Shihad, Wellington NZ, 2018

Shihad

20th October 2018
Shed 6, Wellington, New Zealand.

Review & Photograph by Tim Gruar.

A lot has changed in Aotearoa since 1988. Has it ever. David Lange was still Prime Minister; shoulder pads were a thing and Donald Trump was yet to apply to the Republican Party. If only we had a time machine! We could go back and change it! Back then I was a snotty-nosed indie-kid sneaking into Wellington’s Indigo Bar to check out a bit of local metal music. Jon Toogood and crew probably were, too. I well remember him trying to flog me Iron Maiden records alongside their tape cassingle at the local Tandy’s Record Shop. Who knew that Shihad would grow up to be the iconic band they are now. Over the past three decades they’ve released nine studio albums (including five NZ chart-toppers), travelled the world over, changed names and then changed back again and played with musical heroes like Motorhead, Metallica, Faith No More and AC/DC, to name a few.

Tonight, Jon Toogood, Phil Knight, Karl Kippenberger, and Tom Larkin were back on home ground to celebrate 30 years of “fuckin’ rockin’ out!” (as Toogood put it). The Capital was the first gig to sell out, and rightly so. Tonight’s audience wasn’t just a few lads from the Hutt, it was the whole city! Young and old, men, women and children donned the black (and some red, too) for the cause. The Waterfront’s Shed 6 was possibly just a trifle over packed but we all observed the ‘no-bump’ code around the amber liquid and all kept our fists in the air, pumping to the music and not each other.

Auckland’s slick rock four-piece Villainy kicked of the night in fine style. James Dylan (bass), Neill Fraser (vocals, guitars), Dave Johnston (drums), Thom Watts (lead guitar) brought the energy blasting through songs from their albums Mode. Set. Clear and Dead Sight. Highlights included boneshaking renditions of Ammunition, Alligator Skin, Tiny Little Island and IFXS (minus the candy snakes – see the video). I’ve seen this band at various Homegrown’s over the years and they never fail to impress with the urgency of their delivery. In his customary all white kit-out (including hair) Fraser lurked the stage and the pit with a searing intensity spitting out his lyrics with the force of a butane flame thrower. Anyone who remembers could help noticing just a little bit of a parallel between him and a younger Jon Toogood, back in the day.

Next on were the freshly reanimated sludge-metal monsters BEASTWARS, who as promised, added some “seriously heavy riffage to the mix”. They came with a selection of material from their 2011 self-titled debut, alongside Blood Becomes Fire (2013) and The Death Of All Things (2016). I’ll have to admit, I’ve not really followed this band closely but they are damned impressive. I heard Black Days in the set, and that, in particular, kicked ass! And there were a couple of new tunes, too – Mr Laahey and Raise Your Sword – both even stronger than their current material. Thank the heavens that singer Matt Hyde’s cancer is in remission because you need extra-special powers to put out that kind of grunge-wattage. His growling-rage filled vocals whipped the room in the a seething frenzy of energy bordering on downright dangerous. Oddly, his style is so zen-like compared to the output, as he glides around the stage posing like a preacher, blessing his flock.

As returning heroes, Shihad took to the stage blasting through a stack of hits and myths from their 30 year career. The set was intended to travel back in time lifting a song or two from every album, starting with a mean delivery of You Think Your So Free from FVEY. Personally, it was material from the ‘fish’ album and Killjoy that got my hands in the air pumping but everyone had their own favourite and at no time throughout did the band slow down or show signs of faltering. Ever punter was happy. This year coincided with the 20 year release of The General Electric (yes, Virginia, it’s on vinyl!). So, naturally, there was a couple of hits from that era including My Mind’s Sedate, The General Electric and Pacifier. It was great to hear La La Land alongside earlier stuff like Deb’s Night Out, You Again and Factory. Toogood’s lyrics about government paranoia, big business greed and consumerism still seem relevant today, these songs still stand up pretty well.

The boys were clearly stoked to be in the room and every hand was raised in rock salute! Toogood was on fire bouncing around the stage age, forehead veins pulsing, eyes shining and leaping onto the pre-set travel trunks at the front to get closer to his crowd. He whipped up the audience and energising them to get into the groove of every number. At one point he even leaped into the throng and briefly crowd surfed awkwardly back to the stage, genuinely pleased that he was caught – and thanked everyone profusely. Larkin, behind the kit was also stunning, playing with exceptional precision through every song. Knight was also a powerhouse putting out an impressive array of guitar licks that were near perfect to the recorded versions. I think Kippenberger was just happy to be there as he grinned away behind his bass.

These guys have played together for ever, so it would be fair to say they have a secret unsaid understanding of how each song should go. That said, everything still sounded fresh and vital. And real!

Shihad may have come from a thrash metal beginning but as they’ve grown they’ve become more and more tuneful, bringing us really great anthems along the way. And we heard those tonight. They may me a band in their middle years but they still played like teenagers, only much more skilfully and with a real zest for life. This was a hometown gig – all four went to school locally – and started out here. So, it was fitting that the Capital should show appreciation and we definitely did that tonight. Congrats for 30 years, guys. Looking forward to the next 30!

Were you there at Shed 6 to witness this amazing home town anniversary show? Or have you seen Shihad perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Setlist:

1. Think You’re So Free
2. FVEY
3. Sleepeater
4. One Will Hear the Other
5. Alive
6. All the Young Fascists
7. Comfort Me
8. Run
9. Brightest Star
10. My Mind’s Sedate
11. The General Electric
12. Wait and See
13. Pacifier
14. Thin White Line
15. La La Land
16. Home Again
17. Deb’s Night Out
18. You Again
19. Factory
20. Cheap As [encore]

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