Going Global Showcase, 6 September 2012 @ San Francisco Bathhouse, Wellington
Unless people are involved in the music industry, or play seriously in a band, they probably wouldn’t know much about the Going Global summit that took place in the first week of September in Wellington and Auckland (and the second week in September in Christchurch). What people might have seen is the music showcases put on as part of the summit.
I headed along to check out the Wellington showcase at the San Francisco Bathhouse and was impressed with what I saw, despite the bands only getting half an hour to show off their musical wares.
Youngsters The Velvet Regime opened the show, starting right on the advertised time of 7.30 – a rarity for gigs, but it set a level of professionalism that carried on through the night.The Velvet Regime play high energy rock and roll, with plenty of sliding around the stage, jumping up and down, handclapping and tambourine solos. They’re pretty new on the scene, but if they continue to impress with shows like that they should be around for a while.
Family Cactus followed with their laid back, folk/indie/alt-country sound. They were a lot mellower than The Velvet Regime, but had some catchy tunes that got people up and dancing. Their newer material was a bit edgier than the older stuff, which went down well with the sizeable crowd.
Indie wonder kids Sunken Seas were up next. They’ve been getting a lot of radio airplay lately and have been playing a of shows in support of their recently released album Null Hour, which meant we got a highly polished performance from the three-piece. This is a band that likes to play in near darkness, letting the music speak for them.
The Golden Awesome took to the stage bathed in warm orange light, a fitting scene for their mellow musical landscapes. They sounded great and worked well together to build layers and textures of sound. Looking around, I noticed a lot of people closing their eyes and letting the music wash over them, losing themselves in the sound; a compliment to the band, I think, for creating music that people can lose themselves in.
Dunedin-ites Mountaineater closed the show with their huge wall of sound leaving an equally gigantic impression on everyone in attendance. Their bass-heavy songs and intricate guitar riffs always blow people away, and their set was the best I’ve seen them play. They closed the show in true rock fashion, with screeches of feedback, a guitar thrown to the ground, and frontman Tristan Dingemans standing on the edge of the stage screaming at the audience, often sans microphone.
It was a great night of music, and a great way to show off some of our musical talent; I’m already looking forward to next years showcase.
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