Local lads Drax Project have moved far away from their impromptu busking gigs on Courtenay Place, having just wrapped a near sell out headline tour across Blighty, Europe and Aotearoa in support of their super cool sophomore effort Upside (2023).

And most recently, they’ve been stomping around the motu revving up local crowds, and a few Aussies stages, to much acclaim. Part of that mission was a homecoming in Te Whanganui a Tara in August. The plan was to be the inaugural act at the new Welly 1000 pax venue Meow Nui. But unfortunately, renovations of the old Citadel have been taking a little longer than expected and the gig had to be moved to Vic Uni’s Hunter Lounge, instead – my old student stomping ground, back in the day.

The last time I saw the Draxies was at Lower Hutt Domain, opening for Six60 during their national stadium tour. They were a fun, fit crew just cutting their teeth on the major circuit. But years of gigging and studio time since has honed their skills even further, making them a slick and professional unit. But, I have to say, going by tonight’s performance, still really down to earth and earnest to get amongst their fans. And likewise, so were they! Tonight was a sell out. Good reason for this.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. The night kicks off with hometown ‘bros’ Wet Denim, an indie rock act who make shiny, yet jagged guitar led music with a touch of 70’s, 80’s and 90’s rock in their formula. They do an absolutely blistering set of tunes, mainly from their new EP On The Line, including The Why, which they open with, Again and Again, Stuck With You and Want You Here. These are all first class bangers and considerably more fabulous in the flesh than the recorded versions because only in person can you take in their energy and exuberance. Frontman/guitarist Nick Goodwin could well be a bit of a rock god waiting to explode from his bedroom. He put on a real show, along with his bandmates, brothers Joe (guitar) and Jack Ledword (drums) and Luca Crampton (bass, keys) All of them are thrashing about like the best kind of 80’s metal hairband and the joy of what they are up to just radiates from the stage. Everyone was grooving away and enjoying the show. (So, people if you enjoyed that, check out their upcoming gig at San Fran on 29th November).

With a quick change of instruments, and just time to get to the bar, the Drax boys come out. They are thrilled to be on stage, with their crowd. The room is beaming from ear to ear. This is a Welly band, and these people are Welly people. Get ready to have every song, every lyric sung back at you. And we do. It doesn’t go un-noticed either. Halfway through Shaan Singh comments on how wonderful is to have an audience that listens to your music and sings everything back to you – “That’s real validation for what we do” he says. And it is.

They open up with Oh My from Upside, and the single Over It before kicking into one of the many, many communal choir moments with the Woke Up Late. Back to the new release with a sweet, sweet rendition of Luxury and Atmosphere. As a ballad the latter works better without the studio treatments, it's more honest.

We zoom back to 2019 for Toto from the first album, and back again to the newbie for Good Life. And so it goes for most of the set. Standouts are Firefly and Prefer and the dramatic Cold. The original featured some very smooth jazz piano, which appears again but maybe not as poignantly as on the record.

Not that it mattered. Supernova makes up for it with every arm waving frantically.

Singh fronts the band both as a bit of a heartthrob (yes I spied a fair few admirers) and as a talented player – especially on that trademark sax of his. He appears gracious and humble but knows how to work the room, quietly gaining respect from his deeds on stage. His compatriots are all grinning ear to ear, enjoying the gig as much as their audience.

They throw in more from the new album – My Luck, Sugar, and an oldie called Fashion Sense (which I don’t think has appeared officially on any albums).

Then it’s time to go back to their roots with a mash-up of jams from their busker days. Lead like a marching band Singh struts around the sage honking away on his horn while Matt Beachen plays tribal rhythms on his kit and Ben O’Leary and Sam Thomson join in with Singh, chanting lines from a range of improvised songs including Jenny From The Block and Gnarls’ Crazy. We all cheer like the proverbial mad things we are to be taken back to this time, like it was yesterday. And, given the room, Thomson notes, it wasn’t that long ago. "Just over there by the bar," he reminisces, We played our first gig, it was a Tuesday I think, people watching at lunch time with their hot chocolates. Anybody there? We all went here (to Victoria University), except Ben. It’s where we hung out. And here we are!”

As ordered, they finish on a highlight, the song they co-wrote with Six60, Catching Feelings. O’Leary kicks off before the rest join in, including all of us. By the end of the night everyone is parched and croaky from over-sing. But there’s on last one, All This Time and appropriate finish for a band that’s earned their chops well and truly. Go have a bit of a break, boys, you have earned it. Thank you for a great night out.

*Also, a quick thank you to The Hunter Lounge Hospitality Manager and The Drax Project Tour Team for looking after me and the security team for keeping us all safe - you guys all rock!

Photo Credit: Tim Gruar

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