Concert Review: Maggie Rogers – Powerstation June 1, 2019

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Riding the wave of her acclaimed debut album, Heard It In A Past Life, Maggie Rogers made her New Zealand performance debut at Auckland’s Powerstation.

To say the audience, mainly comprised of young females, was excited, would be an understatement. One fan passed out a few feet in front of me just as Rogers and her band were about to take the stage. Fortunately, she seemed to recover quickly after her friends sat her down and brought her some water.

By that time the strains of ABBA’s Dancing Queen filled the venue and everyone had a quick singalong, warming up their vocal chords in preparation to sing Maggie’s songs back at her.

A four-piece band took their positions (guitarist Elle Puckett, bassist Brian Kelsey, drummer Dana LaMarca and Anne Williamson on keys).

Then, with what looked like purple wings streaming from her outstretched arms, Maggie Rogers made her entrance, singing Give A Little, the opening track from the album. Immediately, the crowd joined in and off we went.

After telling us how excited she was to be in Auckland, Rogers continued with Burning. Her performance consisted of some very energetic movement, arms and legs often flailing around, her strong voice never faltering.

“This is as song about having a crush”, she announced as a bubbly synth got Say it underway.

After performing On + Off, Maggie spoke at length about having just performed in Brisbane and how this show was the smallest (in terms of venue size) they had played in a while. Needless to say, this show was sold out.

Rogers again stopped to talks after Retrograde, recounting her trip to Piha earlier in the day, quite eloquently describing her thoughts and emotions as she stood at the top of Lion Rock and thought about how she came to be there after starting out as a 13-year-old in rural Maryland.  She thanked her fans for getting her to this place, cementing the already strong bond that existed between herself and her audience.

Then it was time for another singalong with Light On.

By the end of the 14-song set, all 12 songs from Heard It In A Past Life had been aired along with a couple of earlier singles.

The encore consisted of an acapella performance of Color Song, before which Rogers warned the crowd, “If you have to yell something in the middle, just don’t, ‘cause that’s rude”.

They didn’t and Maggie Rogers left the stage, triumphant, no doubt destined to play a larger room when she returns.

I wish I could say I was as moved and impressed with Maggie Rogers’ music as everyone else in the audience, but, if I’m being honest, that was simply not the case.

While it’s true that she has a strong stage presence, and an equally strong voice, I found the music itself very average. It sounded to me like watered-down pop-rock with almost nothing to set it apart from anything done before.

Yes, I can see how Rogers’ lyrics have struck a chord with her audience, and I admit that I am far from her target demographic, but I was hoping for something a little more innovative and fresh musically.

Oh well, I’m sure I’ll be deluged with comments claiming I shouldn’t be reviewing artists I don’t like, or that I wasn’t at the same show they were, but I can only comment on how the music and performance affected me.

I notice that most of the tracks on Maggie’s album were co-written and produced by Greg Kurstin, the 50-year-old music veteran who has cracked out hits for the likes of Adele, Kelly Clarkson and Lily Allen.

Perhaps for her follow-up, Rogers will find someone to collaborate with who is a little more adventurous, and perhaps closer to her age.

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Ivan Karczewski:

Maggie Rogers set list:

  1. Give A Little
  2. Burning
  3. Say It
  4. On + Off
  5. Dog Years
  6. Split Stones
  7. The Knife
  8. Retrograde
  9. Light On
  10. Past Life
  11. Overnight
  12. Alaska
  13. Back In My Body
  14. Fallingwater
  15. Color Song

 

 

Marty Duda
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