May 21, 2023

Devilskin Powerstation May 20, 2023 (Concert Review)

Devilskin closed out (kind of) their Let Me Breathe tour at Auckland’s Powerstation with a little help from their friends, East York.

I say ‘kind of’ because the band has two more shows coming up in July so technically the tour carries on, but this evening felt, very much, like a tour-ending celebration.

It was just a little over a month ago that they both played at The Brownzy over on Browns Bay (click here for photos and a review), but tonight’s set gave us a few surprises.

East York

East York are a hard-hitting four-piece who have been wowing crowds throughout the tour. Lead vocalist Tarquin Keys got things started with a blood curdling scream and off they went!

“We’re very new!” he told us before reaching back and pulling out an old Shihad song, a cover of You Again.

Then there was a new song, then a drum solo (by Joe Brownless) then a couple of their own tunes (Devil You Know & To Kill The Sun) and the close to capacity crowd were well and truly warmed up.

Devilskin

As the clock struck 10, the sounds of Van Halen’s Running With The Devil pumped out of the PA and then Devilskin appeared…guitarist Tony ‘Nail’ Vincent and bass player Paul Martin, who, with their matching pink goatees could be twin sons of different mothers, Paul’s son Nic Martin on drums and vocalist Jennie Skulander…the same lineup since 2010.

The 90-minute set featured a healthy dose of tunes from the band’s 2014 debut album, We Rise, starting out with the double barrel assault of Start A Revolution and Little Pills, their debut single from 2012.

‘Nail” took on the MC role, noting that this crowd could be ‘louder than Hamilton’…well, of course we could.

After Until You Bleed, Jennie spoke, asking, “Are you guys with me?” and encouraged everyone to sing along, which we dutifully did.

New song Let Me Breathe was featured followed by a highlight of the set (and a song not played at The Brownzy) Elvis Presley Circle Pit featuring a chugging guitar riff and machine gun-like drumming from Nic.

This was followed by Eyes Red Heavy, a slow burner from Red featuring another rmind melting guitar solo.

Nail showed concern for the welfare of the fans, checking to make sure all was cool down in the front and urging everyone to ‘look after each other’.

The encore presented us with a new song (I told you there were surprises) a haunting tune called Unborn with Jennie pleading, “father can you hear me, mother can you hear me?”

Nail offered his heartfelt thanks to everyone involved, crew, openers and fans (it really did feel like the end of the tour) and after a hearty singalong to Voices and a pounding Violations, the boys from East York trundled out and we all posed for a photo (shot by 13^th Floor photographer Hamish Graham).

You can see that photo, along with many more, in a gallery below. And Devilskin will be back on stage to finally close out the tour at the end of July in Wellington and Napier.

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Hamish Graham