10/05/2025

ATOMIC! 2.0 – Auckland Town Hall: May 9, 2025 (13th Floor Concert Review)

ATOMIC! 2.0 rocked Auckland Town Hall last night, following on from triumphant gigs in Christchurch and Wellington. Carin Newbould was there to report back for The 13^th Floor, with Michael Jeong photographing all the action.

ATOMIC! is Liberty Stage’s all-female salute to the greatest women of rock, promising to pay a high-voltage tribute by covering an eclectic selection of beloved songs. They delivered back in 2023 and returned for an amped-up 2.0 version.

The line-up could only be described as stellar, from stellar*’s own Boh Runga and fellow vocalists Dianne Swann (When The Cat’s Away), Jazmine Mary, Vera Ellen (Girl Friday), with Fur Patrol’s Julia Deans, putting in double duty as both singer and Musical Director. The ladies were accompanied by an all-female band, amping up girl power to the max.

As you’d expect from the title – as well as their place in the foundations of female-led rock – Blondie featured prominently in the set list, with Call Me, Heart of Glass and Rapture being covered – the last finishing the first half, greeted by an appropriately rapturous cheer and an outstanding rap by Vera Ellen. Ellen was a revelation throughout the gig, consistently commanding attention with songs from Sheryl Crow’s If It Makes You Happy to a powerhouse performance of No Doubt’s Just A Girl .

The other younger stand-out was Jazmine Mary, described as a “noir folk artist”. They have an album and tour coming up soon, but as part of Atomic!’s girl gang they lent their gorgeous voice to sultry renditions of the Eurythmics’ Love Is A Stranger and Missionary Man, PJ Harvey’s Down by the Water and more hard-core rock in The Cranberries’ Zombie.

But in covering the best of female rock from the past 58 years (at my count), this ensemble ripped through a slick and varied repertoire, never losing momentum, energy or enthusiasm. They seemed to be having a genuinely good time, interacting with a pretty euphoric female-dominated audience, who didn’t need a whole lot of encouragement to respond to the invitation “If you wanna dance, come and dance.” The main hall was ostensibly seated, but the chairs were pretty much pointless – everyone was standing and dancing., with a crowd nearing the venue’s 1500 capacity. They were lapping it up, sharing the performers’ frequent declarations of their love for the songs and artistes they were covering: “We really love The Pretenders” (before Tattooed Love Boys), “We love Shona Laing (before (Glad I’m) Not A Kennedy) and “We fucking love you!” to the audience. There was a whole lotta love happening.

Julia Deans had clearly done an amazing job as Musical Director, because the band was tight and flawless. Karen Hu did sterling work on drums, driving rock anthems alongside Ilayda Tunali on keyboards, Louisa Nicklin on bass and Rebel Reid on guitar. It was all pretty egalitarian – everyone had a chance to shine, with Deans distributing the playlist between the vocalists. Dianne Swann, a veteran of Liberty Stage ensembles, rocked her way through hits from The Pretenders, Marianne Faithfull and dazzled with a triumphant and heartfelt rendition of Patti Smith’s Gloria. Deans herself ranged from classics from Blondie (Call Me) to Pat Benatar (We Belong), to more recent hits such as Hole’s Celebrity Skin (which surely features one of rock’s catchiest riffs?) and Garbage’s #1 Crush. Her high point came with a brilliant version of Alanis Morissette’s You Oughta Know, balancing just the right amount of humour, irony and venom.

But in many ways, it was Boh Runga’s night. She kicked things off with I Hate Myself for Loving You, providing a pounding, powerful prelude to a night full of audience clapping and singalongs. Her vocals to Brass in Pocket were every bit as nuanced as Chrissie Hynde’s and she easily emulated Annie Lennox’s power in covering Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This). A true standout of the evening was Runga’s rendition of Nothing Compares 2 U, which was utterly beguiling, the closest we’ll get to a perfect rendition of this song now that Prince and Sinead O’Connor are no longer around. The audience sang along with her and there were a few tears shed, both on and off stage. Boh also finished the night off with outstanding vocals to Florence & the Machine’s Dog Days Are Over – an upbeat end to a feelgood festival of a night out.

The abysmal Auckland weather didn’t dampen spirits or affect attendance. It was wonderful to see women of different ages up on stage, performing together and celebrating fabulous female-led rock – and it was also wonderful to see a diverse audience enjoying faithful renditions of great songs. There’s no shame in covering much-loved tracks and to give audiences the chance to hear them live, and the ladies of Atomic! 2.0 delivered flawlessly. They teased Atomic! 3.0, so hopefully this’ll happen next year… this is a format that could run and run. Keep ‘em coming, girls…we’re all looking forward to the next instalment!

Carin Newbould

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Michael Jeong: