Concert Review: Theia & Vayne at Whammy Bar, 15 May 2021

Theia and Vayne are showcasing their stunning new single CREEP to explosive effect. Capping off a night of super Electro Hip-Hop-Pop.

Good evening everyone, the show’s about to begin. Introducing Mama’s boy. Deep electronic body-vibrating bass notes and an explosive theatrical Pop extravaganza of Indie Pop and Hip Hop. Woven in with a waiata which verges on a haka.

Soon your sins will be exposed/ Say your last prayers or you’ll be locked up/ We burn the bodies and now say hallelujah. Turning the tables and transforming toxic masculinity into Anima, the female spirit. Bound for notoriety and popularity.

Before the two headliners are a pair of up-and-coming young artists.

Fiveofive

Fiveofive is a young female singer who warms up the early crowd with some smooth soulful singing mixed with a little soft Rap.

Original songs with often minimalist techno beats and subtle hooks. She avoids being overly emotive.

Delegation is a brand new one with crystal glass tones from the DJ mixing desk and slower tempo Pop voice. Inspiration may have come from latter-day Motown and their Los Angeles days with groups like De Barge.

She gets some dance action going with a cover of Lily Allen’s Smile. The audience helps with the refrain I see you cry and it makes me smile.

Imugi

Imugi are young Electronic Dream Pop duo who have been gaining a good reputation over the last few years, appearing at Laneways Festivals and Milk and Honey just prior to the pandemic when I first caught their act.

Diminutive Korean singer and dancer Yery Cho. Carl Ruwhiu takes care of all the instrumentals and some occasional vocals.

Portals, Green Smoke and Somebody Else are all from debut album Dragonfruit. Minimalist, beat-driven songs with soft breathy vocals.

Memories released two months ago mixes Rap with their distinctive melodic Pop and they start to heat things up in the room with some nice dance swing. Continue this with the flip of the single, Swimming. Trance dance lounge music.

A cover of Tierra Whack’s Hungry Hippo. Even more stark and minimal but has it’s subtle Pop hooks. Not your average girl/ open up and bite it.

Fleamarket ramps up the energy with Rap. Funky Rap and Yery sings of her Asian background informing her take on music.

Alexa is invited onto the stage for Die Like a Rose. Energetic Rap theatre which works itself up into a shouting crescendo.

The groove is kept up for closing number Operator PLZ. Treated vocals, a busy Techno Pop number.

Vayne

Vayne Wilson is a Rapper from Hamilton, who writes street poetry with a keen eye on social issues and particularly around female empowerment.

Starts with a couple of her best numbers Uh-Huh. Trying to get my luck up I’ll be outta here while they’re gunning for me/ Don’t let me catch you creeping around.

Followed by I’ll Be Fine and she’ a bad Asian bitch, Danyrelle. Tough bragging and she speeds up the pace halfway through. Simple beats with glassy keyboards sound.

YUCK borrows from an old Rolling Stones chestnut. I see a red door and I want that bitch painted black. Spoken in a slow stoned trance before the Rap gets confrontational and uncompromising with scathing profane comments around women. Claims back the power from male misogyny and braggadocio which informs a lot of Rap music since its inception.

Fiveofive is invited up to help out a song which may be called East Coast Baby. Electro beats blended with Soul and Rap vocals. The two whip the dance energy up to great effect.

Vayne likes being brash and in-your-face and this is reflected in her music. Generally uplifting music and good dance-orientated electro Funk beats. This is displayed to great effect on debut single Wait Wait. A highlight of rhythmic inventiveness.

Theia

When Theia begins her set the Cellar is primed and jumping and with opening song 99% Angel. She immediately grabs the occasion and takes off into a psychedelic alternate Pop world.

Em Haley-Walker is from Christchurch and has amassed an envious reputation as an idiosyncratic and original Pop purveyor.  

Bye Bye and Kitty Kat. Big Techno beats underpinning quirky Pop tones with continual changes in pace. The inventiveness of Brian Eno and a great voice which reminds me of Kate Bush and also the idiosyncrasy of an Amanda Palmer.

Perfectly displayed on Freaks. Pure theatre with different voices and Techno artillery shots. Eventually she’ll make you scream.

Saw her perform with Delaney Davidson and Shayne Carter with their Voo Doo show I Put a Spell on You at the Arts Festival recently. She has an amazingly versatile vocal range which makes the complex music flow and swing and stay light on its feet.

That is definitely Candy. A lot of different elements but it swings and dances furiously. Has a bit of Madonna from her Material Girl days.

The two headliners take out the night in style with the stunning new single.

Thank you everyone for coming tonight. Now get the fuck out.

Rev Orange Peel       

Click any icon to see a full-size gallery of beautiful photos of all the artists. All photos by Leoni Moreland