Racing - Gig Review: Racing with Dual @ Moon, Wellington - 15/11/2018
Without any warning or announcement, a huge boom blasts through Moon. It's 9:15pm on Thursday night, pizzas and beers are flowing and the atmosphere has just kicked in! Dual are funnily enough a duo Psychedelic Dance band
from Auckland and are opening for Racing. And they are LOUD!
The singer has amazing vocals and the effects pedal he uses adds amazing atmospheric reverb, echo, etc… that really adds an eeriness to the sound. The vocal lines are all extremely catchy and you feel like you can sing along after the first chorus. The third member of the band is a shiny Macbook and it plays a frickin awesome part! The guitarists sound is quite low key but really adds to the overall sound brilliantly. This raw guitar mixed in with drum and bass is awesome.
The second song started and sounded like a modern-day Jesus Jones. Another great dance band from the past with guitars thrown in. The third song, Love On Your Own, sounded like Hard-Fi, which is another band I love. Other musical influences were Muse and definitely Kula Shaker. “Wipe your tears away” a classic U2 line from Sunday Bloody Sunday rang out for the last song, sung exactly the same as the Irish band. Fantastic.
The crowd at first seemed appreciative of the music without getting up to dance. Just needed one drunk loose punter to set the house on fire. And they did. After a few more songs the dancefloor was full, mission accomplished. Guitar rave over except for the incredibly loud ringing effects at the end. Clever, funny but bloody annoying!
Next up were Racing.
Before I start, I have to admit I already love this band and will be heading to 'Beers at the Basin' in Wellington on Saturday 1st December where Racing will be headlining. Don’t miss that!
Back to Moon, the crowd moved forwards closer to the stage as Racing rang out the first note. The dance floor filled up very quickly and the first chorus hit. It was obvious that people were here to see Racing. Unfortunately for me they were not as powerful as Dual in terms of loudness and energy, and I am not sure Dual were the right choice for an opening band. You can certainly tell it's a real drummer and not a drum machine which is great, just lacked the BOOM! Maybe Moon needs a new kick mic!
I'm already very familiar with their songs, being a big fan so I won't comment on individual tracks. Just head to Spotify to listen to them!
Racing are a rock band fused with a dreamy haze which I love. I have just come back from Desert Daze which is a 3-day music festival in America and Racing would have fit right in with the likes of King Gizard and the Lizard Wizard.
The catchy tunes once again had the audience dancing and singing along. I haven’t seen Moon this packed out in a long time.
The bass riffs drive the beat forwards and on the tune Drugs and Affection it really got the guys jumping. I sound like a broken record after my Dual comments, but Drugs and Affection is a cross between U2/Echo & the Bunnymen and Hard-Fi. What a great combo.
The singer, Ed, has an amazing ability to scream which sounds fantastic, so high pitched and then goes to amazing lows, what a range.
An amazing 4 piece from Auckland that I am sure will be touring the world soon and topping charts certainly nationwide. And good luck to them.
Photos courtesy of Nichole June Productions
About Racing
Racing released their debut album Real Dancing in 2019. They were subsequently nominated for Best Rock Artist at the 2019 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards. Singles Motel Pool, Run Wild and Party Slow all reached number one on the rock music charts.
Racing is made up of long-time collaborators Ed Knowles (vocals) and Sven Pettersen (guitar); two crucial parts to the colossus that was The Checks. The two time Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards winners (Best Rock Album) from Auckland, made their way into the pages of NME while sharing the stage with Oasis, REM, The Hives, AC/DC, The Killers and Muse on different tours. Knowles and Pettersen are joined by two other heavy hitters from the Kiwi Alternative scene - Daniel Barrett (Bass) formerly of Sherpa and Izaak Houston (Drums) formerly of Space Creeps.
Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Racing
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