Antagonist A.D.

After the tragic bus crash that caused The Ghost Inside to give up their spot on the Big Ass Tour, Antagonist A.D. was to fill the spot and for those that have not heard of Antagonist, this was a perfect fit to fill such big shoes. Homegrown heroes from Auckland/Hamilton, these guys opened up the night with furious hardcore chugging and got the bodies in the Logan Campbell Centre moving. They had the same power as Lookin' Up when they had to open up for Parkway Drive also at The Logan Campbell Centre. Our local talent is able to easily join in with international acts and show not only their fellow New Zealanders that they have what it takes but also the acts that they are supporting that they deserve to be there. Sam Crocker easily took control of the mic and unsurprisingly had the distinctive hardcore scream down which married up perfectly with the riffs been chugged out by Matthew Livingstone and Luke Manson.

Motionless In White

How would one set to mood of a show better than have Michael Myers walk on stage and start playing bass! Having been described as Horror Metal, this perfectly describes the influence Ghost gave in his Michael Myers costume. Surprisingly, this band took the tone of their set and completely flipped it 180 when the next song they played was One Step Closer by Linkin Park and gave it the Chris Motionless spin on the vocals yet being able to command Chester's vocals beautifully. This is one of the bands that had a totally different feel, audience members wearing new rock shoes, black eye liner and far more facial piercings that the "typical" metal head and this to me was very pleasing to see, a great show that could bring such diverse sub genres together. Chris made it easy for the crowd to sing along as he gave the instructions to join the band for the chorus of AMERICA and spelling it out for them. All in all, they left the audience wanting more and one can only hope that this horror act will be back soon and hopefully will bring Maria Brink next time to join on stage.

A Day To Remember

With one of the first songs being The Downfall Of Us All, one cannot imagine the reaction of the crowd as everyone joined in to sing the recognizable opening line in unison. Being a HUGE fan of ADTR since hearing their album For Those Who Have Heart I instantly joined in with the roar of the fans and in between taking photos sang along and spent some time head banging during some of the breakdowns. Right off the bat Jeremy McKinnon was front and centre from the very second he got on stage taking control of the audience and in a true ADTR fashion, goofing around by strumming Kevin Skaff's guitar, running up to the photographers (myself included, insert screaming girl noises) and just playing around on stage just like one of the bands musical influences Blink 182. Something special about the show that not many people might have known, was that ADTRs tour and internationally recognized photographer Adam Elmakias was there, not only on stage but join the local photographers in the photo pit for the 1st three songs (I got to shake his magnificent hand). This is a big deal as he has over 100 000 followers on Facebook alone, bigger than some international bands that have toured New Zealand and he was joining the locals in not only the photo pit but joined the audience to take crowd shots. During my amazing experience in the photo pit singing along, bassist Joshua Woodard seemed to notice and started to walk towards me, instinctively I thrust my camera up and started snapping away. He was trying to give me a fist bump and I only realized this after he stood in the same spot for a while and saw his clenched fist in front of my camera lens and proceeded to reply with a girlish fist bump back... later to have found that I captured him walking all the way up to me and have each frame of his fist coming towards me in anticipation of a response. Ending off as beautifully as they started with The Plot to Bomb the Panhandle, the only thing missing was Ron Jeremy leading the audience in Slam Dancing lessons.

The Amity Affliction

Post Hardcore act The Amity Affliction hail from Gympie Australia, yet the numbers at the Big Ass Tour showed that their reach has gone far beyond the west coast with over 400 000 followers on Facebook alone. Joel Birch handled the crowd masterfully with his bellowing screams, trading back to Ahren Stringers distinctive clean vocals which makes The Amity Affliction stand out from the rest. The set was long and sweaty, which is exactly what the fans were hoping for, playing songs new and old, starting off with Open Letter from Chasing Ghosts. This being their second time to New Zealand, the audience seemed very eager to see them and it certainly left an impression that will hopefully translate back to the band to come back a third time very soon.

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

• 
  LOST BiRD @ Space Academy, Christchurch - 15/12/2024
• 
  Just Janie @ Space Academy, Christchurch - 15/12/2024
• 
  Dream Chambers @ Meow Nui, Wellington - 14/12/2024
• 
  The Phoenix Foundation @ Meow Nui, Wellington - 14/12/2024

• 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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