The Chills
6th October 2018
Galatos, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review & Photography by Sarah Kidd.
When it comes to bands that defined the sound of the New Zealand music scene, The Chills are guaranteed to always feature on the list. Formed in 1980 by the – they broke the mould when they made this one – talent that is Martin Phillips, The Chills have had a revolving door of band members over the past couple of decades. But with two new albums released in the last three years, their latest Snow Bound receiving rather favourable reviews and a back catalogue that cannot be argued with Auckland turned out in their droves, Galatos selling out.
To begin the night the disarmingly charming Hollie Fullbrook aka Tiny Ruins. Appearing solo tonight, she looked absolutely gorgeous in a simple black velvet dress, the warm colour of her guitar showcased beautifully against it. With a subtle hint that her opening track was of a ‘delicate’ nature which would require an atmosphere of the same standing, the crowd hushed as ‘School of Design’ introduced all to a set filled with stunning individual compositions. Crowd favourite ‘Chainmail Maker’ made way for tales of the West in the form of ‘Dream Wave’ while her unearthly version of ‘Hurtling Through’ formed from a collaboration with Hamish Kilgour saw Fullbrook somehow barely pluck at her guitar strings while producing a sound that almost resembled the fullness of a cello. Finishing with a soon to be released track entitled ‘Olympic Girls’ Fullbrook’s set was a quieter yet thoroughly enjoyable opener to the evening.
Packing in tighter, cheers arose as The Chills took to the stage, the current five piece made up of Phillips along with James Dickson on bass, Todd Knudson on drums, Oli Wilson on keyboards and multi-instrumentalist Erica Scally on guitar, keys and violin. Opening with ‘Night of Chill Blue’ and immediately that wonderful feeling of satisfaction filled the room, Phillips familiar voice having lost nothing over the years. Moving swiftly from track to track the audience soon got its groove on, swaying turning to feet shuffling on the more up-tempo offerings. On stage things were heating up too, in particular for drummer Todd Knudson who was obviously bursting at the seams with energy as he often played the skins from a standing position.
Material from their latest two albums made up a good portion of the set list, but no one was complaining, many fans singing along, especially when it came to the rock infused ‘America Says Hello’ from the 2015 album Silver Bullets and the angsty ‘Complex’ from Snow Bound. But let’s face it, it was those big hitters that everyone wanted to relive the joy of, ‘Heavenly Pop Hit’ made all the more special as Phillips invited Donna Savage of Dead Famous People on stage to join him, Savage providing the backing vocals for the original recording of the song. Not bothering with the ruse of an encore, The Chills continued on, delivering ‘Kaleidoscope World’ with the help of Hollie Fullbrook on vocals before finishing on yes, that track. ‘I Love my Leather Jacket’ simultaneously summing up the night and the long-lasting love for The Chills in one three minute something track with one of the most recognisable riffs to have ever graced these lands.
Fingers crossed that Phillips and co continue down the path of creating new material for a few years to come yet, as this current version of The Chills are really onto something quite exceptional.
Were you there at Galatos for this brilliant Kiwi classic Pop gig? Or have you seen The Chills perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
The Chills Setlist:
- Night Of Chill Blue
- Bad Sugar
- Wet Blanket
- The Male Monster From The ID
- Scarred
- Snow Bound
- Submarine Bells
- Deep Belief
- Pink Frost
- Lord Of All I Survey
- Underwater Wasteland
- America Says Hello
- Complex
- Heavenly Pop Hit (feat. Donna Savage)
- Kaleidoscope World (feat. Hollie Fullbrook)
- Doledrums
- I Love My Leather Jacket
Hollie Fullbrook Setlist:
- School Of Design
- One Million Flowers
- Chainmail Maker
- Me At The Museum, You In The Wintergardens
- Dream Wave
- Hurtling Through
- How Much
- Olympic Girls
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