The Flatliners – Double Whammy: February 26, 2025 (13th Floor Concert Review)
Canada’s Flatliners made their Auckland debut a mere 20 years after the release of their first album. Was it worth the wait? Well…yeah!
The Flatliners are four friends who go way back. Front man Chris Cresswell pointed out that he walked to school every day for 15 years with bass player Jon Darbey and met guitarist Scott Brigham on the first day of kindergarten…we can only speculate that he he’s known drummer Paul Ramirez since they were in nappies.
So, yes, they are a tight unit who have been cranking out their brand of ska-infused punk since about 2002.
Flirting With Disaster
Speaking of tight units…so are Auckland trio Flirting With Disaster. Names can be deceiving, as this old rocker immediately thinks of 70s country-rockers Molly Hatchett, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Chazz, Ash and Kev come roaring out at 9pm on the dot and put on a high-energy opening set that could well rival the headliners.
Chazz (Valentine) is a potent front man, engaging with the audience and spitting out riffs. They squeeze 13 songs into just over 30 minutes, ending with a cover of CCR’s Bad Moon Rising. But it’s the originals like Find A Way, Door Knockers and Take You Higher that make the set stand out. And having a mic front and centre for fans to get up and sing along is cool as well.
These guys are good…but maybe change the name.
Fireshark
Another punky trio…but these guys are a bit older and frankly, it shows. Decked out in white T-shirts…everyone in the mostly-male audience was in standard black…they look like a group of dads playing at a BBQ.
Don’t get me wrong, they play well and sound OK, but there was a lack of energy on stage and in the room throughout their set.
This is a band that has been knocking around for a number of years now. And it sounds like it.
The Flatliners
The energy level rises back up at 10:45…a late start for a Wednesday night…as the four Flatliners take the stage.
“What’s up Auckland?”
Well, we are…so show us what you’ve got.
And they do.
The quartet blazes through 18 songs in just over an hour with Chris Cresswell acting as the perfect host.
“We’re The Flatliners from Canada, this is our very first time in your fair city and we’re making history together, baby!”
His enthusiasm is infectious as they “get the energy up properly”
The set features tunes from all phases of the band’s career and the setlist follows close to what they played last night in Hamilton, with a few exceptions.
One of those was the inclusion of Souvenir, from their New Ruin album, a song they didn’t play the previous night, but promised to play tonight to a fan who travelled from Hamilton just to hear her favourite.
Nice to see that this is a band that keeps its promises.
Overall, the vibe was good, there was singing along, there was a bit of moshing, nothing too ferocious…just good fun.
We were warned three songs from the end that there would be no encore…”We don’t do he peek-a-boo” and so it was all done and dusted by just after midnight.
This being a “school night” I think we could have done without the three-band line-up…I know which one I’d delete…catch them in Wellington tonight if you can.
Marty Duda
Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Chris Warne:
The Flatliners:
Fireshark:
Flirting With Disaster:
