The Garden
9th March 2019
Whammy! Bar, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review & Photography by Sarah Kidd.
While thousands may have been singing their hearts out to American rock band Red Hot Chilli Peppers down at Spark Arena, those in the know last Saturday night headed uptown to Whammy, feverishly clutching their tickets to the sold-out The Garden gig. What these fans were about to see can not so easily be pushed into a genre box however, the twin brothers from Orange County who form The Garden preferring to act as melodious alchemists, creating their own musical philosophy and naming it ‘Vada, Vada’.
Local acts Dbldbl and Cindy were first up to entertain the rambunctious audience many of whom were dressed in a colourful array of outfits, skin tight sequinned body suits rubbing shoulders with clown costumes that Tim Curry would have happily have worn in the original version of IT.
Liam Dargaville aka Dbldbl aka one half of Cool Tan was in casual mode for his set that saw him languidly pace the stage dropping rhymes like sugar coated gum drops for the audience to savour.
It was the calm before the storm it would seem for when the eclectic Cindy took the stage, all hell broke loose, lead vocalist ‘92’ surfing the surging waves of the mosh pit when he wasn’t on stage screeching into a microphone that was duct taped to his hand. Originally starting out as a four piece, Cindy has now grown to five, Roy Irwin easily making an instant impression as he stripped down to his boxers before then conducting a violent wrestling match with his white flying V.
Original compositions such as ‘Hell’ and ‘2 Star Restaurant’ with its cries of “I Love West Auckland!” raged across the stage before bassist ‘237’ delivered a rather smooth cover of the Tommy Roe classic ‘Crimson And Clover’ made popular by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, the song allowing the audience to catch their breath and rearrange themselves. However, it was soon back to exuberant chaos with songs such as ’10 Hour Love’, 92 soon inviting a fan on stage to sing with him which they did while entangled in each other’s arms. One of the most exciting local live acts currently on the circuit, do not miss the opportunity to let Cindy charm you.
The Garden formed in 2011 and since then have made critics scratch their heads and fans deliver themselves at their feet. With three studio albums and four EP’s the Shears twins have kept themselves busy, yet each of them has still found the time to produce even more albums with their side projects; Wyatt with Enjoy and Fletcher with Puzzle.
But here within the dark confines of Whammy it is all about The Garden, the fans barely pausing for breath as they explode into a manifestation of fire ants consuming every note, sound bite and drum roll that comes toward them. The Shears dressed in black – Wyatt’s boiler suit accented with a safety-pinned piece of red tartan and a jester patch on his pocket – do not acknowledge the fans, instead they get straight into it, swiftly dropping both ‘Clay’ and ‘All Access’ on the ever-swarming crowd; Whammy may have seen its fair share of mosh pits, but even tonight she yielded under the mass of flailing bodies.
While Fletcher drills out patterns on the drumkit that make the mouth water, the sound of a jesters laugh, or a dog’s bark pierce the constant underlying hum between songs; the mix forming around both Wyatt’s bass playing and vocals, at points almost swallowing them altogether before they claw their way to the top again in some sort of internal war. ‘Banana Peel’ from their latest album Mirror Might Steal Your Charm saw some serious drum and bass rhythms serenade the crowd as Fletcher raps while pacing the stage; ‘U Want the Scoop?’ celebrated joyously by the fans the moment they heard the opening question posed by a robotic voice.
Punk, rap, techno and synths yield to the touch of the Shears brothers, who somehow take pieces that shouldn’t go together turning them instead into bewitching compositions delivered with at times demeanours that range from biting malice to an air of nonchalance. Having modelled for labels such as infamous names as Yves Saint Laurent, Hugo Boss and Balenciaga, the twins certainly know how to work their stage. The Shears also like to keep their audiences guessing, while remaining in their set positions for most of the evening, every so often Fletcher would explode from behind the drum kit, his raven black hair flying as he would forward roll across the stage before grabbing a mic and joining his brother on vocals.
The set list yielded countless gems such as ‘California Here We Go’, the infectious ‘This Could Build Us A Home’ and ‘No Destination’; The Garden taking the fans home with ‘All Smiles Over Here :)’ the audience giving them everything they had left to give, despite exhaustion visibly setting in after the almost hour long high octane set. Bestowing an encore upon the audience, The Shears smashed out the ever popular and far more melodic ‘Egg’ before finishing on a break neck version of ‘Vada Vada’; promptly leaving the stage before the crowd could even begin to collect their jaws from the floor.
The Garden are Neo-Punk with a knife twist to the ribs, DIY aesthetic with a side order of maniacal humour … The Garden are – as Wyatt has previously described – “pure creative expression”
Call their music what you will, but whatever you do, witness The Garden live.
Were you there at Whammy Bar for this chaotic neo-punk gig? Or have you seen The Garden perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
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