December 13, 2024

VIDA EP Release Show – Goblin: December 12, 2024

VIDA and band and friends celebrate the release of her debut EP at a promising new venue, one that will have Auckland music fans reminiscing on past live musical memories.

Before we get into VIDA, let’s talk about Goblin.

The venue opened (appropriately) this past Halloween, but this is their first live music event. The address is 134 Ponsonby Rd which lands you at the corner of Ponsonby and Richmond, very close to where the old Golden Dawn used to be.

Vida

I enter on the Richmond Rd side and ascend the stairs….the venues advertises itself as “An upstairs island for those that seek it”.

Having found it, we see a bar, then a stage and “main performance room” that probably holds about 100 souls and an adjoining outer area with plenty of seating but not a great view of the stage. Throughout the facility are speakers, so no matter where you are, at least you can hear the live music and/or the DJ.

I saddle up to the bar for a hazy ale and find a spot at the rear of the stage room where the show is about to get underway.

Pounamu Rurawhe

The show is a sell-out and “multidisciplinary artist” Pounamu Rurawhe is up first. Bar staff tell us that silence is essential and we make a space on the floor for the artist to do their thing which, it turns out is more dance, than music, with the bare-chested Pounamu hissing, grunting and chanting while roaming the room. According to what I’ve Googled, Pounamu is “using their body in positionality with whenua and te taiao to honour the whakapa of whakawahine and takataapui” . The performance is impressive and gives the crowd the impression that this is not your average concert.

Hun Lynch

Hun Lynch is Hannah Lynch, another multidisiplinarian (actor/photographer/dancer/singer) who takes the stage shortly before 9pm. Hun is a study in black…black hoodie (or scarf) black T-shirt, black hair and a black electric guitar (there is a silver laptop on stage with her) . Hun’s 30-minute set consist of a series of songs performed with guitar/laptop and a voice drenched in reverb and echo. As happens with backing tracks…there are a few tech issues but also a cool cover of Erykah Badu’s I Want You.

The set concludes with a couple of originals that impress with their shimmering intensity and jazz leanings.

Chelsea Prastiti

You may know Chelsea for her work with local psychedelic R&B band Skilaa. Chelsea’s on her own tonight, but she did bring her “magic voicing” which she put to good use throughout her 20 minute set that finally got underway after about 3 minutes of tech issues at the top. With her mic finally audible, we got to hear just enough of Chelsea’s “magic voicing” to make us want to hear more.

VIDA

VIDA is Vida Bean Gibson and her debut EP is titled Aquatopialien which then make her band, Aquatopialiens. The band consist of a bass player (Orlando), a drummer (Finn) and keyboard player John Gibson who is Vida’s dad.

VIDA’s sound is an intriguing mix of jazz, soul and space age experimentalism.

VIDA also likes to treat her voice with various effects, which are heard on opening number, I’m So Charming, but, to be honest, she’s at her best when we hear the jazz crooning she shows off during songs like Monkey Mind and Just Know.

The 50-minute set is marred by lengthy gaps between tunes. Some seem technically-related, others perhaps communication with bandmates.

We can see Vida standing tall (and wearing 6-inch glitter platform boots) but the rest of the band is mostly out of sight due to the lack stage space. When a sax player is heard during Do The Dishes, only the folks up front would have seen it was being played by an actual human in the room.

The set seemed to click into gear during Do The Dishes, which lead into a cover of Prince’s Something In The Water (always a good move) and finally the smooth sounds of Monkey Mind and Just Know.

Those of us in the “main room” could hear the crowd chatter from those along the side who were much less engaged with the live music and it was distracting.