Teenage Fanclub, Auckland NZ, 2019

Teenage Fanclub

18th February 2019
Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Chris Zwaagdyk.

It was a show that consisted of both highs and lows as Scottish alt-rockers Teenage Fanclub touched down in Auckland last night.

Warming up the early arrivals with a set that blended together a psychedelic 90’s rock sound with the unique noisiness expected from those born of the Dunedin music scene, three piece The Roulettes delivered an outstanding opening set. Formed in the ‘mid-2000s’ last night’s line-up featured both long standing members Justin McLean on vocals and lead guitar along with Mark Queenin on drums; bass duties being held down by Head Like A Hole bassist Simon Nicholls formally of Luger Boa.

Rollicking through a set where the tracks were mainly short, punchy and vibrant it was clear that The Roulettes knew their sound and how to pull the best from it. McLean’s vocals were a standout, his relationship with both his guitar and amp a pleasure to watch. With Nicholls lending some effortlessly weighty bass lines to many of the songs it was impossible not to get swept up by the drive of the music, both ‘Stealing Electricity’ and closing track ‘Like My Sunshine’ – where some stage lighting effects finally seemed to come into play – set highlights.

There was a solid crowd within the walls of the Powerstation when Teenage Fanclub finally arrived on stage, rousing applause sweeping over the five piece as they took their places.

For those that hadn’t been keeping up with current events, the absence of one of the bands founders, bassist Gerard Love may have come as a surprise, his role instead being held down by Dave McGowan who has been slipping in and out of the group since around 2004; Love, who decided to call it quits towards the end of 2018 rather than face the large amount of travel in the new year was a notable absence being one of the key three vocalists and songwriters of the band. To offset the disappointment there was a notable exciting addition to the line-up in the form of Welsh keyboardist Euros Childs who is best known as the frontman of the band Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci; his presence not only bringing with it some fantastic keyboard playing that bloomed from within many of the tracks but some superb vocal harmonization’s.

As the evening began with ‘About You’ from their 1995 album Grand Prix it was immediately evident that something wasn’t quite right with the usually strong vocals of Norman Blake; the reason revealed a few moments later as he profusely apologised, laryngitis having set in after a bout of the flu during the Australian leg of their tour. Moving through that distinctly indie pop sound that Teenage Fanclub are known for with tracks such as ‘Can’t Feel My Soul’ and ‘Happiness’, Blake tried a few on stage remedies to keep his voice going including chewing gum which he jested his mother would be mortified at.

Luckily between Raymond McGinley taking the lead on a few of the tracks and drummer Francis McDonald’s splendid backing vocals, it all balanced out. However, this is where the low point of the evening made it’s mark and unravelled some of the joy that was being derived from a set that not only spanned their back catalogue but was not afraid to combine new material with deeper cuts; the sound mix so overwhelming in places that everything was buried under a wall of bass drums. Sure, during tracks such as ‘Catholic Education’ from their debut album released almost thirty years ago it mattered none, their sound back then still loud and tumultuous; but on their later tracks it was a distracting annoyance, the weight of it drowning out Blake’s valiant vocal efforts on many of the songs.

Still gems were to be found amongst the rubble, new material in the form of ‘Everything is Falling Apart’ hinting at exciting future prospects, ‘Only You’ sweeping up the audience within the first few isolated piano notes, Blakes simple but endearing glockenspiel work during ‘Your love is the place where I come from’ and the wonderful versions of both ‘Planets’ and ‘Verisimilitude’. Not to mention the uplifting vocal duet between McGinley and MacDonald during the acoustic ending of ‘My Uptight Life’.

Blake looked at his happiest when letting loose on guitar which he got to do several times throughout the night, but none more so than during the brilliant instrumental entitled ‘Heavy Metal II’, which was performed as part of their three-song encore. Finishing the night with ‘The Concept’ which Blake encouraged the fans to sing a long with, Teenage Fanclub bid their farewells, the audience heartily applauding their performance.

The show may have been a little flawed through no fault of their own, but with a promise of a new album on the horizon what is clear is that Teenage Fanclub will have plenty of time to come back around and completely blow New Zealand’s socks off next time.

Were you there at the Powerstation for this brilliant Alt-Rock gig? Or have you seen Teenage Fanclub perform live somewhere else? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Teenage Fanclub Setlist:

1. About You
2. Can’t Feel My Soul
3. Happiness
4. Everything Is Falling Apart
5. The Cabbage
6. Thaw Me
7. Only With You
8. I Don’t Care
9. A Catholic Education
10. Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From
11. It’s A Bad World
12. Planets
13. Verisimilitude
14. Hold On
15. I’m In Love
16. My Uptight Life
17. Everything Flows
18. Heavy Metal II [encore]
19. The Fall [encore]
20. The Concept [encore]

The Roulettes Setlist:

1. Unread Books
2. Girlfriends
3. First Song Of The Summer
4. Slow Dance
5. Dogs
6. Jelly Roll
7. The Wilsons
8. Venus Burns
9. Save My Life
10. Stealing Electricity
11. Like My Sunshine

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