It’s beyond disheartening to go and see a live band and recognise that there is obvious talent there that is being completely misrepresented by a bad sound engineer, sadly this was the case for Bakers Eddy at Ding Dong Lounge.
The band were hyped, cohesive and interacted well with the crowd. The venue sound however was muddy as hell, and with next to no vocal clarity, understanding lead singer Ciarann Babbington was a hard time for audience members who were not in the front.
In any case, the four piece group have a tight wee set list of original pop rock tunes that are very solid musically, but could definitely use a bit of development lyrically. Also, there is an unbound exuberance to their stage show that has definitely been lacking from live music in recent years.
The group included a cover of The Hives’ Tick Tick Boom that went over well with the crowd, but verged on not quite working - as it was speed up to the point where the vocalist could not keep up.
When Bakers Eddy finished up, there was a quick turnaround and Skinny Hobos took the stage in front of a decent home crowd.
To be honest, they were really not my cup of tea off the bat, as I found the shirtless drummer a bit gimmicky and tasteless and I’m not a big fan of seemingly needless swearing, but they went down really well with the audience.
When did music first really speak to you? For previous Wellington rock quartet Bakers Eddy, it was as teenagers. Inspired by 90's/2000's rock, the foursome practiced together relentlessly. With Foo Fighters, Shihad, The Mint Chicks and The D4 as references, they became the polished band of entertainers they are now.
Over the last two years, Bakers Eddy have done substantial work to build on their talent and dedication, establishing themselves as one of the most in-demand young rock bands from the capital in the process.
Dedicated and professional, their music is all lean muscle. Welding infectious melodies to classic rock themes, ascendant guitar riffs and sing-along group vocals - live and recorded - Bakers Eddy are poised to make a significant impact on the New Zealand rock music scene.