The Naked and Famous, Bespin & So Below
10th January 2017
Logan Campbell Centre, Auckland, New Zealand
Review by Sarah Kidd, Photography by Shanna Mae Photography.
Thanks to the generosity of iHeartRadio and 2Degrees, hundreds of music fans were treated to an outstanding night of kiwi music for free. Even better the show was all ages ensuring a whole new generation of fans was able to access some of the hottest acts in town.
The venue was already close to capacity when So Below stepped onto the stage. Following on from her intimate gig at REC last month it was great to see So Below [aka Madeline North] in a larger venue where she could really spread her wings.
Once again for this live performance she is accompanied by The Naked and Famous’s Aaron Short on keyboard and Jesse Wood on drums, both gentlemen performing double duties tonight. From the first song it was quite obvious that So Below had captured the audience’s attention, with all eyes focused on the stage and enthusiastic applause following each track. Cutting a lithe figure in a loose black jacket, North’s voice was at once both powerful and haunting. An absolutely stonking version of ‘Far’ (with an extended and intense bridge that had the crowd riding the crescendo of beats) ensured that she had left an impression. So Below finished the set with her hit single ‘Drift’ which has already amassed over 95,000 plays on Soundcloud.
Following an extremely quick turnaround of the stage, the second “special guest” act of the night was ready to strut their stuff. Bespin are a remarkable three piece formed in 2014. Charismatic lead singer Jonathan Lee (who also plays in well-known NZ band Cut off Your Hands) greets the audience from behind a mop of hair “We’re going to play you some noisy songs”.
After performing a set at the popular Laneway Festival in 2015, Bespin followed it up by winning the New Zealand Music Awards ‘Critics Choice’ award in the same year. And with their set tonight it was easy to see why. Their songs are hypnotic, a delicious hybrid of psychedelic-indie-shoegaze-rock. Jonathans vocals on tracks such as ‘Calling Me Away’ and ‘Osiris’ were outstanding, covering an impressive range and delivered with vivaciousness. Stand out track of the set had to be ‘Take Control’ with its driving bass line. Bespin released their EP ‘Osiris’ in 2015 and are currently working towards releasing their first album. These guys are definitely one to watch!
Once again the stage was being turned over as quickly as possible; fans starting to fill the seating on the second level as floor space became limited. Formed in 2007 The Naked and Famous have been hit makers from the beginning. They have won numerous awards throughout their career to date including an Apra Silver Scroll and numerous New Zealand Music Awards. The band have been based in LA since 2012 so the fans attending tonight are certainly excited to see them back and playing in their hometown.
Opening their set with ‘Water Beneath’ closely followed by ‘Higher’ it was apparent that this was going to be a fantastic high energy show. Alisa Xayalith twirls around the stage dressed in a striking red kaftan style top over simple black pants, while Thom Powers looked suave in black and white. “Thank you for the warm welcome home, feels good to be back” Alisa smiles and waves to the crowd as the opening notes of ‘Punching in a Dream’ ring out, eliciting huge cheers for the very well-known and popular track. Both Alisa and Thom move effortlessly between vocal duties and playing their respective instruments. While Alisa performs the lead vocals on the bulk of the tracks, Thom showed everyone just how superb his voice is with a charming version of ‘My Energy’ from their latest album ‘Simple Forms’.
Thom later changed to an acoustic guitar as they treated the audience to a beautiful rendition of ‘A Stillness’ it’s almost country music style charming the audience easily as it built in intensity and swirled around the stage. Kudos to the lighting crew tonight as well, the combination of LED light stands, coloured spotlights and smoke creating magnificent visuals which complimented the music wonderfully. Towards the end of the set Alisa once again addresses the crowd, “It’s heart-warming to be back. We try to make it back at least once a year. You guys have started 2017 off with a BANG! So Happy New Year!!”
Finishing off the 15 song set with ‘Young Blood’ the huge first single from their 2010 debut album ‘Passive Me, Aggressive You’ the fans are all too happy to join Alisa on the chorus. However they weren’t so happy to end the night there – with cries of “more, more” rippling through the crowd. The Naked and Famous kindly replying by emerging from the shadows of the side of stage one more time to deliver an encore of two more tracks; ‘Last Forever’ and one of their latest offerings ‘Rotten’.
Makes you proud to be a Kiwi!
Were you there at the Logan Campbell Centre to witness this fantastic showcase? Or have you seen The Naked and Famous somewhere else before? Tell me about it in the comments below!
The Naked and Famous Setlist:
- Water Beneath
- Higher
- All Of This
- Punching In A Dream
- Rolling Waves
- My Energy
- I Kill Giants
- Losing Our Control
- A Stillness
- Hearts Like Ours
- No Way
- Runners
- Laid Low
- Girls Like You
- Young Blood
- Last Forever [encore]
- Rotten [encore]