Stretch
Harcourts Hawkes Bay Arts Festival Show
13th October 2020
ToiToi, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand.
Review by Rob Harbers, photography by Ian Cooper.
Flying in the face of the naysayers, the Hawkes Bay Arts Festival is underway – one of only two regional Arts Festivals to proceed in these difficult and uncertain times. Until the final curtain on 26 October a diverse collection of Aotearoa’s finest will be strutting their stuff in venues across the Bay, showing that we don’t always need to look overseas for quality art – there’s a heap of good stuff to be found right on our own doorstep! Many of the performances are occurring in the revitalised space of the Hawkes Bay Opera House, also now known as ToiToi, giving the grand old lady the chance to take a whole new generation of audiences under her wings.
Last night’s act was almost literally on the doorstep: Napier-based troubadour Stretch playing the opening date of his tour in support of new album “Our Dreams Are Changing”. This was an opportunity to show off these songs in a full-band format, bringing additional colour and depth to the recorded performances, and also to highlight the modified versions of earlier material made possible by the addition of cellist Paula Sugden to the lineup, adding whole new elements to the sonic palette.
The set was broken into two distinct halves, the first made up exclusively from first album “Bury All Horses”. This was a foot-stomper from the get-go, with opening number “Less Rock, More Roll” kicking things off in rollicking fashion and showing the strength of the line-up, with drummer Arahi Whaanga in particular standing out with his energetic playing. Things proceeded in this manner for the next forty minutes, getting the audience engaged with a hard-driving set of passionately played songs. Additional supporting players were bassist Dan Devcich, Campbell Burns on guitar, and a low-profile Wil Sargisson on keys.
“Six Tears” was introduced as being the song that convinced Stretch that Paula’s cello had something good to bring to the party, and her powerful contribution, including an extended solo, provided ample evidence of this. A strong and dynamic first half, then, shaking loose any cobwebs with impassioned performances, setting the stage for the new material’s introduction in the second set.
After a short interval, the second half commenced with “The Turning”, the closing track on “Our Dreams Are Changing” which provided a clear delineation point between sets, the new material being a degree more intense and reflective. This was complemented by a run-through of the album’s first few tracks, the full band returning for “Here Come The Starlings”, its complex textures benefitting from the increased depth. The tone lifted markedly with the duo of “Shoal Bay Song” and “Hold Fast, Hold True” performing the same leavening touch as they do on the album.
From here, it was back into the darker side, with album highlight “I Know You’ve Been Bad” introduced as being about “shipwrecks, sex, death and Catholicism” – not normally thought of as fuel for upbeat ditties! “House Full of Ghosts” closed out the set, with Stretch returning for an encore solo rendition of the Tim Buckley classic “Song To The Siren”, raising a few goosebumps for me at least, with the purity and passion of his performance.
In summary, then, a great performance and a triumphant homecoming, vindicating the Festival organisers’ difficult decision to press on and make it happen. This promises much, both for the rest of the Festival and the release tour which continues early in November.
Were you there at ToiToi for this great performance? Or have you seen Stretch perform live somewhere else before? Are you planning on checking out other shows at this years edition of the Harcourts Hawkes Bay Arts Festival? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Note: The Harcourts Hawkes Bay Arts Festival provided passes to Ambient Light to review and photograph this concert. As always, this has not influenced the review in any way and the opinions expressed are those of Ambient Light’s only. This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product using an affiliate link, Ambient Light will automatically receive a small commission.
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