The Streets, Auckland NZ, 2019

The Streets

22nd July 2019
The Town Hall, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Richard Myburgh.

“Don’t be scared! There are 2.8million of us and sixty million of you!”

Attendees of The Streets last night at The Auckland Town Hall would be familiar with the above statement. Very familiar. That’s because it became the running theme of the night for Birmingham geezer Mike Skinner, lead vocalist and the creator behind The Streets project. Accompanied by his quintet of musicians, including none other than R&B/Reggae singer Kevin Mark Trail and the evening was shaping up to be a nice one indeed.

Ex-pats with pints in hand jostled near the front, the more youthful fans staking a claim on the barrier early and vocally making their appreciation clear as Skinner walked out in simple black pants and windbreaker style jacket, the iconic beat of ‘Turn the Page’ from their debut album Original Pirate Material setting the mood.

In between hip-hop verses that in the hands of Skinner are akin to spoken word poetry intertwined with the inner monologue of someone who has lived more than a few lives, banter was sprinkled like seasoning on chippies. Skinner covering everything from how New Zealand needs to export it’s weed right through to his tongue in cheek musings that if the crowd just smiled a bit more they would feel happier.

Sticking with their debut album, ‘Let’s Push Things Forward’ saw Trail line-up with Skinner on the vocals, the two playing off each other as they traversed the stage. Champers was popped and sprayed over those close enough. It would be the first of several bottles that would be sacrificed in celebration.

Guitarist Rob Harvey goose-stepped as Cassell the Beatmaker accompanied him on the drums, Harvey himself often dropping the guitar to the side in favour of the mic, the sound of three vocalists buoying the sound on the sea of heads bobbing before the stage. “Don’t be scared! Listen, listen; don’t be scared! There’s only 2.8million of us and sixty million of you!!” Skinner boomed over the top of the audience as he clasped the proffered hands of the ladies directly in front of him.

Mixing the set up a little, The Streets tied a few tracks together, ‘Sharp Darts’ sharing space with ‘Don’t Mug Yourself’; ‘Has it Come to This’ sliding into ‘Geezers Need Excitement’, Skinner’s mouth barely stopping for a moment as he cheekily chastised a fan with a glint in his eye for trying to give him a joint, later thanking another for the MDMA and random British Passport that had been flung onstage. Skinner’s humour always brewing just below the surface.

A minor plateau hit the crowd as some of the more ballad style numbers were taken for a spin, energy levels soon perking up again as Skinner encouraged all the women in the audience to crowd surf, as in his eyes, New Zealand was one of the safest places to do so. Commiseration anthem ‘Dry Your Eyes’, seeing the Town Hall filled with raised voices, and arms across shoulders, cupful’s of lager toasted to both lost loves and the night itself; the harmonisation of Harvey and Trail singing the words “It’s over” a fitting end to the show.

An extended encore brought a taste of some newer music, The Streets – having originally come to end in 2011, Skinner stating that he had nothing left to say – surprising all when they released two new singles in 2017. While there is no word on an album yet, singles continue to trickle out; Skinner apparently needing to get a few more things off his chest yet in various forms (nudge, nudge, check out The Darker the Shadow the Brighter the Light).

Disappearing up onto the balcony, Skinner elbowed his way through the fans, cracking ribs along the way with his running dialogue; back down on stage, he teased the audience, declaring that he felt the need to run down to the end of the hall and then have the fans crowd-surf him back to the stage. Man of his word, he climbed over the barrier, hands gesturing, the fans parting like the red sea before Moses. Skinner lifted like the triumphant hero and carried back on a living conveyor belt of outstretched arms as ‘Fit but You Know It’ echoed around the room.

One last bottle of champers, one last hurrah. Night concluded. Champion.

Were you there at The Town Hall for this brilliant alternative hip hop gig? Or have you seen The Streets perform somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Setlist:

1. Turn The Page
2. Let’s Push Things Forward
3. Same Old Thing
4. Sharp Darts
5. Don’t Mug Yourself
6. Could Well Be In
7. Has It Come To This?
8. Geezers Need Excitement
9. Everything Is Borrowed
10. Never Went To Church
11. Stay Positive
12. Going Through Hell
13. Too Much Brandy
14. It’s Too Late
15. The Escapist
16. Heaven For The Weather
17. Dry Your Eyes
18. Your Wave God’s Wave God [The Darker the Shadow the Brighter the Light cover] [encore]
19. Call Me In The Morning [encore]
20. Open The Till [Grim Sickers cover][encore]
21. Weak Become Heroes [encore]
22. Blinded By The Lights [encore]
23. Fit But You Know It [encore]

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