Wiri Donna
10th June 2022
San Fran, Wellington, New Zealand.
Review by Tim Gruar, photography by Garry Thomas.
Wiri Donna (a.k.a Bianca Bailey) has been popping up on stages around the motu for a couple of years now. She began with indie-folk intentions (think of her single ‘Manuka Honey’), but after some time supporting bands like The Beths, Mild Orange and Soaked Oats, she’s branched out into more stomping tunes, with guts and grit. On her new EP, ‘Being Alone’ her sound has a larger, more emphatic rock feel, supported by the voice of a lioness ready to roar. Ever the moderate, on Facebook she calls her compositions ‘dinky riff rock designed for sweet summer moments – Music that will make you sigh and think about stuffs’. True that. But, if you properly listen to the new e.p you’ll also hear more than just ‘dinky’. She’s not afraid to confront heavy topics like sexual abuse or gender politics and she flies her flag proud and strong across the parapets. Hey, you people down the back there – better listen up, she’s got things to say!
Tonight was the official concert launch of ‘Being Alone’ and the start of Wiri Donna’s nationwide EP release tour, with live band in tow, including Harrison Scholes (Arjuna Oakes, F.A.I.R.Y), James MacEwan (Arjuna Oakes), & Elliott Dawson (DOONS, Elliott Dawson). Recent singles ‘No Follow Through’ and ‘Dream of Me’ have, rightly, dominated the Student Radio charts. So, tonight was finally an opportunity to celebrate her music live and direct.
To kick us off Mystery Waitress brought in a dark and moody set of ‘country crawlers and glittering indie rock’ (their words). Well, that’s sort of what they sound like. Think 90’s shoegazers, a steady slowdive with a set of homogeneous clarity. Songs all seem variations of each other and blend together to make pleasing, if not too challenging, sonic wallpaper. It’s a gentle way to begin the night as a punter, who are tonight mainly a younger group of Radio Active listeners and likeminded types who drift in from the wet June night.
Up next is Elliott Dawson, who played a set of slightly disturbing and angry art rock, inspired by late 90’s Brit post-rock (think Artic Monkeys, Frans Ferdinand), mixed with South Bank Jazz influences from his own debut album ‘Hang Low’ (due out on 2nd September). Helping him out was Olivia Campion (Yumi Zouma, Revulva, Mystery Waitress) Pierce Higginson (DOONS), Lily Rose Shaw (Revulva, The Gallery, Dawn Diver) and Reuben Topzand (Neil Macleod, ZÖ).
He starts with energy on ‘Lay Your Walls Down’ before moving to the current single ‘CEO’, which shows plenty of promise as a charting concern. Its crunchy bassline certainly holds your attention. On the recorded version there was the luxury of a many layered horn section. Sadly, this was reduced to just one sax – competently played but a bit underwhelming in comparison to the original mix.
He then follows up with a very 80’s vibe on ‘Bald Spot’ and some quirk angular numbers – ‘Speaking Frankly’ and Going Nowhere’. There are a couple of extra songs to follow, both slow rock numbers before the band vacate the stage and Dawson is left on his own with his ‘Casio’ keyboard to play ‘Winter’s Ghost’, set to be the new single. After the rowdy ending of the previous song, “No Consequence’, the crowd are a bit revved up and ready to get a little groovy. But this quiet, poetic number breaks the spell and a murmur rises as everyone turns their attention to the bar and orders new drinks. The song itself is a strong and sensitive number, but never gets the airing it deserves. Perhaps it would have been better to slip it into the middle of the set. Trick for young players, eh?
However, tonight was really about Wiri Donna and it was clear that friends and whānau were here to support her. The front row is filled with smiling mates, cheering the band on as they take the stage to crack into track one, the e.p’s namesake, ‘Being Alone’. It kicks off nice and gentle but then about half way in Bianca screams ‘It’s My Fuckin’ Body!’, and everybody joins in. They know this song and it’s message about sexual abuse only too clearly.
They roll into another e.p tune, the jangly ‘Big Pop’, then the single ‘Dream of Me’ which sounds completely different from the recorded version – more lively, upbeat. Another single ‘No Follow Through’ comes straight after. The band are hitting their stride and the audience are enjoying the ride. To my right a violinist is laying down dark waves to offset the bass and Elliot Dawson and Bianca are sparring with each other on guitars. The drums pound away in an intense, rolling groove that holds it all together.
There are a couple of unreleased numbers. Dark and grungy tunes called ‘Hell or High Water’, ‘Doom’ and another intense song called ‘Sink’, which includes some elongated guitar bridging.
Then, to break the mood, Bianca puts down her guitar and the band break into a very funky version of Japanese Breakfast’s hit tune ‘Be Sweet’. Now, I confess I’d never heard of this tune. So thanks for introducing it to me – it’ll definitely be on my playlist from now on. The George Clinton style bassline is super infectious and the band tonight exploit that to the max. Everyone gets a little loose in response.
We get another groovy, grungy release, ‘Wasted Daylight’, which is almost forgotten in the excitement before wrapping up with a singalong version of ‘You Should Be Smiling’ and the finale, ‘Last Call’, an ambling concluder that builds to an epic finale.
Then, just like that, the band are gone. The crowd chants ‘One More Song’ over and over. But there is no encore. The rent is paid for tonight and that’s enough.
To be fair, I think they’d possibly run out of rehearsed material. Over all, Wiri Donna (the band version) was a tight and professional unit. They were a little under rehearsed – you could sense the newness of this unit, which will, over the course of the tour only get better. Tonight was a safe space, home turf to try out this material and tweak it where possible. If I could offer just one suggestion to all three bands. Finish off on a high. Find a song with an epic ending and go out with a bang. Make it memorable. You deserve to be heard and for people to say ‘They really were here’. Break a leg for the upcoming tour!
Were you there at San Fran for this hometown rock gig? Or have you seen Wiri Donna perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
- Being Alone
- Dream Of Me
- No Follow Through
- Hell Or High Water
- Doom
- Sink
- Be Sweet [Japanese Breakfast Cover]
- Wasted Daylight
- You Should Be Smiling
- Last Call
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.
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