The Exploited, Auckland NZ, 2020

The Exploited

13th March 2020
Whammy! Bar, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review and photography by Sarah Kidd

In the words of the infamous Wattie Buchan himself; “Fuck coronavirus!”

Yes the world may be going to hell in a hand basket, taking thousands of bog rolls with them, but as far as The Exploited were concerned, it was business as usual as they kicked off their ’40 Years of Chaos’ Australasian tour in Auckland last night.

A more appropriate venue for a show such as this there could not be as the sold out crowd filled every nook and cranny of the bowels of Whammy!; attendees passing the time with stories of past live experiences, fond memories of their last show at The Kings Arms back in 2015 filling the air.

Much has changed since that crazy night five years ago; The Kings Arms is now nothing more than a ghost, The Exploited have a new guitarist and Wattie is sporting a far more streamlined figure following a series of health scares that have seen him suffer through a quadruple bypass and a pacemaker insertion. Most others would have quit, but most others aren’t Wattie.

Storming the stage, shirtless and wild-eyed, Wattie may have been sporting a shorter mohawk, but he still exuded the same maniacal energy he has always been known for. Turning to eyeball each of his fellow members, he asked the crowd if they were alright and then launched straight into ‘Let’s Start a War’ the title track from their third album; the fans immediately throwing themselves behind it as they flung their bodies against those already locked onto the steel barrier at the front of the room. Raw and cathartic that opening song felt like a cleansing, everyone shedding off the stresses of the past couple of weeks that have weighed them down. Beer spilled from the necks of bottles, voices bellowed the lyrics in unison and on stage The Exploited appeared nonchalant bar for a small smile that crossed bassist Irish Rob’s (aka The Evil Witch) face.

Doubling down on the ferocity ‘Fightback’ spewed forth, Wattie pacing the stage while occasionally shoving the mic into the faces of those down front. Pounding the skins Wullie Buchan barely looked up from the kit as his brother banged the mic on the side of his head and quipped back at someone in the crowd, his Edinburgh accent still as thick and rich as it always has been. Cheeky insults traded revolving around the topic of hobbits and sheep shagging and Wattie was straight back into the music, ‘Dogs of War’ and ‘Massacre’ turning the entire venue into a mass of sweat drenched bodies.

It may have been Stevie Campbells debut as guitarist, but he proved his worth from the start, his fingers finding their mark on the strings (at one point he even used a beer bottle as a guitar slide), his backing vocals fitting in behind Wattie’s frenzied lines. Irish Rob, now shirtless leaning back into the stage, dreadlocks dangling, continued to thumb the bass notes, the whole unit cohesive and yet raw, perfection never an achievement ever sought by the group, the messages in the simplicity of their words holding far more value to both them and their fans.

Smashing tracks out one after the other the set list offered up everything one could have wanted and more. The Exploited may not have released an album since Fuck the System in 2003, but they have plenty of material from their massive discography to keep the fans happy; ‘Troops of Tomorrow’ and ‘Noise Annoys’ once again whipping the room into a frenzy.

‘Fuck the USA’ closed out the set, Wattie having already made his thoughts on Donald Trump well known in both recent interviews and on stage; the band stomping off as chants of ‘Barmy Army!’ rose into the now stifling air. Returning to stage Wullie stoked the crowd, his call for volunteers to join them on stage for a rousing rendition of the iconic ‘Sex and Violence’ seeing numerous attendees hurl themselves over the barrier and join in the ruckus.

Once again taking charge, Wattie ever the prowling entity who rules over his domain, The Exploited finished their set with ‘Punks Not Dead’ and ‘Was It Me’ before finally bidding their fans farewell. Soaking wet and hoarse from yelling, the crowd saluted them, no one on either side of the barrier truly knowing if The Exploited would ever return to the land of the long white cloud again.

But one thing was for certain; Punk – just like Wattie himself – is far from fucking dead.

Were you there at Whammy! Bar for this old school punk gig? Or have you seen The Exploited perform live somewhere else? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Setlist:

1. Let’s Start A War
2. Fightback
3. Dogs Of War
4. The Massacre
5. UK 82
6. Chaos Is My Life
7. Dead Cities
8. Alternative
9. Why Are You Doing This?
10. Rival Leaders
11. Troops of Tomorrow [The Vibrators cover]
12. Noise Annoys
13. Never Sell Out
14. I Believe In Anarchy
15. Holiday In The Sun
16. Beat The Bastards
17. Cop Cars
18. Fuck The System
19. Porno Slut
20. Army Life
21. Fuck The USA
22. Sex & Violence [encore]
23. Punks Not Dead [encore]
24. Was it me [encore]

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