March 29, 2023

Pentatonix – Spark Arena 29 March 2023

Pentatonix wowed the crowd at the Spark Arena with a high-energy romp through their back catalogue and a fair number of covers.

The quintet, ably supported by Kiwi singer Georgia Lines, put together a pretty decent showcase of their admirable vocal dexterity.

Georgia Lines

The by now familiar half-format arena was filled with an audience leaning toward Gold Card status – why? Is acapella particularly attractive to an older crowd, who get to hear the lyrics without those pesky guitars and drums getting in the way? Whatever, they were seated and ready for the 8.15pm start.

Georgia seemed surprised but appreciative, thanking them and running through her recent offerings with a rich, soaring voice. New Zealand’s answer to Lady Gaga accompanied herself on the keyboard, through a set list starting with Falling and Never Had Love, with its impressive ascending runs and pounding piano.

She certainly took her warm-up duties seriously, chatting effortlessly and engagingly between songs, encouraging a singalong to a Billie Eilish cover “that you might know” (I suspect 90% didn’t) and valiantly instigating a sing-off between the two halves of the arena in Made for Loving.

I last saw Georgia as support for George Ezra, again at Spark Arena. While she confidently copes with the crowds, she’s too good to be pigeonholed as an international visitor warm-up act. More intimate solo gigs soon, please!

Pentatonix

I suspect there are few acts who have attempted a gig at Spark Arena with only one instrument on show (in this case, Kevin Olusola’s cello – utilised in an amazing classical crossover of simultaneous solo Bach and beatbox). But without even a tambourine to rattle, Pentatonix managed to convey a full-band experience with their accomplished acapella presentation.

It was always going to veer on being cheesy, given their choice of song covers, especially evident in the singalong medleys – from the Vengaboys to Journey.

The audience didn’t care, and Pentatonix definitely redeemed themselves with operatic prowess and soaring harmonies. Pitch perfect throughout the night, the group showcased original songs (including a fair few and a medley from last year’s album The Lucky Ones) alongside covers ranging from Imogen Heap to Queen.

Standouts were Shallow, with Kirstin Maldonado and Mitch Grassi taking the lead, opening tune Sing, featuring Matt Sallee’s bass and an impressive light show, and the much-loved and oh-so-familiar Hallelujah. The first encore number, a cover of The Rescues’ My Heart With You, was lovely, with an American-folksy vibe and the group dropping all the beatboxing and background (virtual) bells and whistles for incredibly pure harmonies.

The fifth member (the ‘pent’ of Pentatonix?), Scott Hoying, has a fabulous voice, great energy and enthusiasm and acted as ringmaster/MC across the night. He provided background stories, links and led an interactive piece which will “be going on TikTok”.

I’m sure people online will be absolutely riveted to hear an Auckland audience singing the word “bum” in various notes instigated by Scott jumping around the stage – somewhat reminiscent of Tom Hanks on the piano in “Big”. It filled in a few minutes but wasn’t entirely successful. If it’s actually posted, you’ll see what I mean.

Much was made of New Zealand being the last gig of this part of the world tour, having already visited Japan and Australia, but there was none of the giddy celebration or veering off-script that this usually conjures up.

Instead, it was all a little too carefully orchestrated and choreographed, from the transitions to the singalongs. There may have been mash-ups and medleys, but even the viral Daft Punk set which shot Pentatonix to fame in 2013 felt just a little flat. The big finish was Bohemian Rhapsody – again, just a little bit naff and cheesy, but beautifully interpreted through clever and close harmonies.

All in all, it seems somewhat churlish to criticise what was a well-structured, well-executed, well-received night of indisputably finessed vocal ability. There was a lot of fun, a lot to admire and a lot of singing and clapping along. The crowd at Spark Arena didn’t seem to have any complaints.

Carin Newbould

Click any icon to view a full gallery of Pentatonix photos from Veronica

McLaughlin

GEORGIA LINES SETLIST:

FALLING
NEVER HAD LOVE
SAVE ME
WHEN THE PARTY’S OVER (Billie Eilish cover)
MADE FOR LOVING
MY LOVE

PENTATONIX SETLIST:

SING
NA NA NA
CANT’T SLEEP LOVE
AHA! (Imogen Heap cover)
THE SOUND OF SILENCE (Simon & Garfunkel cover)
LOVE ME WHEN I DON’T
MEDLEY: THE LUCKY ONES/ BE MY EYES/ COFFEE IN BED/ EASY LOVE/ NEVER GONNA CRY AGAIN
MEDLEY: DAFT PUNK (Daft Punk covers)
CELLOBOXING – JULIE-O (Mark Summer cover)
CELLO SUITE NO. 1 IN G MAJOR (Bach cover)
SHALLOW (Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper cover)
WHITE WINTER HYMNAL
SIDE
MEDLEY – KEVIN & MATT SINGALONG: MY GIRL/ SWEET CAROLINE/ I WANT IT THAT WAY/ THIS IS HOW WE DO IT/ DON’T STOP BELIEVING/ LIVIN’ ON A PRAYER/ YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME/ WE WILL ROCK YOU (The Temptations/ Neil Diamond/ Backstreet Boys/ Journey/ Bon Jovi/ Queen covers)
MEDLEY – 90S DANCE TRACKS: WHAT IS LOVE/ RHYTHM IS A DANCER/ BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM/ BLUE ( DA BA DEE)/ BELIEVE/ FINALLY (Haddaway/ Snap!/ Vengaboys/ Eiffel 65/ Cher/ Ce Ce Peniston covers)
HALLELUJAH (Leonard Cohen cover)