Fresh from picking up numerous awards in the recent National Battle of the Bands competition, Bad Schematics have embarked on a North Island tour including Tauranga, Auckland and their hometown Palmerston North, to promote their newest album,
C O L L I D E. Tonight, along with winners of the competition for this year, Adoneye, finalists Donal and The Bucks and last year’s second place winners, Dave and the Dirty Humans, Bad Schematics hit Wellington’s favourite underground alternative music venue and pizzeria, Moon.

With such a varied and eclectic line-up, joined only through their recent accolades and level of professionalism, I was wondering how the crowd might react to four such disparate genres, ranging from singalong pub rock, pop punk inspired emo, desert stoner metal and rock enhanced acoustic smooth jazz. The answer, it seems, would be what Caleb had mentioned in my interview to him earlier the same evening, “the community” that supports a New Zealand musician is what most bands should be most appreciative of. And so it would seem like a range of local musicians from Wellington’s scene appeared to slowly fill the small venue, ready to support the out of town act.

First up was Donal and the Bucks, a band now well known for their high energy, sing-along rock that has been hitting the local circuit (and occasionally beyond where they told the crowd they had written new material inspired by Palmerston North). Donal, armed with bass, centre stage and jumping along to conduct his band with his body through improvised passages, led the growing crowd through a vigorous and enthusiastic set of catchy, upbeat rock with occasional nods to heavy metal (and dare I say folk?) Lovely singing, top notch performers and a spectacular guitar solo guaranteed for every song.

The next band was Adoneye, the winners of this year's Battle of The Bands, ready to win the crowd over with their unique blend of smooth jazz inspired rock. That’s not doing them justice; there’s emo in there, elements of djent, modern metal, and even soul or funk. The band performed really well, keeping the punters interested in every development of their complex songs. Singer and guitarist Dean performed with heart and soul, sweating as he poured his emotion into every tune. Above all, the band is very talented at utilising dynamics to play incredibly soft and then heavy at a moment’s notice.

Then, headliners Bad Schematics climbed the stage, and the capacity of the venue reached a critical level. Before I knew it, a mosh pit had materialised and the band was eager to begin. Starting strong and heavy, singer Caleb had whipped the gathering into a frenzy before the first chorus hit. Playing heavy hitting pop injected rock numbers such as Carousel and All To Blame, it was obvious the band was well rehearsed and from the smiles on stage, happy with their sound and the night’s turnout. The crowd sang along to Happy Apathy - Part II of The Internal Etiquette Committee Meeting with a syncopated chorus, and even though no words were necessary, also to the funky WAW2WMT (from their first album Keep Your Gods) – ‘nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah…’.

Finally, local legends Dave and The Dirty Humans emerged and took the energy even higher with their Kyuss inspired desert rock. Tonight, perhaps influenced by earlier acts, the band played quite jazz-ily, using breaks between songs to branch out into free-acid-jazz sounding interludes and experimental noisescapes. With all four members now singing equally throughout the set, their sound has grown to become dense, rich and wide utilising harmonies to achieve complex chords. After a seemingly perfect cover of Queens of the Stone Age's Songs for The Dead, the band had squeezed all the power from the now exhausted but happy crowd.

What’s next for Bad Schematics? They are continuing their tour to Whanganui, Mount Manganui, back through Auckland again, and ending in nearby New Plymouth. This is indeed one hardworking band that connects with their audience on a visceral level and can play alongside bands of quite different sounds, so long as they are unified by their level of quality. Once again, Moon had showcased a veritable showcase of amazing talent.

Photo Credit: Nicholas E. Clark
Bad Schematics Photo Gallery
Adoneye Photo Gallery
Dave and the Dirty Humans Photo GalleryDònal and The Bucks Photo Gallery

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