Purple Pilgrims take to the stage. There's a round of polite applause after their first song, and half way through their second, I start to hear a very 4AD sound; think Cocteau Twins, circa the Iceblink Luck period. The Purple Pilgrims sound is lush textured music overlaid with a chorus of voices which sounds as though it is coming from two singers.

I love seeing bands like this, playing downbeat tunes with full commitment. The crowd, clearly waiting for the main attraction idly chatters over some of the most gentle, passionate and beautiful music played live in this town for ages. Shame on y'all, your lives are less interesting than this music.

Beautifully programmed beats and strings dance around plodding baselines. Purple Pilgrims’ music is dark, brooding, ethereal, and beautiful. About four or five songs, the backing track tempo breaks the 100bpm mark and it's got my toes tapping. I'm not wearing ear plugs, but the mix, particularly the instrumentation is muddy and sounding almost devoid of high mid-range frequencies. I'm reliably informed the sound has more clarity nearer the PA, in front of the around 200 people standing, now waiting for The Veils to take the stage.

The Veils walk onto the stage at 9:25pm, accompanied by a swinging version of Nina Simone's Sinnerman.

When their first two tunes Not Yet and Calliope are played, the full-capacity crowd is a sea of bobbing heads in front of me.  Finn Andrews is in his customary black brimmed hat, synonymous with the band's image throughout its career.

Their third song Advice For Young Mothers to Be is well received by the crowd, who are from a varied demographic.

The following song Pan is dirtier and faster, with more heads bobbing. With the fifth song, A Birthday Present, Finn admits "we're not really playing them in order." A Birthday Present is a more downbeat song, sounding like they were influenced by U2, around the Angel of Harlem period.

Finn Andrews then announces song 7, Under The Folder Branches. This is a gentle lullaby which holds 95% of the crowd's attention.

Nux Vomica is the next track played. For the uninitiated it’s an up-tempo number, loud and brutal, reminiscent for me of early Nick Cave, in the Birthday Party years.

Finn introduces the tenth song by saying "I've been looking forward to playing this", and the band launches into Jesus For The Jugular. It's got a fabulous amount of space, and it's a clear crowd favourite.

It was to be the last song of the set, "Thank you Dunedin, we we're going to go off and come back on, but we might just carry on," Finn Andrews said.

There's great lyrics in the first encore song, Swimming With Crocodiles; "Hold me like a child, you swollen crocodiles. Hold me under until I drown".

Their second encore song is "a song about birds", and unsurprisingly, it’s called Birds.

Finn Andrews says The Veils’ third encore is, "a new song from a soon to be released album, which could be a while, we're in no hurry". It’s called No Limit of Stars.

The beautiful tune Axolotl signals the end of their performance. Finn's voice suits this song so much. For me, this is the highlight from the whole night.

• 1
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• 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

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  Dream Chambers @ Meow Nui, Wellington - 14/12/2024
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  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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