The Eastern
10th March 2023
Common Room, Hastings, New Zealand.
Review by Rob Harbers, photography by Andrew Caldwell.
In the wake of recent events to afflict the province of Hawkes Bay, amongst the sadness, devastation and tragedy, the psyche of the resident population is in need of an uplift. In one of the first instances of an outside act coming in to the area since the unwelcome guest that was Gabrielle, Christchurch’s The Eastern tonight provided an energetic set of both original and cover songs, gratis for the benefit of the collective soul.
This is an area that has suffered, and will continue to do so, with probably no-one being more than two or three degrees separate from someone who has been greatly affected. As such, the opportunity to step aside from the ongoing shitstorm, if only for a night, is hugely beneficial to the recovery process.
For The Eastern, this was the fulfilment of a history of attempting to play this gig at the Common Room, having previously been stymied by the other factor that’s been regularly screwing over live music for the past three years. After numerous reschedules, here they were, flying in for a lightning one-off show to deliver a tonic for the troops while agreeing to do it all for no charge, in the spirit of the time. As such, this was a fairly rough-and-ready performance, the band going in to bar-band mode as opposed to finely honed and nuanced. This is not to take anything away from it though, in fact the opposite – when your bar band is made up of players this skilled, it’s still going to be fucking impressive!
From the first note, it was obvious that these guys were here to bring joy, and that they proceeded to do for over two hours solid, along the way proceeding to shred any concept of a setlist or such trappings, while clearly deriving great enjoyment from it all themselves. Consequently this write-up is not really your conventional review (in case you hadn’t noticed!), but at least as much a missive from the stricken environs. As far as the music goes, it was exactly what was called for. But this was about so much more than the music alone – it was a chance to gather in common cause, to take time out from the troubles, to reconnect with some degree of normality (although after the last few years, what does that even mean any more?). Talking after with the esteemed Gerard, our host for the evening, he mentioned how the recovery process has brought out so much in the local populace, with so many pitching in to do whatever they can, from the most mundane to literal earth-moving. And in this spirit, the band were here to do what they could, to be here beside us – and greatly appreciated it was, is, and will continue to be!
This is, coincidentally, my 100th write-up for Ambient Light, and I could scarce think of a better way to mark my first century than to have the privilege of covering a gig of such import, as fraught with emotion though it may be. 40+ years ago, Mancunian miserablist Mark E Smith declared The N.W.R.A. – The North Will Rise Again. This is our version of that – H.B.W.R.A. (notice the lack of a “the” there – it’s “Hawkes Bay”, not “The Hawkes Bay”! Yes we get tetchy about that when we hear it on media…). There’s a long road ahead, to whatever may be the new normal – don’t forget us down here!
And to The Eastern: thank you so much, from the bottom of our hearts – you don’t know how powerful it’s been. Aroha, ngā mihi nui.
Were you there at the Common Room for this beautiful country rock gig? Or have you seen The Eastern perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Note: Ambient Light was provided passes 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 an affiliate link. If you purchase a product using an affiliate link, Ambient Light will automatically receive a small commission at no cost to you.
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