Flying Nun. The Kiwi label, home of so many great lo-fi, experimental bands that manage to defy the ages. Probably one of the best examples of this is The Bats, who joined the label in the early 90s, and manage to churn out an incredible amount of music, tour, and inspire so many bands of this generation. They played to a full house at the East Brunswick Club, to launch their latest album, Free All The Monsters, supported by Guy and Marcus Blackman, and a personal favorite, Witch Hats.
As soon as the sweaty Witch Hats stepped off the stage (after a driving rendition of “Sessa”, off the Solarium Down The Causeway album) the 30-years-and-over crowd seemed to pop out of the woodwork, absolutely stoked that their own nostalgia was going to be revived, by a great Kiwi band, who seem to do no wrong, who possess a certain easy-going, rockstar quality that comes from a mix of culture, familiarity, and an appreciation for music.
They opened with “Like Water In Your Hands”, announcing straight after that tonight was going to be a mish-mash of old and new, mostly old, and a few songs off older EPs, which the crowd seemed to like. New song, “She’s Down”, was followed by “Castle Lights” and they continued on to what seemed to be a pretty long set, perhaps a little too long, but enjoyable and really, really tight. Judging from a conversations that could be overheard, people were in awe of how well the band meshed together, after so many years, without having an overwhelmingly cocky presence, like most touring bands of their age. To be honest, it could just stem from them having that humble New Zealand demeanor, but it definitely won a few points with some first timers.
They ended with an old favorite “Boogey Man” and bowed off the stage to chants of “more!”, which was predictable, and like always, returned within minutes for an incredible encore, playing “Block of Wood” and “North by North”, which did exactly what an encore should do: ended the night with a bang, reminding everyone that a great performance knows no age, and with a legend like Robert Scott at the helm, you really can’t go wrong.
– Zahra Khamissa
