Earth Tongue vs Dick Move – Whammy Bar: August 19, 2022

Earth Tongue vs Dick Move, and the winner is… These two rock & roll heavyweights faced off at Auckland’s Whammy Bar.

Both bands have been kicking butt and taking names. Mermaiden Gussie Larkin fronts Earth Tongue with help from drummer vocalist Ezra Simons, while Dick Move is fronted by Lucy Suttor and is accompanied by guitarists Hariet Ellis and Justin Rendall, bass player Lulu Macrae and drummer Luke Boyes.

Each band has on full length album released and each has plenty of new songs to play tonight.

But first, on the undercard, we have Ringlets.

The Auckland-based quartet got things started early (for Whammy) kicking off their set shortly after nine. The crowd was already swarming and Arabella Poulsen’s rumbling intro to Flowers got the evening rocking.

Once front man Leith Towers joined in, I felt I was hearing a perfect union of Wire and Joy Division…post-punk heaven.

Earth Tongue are up next and Gussie is literally sparkling in her white outfit.

The costume may be bright, but the music is dark. She and Ezra lifted off with Pentagram On The Moon followed by Hidden Entrance.

Earth Tongue had thrown down the gauntlet. We got a new tune…Sit Next To Satan…and I must say it is a new fave tune of mine, that and the other newbie…Reaper Returns. When the 45 minute set was over, I heard fans gasping, “how can anyone follow that?”

Well, Dick Move were up to the challenge.

Front person Lucy Suttor’s stage presence was something to behold…a proverbial ball of energy. Meanwhile the band rocked relentlessly, cranking out 17 tunes in 30 minutes…somewhere Joey and Johnny were smiling.

Out of those 17 tunes I think about nine of them were brand new. Highlights were Rampage and Wet along with old faves like Pissing and Chop!.

So who was the winner? Well, rock and roll was the winner on the day…but if I have to choose, I’m going with Dick Move on this night.

No mater how you look at it, it was an excellent night of loud, fast, rock & roll.

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Leonie Moreland:

Dick Move:

Earth Tongue:

Ringlets:

Dick Move Setlist:

1. ???
2. Pissing
3. Chop!
4. Femoids Attack
5. Ladies’ Night
6. Butt Stinks
7. Women
8. Dick Move
9. Revue
10. Rampage
11. Stag Dudes
12. Under MY Skin
13. Feel Better
14. Wet
15. Tweet
16. Enough
17. Eyes 4 Xmas

Earth Tongue Setlist:

1. Pentagram On The Moon
2. Hidden Entrance
3. Astonishing Comet
4. Sit Next To Satan
5. Miraculous Death
6. Microscopic God
7. Reaper Returns
8. Portable Shrine
9. Sentient Sediment

Ringlets Setlist:

1. Flowers
2. Tennis Racket
3. Nightmared
4. Sever
5. Emails
6. Paint
7. Fever Dream