Office Dog + Awning – Whammy Bar: October 30, 2024

While Travis Scott was shaking things up at Eden Park, Office Dog and Awning were making their own racket over at Whammy.

With reports of “Fight Club” antics at Eden Park, Whammy Bar seemed like the logical alternative for real music lovers who filled the dive bar early to celebrate the return of one of New Zealand’s hottest acts after their US tour.

It was just a few months ago that Office Dog performed on this very same stage at a fundraiser to enable them to travel overseas and open for Nada Surf. I’ve gotta say , it’s sad when a band has to “raise funds” to tour, but I guess that’s the state of the music biz, as they certainly aren’t making big bucks from album sales (thanks Spotify).

So, with the 15-date US tour under their collective belts, Office Dog is back, but not before we hear from Awning.

Awning

Awning is a four-piece out of Wellington led by Christian Dimick who has also worked with (or as) Recitals, Avant Glass and Desperate Models. He is accompanied (I think) by Riley Noona on drums, Baxter Perry, bass, and Eli Superfly (I hope that’s his real name!) on drums. I say “I think” because there were no formal introductions from Christian…in fact neither set had much banter, with the focus firmly on the music.

“hey….check…you guys feel ready?…shall we?…and at 8:44 Awning begin their 6-song set featuring tunes from their Gold Star EP along with a handful of others.

“Sounds so good, bro!” a voice calls out from the crowd, filling the awkward silence between songs.

“I know that voice anywhere”, quips Christian.

Their off-kilter brand of indie rock sits well with the crowd, and I’m guessing they’ll be headlining their own shows at Whammy sooner, rather than later.

Office Dog

Office Dog is the current project of Dunedin native Kane Strang. After a string of solo releases, Kane formed Office Dog in late 2021 with bass player Rassani Tolovaa and drummer Mitchell Innes. During the show, all focus is on Kane with Mitchell behind his kit and Rassani lurking behind a pole at the side of the stage.

After a debut album, Spiel, was released about a year ago on Flying Nun, the trio were signed globally to New West, hence the US tour with label mates Nada Surf.

So, things are going swimmingly for the band and they sound tight as they plough through their 11-song set that included a couple of new songs…one called Tunnels and another titled Another Time.

“Thanks for the nice vibe”, says Kane between the two new numbers, “we’re kind of cooked”.

They may be cooked, but at least they aren’t fried. Violet Hirst is added to the recipe and she sings and plays on Warmer and In The Red…which gets a false start. It’s good to see that our artists are human.

They trot out another newbie…called Trot (sorry, I couldn’t resist) and wrap things up with Spiel and Big Air.

47 minutes…10:10pm and its all over. I’m all for leaving them wanting more, although there were a few fans slightly disappointed with the length of the show…something they may have had in common with the folks at Eden Park.

But hey, I know where I’d rather be…

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Den O’Keeffe

Office Dog:

Awning:

Office Dog setlist:

1. Nancy
2. Gleam
3. June
4. Antidote
5. Tunnels
6. Another Time
7. Warmer
8. In The Red
9. Trot
10. Spiel
11. Big Air