26/01/2026

Park Rd – Double Whammy: January 25, 2026 (13th Floor Concert Review)

Aucklanders celebrated the holiday weekend with one of the cities’ finest…Park Rd performed in front of a sold-out audience at Double Whammy ahead of their move to Sydney…or is it Melbourne?

No matter, the mood was festive…it felt like everyone was looking for a reason to get out of the house and enjoy a brief respite from the wind and the rain.

Fortunately the fine folks in Park Rd moved the show from Whammy, the dive bar, to Double Whammy. Incredibly, selling out in no time.

Nat Hutton

Nat is one quarter of There’s A Tuesday and a long-time friend of both Daffodils and Park Rd. So, at short notice, she put together a short, solo set to get things underway on this lovely Sunday evening.

Nat managed to squeeze in a couple of brand new songs into her 20 minute set…and while the incoming crowd tended to chatter a bit too loudly at times, Nat was not distracted…what a trouper.

Daffodils

With front man Theo Salmon claiming that the departing headliners are “some of my favourite people on the planet”, he and the band were determined to be part of the evening despite keyboard player Jude Bryham being in London.

All good…Theo’s sister Haddie filled in most competently both playing and singing and, at times, dealing with some faulty gear.

The band played on and the audience…now filling the room…talked on…but no one seemed bothered as this did feel more like a party than a concert.

Park Rd.

And it could have been a party…a birthday party for Park Rd front man Tom Chamberlain…his birthday was actually the next day, but he did shout out to someone in the crowd whose birthday it was on the day.

So yes, festivities all around as the band ploughed through about 20 songs in just over an hour, beginning with a rousing I Got You (not that one) and featuring a good hunk of their one and only album, The Novel.

And how do you get to audience to shut up and dance? Play a Prince song! In this case it was I Wanna Be Your Lover as Tom tried out his falsetto…and later his crowd surfing skills.

It was that kind of night.

The band proved that they’ve earned a place in New Zealand music lore with songs like Lie and Surfer Boy Paradise, two crowd-pleasers that could hold their own up against Kiwi classics like Th’ Dudes’ Bliss or The Exponents’ Why Does Love Do This To Me.

When it came time for an encore, the crowd shouted for “one more song!”…they got four, with Nat and Theo on stage to help…wrapping up with Every Night and a tune Tom claimed they, “only played a few times”…The Novel.

After thanking everyone and promising that they’d be back, Chamberlain left us with one final thought…

“Fuck the Tall Poppy Syndrome, we’re just getting started!”

Good luck guys!

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Chris Zwaagdyk:

Park Rd: