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Villainy - Gig Review: Villainy @ the Kings Arms, Auckland - 3/10/2014

07 Oct 2014 // A review by Andrew Smit

The 'Full House' sign was up and an appreciative crowd filled the Kings Arms to see the hometown return of Villainy.

First up was the unanimous winner of Villainy's 'search for a support band' Brendon Thomas and the Vibes, this eager young trio have been captivating the smaller stages of Auckland and gaining attention for their expressive blues, funk and rock. Thankfully a good crowd had filtered in at 8.30 to hear the ultra-talented Brendon Thomas wail his guitar with his 'Vibes' rhythm section of Timothee Nolier on drums and Michael Anderson on bass. Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan may be dead but if you close your eyes you will be believe you're hearing the blending of their reincarnation in Brendon's sweet guitar playing! Timothee on drums was shaking and grooving with hair swinging everywhere and providing surprising high pitch harmonies, while Michael's funky bass somehow managed to stay tight with the many frantic upbeat blow outs and occasional abrupt changes of tempo. Another fine example of the talent pool we have here in New Zealand, I am sure a big future beckons for these guys.

Next up was the tight hard rock trio Stitches, which engaged well with the building crowd and thrashed out some fast and tight, nearly punk, tunes. Energetic and powerfully delivered with passion and ease by lead man JP Carroll with Hugh Hokopaura on bass and Daniel Purchase on drums. Another Auckland band, they are preparing to release a full length debut in 2015 which, going by tonight's show, will be full of tough uncompromising rock tracks to look forward to.

And then there was Villainy, igniting their set perfectly with Ammunition, its pile driving guitar riff and powerful drums and bass pounding my shirt against my body. Lead vocalist Neill Fraser was looking fresh and sounding magnificent, each song was performed with vigour and sounded perfect, hits from their Mode. Set. Clear. album were peeled off to a very appreciative audience. There was a great crowd, well behaved except for some loopy who jumped on stage and tried to tackle Thom Watts on guitar, but his efforts of getting on to the stage must have exhausted the poor vagabond and he was unceremoniously removed from the stage, the show continued with grins and not a beat was missed.

New tracks were performed which sounded well equipped to continue their power run of radio play and popularity. But the highlights for most, I think, were the popular songs from their award winning debut  album The AnswerGather Me and their finale Alligator Skin. The guys were available for signatures and selfies after the show which created a nice return of the hometown boys feeling. All up a very polished performance from our Kiwi brothers, a show that left you eager to see them again and hear new material from Villainy ASAP.

 

About Villainy

Villainy
vill·uh·nee /?vil?nç/
Noun: 1. The actions or conduct of a villain; outrageous wickedness.
2. Maniacal rock band from Auckland, New Zealand.

Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Villainy

Releases

Dead Sides (The Lost EP)
Year: 2021
Type: EP
Beggar
Year: 2020
Type: EP
Raised In The Dark
Year: 2019
Type: Album
Buy Online @ Mightyape
Dead Sight
Year: 2015
Type: Album
Mode. Set. Clear.
Year: 2012
Type: Album

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