X-Ambassadors, Auckland NZ, 2020

X-Ambassadors

4th February 2020
Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Ali Nicholls. Photography by Doug Peters.

Touring their latest album internationally, X-Ambassadors are steadily lighting up the pop-rock radar around the world. Brothers Sam and Casey Harris and life-long mate Adam Levin have been consistently dishing out genre-defying stadium bangers since their first official release in 2012. Moving now more steadily into the realm of stadium pop, the trio are matching their big sound with big shows, and tonight’s venture into the sound of 2020 was no exception.

The audience is a little slim tonight. It’s a Tuesday and it was twenty-seven degrees today, so even I was considering pulling a sickie to stay at home gently poaching in the humidity of yet another blistering summer night. But the energy is good and the crowd, small as it may be, is generating enough electric anticipation to light up a skyscraper.

The band comes out a half hour late due to technical difficulties, but their enthusiasm leaves no room for resentment. It’s a primarily live band tonight, which is impressive given how carefully engineered their tracks are.

One of their biggest numbers ‘HEY CHILD’ opens the set. Vocalist and frontman Sam Harris’ voice is exactly as the records portray which is impressive in itself, but what’s even more notable is the exacting energy that is apparent from the moment the stage is lit. Everything is synchronised: the lights are pulsing with the rhythms of the drums, Sam throws himself around the stage like an aerobics instructor having seemingly mastered the art of singing without breathing, and the band is so perfectly in sync that I find myself checking leads and amps to be sure this is actually live.

The first couple of songs seem to be backgrounds for the display of the undeniable talents of Sam and Casey Harris. Between each track is a guitar solo that backs Sam’s spiels about the upcoming songs or their gratitude to be in New Zealand. During the second track the singer is handed a bass. He seems to primarily use it to guide him around the stage like a rudder, hefting it around and beating the strings. Within the same two minutes of the song, his saxophone is plucked up off the stage and suddenly we get another very brief jazz interlude for no apparent reason – it’s like Clinton’s Arsenio Hall Show appearance on crack. The machine is churning away without a fault in sight, but it’s a lot to take in. And while each song is performed with an almost mechanical precision, the various instruments and solos that are worked in feel somewhat ham-fisted this early in the set.

That being said, there is simply no denying how spectacular this band is live. Despite a small crowd the show feels larger than life. The sound is earth shaking and mixed to give the impression that we’re in a much larger setting than we really are.

It’s a Tesla Cybertruck of a show – everything is so precisely engineered that it feels a little confronting at points, and at times I find myself curious as to what is so surprising here. Sam Harris’ expressions and energy and gestures could be straight from a Disney channel performance. The band would be shadowed by his presence were it not for the lighting reminding us of their presence. Stage hands are constantly at the ready in the side-lines, armed with various instruments to slip into the show like magician’s assistants. I can’t help but feel like I’ve been strapped in for the ride rather than taken on an adventure, but the sheer magnificence of the show itself can’t be overstated. It’s dazzling to watch it all come together.

While his brother is quite literally centre stage, I find that Casey Harris is the most ‘interesting’ musician to watch. In all honesty, there are times when the keys feel a little out of place, particularly in the more rock anthemic numbers: we simply don’t need a fluttering piano solo mid mosh. But the guy is HURLING himself at this performance. Sam Harris might have a Brittany spears-like precision and athleticism, but Casey is going HARD with his whole body. Arms are flailing, his head is tossing around, and he seems to be dancing with the keys rather than simply pushing the notes out. As far as authentic charisma goes, he’s leading the show. When he has a chance to show his more tender side on the keys later in the set with tracks like the collaboration with Illenium ‘In Your Arms’, his playing is as tight as ever. He’s a renaissance man of vibes.

Between each song the lights completely black out and we’re reset. It gives the vibe of a showcase, but it’s cohesive as all hell. Whoever designed this show must design airports for a day job. Every single detail has been thought about, and all the crowd needs to do is stand around and watch it all unfold.

Technical difficulties lead to an ‘acoustic’ version of ‘Gorgeous’ that works beautifully with the simplicity of the song, but I honestly can’t tell what acoustic is supposed to mean in this context as all of the instruments eventually come in as they have for the majority of the set. Sam Harris’ falsetto is on full display in this track, giving Sam Smith a run for his money. The song transitions us into the closing numbers and of course, the last encore tracks ‘I DON’T KNOW HOW TO PRAY’ and ‘Joyful’ which are such massive numbers that a lot of fans leave stumped, blinking into the lights of the ground floor when the show is over.

X-Ambassadors put on an astonishing show. I left the Powerstation reeling from the energy that held together an unbelievably tight performance. Fans will adore them and those of us who are new to their performances will surely be blown away – with a show like that, how could you not be?

Were you there at the Powerstation for this brilliant indie pop-rock gig? Or have you seen X-Ambassadors perform live somewhere else? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Setlist:

1. HEY CHILD
2. Jungle
3. BOOM
4. QUICKSAND
5. Don’t Stay
6. Ahead Of Myself
7. CONFIDENCE
8. RULE
9. Low Life
10. Home / In Your Arms / American Oxygen
11. HOLD YOU DOWN
12. WASTELAND
13. Gorgeous
14. Unsteady
15. Renegades
16. I DON’T KNOW HOW TO PRAY [encore]
17. Joyful [encore]

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