Sleaford Mods Powerstation May 26, 2023 (Concert Review)

Sleaford Mods returned to The Powerstation last night, three years and one pandemic after their first show at the iconic NZ venue.

And it seems everyone I spoke to leading up to tonight’s show had been to the 2020 show (I was not, due to illness), so I was keen to find out for myself what all the fuss was about.

I caught a bit of the Sleaford’s set at Coachella (via YouTube) and frankly, was a bit unimpressed. But, hey, being there can be an altogether different experience.

Big Scout

Tonight’s show is sold out and there’s another tomorrow so a crowd had already gathered by 8:40 when Big Scout got things going. They are a punk/alternative/rock trio from Blenheim (of all places) and I’ve gotta say, from the get-go, I was impressed.

They generated plenty of energy on stage and I enjoyed vocalist/guitarist Gregg Slatter’s jaggeg, post-punk guitar riffs. We got a few tunes from their album, Council Sport…Nothing Ever Happens stood out…and drummer Matthew Hellriegel took to running around his kit for a bit…very punk and quite entertaining. I like these guys!

Sleaford Mods

Now, for the headliners.

Sleaford Mods is a duo consisting of vocalist Jason Williamson and beatmaker/dancer/ laptop operator Andrew Fearn.

The two co-write and composed the content that fills up the act’s seven albums (they’ve been at it since 2013) but on stage its Williamson that does the heavy lifting. Just remembering all (or most) of the lyrics to the 25 songs performed tonight was no small feat, but he also has the look, the sound and the attitude that defines Sleaford Mods. He is angry, cynical, indignant and self-righteous in equal measure, calling out twats, c*nts and dickheads in his thick, working class accent.

Meanwhile Andrew presses “play” on the laptop and dancing rather awkwardly throughout the set, arms and legs flailing.

To me, it now comes across as shtick, but the fans seem to love it.

They start their set with UK Grim, the title track of their most recent album and plow through 25 tunes in 90 minutes, barely pausing between them.

There is very little spontaneity or personal interaction, just a river of works (often indecipherable) over electronic beats.

This is cool, even good, for a while, but I admit by about 30 minutes into the set I found myself glancing at my watch and looking for a place to have a sit down. And portions of the crowd started to entertain themselves with chatter that threatened to drown out the music in some places around the venue.

Usually I get fairly wound up when chatter starts up, but tonight I thought, ‘who could blame them’? Williamson made little effort to engage with the crowd.

“Enjoying it?” was the extent of his banter after a half an hour of preaching to the converted.

Several of the tracks played featured guests such as Billy Nomates, Florence Shaw and Perry Farrell duetting with Williamson, and hearing the canned vocals made me feel like I was at a listen party rather than a live performance.

I also have issue with a made that rails against the system while selling hoodies at the mech desk for $100.

May that’s just the old punk in me, but I think next time Sleaford Mods come to town, I’ll stay home and play my old Ramones, Pistols and Clash records and wear a torn, worn out T-shirt.

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Brenna Jo Gotje

Sleaford Mods:

Big Scout:

Sleaford Mods Setlist:

1. UK Grim
2. On The Ground
3. Pit 2 Pit
4. Me Flurry
5. Force 10 From Navarone
6. Giddy On The Ciggies
7. Tilldipper
8. Bang Someone Out
9. Five Pound Sixty
10. I Don’t Rate You
11. Smash Each Other Up
12. Mork N Mindy
13. Fizzy
14. Thick Ear
15. DIwhy
16. So Trendy
17. SDtrike Force
18. TCR
19. Don
20. Tory Kong
21. I Claudius
22. Nudge It
23. Tied Up In Nottz
24. Jobseeker
25. Tweet Tweet Tweet