Cut Copy – The Studio January 24, 2018

0

After a mediocre response to their most recent LP, Cut Copy pooh-poohed the naysayers by storming The Studio.

The gathering crowd were largely indifferent to ‘Phil from Cut of Your Hands’ DJ mash up set, and were dribbing and drabbing in, even as Cut Copy bounced their way into opening number, Need you Know. Like the reinvented Duran Duran, Cut Copy’s music shimmers and pumps, and their physical effervescence soon had The Studio rabble-roused and attentive.

Founder Dan Whitford holds court stage-centre and is not afraid to strike a rock-cliché pose every now and then, but banter is kept to a minimum, as songs roll into each other like a DJ set. This means that drummer Mitchell Scott basically four-on-the-floors it for 90 minutes. His relentless energy is not wasted on the crowd, and by of the time mid-set belter Future they are havin’ it large. Alternating between keys and guitars, Ben Browning and Tim Hoey complete the quartet, harmonising and pogoing just as much as the punters.

It’s nice to see an electronic band seemingly play completely live. Sweat-induced slips off knobs and keys, as well as a raw-swagger, added urgent authenticity to songs like newbie, the calypso-tinged Standing in the Middle of the Field. This perhaps is what’s missing from latest long-player Haiku From Zero where the production sheen masks any sort of emotional staying power.

Not so tonight though. As the shiny scaffolding behind the band encases them in red, white and yellow beams, Cut Copy keep up the barrage. Set finisher Out There On The Ice from 2008’s much loved, and decade-old [how did that happen?!] In Ghost Colours is pure techno-tinged jubilation and rewarded with the crowd foot-stamping the floor with a demand for more, the likes of which I haven’t heard for a long time.

Encores Meet me in a House of Love and Lights And Music came at me like a 3am-in-Ibiza onslaught and it was a shame Cut Copy had to finish like a rock band, kind of “That’s ya lot. Goodnight Auckland!” because the crowd was definitely up for the all-nighter. Still, it was only Wednesday.

I went, hoping for a bit of a boogie and some reminiscing about the future of music that 2004’s Bright Like Neon Love promised. I left, wigged out and ready for the future of music that 2018 promises. It was immensely good.

Simon Todd

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Paddy Foss:

The 13th Floor
Latest posts by The 13th Floor (see all)