July 26, 2024

Adam Hattaway & The Haunters July 25, 2024 Wine Cellar (13th Floor Concert Review)

Adam Hattaway and The Haunters got on their High Horse and returned to Auckland’s Wine Cellar to celebrate the release of their new seven-inch and, basically, rock out.

The last days of the Wine Cellar are nigh so I was getting the feeling that many of the fans in attendance tonight were there to pay tribute as much to the venue as to the artists. After all many of has have been frequenting the place for years and its future as part of Double Whammy is a little uncertain.

Milan Borich

As it turns out opener Milan Borich of Pluto had a his own reason to pay tribute as he told us that his Uncle Ivan…”the last of the old line”…has passed away earlier that day.

And so the sombre set started with an emotional reading of Nick Drake’s River Man, followed by the Colter Wall murder ballad, Kate McCannon.

The dye had been cast and Milan, with the help of guitarist Ben King proceeded with Warren Zevon’s Please Stay, James Carr’s The Dark End Of The Street and a stunning version of Tom Waits’ Jersey Girl. The only light came in the middle of the brief set when they played Pluto’s upbeat hit, Hey Little.

We all needed a drink after that.

Adam Hattaway & The Haunters

Now, we’ve been following Adam Hattaway and his various Haunters for several years now and they just keep getting better and better. Tonight was no exception.

These days the band consists of founding members Elmore Jones and Liam Quinn along with Holdyn Skinner on drums and bass player Sam White. Adam himself sings lead and also Adam Hattaway adds to the three-guitar attack.

Tonight’s set starts with Riding The River a rocker they recorded back in 2021 with Jon Toogood, who wasn’t there tonight but got named checked during the song. They then continued at a galloping gait with Cry In Vain.

By this time the good-sized crowd had gathered up front, standing and dancing. Adam called out for his blue bottle and the charged on with Barry Saunders’ Keep On.

Hattaway has always sported rock star good looks, but now his attitude and delivery are a match. It becomes clear that Adam has grown into a fine rock & roll vocalist, particularly during Big Night where he seems to be channelling a Mystic Eyed Van Morrison. Thrilling stuff!

Milan climbs back on stage for another Zevon number, a crowd-pleasing Carmelita, and the new single, High Horse, follows. It’s been released as a 7” and copies are on the merch table.

“We got these little records”, Adam tells us, “because the big ones are too expensive”.

The hour-long set features tunes from entire catalogue along with a series of “unreleased songs” beginning with a dance track called Last To Leave.

They prove they can be funky if they wane be, but then slow things down with an acoustic ballad, If You Got Nowhere Else To Go followed by another new one, a brooding song called Good Times featuring the best lyric of the evening…something about “a face like a cheap hotel”

Adam Hattaway

The set careens to its conclusion 60 minutes after it started with a rockin’ Wasting Our Time. Without hesitation we get an encore, Dylan’s The Groom’s Still Waiting At The Alter, a cool choice from the often overlooked Shot Of Love.

And that’s all folks! Adam and his band have been regulars at The Wine Cellar so it remains to be seen where they’ll land next time they travel up from Lyttleton. Let’s just hope it’s not long from now.

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Azrie

Adam Hattaway & The Haunters: