I like smoke machines and pretty lighting…
Posted: Thu Nov 6, 2008 7:25 am

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Old. But good. Well, the title is at least.

Goodnight Nurse has changed a fair bit since I last saw them perform at The Altitude in early 2007. They dropped their bassist Paul Taite and have picked up two new members, Sam McCarthy (guitar) and Rowan Crowe (bass).
They also packed their bags and left for Australia to record their latest album, Keep me on your Side – and to be honest, I thought they had their work cut out for them to keep their kiwi fans on their side after so many changes.
Turns out, they’ve probably managed to pick up more young admirers along the way, and Saturday’s show at The Meteor Theatre was living proof.
I was equally as surprised to see how the new members fit in so well that you wouldn’t even know that they were new to the band.

Kids in sun glasses sporting oversized fluro tees and plaid shirts were amongst the crowd who turned up for a night filled with confetti, colourful lighting and my personal favourite - smoke machines.
Along-side the Nurse were C4 favourites Streetwise Scarlet and Hamilton power-poppers Arms Reach who started their set with a roar. This was the first time I’ve experienced these locals, and I must say I was most impressed with their obvious love for playing live music. With an album due out in the summer, these guys are definitely ones to watch!
Jumping into Stars and Satellites and Grinding Teeth which feature on the bands Myspace page it was awesome to see such great young talent coming out of the Tron. As their set went on, the lads became increasingly ecstatic smiling right through to the end…bless them.

After a short intermission, Streetwise Scarlet took to the stage and straight away they were yelled at with ‘play the C4 song!’. I’ve got to tell you, I’ve seen this done to The Tutts when their song K was used for the ad and it never really goes down that well. So I guess I wasn’t surprised when they saved Lets Go till one of their last to keep the crowd on their toes.
I’m not too sure what the deal was with these guys, but even though they got heads bobbing the only time they seemed slightly happy to be on stage was when a dude in a cowboy hat started jumping up and down like a maniac…almost like he was at a ho-down or something, throwing his hat on-stage trying to be a part of their performance. He got his wish when he was personally thanked by guitarists Jesse and Samuel Smith who were most amused with his infectious enthusiasm.

Clearly happy to finish their set which lacked the charisma I’d anticipated, the lads hopped off to join the rest of the crowd for Goodnight Nurse who were up half an hour later.
Drummer, Jaden Parkes was first on stage followed by the rest of the crew who received embarrassing screams and high-fives from the kids up the front. This was then the theme for the rest of the evening – high-fives and over excited teenagers getting more and more wound up as the set progressed.
Having not heard their latest album, I was really pleased to hear the familiar stuff off the band’s debut, Always and Never along with their cover I have come to love, Kelis’ Milkshake. Along with all the old favourites, the guys got into their latest release I need This, leaving their most popular for the end, The Night complete with party poppers filled with confetti and streamers.

The lads will be heading back over to Australia at the end of the month, so catch them if you can before then – who knows when they’ll be back!

Amanda Ratcliffe

RE: I like smoke machines and pretty lighting…
Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 10:45 pm

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