Garageland – Powerstation April 30, 2022 (Concert Review)

Garageland not only brought back the 90s, but they brought back live music to New Zealand’s premiere music venue, The Powerstation.

To be honest, I was so thrilled to be back inside The Powerstation, I would have been happy just to watch and listen to a jug boil.

Fortunately, it didn’t come to that.

Rather, Garageland were on hand to (belatedly) celebrate the 25th anniversary of their debut album, Last Exit To Garageland.

Dictaphone BluesBut to get the party started on the Saturday night in Mt. Eden, we had Dictaphone Blues. The four-piece, led by Edward Castelow and featuring all-rounder Jol Mulholland on bass played a rousing half-hour set beginning with 100 Suns Inside My Lungs.

Looking around the quickly-filling room and faces were already glowing just to be here, listening to music as a communal activity once again. Everyone seemed to know everyone.

By the time the strains of Her Heart Breaks Like A Wave died away, the Powerstation was near-capacity and the crowd (well-behaved, but buzzing) were ready for some Fingerpops.

Fresh from a show in Wellington, Garageland sounded well-rehearsed and ready to have a good time.

Garageland“How’s it going?” asked frontman Jeremy Eade,  “you might remember some of these songs”.

And remember we did.

The set began with Fay Wray and eventually worked its way through all of Last Exit along with 1995 EP, Come Back Special.

Those in the know will remember bFM playing the bejesus out of tracks like Fay Ray and Come Back so it was only natural to spot DJ Mikey Havoc in the crowd.

The band hit their stride with the power trio of Beelines To Heaven, Come Back and Nude Star, played back to back, fairly early in the proceedings.

To be honest, a few of the lesser-known album tracks don’t quite grab me and I noticed the crowd getting a bit restless during For You and Bus Stops.

Garageland“Have we missed anything?”, Eade taunted after the VU-ish Underground Nonsense.

Of course Fingerpops was next and all attention was back to the stage.

For an encore we were treated with four tunes from later in the bands catalogue, with Life Is So Sweet, from TV series The Strip, a surprise highlight.

As I said, I would have been happy listening to pretty much anything just to be back in the Powerstation. As it turned out Dictaphone Blues and Garageland out-rocked even my kitchen jug.

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view photos by Ivan Karczewski

Dictaphone Blues:

Garageland:

 

Dictaphone Blues setlist:

  1. 100 Suns Inside My Lungs
  2. Lance’s Tape
  3. A Counter Observation
  4. When Your Simulation Crossed Mine
  5. Elastic Meditation
  6. Cliché
  7. Her Heart Breaks Like A Wave

Garageland setlist:

  1. Fay Ray
  2. Struck
  3. What Will You Do?
  4. Pop Cigar
  5. Classically Diseased
  6. Beelines To Heaven
  7. Come Back
  8. Nude Star
  9. Fire Away
  10. Tired And Bored
  11. I’m Looking For What I Can’t Get
  12. For You
  13. Bus Stops
  14. Return To You
  15. Jesus I’m Freezing
  16. Underground Nonsense
  17. Fingerpops
  18. Trashcans
  19. Kiss It All Goodbye
  20. Life Is So Sweet
  21. Not Empty