Tonight just blew my mind.

Here I am in London town and just checked into one of the funkiest/quirkiest (usually code word for SHITE on booking.com) little apartments in Hoxton. It (the apartment) is actually very cool and it turns out NZ band Looking For Alaska are playing in the bar downstairs.

On any other Tuesday evening that would have been great but tonight I am heading to Shoreditch venue The Old Blue Last as Auckland’s Miss June are in the old smoke for the first of three gigs before they head off to the good ol’ US of A.

They have just played over the ditch in Aussie and after seeing Miss June play Mt Smart (Foo Fighters), The Tuning Fork (Idles), I am really looking forward to seeing how they translate to a UK crowd. London gigs can either be a one man and his dog affair or an absolute packed out blast. Tonight’s gig is free and as Cold Fins take the stage there are around 30 people in a room about the size of Auckland’s Ding Dong lounge. This is a good sign for a London gig on a Tuesday night.

The room keeps filling as Cold Fins actually warm things up with their melancholic/upbeat vibe. It’s a shame the bass was way too loud (although played well) as the volume pummelled some beautiful songs like ants being squished by a 5 year-old's fingers.

When Miss June take the stage, the room is full and expectant. I am nervous as they are relying on an in house engineer who clearly didn’t give a fuck with the first band. Here we go ........ Feedback. Amps overloaded. A statement of intent and then it explodes!!

This is all the best gigs I have been to rolled into 30 seconds of HELL YEAH.

The engineer is fucked! Everything is at full volume and full pelt, but Annabelle's vocals cut through like steel. This is one of the best starts to a gig ever.

Watching Miss June squished into this tiny room, the intensity is amplified. It is physical. You can feel it. This is like sticking your tongue on a battery. You can taste the energy in this place tonight.

I have seen Miss June many times but tonight was the first time I saw them as a full on punk band. They played the same songs, but the spit and bile came over in glorious waves. Maybe it was because this gig was back in the UK where I grew up and had seen so many incendiary first gigs but tonight this little band from little NZ gave me a buzz I thought I would never feel again.

Every single note, every single chord, every single beat and every heart felt word hit home. It gave me goosebumps. When a London crowd looks at you with jaws firmly dropped, not moving, not cheering, just gob smacked you know things are going well.

This gig was legendary.

Like Cairo Knife Fight at the Kings Arms.

Like The Mint Chicks at Brewers Bar.

Like Miss June playing London on a Tuesday night at The Old Blue Last in June 2019

You wish you could have been there.

I am lucky.

I was.

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