The drive from Auckland had been long, but the constant rain had led to a reduction in traffic, which made the drive to Tauranga very pleasant. Heading into Totara St, the weather clearly had no plans on changing, luckily the venue had invested in some covers to protect the punters from being lashed by rain in the outer areas. A reasonable sized venue, with both a mezzanine and floor level, two stocked bars and a kitchen, the site was well prepared for the evenings festivities. It should also be mentioned how incredible it is that all profits from this show were going to the local Cancer Society. Doors opened early due to the large number of artists on the bill, and shortly after 6pm, the opening band took to the stage.

You know it is going to be a big night when the rock crowd legend, a.k.a. the dancing man, a.k.a. the Nambasa guy, a.k.a. Bazza, or simply Barry, is in attendance. So for this review I’m going to go ahead and add a 0-10 “Barry Dancing factor” score to each act, to help you visualise whether Barry was completely motionless (0), up to slow dancing with some fancy footwork (4), all the way up to Barry’s full “windmill” dance (10).

Halfway through the bill, and the first headliner, The Eternal Sea took to the stage. A three-piece grungy rock outfit, they were dressed in collared shirts and ties, they looked out of place, but when they started to play, the intricate fingerwork was impressive. The cleanliness of the guitar riffs was the best from the bands in display so far. The musicianship was faultless, however, Mark Wright’s vocals didn’t really fit too well. Brilliant solos, rhythm driving bass, and very competent drums, made it engaging to listen to. But following on from Play Big, the difference in energy was apparent, and the crowd began to wander to the bars. Their standout song was unfortunately the final song of their set and a cover; War Pigs by Black Sabbath. This was the first time in their set that the vocals truly fitted with the style of music, and he did a great Ozzy rendition. The cover was dazzlingly performed and the crowd was happily singing along throughout. BARRY DANCING FACTOR: 7. It started off as a 3, but Barry picked up energy as the set went on, and peaked at a solid 10 when War Pigs was played.