December 7, 2022

Dry Cleaning -Tuning Fork: December 6, 2022

Dry Cleaning aired out their dirty laundry for fans at Auckland’s Tuning Fork in the form of 17 songs over 75 minutes.

Sometimes listening to a band’s music at home can be a very different experience than at a live concert. That is certainly the case with English post-punk band Dry Cleaning.

Listening to the band’s newest album, Stumpwork, at home can be a very intimate and personal affair…vocalist Florence Shaw’s half-spoken, half-sung lyrics sound as if she’s in the room with you.

So, hearing those same songs sung by the same singer in a crowded room over a PA is a very different kettle of fish, one that I hadn’t really considered until I was confronted with it.

Roy Montgomery

When we arrive, Roy Montgomery is already on stage, alone, the way he likes it. The former Pin Group member is here from Christchurch at the behest of the headliners…guitarist Tom Dowse is a big fan. The sound he makes on his Fender guitar is otherworldly and it feels like tonight’s performance might be a sort of eulogy for his dearly departed friend, Hamish Kilgour.

Dry Cleaning

After a few more wines and a bit of speculating with like-minded punters about what we can expect from Dry Cleaning, the lights go down and Lewis Maynard gets things going with a thunderous bass line that eventually becomes Kwenchy Kups. Meanwhile Florence is looking much more “gothy” than I expected…maybe it’s her makeup, maybe it’s the lighting.

“Things are shit, but they’re gonna be OK”, she assures us.

At least that’s what I think she’s singing. Her voice is somewhat buried in the mix with Dowse’s guitar taking over the sonic soundscape.

Not what I was expecting.

I admit, it took a few tunes to adjust to the fact that this was how Dry Cleaning sound live. Where the album seems to be all about Shaw’s voice and lyrics, the live show is a full band experience.

An early highlight was the careening guitar solo at the end of Scratchcard Lanyard…from their 2021 debut album, New Long Leg.

“We’re very far from home, the farthest we’ve ever been”, notes Shaw in her lovely English accent, “so thank you for making us feel welcome”. And then it’s Viking Hair, a tune from the band’s 2019 EP, Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks (they do have a way with words).

In all, we get most of Stumpwork (9 songs) and a good bit of New Long Leg (6 songs) and a few EP tracks thrown in for good measure.

Florence is looking less “gothy” as the set progresses…maybe it’s the lights, maybe the makeup has run.

She takes up what looks (and sounds) like a Casio keyboard during Conservative Hell, Tom thanks Roy after Leafy and we all sing Happy Birthday to Florence’s mum who turns 70…she’s not in the crowd, but I’m thrilled to know that her name is Chloe Cheese (check her out on Instagram).

Florence also noted that the first two words to the song, No Decent Shoes For Rain, were ‘New Zealand’. She had planned some kind of grand gesture but then abandoned the idea when she realized it might make her forget the lyrics.

I did wonder how she remembers them as they don’t really follow any particular narrative, sometimes sounding like random phrases strung together.

But, she does (remember) and the band grooves nicely behind her and (sometimes) over her.

The set closed with Magic Of Meghan, a rumbling rocker from their first EP whose guitar sound has been compared to The Clean (and Gang Of Four), followed by Tony Speaks! and Anna Calls From The Arctic.

A fitting way to end the evening…hopefully Hamish was smiling somewhere.

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Brenna Jo Gotje

Dry Cleaning:

Roy Montgomery:

Dry Cleaning Setlist: