grandson – Powerstation: January 30, 2024 (Concert Review)

grandson performed at Auckland’s Powerstation last night and 13th Floor’s Chris Warne was there to photograph and review.

I love you, I’m trying. It’s the title of both grandson’s latest album and tour which brings him for the first time to the shores of Aotearoa. Part of grandson’s appeal is his ability to shift between different genres; hip hop, nu-metal, trap and alternative rock, yet his music never feels derivative of his influences. Personally, it was grandson’s lyrics that drew my ear to his music. His writing reminds me of Bright Eyes, but if Conor Oberst were raised on a steady diet of Rage Against the Machine and Linkin Park.

Righteous and empathetic, his songs capture the darker corners of social structure, identity, and experience, whilst somehow managing to remain hopeful. It’s the type of music that forges deep personal connection for listeners; music that can be relied upon equally to hype you up or to get you through to the other side of a crisis. This connection is not lost upon grandson who described to Marty in the recent 13th Floor interview the importance of holding space when interacting with his listeners and that for him, remaining vulnerable and transparent in his song writing is akin to a musical Hippocratic oath.

Coast Arcade

Getting the show off to an upbeat and energetic start were Tāmaki Makaurau’s own Coast Arcade. I hadn’t heard them before, yet their music felt immediately accessible; bright in tone and inviting in atmosphere. When I closed my eyes and listened, they evoked imagery of days spent in salty waves, golden sand and the nervous excitement as to which one of you is going to make the first move.  I appreciated the context delivered in stage banter when the band expressed the joy and surprise of playing at the Powerstation, when only few years ago they were playing at their high school assembly. I’ve since learned that they have recently graced the stages of notable New Zealand festivals, supported other kiwi legends such as Ladyhawke and Princess Chelsea and that they dropped their EP Next To Me in May last year.

Coast Arcade’s rhythm section was impressively tight throughout the set and is comprised of Thom Boynton on drums and Nate Tims on bass. While guitarist Chris Tims and front woman Bella Bavin traded highly melodic, straightforward leads and drove punchy overdriven power chords through their respective fender amps. Collectively they have a seemingly effortless chemistry together and an infectious stage presence where the members fed off each other’s smiles and enthusiasm. It was during Bella’s falsetto vocals in the verses of their mid-set cover of Kilby Girl by the Backseat Lovers, when I recognized the depth and refined quality of her voice that made me lean in even further into their performance. I very much look forward to seeing Coast Arcade again and hearing where they take their sound.

grandson

Being the only person in my social circles who had heard of grandson, I was intrigued about the nature of the punters attracted to his music. As the stage lights dimmed, Bohemian Rhapsody played in its entirety over the P.A system and I cast my eye over a fired up, mostly youthful crowd. It seemed like a relatively even divide between those sporting black clad and spiked bracelets and those wearing comfortably oversized dress shirts and loafers. Scattered among the front few rows, audience members creatively sported the trademark grandson ‘xx’ incorporated into their outfit and eyeliner stylings.

After a brief instrumental intro, grandson burst to life with the pulsing bounce of Drones, a song with a chorus made for jumping, in which the Powerstation willingly obliged in unison. Shedding the jacket and sporting a recently purchased All Black’s jersey, he followed with a tense version of Something To Hide, another highlight from the latest album.  The setlist progressed into a surprisingly deep selection of songs which included the entirety of his debut EP A Modern Tragedy vol.1 in addition to cuts from each of his e.ps and both full lengths.

I had been curious as to how the recordings were going to translate to the live show. On stage grandson was accompanied by a two-piece band Tobias Kelly on the drums and Leo Varella on guitar; their sound further substantiated by the occasional pre-recorded backing vocal and bass track. Tobias literally didn’t miss a beat, playing to a click track in his headphones the entire show, whereas Leo frequently bent his guitar sound into a more primal and singular interpretation of the array of sounds we hear across the album versions’ counterparts. Grandson’s emphasis and vocal delivery had a punk rock aesthetic, a raw intensity that served to rachet up and maintain the energy in the room. He gave an extremely physical performance throwing his entire body behind his voice; banging his head, swinging his limbs, and bouncing from his centred mic stand to each corner of the stage and back again.

In sound and vision, most of the set felt like a cathartic bloodletting for grandson and audience alike; moshing to the clipped staccato rhythms of Stigmata, the passionate shout out to the indigenous and big fuck you to the military industrial complex during WWIII, and the explosive finale of Blood In The Water.  There were also several reflective and humorous moments that punctuated the show. He framed up one song with a message about managing loss through whichever means feel right to the individual and proceeded to sing the song from the middle of the pit, lit solely by cell phone light. He sent a shout out to the people who came to the show on their lonesome, those who he learnt had travelled significant distances to be in attendance and to all those who discovered his songs on the internet, on their laptop, in their own little dark lives.  He engaged the audience with each other through ‘grandson speed dating’ encouraging punters to introduce themselves to the person next to them. I complimented a finely styled dude on his half black, half white dress shirt in which he proudly proclaimed having permanently borrowed it from his drama department three years ago. Another moment of connection amongst many.

Amongst the melding of genres that is grandson, the performance was very much a rock show in its most primal sense. If grandson makes good on his promise to return soon, I’m confident that word of his live experience will spread beyond the fervent few and fill the empty third of last night’s Powerstation floor. I’ll certainly be bringing a friend next time.

Chris Warne

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Chris Warne:

grandson:

Coast Arcade: