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 Answer, Gather 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.

• 1
  Head Like A Hole
• 2
  Horror Story
• 3
  Fraser Ross
• 4
  Fur Patrol
• 5
  Michelle Rounds
• 6
  L.A.B.
• 7
  The Boondocks
• 8
  Late to Chelsea
• 9
  Springloader
• 10
  Baconfoot

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• 1
  APT.
  ROSÉ And Bruno Mars
• 2
  DIE WITH A SMILE
  Lady Gaga And Bruno Mars
• 3
  BIRDS OF A FEATHER
  Billie Eilish
• 4
  TASTE
  Sabrina Carpenter
• 5
  I LOVE YOU, I'M SORRY
  Gracie Abrams
• 6
  ESPRESSO
  Sabrina Carpenter
• 7
  SAILOR SONG
  Gigi Perez
• 8
  LOSE CONTROL
  Teddy Swims
• 9
  A BAR SONG (TIPSY)
  Shaboozey
• 10
  GOOD LUCK, BABE!
  Chappell Roan

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