09 Jun 2017 // A review by butch181
Heading
into the Browns Bays Brownzy Sports Bar, the anticipation in the air was substantial.
The venue was full, the bar was jammed; the only area that didn’t look over
capacity was the outdoor smoking area. Quite a surprise to see such a turnout
in Browns Bay, but with Howick being the only other Auckland show on the tour,
it made sense that more people would make the effort to attend these less
centrally located shows. Not surprisingly, the crowd was much more mature in
age than the average concert, and were clearly enjoying themselves, getting
rather carried away on the wines and beers.
The
opening band for the night was Auckland based Rock group
Ekko Park. Well
known in the scene since their debut album release back in 2013, their presence
was expected, due to lead vocalist & guitarist Joe Walsh, and bassist Bryan
Bell also being members of the Jordan Luck Band. Coming up on stage, Ekko
Park got straight into their set with an oldies cover song. With a clear
understanding of their audience, Ekko Park’s setlist was peppered not only with
new songs and hits from their two albums (
Know
Hope and
Tomorrow Tomorrow Today),
but a careful selection of covers from the likes of Lou Reed and Bowie, and it
drove the crowd wild, who less than 3 songs into the set were already dancing
in the front.
While
the newer songs got a polite applause at their conclusion, the more established
tracks such as
My Crime,
Hollow, and
Validation had the crowd both singing along and singing their
praises as the night progressed. A solid unit, the group is led by Joe Walsh
who harks from the UK, and his Irish accent is nothing if not obvious. The band’s
style comes across similar to that of the US rock group Kings of Leon, and
could explain a lot of their popularity. Despite simple song structures, Walsh’s
unique vocal melody combined with Nick Douch’s impressive drumming flair, more
than adequately warmed up the crowd for the headliner.
The
crowd was starting to get rowdy. The wines and beers were getting downed at an
accelerated rate, many of the patrons making trips to the bar after each song,
and the dancing was getting more passionate and uncontrolled as time progressed.
Ekko
Park vacated the stage, and with very minimal changes occurring on stage, Walsh
and Bell took to the stage again with the rest of the Jordan Luck Band. With a
setlist that covered music spanning the last 36 years, Jordan Luck erupted onto
the stage to the glee of the audience. Starting off with
Christchurch (In Cashel St. I Wait) and
Erotic, the crowd was incredibly fidgety and antsy as they resisted
the urge to go wild, and I had an unanticipated amount of limbs jabbing me in
the back, considering I was nowhere near the front. Jordan Luck performed tracks
not only from his solo act the Jordan Luck Band, but also hits from The
Exponents. You could clearly tell the longtime fans that were singing along
with the older tracks like
La La Lulu and
Sink Like A Stone, but as time
went on they began to progress into the more popular and well known tracks like
Victoria,
I’ll say Goodbye (even Though I’m Blue),
Who Loves Who The Most, and
Why
Does Love Do This To Me. Jordan Luck hands over the reins to his band from
time to time allowing both Walsh and Bell (who has switched from bass to
guitar) a turn at lead vocals.
Jordan
Luck is in his element, swigging straight from the bottle, and telling stories;
explaining meanings and common questions that go with each track, such as what
happened to Tracey (from the song
Whatever
happened to Tracey?). After having a short break, they start back into the
encore ending the night with a couple of covers (in addition to the much loved
cover of Them’s
Gloria). With a quick
adjustment of positions in the band, Beaver emerged from behind the drum
kit to sing a penetrating rendition of Beastie Boys
(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party), which was followed by
Luck taking to the stage for a cover of the cult kiwi classic
Be Mine Tonight (originally by Dave
Dobbyn/
Th’ Dudes). A brilliant night, that provided a much needed night out and nostalgia trip for many.