Bic Runga – Civic Theatre November 2, 2017

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Bic Runga is a national treasure. Her songs are part of the great New Zealand songbook and are so ingrained in people’s memories that from hearing the first note of tracks like Sway you know instantly what it is, even if you hadn’t heard the song in years. Those who were lucky enough to be at the Civic Theatre on Thursday night were able to witness the power of these songs first hand, as Bic celebrated twenty years of her seminal album Drive.

Drive is an iconic New Zealand album. One of the best ever to be released by a New Zealand artist. It was released in August 1997 when Runga was only 21 and went on to spent three weeks at number one, going 7 times platinum, before winning album of the year at the 1998 Tuis. Given all this success, it makes perfect sense for Runga to celebrate it in concert twenty years on.

Playing to a sold-out Civic, Runga took to the stage after a rousing Maori welcome. Appearing in a specially designed sparkly black dress, Bic on guitar, harmonica and Fender Rhodes piano was accompanied by her partner Kody Nielson on drums, and Tiny Ruins band members Cass Basil on bass guitar and Tom Healy on lead guitar. It was a perfect musical setup for these songs, with Bic shifting between guitar and piano throughout the night.

The show was split into two sets. The first set was a selection of songs from albums such as Bursting Through and last year’s Close Your Eyes, while during the second set, Bic played Drive in its entirety. Tracks like Get Some Sleep and Something Good were magical as always with Bic’s voice showing no signs of aging, while some of the other standouts included songs off her latest release Close Your Eyes, namely her cover of the Love classic Andmoreagain. Bic’s piano playing was also a highlight of the first half, especially the moment during the intro of Listening For The Weather where she simultaneously played piano and harmonica. It was quite simply amazing to watch.

During the first set, Bic was also joined by special guests Shayne P. Carter on Winning Arrow and soul sensation Aradhna on If You Really Do. Bic and Aradhna’s soul-infused duet of this song tore the house down and was definitely one of the highlights of the evening. Bic even told the story of how she stalked Aradhna on Twitter in order to get her to sing with her on the tour, which was a nice touch and one appreciated by the audience.

After a quick intermission, Bic and her band were back for the main event. A performance of Drive, all eleven tracks. Drive might just be the greatest collection of songs by a New Zealand artist on one album, with classics such as the title track, Sway, Suddenly Strange, and Bursting Through featuring. All of these staples were very well-received by an audience hanging intensely on Bic’s every word and every pause.

In between songs you could hear a pin drop, it was that quiet, with the audience clearly honoured to be in Runga’s presence on this special occasion. Even when Bic introduced songs, they were met with applause and yells, that is how enthusiastic the audience was throughout the night, an audience that had clearly been with Bic right through the twenty years, something she thanked them for as well.

It was also nice to hear some of the deeper cuts from Drive, even if Bic herself was less fond of singing some of these tracks. The angst-ridden thrash pop of Swim was one of the songs in question, with Bic explaining to the audience how she cringed hearing Kody learn the drum part to that song, a song she says is one of her most embarrassing. Embarrassing or not it sure sounded good, as did some of the other rockier songs off the album such as Heal, a reminder to people that Bic can rock out like the best of them.

Last night’s show wrapped up what has been a good year for Bic Runga. She was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame in November last year, was nominated for the Silver Scroll this year and has been receiving a lot of love and recognition again as Drive celebrates its 20th anniversary. This is an important milestone for Bic, as Drive marked the beginning of her great career all those years ago, a career that if the warm and respectful crowd at the Civic last night was anything to go by is one that still means a lot to many people.

Sam Smith

 

 

 

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