Concert Review: Milk And Honey Festival – Powerstation March 8, 2019
Last night was the maiden voyage for New Zealand’s Milk And Honey Festival, celebrating International Women’s Day with performances in three cities across four venues.
For me, much as I admired the line-up at Whammy, there was only one place to be… The Powerstation hosted four of New Zealand’s finest talents, female or not, in the form of Tami Neilson, Ria Hall, Nadia Reid and Julia Deans.
These four women provided four very different approaches to music, making the evening that much more interesting.
After a greeting in Te Reo Maori, Ria Hall got the evening rolling with a 30 minute set of r&b tunes, with a hip-hop beat. Pregnant with her first child, Ria cut an inspiring figure, especially after informing the audience that she had been told by doctors that she had little chance at conceiving.
With a plane to catch for a gig in Australia the next afternoon, Tami Neilson strutted her stuff next. Backed by guitarist Jol Mulholland, bassist Chip Matthews and drummer Joe McCallum, the sassy songstress kicked off with the soul-stirring Miss Jones and never looked back.
As usual, she had plenty to say, both musically, and verbally, telling stories about misogynistic radio consultants and orange-tinted politicians while rocking out on tunes like Bananas and Kitty Cat.
The final half of Tami’s set featured a few new tunes (she just finished recording a new album) and the first one, Queenie Queenie, was driven by an infectious rhythm, generated by McCallum and then the audience, while Tami sang on top.
After a stage-shaking version of James Brown’s This Is A Man’s World, we heard new single Big Boss Mama and finally You Were Mine, a slow burning soul tune that built up to a raging inferno by the end.
Julia Deans was tasked with following that act, and she took the challenge like a pro. Next to her was Anna Coddington, singing backup vocals and playing guitar and percussion, the only female musician to take the stage on the night other than the front women. Anna made her mark with some fine guitar playing, and Julia proved once again that she possesses one of the finest voices in the country. Her performance of Clandestine was gorgeous.
Finally, as the clock was approaching the midnight hour, Nadia Reid appeared along with long-time guitarist Sam Taylor, bass player Richie Pickard (who served double duty playing with Julia as well) and drummer Chris O’Connor.
Nadia opened with an old gospel number, Welcome Table, something I’d not heard her sing before. The remainder of her 9-song set was taken from her two albums with the exception of one tune, which may be new…she mentioned that she has finished her third album.
To these ears, Nadia sounded different than in previous shows I’d seen. There was something about her delivery and her voice that I can’t quite put my finger on, but she sounded more powerful, maybe more confident. Anyway, it was something of a revelation, even on familiar songs such as Richard and The Arrow And The Aim.
I reckon the new album will be worth checking out.
It was a wonderful evening, with the one negative being the somewhat sparse crowd. Perhaps holding two events simultaneously was a bit over ambitious. Let’s hope the promoters decide to continue in the future as the talent on display here was second to none.
Marty Duda
Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Veronica McLaughlin:
Ria Hall
Tami Neilson
Julia Deans
Nadia Reid
Tami Neilson set list:
- Miss Jones
- Walk (Back To Your Arms)
- Bananas
- A Woman’s Pain
- Kitty Cat
- Queenie, Queenie
- This Is A Man’s World
- Big Boss Mama
- You Were Mine
Julia Deans set list:
- Walking In The Sun
- Souvenir
- The Wish You Wish You Had
- Clandestine
- Modern Fables
- Pick Up
- Centre
- The Panic
- Skin (Everything Is Coming To A Halt)
Nadia Reid set list:
- Welcome Table
- Richard
- Reaching Through
- Track Of The Time
- The Arrow And The Air
- Are You Lonely (New Song?)
- Holy Low
- Ruby
- Right On Time
