Making my way to Medusa bar on a freezing Friday night, I arrived with the happy notion of discounted drinks and my long awaited copy of Adventures Of Mikejoffa’s EP, Eventures, thanks to Doug ten Broeke. Familiar to Medusa’s small but perfectly formed size, I was a little taken back at the vacant space I could see all around me, wondering when or if it was going to start filling out by the time metal titans Red Dawn took to the stage.
Embodying a mix of old-school 80’s power metal with a twist of mainstream melody and thrash overtones, Red Dawn bashed out an impressive set with panache and fury, and true to form a lot of head banging and nods of approval all around- these guys were good.
After some slight confusion, I realised that the Nirvana covers band, Nirvanarama were a no show, disappointment ensued as it would have been a great mix to the gig, so up next was three piece wonders, Machine King. Hailing from Palmerston North, Machine King (formally known as Stone Gods) are an eclectic mix of psychedelic rock infused with big emphasis on crunchy bluesy riffs that wouldn’t look out of place on a Kyuss album. Their set consisted of a handful of acid-tripping gems before sound problems got the better of them and in typical rock star fashion (reminiscent of any Nirvana footage captured) bassist, James flinging his bass haphazardly into his amp and once more for good measure before bashing it some more and walking off stage cursing and leaving his band mates amused but equally frustrated at the premature end to their set.
By the time The Adventures Of Mikejoffa took to the stage the crowd was well and truly amped. Inching my way through the now crowded Medusa, camera in one hand and a grin on my face, the boys threw themselves into rock star mode and turned on their amps as well as the crowd. A great mix of hard rock and crisp metal, wispy vocals shredded with howls and screams blending hard riffs sums up Adventures of Mikejoffa best.
Vocalist Doug ten Broeke and his witty banter between songs made for an enjoyable show as the songs came thick and fast. Kicking off with the awesome ‘Covet’ Doug, guitarist, Ezekiel and bassist Azza work together on perfect synchronised vocals and sweated their way through a blinding set including the hilarious ‘Sir Weetbix the obscured’ (aptly named after a friend called Weetbix) and played a solid mix, already showing prominent success in Wellington’s metal community. Capturing some great moments on camera, it was a great turn out, with good things to follow from Adventures of Mikejoffa- watch this space. Cheers guys!
The Adventures Of Mikejoffa formed in Wellington and the Wairarapa 2010 by Doug ten Broeke and Ezekiel Clark.
Mikejoffa has an eclectic style ranging from various forms of rock music such as grunge, punk, metal and classic rock/psychedelic. The sound reflects mainly upon the themes and tales they tell in their lyrics. They can express soulful ballads or aggressive energy that's hard hitting yet honest.
Mikejoffa has performed over 50 shows across New Zealand. They were placed 3rd in a local Battle of the Bands competition, produced 3 album releases, 2 music videos and featured on Wairarapa TV for their 50th show. Most of their release celebrations have been during NZ Music Month.