Concert Review: The Subliminals – The Wine Cellar July 31, 2021

For those who couldn’t get enough of The Subliminals at the Flying Nun 40^th show a few days earlier, the band reunited one more time for a room full of hearty fans at Auckland’s Wine Cellar.

If this turns out to be The Subliminals final gig, well, they went out with guns (or guitars) blazing.

Guitarists Steve Reay and Simon Maclaren first teamed up with Brendan Moran (drums) and Jared Johanson (bass) in the late 1990s. They signed to Flying Nun (not exactly during the label’s glory years) and released one EP (1999’s The Crystal Chain) and one LP (2000’s United State).

That was it.

One could argue that would be a route many bands who have overstayed their welcome should try. It certainly has secured their legacy.

That legacy and their sound was on full display for the assembled fans who stood in rapt awe through a two-hour set of sizzling, throbbing live music.

The throbbing comes courtesy of the tireless rhythm section…Moran’s motoric timekeeping and Johansen’s pulsing basslines.

This solid undertow gives Reay and Maclaren plenty of room to soar on their guitars…and soar they do.

With no opening act, the set began with something new, yet sounding familiar. As we later learned, this opening salvo…10 minutes long…is the first new music the band has collaborated on in almost 20 years.

So welcome to 2021.

From there we dive in to most of the EP and LP beginning with The Crystal Chain’s mighty bass riff.

There is little chatter between songs, just some shoe-gazing tuning and then, Boom!

I did hear, “check, check check” as a mic was being tested. Immediately an audience member repeated “Check!” and was told, “That’s right, you know the words”. Who says these guys are humourless?

The show was sold out, but I expected the floor to thin out after an hour or so, but that didn’t happen. This was an audience mesmerized…seemingly nailed to the floor.

The set gained momentum with a feisty Uh-Oh, followed by Bug Power and Indian.

But, as they say, that’s not all.

This was a band clearly enjoying each other’s musical company and they didn’t want it to end. And so we were treated to a 14 minute version of Speed Of Sound to send us off into the winter chill.

“We might see you back here”, they teased.

I hope so.

Marty Duda

 

Click any icon to view a full gallery of shots from the show.

Subliminals set list:

1. Random (new song in E)
2. The Crystal Chain
3. United State
4. Radiance
5. Travelogue
6. Compulsion Engine
7. Invisible
8. Surface
9. Camera Eye
10. Freedom Form
11. Uh-Oh
12. Bug Power
13. Indian
14. Speed Of Sound