The Living End – Powerstation February 6, 2019

“All we have is the Powerstation on a Wednesday night, and that’s fuckin’ good enough for me”. Wise words from The Living End front man Chris Cheney, as he sweated through a lively set at the venerable Auckland venue.

For many folks, the Aussie three-piece’s punky/rockabilly sound is reminiscent of a certain time and place…the time being the late 90s, the place being the Big Day Out.

Yet here they are, and here we are, 20 years later, still rockin’ out, still having a grand ol’ time.

Needless to say, the band…vocalist/guitarist Cheney, stand up bassist Scott Owen and drummer Andy Strachen…have grown up. Their latest album, the Berlin-recorded Wunderbar addresses serious subjects such as politics (Death Of The American Dream) and social anxiety (Proton Pill).

And while those songs were sung last night, I don’t think many of the fans who were dancing along were listening to the words. And that’s alright…this seemed like a night to celebrate.

After all, it was Waitangi Day. And even though bass player Scott Owen couldn’t pronounce it, he did take pause to observe the holiday.

But the best celebration was the music.

Old favourites such as Second Solution and Roll On fed the crowd’s need to jump up and down, while newer offerings such as Drop The Needle and Otherside fit in just fine along side the classics.

After the spikey Proton Pill, Owen confessed, I just want to sit on the beach at Piha with you people singing Slice Of Heaven”.

The old Dave Dobbyn chestnut was not wheeled out, but the vibe was…a hot, sweaty celebration of good old fashioned rock and roll.

Set-closer Prisoner Of Society found both band and audience shouting out, “We don’t need no one to tell us what to do”. In true punk rock fashion, they knew all along.

Marty Duda

The Living End set list:

1. Don’t Lose It
2. Second Solution
3. Till The End
4. Bloody Mary
5. Otherside
6. Roll On
7. Up The Junction
8. Death Of The American Dream
9. Loaded Gun
10. All Torn Down
11. Proton Pill
12. End Of The World
13. Wake Up
14. Drop The Needle
15. White Noise
16. Prisoner Of Society
17. E-Boogie
18. Uncle Harry