Throw It To The Fire, Captain Sergeant Major, Force Fields, Hollywoodfun Downstairs @ San Francisco Bathhouse, Wellington, 6 January 2012
For some reason live music seems to disappear from our cities every summer and the only way to see a band is to trek to one of the holiday hotspots (or rain spots) for a festival.
So it was with great anticipation that I headed to Wellington’s San Francisco Bathhouse for my first gig of the year, featuring up and coming locals Hollywoodfun Downstairs.
Throw It To The Fire opened up the night; unfortunately I missed their set, but was told by some excited tourists that it was awesome.
Captain Sergeant Major started with a bang, belting out tracks from their self-titled album (released last year but being given a fresh push by Auckland label Hell Is Now Love). Halfway through their set there was an extra bang as the drum pedal smashed through the drum skin – a sign of the intensity that these guys play with. A short break for a drum change over and then they were back into it, finishing with one of their most popular tunes, Push Comes To Shove.
Force Fields were up next, giving drummer Matt Jeyes a chance to play back to back sets, having just played with Captain Sergeant Major. Force Fields just seem to get better every time I see them; their frequent gigging over the past year has seen them become a highly polished rock machine. They played a strong set and had a lot of fans up dancing around them.
Hollywoodfun Downstairs finished off the night and after their energetic 80’s punk style rock and roll I was thankful for a chance to rest. They’ve only been playing live in Wellington for a few months but you wouldn’t know it from the way they play. It’s high energy, high intensity and in your face and it’s great fun to watch. The band and crowd were clearly feeding off the energy of each other, with the band seeming to play harder as the audience ramped up their dancing.
Seeing any of these bands by themselves would have been a great start to 2012; seeing them all together was a true experience of the best in Wellington rock.
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