Salient

Ginger Brown, The Evils, Alex The Kid

By Stacey Knott | 30 Apr, 2007

Live Wellington Reviews

This week in Wellington music, we found there were so many gigs going on deserving of review that we had to attend as many as possible. So, Daniel Hanson checked out Ginger Brown at the Matterhorn on Saturday the 24th, and then The Evils last gig at the ‘VBC presents’ weekly Tuesday nights, at the San Francisco Bath House. Kirsten Salisbury was there to witness Alex the Kid’s first live show.

Advertised as a free, 12pm show on Saturday night at the Matterhorn, there was plenty of time to get to the gig after parties and drinks. However, the place was not as packed as to be expected for the band everyone is claiming you “have to see”. A fair call, as any band that can make a lit-up-like-a-merry-go-round revolving drum kit seem like just another piece of Matterhorn furniture deserves some serious applause. Enter Ginger Brown - the carnivalesque characters taking a minimalist approach to 70’s psych-rock. The circus was, most definitely, in town.

Going from new bands to breaking up bands; The Evils’ farewell show was, unfortunately, something of a non-event. Their combination of bass-driven melody, technical drumming and guitar antics should have been winning, but ultimately fell short of the mark. At times, individual musicianship helped to carry the set, but, for all their jumping around, the band could not capitalise on the energy of a pre-Anzac full house by giving themselves a truly sumptuous send-off. Hopefully, solo work and side projects will provide fresh and creative opportunities in which these obviously competent musicians can flourish.

On the other side of Wellington, at a Newtown flat on Sunday the 22nd, the crowd were overcome with excitement as Alex the Kid entered the room. Unzipping their hoodies, they revealed Quantum Leap inspired flashing hearts and wristbands and, of course, the trademark 3d glasses. For the next thirty minutes, Newtown was transformed into a portal to the future of music. Debut performance glitches aside, the crowd fell in love with the technology driven greatness that is Alex the Kid.