Skillet, Auckland NZ, 2018

Skillet

21st November 2018
Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Alex Moulton. Photography by Mark Derricutt.

With the sudden onslaught of temperatures reminiscent of winter and intermittent chilling rain nobody was sticking around outside Auckland’s Powerstation last night to wait for friends. As always, the door staff – who were braving the elements – made entry as easy as possible and more importantly quick! However, I was more impressed to see them picking up rubbish during their not so busy periods. It’s the small things like that, that make me appreciative of the staff and the effort that they make.

While most venues won’t even open the doors before 8pm, this show was all ages and therefore had an earlier start time. It was only 7:30pm when the opening band made their way out onto the stage, but the Powerstation was already at 80% capacity. That opening act came in the form of Armed in Advance, a hard rock trio that had gone on hiatus back in April. Reuniting for this one-off show, the bigger venue helped them create a very thick, full-bodied sound that I have never heard to this extent from the group before. While the sound was probably the best I’ve ever experienced from Armed In Advance, what was lacking was any sort of passion or enthusiasm from vocalist JP Carroll. Bassist Hugh Hokopaura and drummer Ryan Thomas made the most of their opportunity to rock out on a larger stage, Carroll however, was rather reclusive and disappointingly barely acknowledged the crowd at all.

Next up four-piece alt-rockers Coridian. What is immediately obvious is their vastly superior stage presence, and their ability to fill the space available to them. Guitarist Mike Raven’s tone did feel a little off at the beginning of their opening track ‘Nonetheless’, but they soon found their place and managed to wow the audience. The mixing at the desk seemed off, with little to no mics on Kris Raven’s drum kit, and non-existent reverb on Dity’s vocals, which sadly led to a slightly empty feel vocally in such a large venue. That being said however, Dity’s lower register range was impeccable. Despite the audience being rather static during the performance, the applause between songs was immense, and when vocalist Dity called upon the crowd to participate and cheer, they did so with an enthusiasm I haven’t seen for an opening band for several years, By the end of the set, the first few rows were definitely animated, and the energy was high leading into the headliner.

Arriving to an overlay of strings on synths, the American headliner, Skillet, took to the stage. Straight away phones were out, but once they jumped into ‘Feel Invincible’ the crowd literally got in there with them. In one of the most concerted efforts I’ve seen, 70% of the floor were jumping in unison, and it looked glorious. Energy and passion were characteristics of the Skillet set by no exaggeration. Even to say that they gave 110% would feel like an underestimation.

Lead vocalist and bassist John Cooper dominated the stage, jumping several feet in the air from standing still, and headbanging with such intensity that the audience had no choice but to up their game as well. Skillet have a well-rounded formula to their music, which is comprised of bouncy heavy riffs, and some great dual vocals from Cooper and drummer Jen Ledger; providing something for everyone to sing along with as they pogo.

The lighting was very well choreographed; highly in tune with every aspect of each song; training on Seth Morrison during his solos, or simply switching with the beat driving that pounding rhythm home to the fans. A well-coordinated effort that spoke volumes of the groups’ experience.

Bringing a cellist out onto the stage, an extra element was added to the sound, but overall the effect was minimal. Certainly, during the intro to ‘Awake and Alive’ the strings brought an additional layer that worked beautifully, but during most tracks it was drowned out by Korey Copper and Morrison’s guitars. Apart from John’s prevailing stage performance, standout member of the evening had to be Jen Ledger. While often having a very simple beat to play, she performed with such ferocity that you couldn’t look away. I’d love to see her given a handsfree mic at some point, as you could see the difference in her performance between when she must remain static to sing, and when she is free to move. Regardless, her performance was fantastic to watch, and her vocals provided a great contrast to the grain of Coopers. Abandoning the kit during ‘Awake and Alive’, Ledger headed out to the front of stage and sung alongside the other band members, creating a resurgence of energy within the audience.

Of course, Skillet are an openly Christian band, and while bantering with the crowd, Cooper was obviously enjoying explaining how he loves the effect of music bringing together people of all religions, political views, gender, and race. Introducing the next track entitled ‘Hero’, Cooper spoke about how a million people could approach him with a million different things about what the song meant to them, but while they may see their wife, child, or father when they hear the song, the track was truly written about his saviour, Jesus Christ. As a member of the crowd who is not religious, I’m pleased to report that that was the extent of the religious overtones for the night. Following Cooper’s comments Skillet quickly returned to rocking out with every ounce of energy that they had left to give.

And that is one of the main appeals of the band; even though this is their last show of the year, they still gave it their all and were genuinely ecstatic to be playing in New Zealand. Every time someone yelled out “I love you!” Cooper would yell “I love you too!” right back at them. During the show Cooper had spoken about how awesome it was that he got to meet a little 7-year-old girl that was attending the show, and how awesome it was to see parents bringing their kids to share in the experience. All the above spoken in a nearly breathless tone due to the exertion that they were putting themselves through.

Toning it back for a bit, for ‘Stars’ and Cooper showed off his clean vocal skills to a crowd that already had their arms in the air swaying in anticipation, before switching back to the heavier riffs which once again saw the fans begin their synchronised jumping, causing the floor to shudder underfoot. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Skillet set without ‘Monster’; from the opening notes the sheer volume and breadth of the track just smacks you in the gut. Clearly one of their strongest compositions it would have been an ideal track with which to end the night.

But after thanking the opening bands, and the crowd for their willingness to come and see them, Skillet headed off stage before returning for an encore performance of ‘The Resistance’. It was honestly a rather odd choice to end on, and it left the night feeling a little anti-climactic, but you can’t deny that Skillet indeed did give it their all, the crowd eating out of their hand from the moment they entered the venue.

No moshing, just pogoing. No swearing, just wholesome messages and gratuities. Every single piece of Skillet merchandise? Sold. One of the best behaved and coordinated audiences I’ve ever come across, and it all stemmed from the reciprocated emotion that both band and fans have for one another.

Were you there at the Powerstation for this alternative rock show? Or have you seen Skillet perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Setlist:

1. Feel Invincible
2. Whispers In The Dark
3. Sick Of It
4. Rise
5. Lions
6. Back From The Dead
7. Awake And Alive
8. Not Gonna Die
9. Hero
10. Those Nights
11. Undefeated
12. Comatose
13. Stars
14. Monster
15. Rebirthing
16. The Resistance [encore]

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