November 11, 2024

Dean Lewis – Kiwi Te Kanawa Theatre: November 10, 2024

DEAN LEWIS made a triumphant return to Auckland last night, bringing RACHAEL FAHIM and DANIEL SEAVEY along for the ride. Carin Newbould was there to see the Aussie singer songwriter and his mates in action, with Michael Jeong taking photos.

On a night when Pearl Jam were doing their thing across town, Dean Lewis showed that he could summon up just as much excitement and frenzy with his own brand of meaningful rock/pop.

The opener was Rachael Fahim, an Aussie country/pop singer with a decent online presence. Accompanied by a male guitarist, she performed a pretty short but entertaining set lasting only 15 minutes.

The real warm up duties lay with Daniel Seavey, who did a phenomenal job. Teenagers were running down the aisles creating a mosh pit ten rows deep. After high energy openers with Can We Pretend and Gateway Drug, Seavey proceeded to employ Ed Sheeran’s celebrated loop pedal technique to build up backing for “a bunch of songs that are not mine”, telling the audience to “sing along if you know them”. They knew them, and the already high singalong volume increased tenfold as he knocked out Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter and Whitney Houston Daniel Seavey covers.

Apparently he’s an American Idol alum and former boy band member; it’s clear Seavey is a pretty talented and accomplished musician, switching over from guitar to keyboards, drums and even cello through the set. He amped up the crowd even further by taking off his shirt for Sleeping With The Lights On, revealing a set of tattoos and a six pack… the Anthony Kiedis or Iggy Pop of this generation? The teenaged girls certainly weren’t complaining and it’s not a bad strategy for accumulating additional fans.

Seavey demonstrated amazing energy levels in Lose Me Like You Mean It and Nothing Compares To You (no comparison to the Prince/ Sinead O’Connor masterpiece of the same name – why use the same title?) before telling us of a litany of bad things that happened across a year, inspiring his final song The Older You Get, which Seavey helpfully informed us was “about getting older”. It was amusing to hear his wisdom from the ripe old age of 25 but hey, when you’re talking to teenagers in mid-exam season, advice to “just keep going in life” probably resonated.

Dean Lewis

By comparison, Dean Lewis came across as the wiser (but still fun) older brother, receiving absolute adulation from the audience. I’ve rarely seen fans so invested and excited. He entered the stage to rapturous applause – and I’m not using the word “rapture” lightly, as he held the audience totally enthralled right throughout his 90 minute set. It was a masterclass in how to construct a perfect gig and gain rapport with the audience – humble anecdotes, insights into his influences and back stories, acknowledging fans, reading out their signs and asking questions, proclaiming his love for Auckland and inviting singalongs and pogoing Dean Lewis more suited to a punk gig than a Sunday night concert at the Aotea Centre. He invited teenage fan Esme up on stage and taught her a chord to accompany him in a cover of Kygo’s Lost Without You, before giving her the guitar. He threw at least 50 plectrums out into the crowd across the course of the night, with a dedicated pic minion replacing them constantly and stoically. He left the stage to come into the audience during All Your Lies, hugging, high-fiving and posing for selfies. Tick all the boxes for what fans want.

Lewis was also helped by a beautifully effective set of crumpled handwritten notes, enhanced by excellent dynamic lighting. Another tick. His three piece and versatile band – drums, guitar/keyboard and keyboard/violin didn’t put a foot wrong and appeared to be genuinely enjoying themselves. Tick, tick, tick. The set was a good balance of old favourites and new material: Lewis prefaced the first new song Empire by asking “I just released a new album – do you guys like it, or is it shit?” Clearly they didn’t think it was shit, as they all knew the words already and were happy to sing along. Another new song, With You, a “piano ballad”, was apparently optioned by Rihanna’s team before being dropped and returned to Lewis, who decided to release it himself. It’s good. A cover of Taylor Swift’s Cruel Summer is also good; an interpretation rather than a facsimile, with just enough variation to be insightful and interesting.

I suspect that, like Swift, Lewis is one of those singer-songwriters who connects so effectively with his fans because he writes lyrics which resonate with and are meaningful to them. He read out a sign saying ““How Do I Say Goodbye” is my therapy” and obviously the theme of family love and loss is profoundly moving. To Have You Today is performed solo on guitar and dedicated to a friend; Lewis comments that “lots of people have told him that Trust Me Mate has helped them when they’re really down.” It’s all quite poignant but positive: like Seavey before him, Lewis wants us to know that we can get through anything. The message is rammed home even further with a cover of Coldplay’s Fix You, ahead of their gigs here next week. This saw Daniel Seavey return to the stage to play keyboards and sing a verse, thankfully now dressed in a shirt to cover those distracting abs and tatts.

Dean Lewis

Fix You is one of the standouts of the show, along with the much loved hits 7 Minutes and Waves. We’re kept waiting until the encore for Be Alright, which saw male teens rushing forward, bonding between hugging bro’s, the angst of breakups reflected in them shouting their way through the familiar lyrics “I know you love her but it’s over, mate, It doesn’t matter put the phone away.” Hundreds of phones weren’t put away but were raised, recording the moment for posterity. Like the sign said, Lewis’ songs act as therapy, and anything that helps teenage boys to cope with their feelings has got to be a good thing. The song – and the evening – end with the repetition of “It’ll be alright”. And in a week of overseas electoral shock, that’s the reassurance many need. My Epilogue is that Lewis delivered a great gig with a feelgood factor. Nice one.

Carin Newbould

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Michael Jeong:

Dean Lewis:

Daniel Seavey:

Rachael Fahim:

DANIEL SEAVEY SETLIST:

Can We Pretend?
Gateway Drug
Other People
Looper covers excerpts – Good Luck Babe (Chappell Roan cover)/Taste (Sabrina Carpenter cover)/I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Whitney Houston cover)
Second Wind
Sleeping With The Lights On
Fallin’
Lose Me Like You Mean It
Nothing Compares To You
The Older You Get