Taking Back Sunday, Auckland NZ, 2017

Taking Back Sunday

15th March 2017
Kings Arms Tavern, Auckland, New Zealand

Review by Kate Taylor. Photography by Rachel Van Luyt.

The Kings Arms was host to a mid-week trip down memory lane as Taking Back Sunday sauntered into town to woo us with their catalogue of tunes, supported this warm Autumn evening by Auckland and Christchurch based band, Decades. Moving through the assembled at The Kings Arms, the crowd was a mix of very clean-cut, well behaved ladies and gentlemen and then a slew of alternative kids bedecked in man buns, ironically ripped clothing and faded scene tatts; all nestling into the senses along with the scent of Strawberry flavoured chapstick and delivered pizza.

Kicking off the night, Decades were filled with ire and feeling. Coming straight of a recent Homegrown performance and working towards a Jimmy Barnes support slot later this month; Decades are at the top of their game, stoked to be playing before a band they love so well and were ready to impress. Frontperson Emma absolutely dominates the stage and spits conviction at the crowd, in total control of her vocals and her instrument, she is mesmerising to watch and smashes any misogynist ideas of ‘oh look it’s a chick singing’ kind of boofheadism right on the head by being very skilled and talented at what she does, showing zero fucks if you think it’s natty or novel to see a woman crushing musically in this way. Frenetic in pace and whipping the crowd up nicely, Decades definitely came with that pretty straight pop punk vibe from the late 90s and early 2000s. Giving a good airing to their new single I Was with Him and finishing off the set with Terrified; this was a breakout first time seeing Decades for me and I certainly look forward to seeing and hearing more from them in future.

Retreating to the King’s Arms Garden area between sets, I felt melancholic about our imminent loss of this special little venue. Sitting in the balmy evening air, smiling and nodding to friends from scenes passed, soaking in the chatter of the collected, it was chats about who’s buying what high quality merch at premium prices; or a wordy man-bunned student chiding his friends about needing to smoke cigarettes when what they should really do, is save that durrie money and put it towards doing ayahuasca in Thailand.

Thankfully, Taking Back Sunday must have heard my internal groans and rescued me by starting to crank into their jam-packed set. Vocalist Adam was in fine form, giving relaxed and loving renditions from TBS’s catalogue and sounding like some cordial southern gentleman preacher; commenting on the tight space on the King’s Arms stage but giving off the impression that they were going to crush this performance anyway, despite the limited elbow room. Making great use of the tight space and playing up to the screams and whoops from the crowd, TBS put on an instrumentally tight and professional show. Adam self depreciatingly cooed that “normally we are a bit better, we usually tie the songs together better, but we’re having too much fun and you might have seen we’re just up here smiling at each other, this next one is a dance number, it is a dance number isn’t it?”; as Adam confers with John Nolan at the shared set list sheet, “well this is a dance number, dance with me won’t you?”

The nicely packed out King’s Arms was lapping up everything they were being given with huge responses to Liar, What’s it Feel Like to Be A Ghost and A Decade Under the Influence; as Adam and Co. pogo jumped in time cinematically to the beat of the strobe. Flicker, Fade brought the evening down to a slow swing beat as Adam had the chance to play alongside the melody, dipping in and out of his duties to allow the very enthusiastic crowd to take up the job. Call Come Running was introduced by Adam as ‘the most beautiful love song [I’ve] ever written’, as returning guitarist and first time visitor to New Zealand, John Nolan, proceeded to shred all over it. Things got emotional at Holy Water as Adam’s vocals were hitting vibrato and nearly giving out before launching into a passionate and punchy rendition of Stood a Chance.

If you’re not a fan of on-stage banter from your favourite band then this performance from Taking Back Sunday was not for you; as Adam was in a chatty mood and delirious on the love shown back to him from the crowd and perhaps, just a lot jet-lagged too. Song breaks about Nolan getting a haircut to look respectable for the New Zealand crowd; trips to Auckland’s venue The Wine Cellar – for which the crowd yelled at Adam, accusing him of being a hipster, to which he replied “it’s for hipsters, oh am I a hipster? I don’t mind, I’m pretty hip, oh god I’ve opened up a can of worms.” Much chat about being on the other side of the world and adjusting to the way of life in this hemisphere saying, “were a long way from home and for us to get on an aeroplane and come to the side of the world and you’re all here that means the world.” Chatter touched on the perils of losing your pants while performing or fan perceptions of what their songs are about, to Adam’s favourite films, which incidentally are Forrest Gump, Fight Club, 16 Candles and more recently “Dwayne Johnson in Central Intelligence.” There was much banter that fringed on getting political, with Adam imploring the crowd that “I was born in Alabama, I know I talk funny and I sound like this, but it doesn’t mean I love Trump, he’s not my president, so let’s just get that out the there.” Which of course resulted in a supportive roar from the crowd and then a perhaps misguided, “Fuck Donald Trump” chant from the crowd; “I think they want to have sex with Donald Trump” said Adam cheekily to Nolan, with a bit of a nudge and a wink.

To the encore portion of the show as Adam and TBS dodged excited stage-divers infiltrating the stage; they featured My Blue Heaven, Cute without the E and MakeDamnSure, dispensing with the formalities and pantomime of leaving the stage to come back for the encore, which was appreciated by the rabid punters who were hungrily devouring anything Taking Back Sunday would give them. It was a night for the fans for sure and will be remembered for a long time by those that came together to share the night.

Taking Back Sunday perform live in Auckland, 2017. Image by Rachel Van Luyt.

Were you there at the Kings Arms Tavern to witness this alt-rock masterpiece? Or have you seen Taking Back Sunday live somewhere else? Tell us about it in the comments below!