers. Surprisingly, while comical, a shirtless Hyde busting out his best dance moves, it was also a moment of pure joy as the entire audience sang along to every word with complete and free abandonment.
The rest of the show was just as high-spirited, Baranov and Sebastian continuing to provide vocals for tracks such as ‘Take Me Over’, ‘Move’, ‘Say My Name’ and ‘Sugar’ while Peking Duk’s own manager Ben Dennis (aka Bennis) joined them on stage for a flaming sax solo during ‘Fake Magic’; the boys continuing to add their own take on the night as they slid in snippets of Abba’s ‘Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man after Midnight)’ and ‘Overthrow’ by Boys Noize. The two tracks in themselves complete polar opposites, but in a Peking Duk show they worked perfectly; even the beer scull-off between Hyde and Styles had its place. ‘High’ appropriately finishing it all off.
It was hard to tell who was grinning harder, Peking Duk or the fans beaming back at them; either way, everybody left happy.
Were you there at The Auckland Town Hall for this high energy electronic music duo? Or have you seen Peking Duk perform live some other time? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
- Stranger
- The Way You Are
- Let You Down
- Ur Eyez
- Feels Like
- Take Me Over
- Fake Magic
- Move
- Distant Arizona
- Say My Name
- Sugar
- Fire
- Wasted
- High
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