Stereolab
2nd March 2020
Hollywood Theatre, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Ali Nicholls. Photography by Connor Crawford.
Stereolab have never been a band for labels. Authors, promoters, and musicians alike have all tried to accurately pinpoint the signature Stereolab sound, each wrestling with the phenomenal atmospheric range of the musicians until inevitably resigning to their playfully borderless reality. Avante-pop, tropicalia-punk, lounge-pop, psychedelic-rock. Only one thing is for certain: the untameable band have been one of the most influential of the past 30 years, and last night at the Hollywood Avondale they showed us why.
Their last visit to Aotearoa took place in 2009, just shy of two decades after the bands formation and well into the bands international acclaim. Unlike many of the early britpop bands emerging at the dawn of the 90s, Stereolab’s sound emboldened a variety of musical styles and bridged influences from around the world. Driven by a resistance to all facets of cultural repression and containment, their sound has always sought to rip conformity to shreds, and to saturate life with passion, colour, and movement. They’re a synesthete’s dream.
Last night’s set was cruisily opened by Friendly Potential DJ Sam Harmony, with Lord of the Fries supplying pre-show snacks and Hallertau offering a refreshing brew. The courtyard of the Hollywood has the feeling of a festival, and everyone is buzzing. The show has drawn a broad range of age groups, and its nice to see so many wahine looking comfortable. It always seems to be the case that those artists who defy genres in their sound also create a social orbit that feels safe and open-minded. The atmosphere is one of fizzing anticipation, and a tight crowd begins to form well before the show is due to start. Stoners, trippers, hippies, punks, travellers, kiwis, cool Mums & Dads, and everyone in between congregate, and with the dipping of the theatre light’s we enter the Stereolab dimension.
The veil of the night is slowly peeled open with Anamorphose, a steady and rhythmically driven meditation that offers the room a spiritual uplighting with its major two note hook, and call and response vocal layers that bounce us between the walls of their sonic chamber. It’s followed by Brakhage, a step away from the joyous calm of the opening song into the Brazilian jazz-driven ‘Dots and Loops’ era of their music. Andy Ramsay on the drums shuffles across the snare, filling out the light-footed sound with a stereo-like fuzz.
Miss Modular and Need to Be follow, and then with French Disko the audience can’t help but shake off their inhibitions and dance along. Tim Gane’s signature rhythmic guitar comes to the fore, and as the song progresses we see more of the pop-punk influences that give the band a cutting edge and a passionate energy without losing its temper – it’s passion that’s harnessed and used to incite celebration, and radical happiness in the face of suppressive norms. More than anything, the set is turning into an exercise in love and freedom, and the gradual opening up of the crowd is a response to the band’s undeniably enticing uniqueness.
The set continues with crowd favourites like Percolator, Infinity Girl, and Metronomic Underground which take us on a trip through Stereolab’s funk and disco influences. I’d say that this was a night to celebrate Stereolab’s classics but honestly, this band doesn’t make anything else. Each song bursts through the room like a fire cracker, showering the audience in dancing lights and euphoric energy. Closing the show with Ping Pong and Lo Boob Oscillator, the band is just as immersed in the fulfilling energy of the night with Lætitia Sadier playfully farewelling the audience with, ‘see you in just a moment.’ And right on cue, the roaring crowd begins the familiar stomp-and-clap encore demand. The band return for Come and Play in the Milky Night: a rambling psychedelic journey through a kaleidoscope of musical influences, instrumental techniques, and bubbling vocals from Sadier. The song unravels into an improvised and expertly carried chaos, and just when it seems that the band have taken it as far at they can go, Ramsay gently pulls it back only to unleash one last rapturous chorus. The audience glows with adoration for the final applause, and Stereolab leave the Hollywood stage looking proud and grateful for what was a gorgeous night of sound and celebration.
Stereolab are weavers of aural worlds, bringing together threads from across the world, across musical genres, and across cultural norms to curate a tapestry of sound with liberation at its heart. Their performance was steeped in joy and curiosity, without a drop of bravado to be seen. It was the audience and the band and the music coming together in a celebration of sound that created a tiny universe within the Hollywood, and it’s one that I won’t forget being a part of any time soon. A welcome reminder to explore, seek out passion, celebrate creativity, and defy repression through an unapologetic embrace of all things indefinable. Thank you Stereolab for a boundless celebration of life and music.
Were you there at the Hollywood Theatre for this energetic avant-pop gig? Or have you seen Stereolab perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
- Anamorphose
- Brakhage
- French Disko
- Fluorescences
- Miss Modular
- Metronomic Underground
- The Extension Trip
- Infinity Girl
- Need to Be
- Ping Pong
- Percolator
- Crest
- Lo Boob Oscillator
- Come and Play in the Milky Night [encore]
- Blue Milk [encore]
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