October 24, 2024

Less Than Jake – Powerstation: October 23, 2024 (13th Floor Concert Review)

Less Than Jake brought their Rockview Downunder Tour to Auckland’s Powerstation last night and The 13th Floor’s Chris Warne was on the scene with his pen and his camera.

Suckafish

Coromandel punkers Suckafish took to the stage shortly after doors and effectively set the tone for the evening by delivering a delightfully ruckus set.

It was clear that Suckafish don’t take themselves too seriously. They chugged cheap beers, flipped off the audience and made jokes at their own expense; yet their musicianship was top notch throughout.

Their brand of melodic punk rock was equally effective whether it was branching into the punctuated rhythms of ska or turning up the heat with metallic guitar solos. They peaked with intensity towards the end of the set with an extended surf-infused instrumental that kept whipping itself into an increasingly break-neck pace. The double front-man approach allowed for a nice variation of vocal gruff across the set too.

Despite Suckafish’s musical output going back more than a decade, they were new to my ears and potentially new to yours too. Picture the Lawrence Arms crossed with Rancid, add a bunch of fishing metaphors and you might land somewhere close to Suckafish.

I’ll be raising another drink to these lads in person whenever their next Auckland date arrives.

The Bennies

Sometimes a mid-week gig can feel like a slog after battling city traffic and contemplating tomorrow’s early start. Any lingering low vibrations were absolutely obliterated as The Bennies, all the way from the Gold Coast, spiked the Powerstation audience with a heroic dose of manic good-time energy.

I can’t accurately convey how joyus The Bennies set was. To quote frontman Anty Horgan, Auckland are you ready to party? This song is called Let’s Have a Party. Off comes Horgan’s t shirt, revealing a thick, black capitalized PARTY tattoo across his shoulder blades, before bursting into a scissor kick and leading his band in a set that partied with unparalleled commitment to the cause.

The Bennies demonstrated a significant musical range; pop punk, delay drenched dub, comedic hip-hop, high tempo ska, sludge metal riffs, a literal Slayer riff, yet somehow it all sounded like the Bennies.

The Bennies expressed just how stoked they were to be there, still making music, having a good time and supporting one of their favourite bands. The Powerstation audience appeared equally stoked; Horgan asked who the best band in the world were, the Powerstation’s collective answer was an emphatic THE BENNIES!

Less Than Jake

Reading between the lines of the promo poster featuring a recognisable, blue-suited cartoon man diving like a superhero and the tour being as Rockview Downunder; all signs pointed to the band focusing on 1998’s seminal Hello Rockview album.

Less Than Jake made good on their obligations. Opening with Last One Out of Liberty City and playing the album in order, all the way through, comprised the entire main set. Throughout the performance, the audience never appeared to lull or loose momentum. The deeper cuts of the album were sung equally loud as the big singles, my abdomen equally winded against the front rail whether it was Metalheads or Scott Farcus being played.

Less Than Jake played the songs with faithful rendition to the studio counterpart, yet watching the performance I was struck by how many tempo-shifts, left-turns and hooky harmonies were packed into these songs. The dynamics of the songwriting enabled the set to move through the necessary range of emotions and emphasis that a more curated setlist would usually allow.

The predictability of the setlist was further offset with spontaneity in the form of genuinely hilarious banter throughout. They covered some ground here too; triple divorcees, cross-Tasman airplane toilets, the correct pronunciation of hemorrhoids in German, an audience preference for Pennywise, safety harness backpacks, ripped dudes in their 40s just to name a few.

The encore promised a selection of highlights from across Less Than Jake’s career. Unfortunately, the venue’s hard curfew prevented a number of these from being played and the band had to make a hasty exit. They still managed to squeeze in The Science, Of Selling Yourself Short, Look What Happened and a gloriously nostalgic Johnny Quest Thinks We’re Sellouts to finish.

Yet I don’t think anyone felt shortchanged; the strength of Less Than Jake’s performance and the genius line up additions of The Bennies & Suckafish made for the most energising Wednesday that I’ve had in a very long time. Good vibes indeed.

Chris Warne

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