August 19, 2024

Ride – Powerstation August 18, 2024 (13th Floor Concert Review)

Shoegaze vets Ride powered their way through a set at Auckland’s Powerstation last night, unfortunately they were not supported by Mercury Rev as originally advertised.

Sadly, Mercury Rev were forced to cancel at the last minute due to illness, leaving many ticket buyers frustrated as they were looking forward to see “The Rev” as much, or more, than Ride.

And with good reason…Ride had previously played here in 2019, where the last time Mercury Rev played Auckland was way back in 2002. A check on Mercury Rev’s website reveal’s the band is working on a new album, their first collection of original material since 2015…so hopes of getting a preview of new music were also dashed. And, to be honest, there are those who would argue that Mercury Rev is the better of the two bands.

But Ride was always the headliner on this tour and the promotors quickly recruited local lads Tablefox to open the show.

Angry ticketholders complained on line about possible refunds, but as far as I know, none were forthcoming.

So we have a situation where two bands are due to play in front of a crowd that many don’t really want to see. So…perhaps they’ll play like they have something to prove.

Unfortunately I missed Tablefox as they went on a half hour earlier than I expected and so when I arrived at The Powerstation at 8:30, the stage was bare. Fortunately 13^th Floor photographer Azrie was there and you can check out his photos below.

That said, by the time Ride took the stage at 9pm, the Powerstation looked to be filled close to capacity.

The four piece band opened with Monaco, a track from Interplay, the band’s latest album, just released this past March. (Click here to watch the 13^th Floor MusicTalk interview with front man Mark Gardener) So there was new music to be heard, just not by the band many had hoped for.

Ride In true shoegaze fashion, the quartet performed mainly in the dark, wearing black outfits, not giving punter much to look at and so the focus was on the music.

And they did sound good. By also in true shoegaze fashion, they tended to get just a bit tedious as the set went along. In addition to Gardener, who sings and plays guitar (and occasionally bass), the band is guitarist Andy Bell, who also sings from time to time, drummer Laurence “Loz” Colbert and bass player Steve Queralt…all original members.

Since these same four have been playing together since 1988, when they formed in Oxford…with a break from 1996-2014…they are a tight unit and the set, after a pedestrian midsection, picked up energy near the end, the extended guitar interplay between Bell and Gardener giving the crowd something to cheer about.

Ride

And so, anyone arriving late enough to just catch the final five or six tunes would have been rewarded with the best part of the show with the encore trilogy of Light In A Quiet Room, Leave Them All Behind and Chelsea Girl lighting a spark under the crowd.

Comments from audience members after the show were mixed. Some were bored; some still missed Mercury Rev while other seemed to be happy with the end product.

Unfortunately musicians do get sick and promotors do need to protect their investment. But they also need to keep ticket buyers happy and deliver on what was advertised. I’d be curious as to what you, dear readers, think about the situation and what the best solution would have been. For myself, I think refunds should have been made available to anyone who felt cheated by the change in line up, no matter what the reason.

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery By Azrie

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