Pennywise, Auckland NZ, 2017

Pennywise

7th November 2017
The Studio, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Kate Taylor. Photography by Doug Peters.

It had to happen sometime…at some point in my time writing for Ambient Light, I figured there’d come a gig that I just didn’t enjoy, no matter how hard I tried or gave the benefit of the doubt and sadly, Pennywise at Auckland’s The Studio last night, was that gig. So if you had a brilliant time and loved every sweaty, crushed moment, then perhaps zip down to the last paragraph and then oggle the photos; but if you, like me, felt short-changed, uncomfortable and at times in a dangerous position, then this is the gig review for you.

It was the most uncomfortable and unpleasant, oversold gig experience I’ve had in the last ten years kicking off with Animal Party who were pretty cool, showcasing that post-hardcore, late 90s to mid 2000s style of punk and alternative rock that is having a resurgence – a little bit like Comeback Kid, a heavier The Promise Ring, a more yelly Hot Water Music or early Alexisonfire; I’m not sure if it’s because the venue wasn’t as packed out at this point of the night, but I really enjoyed what they were bringing to the stage and thankfully, they didn’t have to worry too excessively about the yobs trying to push for their set to finish.

Flirting with Disaster took the stage next…and that was an odd experience. FWD got relentlessly heckled their entire set and it made me wonder if all those Punkas message board trolls have sore hands and tired backs from still holding their grudges for the ex-The Rabble members in FWD. It was kind of annoying to watch to be honest; we’re at least ten years away from all of the scene opinions on that band and for people to just not give them a go was disappointing. I just really felt for them, while FWD might give over-polished pop punk rock; they’re extremely proficient and accomplished players who perhaps only, just need to relax a little bit. The more FWD were heckled, the more they fell back on their tried and true stage personas and became less real. I appreciate showmanship, sure, but what we were given was a performance in defense of the truly nasty reception they were getting from the crowd because of who they were and not what they were playing. Perhaps the best part in FWD’s set was a cover of Penguins and Polar Bears by Millencolin, which was spot on and seemed to soothe the trolls for three minutes while they drunkenly forgot they were “supposed to be hating this band cause their mate said so”.

Fifty minutes elapsed between Flirting with Disaster and Pennywise which was unneeded and in that yawning chasm of time people used it to get completely rat arsed drunk. It was like watching toddlers wobble through bodies, sloshing their beverages – everywhere. The bar would have made a lot of money tonight because half the drinks that they were putting over the bar were either ending up on people or on the floor. It was so uncomfortably packed on the main floor downstairs and unbearably, dangerously hot upstairs, I lasted perhaps 15 seconds before I had to turn around and come back down. On the main floor, once you’d got your spot, that was it. Seriously…it shouldn’t be that the spot that you get to in the over-crowded room is automatically your spot for the next three hours or so. No moving, no stretching, hell I couldn’t lift my hands up to clap for the bands, even if there was something to clap about.

I managed to get through perhaps almost half of the Full Circle album play-through, before I couldn’t handle anymore. Stuck on the awkward sloping exit/entrance ramp, with my back against the wall, pinned by punters in the overcrowded space slamming against me, it was terrible. Absolutely horrible; and for all that, I couldn’t actually see Pennywise anyway. What I could see and hear was a pocket of guys loudly discussing (yes over Pennywise playing…); how exactly they planned to separate a woman in front of me, away from her date for the evening and into the corner so they could “feel her up” and proceeded to chat about what they thought she’d be like in bed, or who in the groups of ‘friends’ would “thrash her” the most. Needless to say this type of behaviour and banter is never funny, never welcomed and should never be encouraged and spoke to the total lack of respect the majority of the crowd had for each others well-being and space. With the targeted young woman sensing danger and pushing away from these predators further into the crowd and relative safety, it was time for me to retreat to the bar area for a breather.

In the bar area it was really packed also, heavy with an intense vibe where everyone was very drunk, pushing and shoving each other and trying to start something…a mosh pit, fights or just too much misunderstood banter. I’d perhaps put that down to the fact that the TV in the bar area (which you can usually count on, if you’re unable to see the stage inside…) didn’t have the visuals of Pennywise playing on it, so people that are highly intoxicated and couldn’t get into the main room, were just kind of left to their own devices a little bit, so I think that was a bit of a mistake on the venue’s part there.

A really poor experience overall. Same Old Story sounded pretty good from outside, Society went OFF. Broken was also well received. They played The Beastie Boys – Fight for your Right which was the nail in the coffin for the drunkos having any hope of calming down and sharing the space with others. They played a Misfits cover but I couldn’t tell you what it was cause out in the limbo land of the bar area, I just couldn’t hear anything clearly. Pennywise played a haphazard cover of Stand By Me which they slowed down and sped up to effect, so I knew what would be coming…the last song was definitely going to be Bro Hymn and with how the rest of the evening had gone before it, I knew I didn’t want to be in the crush to get inside, lost in a tide of intoxicated muppets. Plus for the last ten minutes before that, some sloshed dude was getting all in my man’s face, touching him and trying to pick a fight with him, so we thought fuck this and bailed.

I’m sure that some people must’ve had a fantastic gig, but last night, that just wasn’t me. If you were in for an evening where the moshing and drink sloshing and near brawls were what you were excited about most at Pennywise (even over their playing…) then last night would have been an excellent and cathartic experience for you and you perhaps got to relive your youth for a night before remembering about the kids and the mortgage tomorrow. Trust me, I’m sure there’s definitely going to be a lot of people calling in sick for work this morning with a high percentage of builders and tradies just not turning up to site today. Enjoy your sore heads Gents and I hope you had a great time.

Were you there at The Studio for this high energy punk rock madness? Or have you seen Pennywise perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Setlist:

1. Fight Til You Die
2. Date With Destiny
3. Get A Life
4. Society
5. Final Day
6. Broken
7. Running Out Of Time
8. You’ll Never Make It
9. Every Time
10. Nowhere Fast
11. What If I
12. Go Away
13. Did You Really?
14. Same Old Story
15. As Long As We Can
16. Wild In The Streets (Circle Jerks Cover)
17. Nervous Breakdown (Black Flag Cover)
18. Fight For Your Right (Beastie Boys Cover)
19. Pennywise
20. Fuck Authority
21. Stand By Me (Ben E. King Cover)
22. Bro Hymn

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