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REVIEWS - S.AMP 2005
STONKIN' RHYTHMS ROLL AROUND QEII
28 November 2005 By MATT DAVEY
Southern Amp at Queen Elizabeth 2 stadium, Saturday, November 26.It has been a while since the grounds and grandstands of QE2 stadium reverberated to the sounds of rock music. Talking Heads, Bowie, AC/DC – and more recently The Red Hot Chilli Peppers – have all played outdoor concerts there. On Saturday it was the turn of some of Australasia's finest rock, dance and hip-hop acts to provide the often music-starved South Island public with an all-day musical extravaganza.
Arriving in time to hear AK rock'n'rollers The D4 burst into hits like Let Loose in their usual hell-for-leather manner was certainly a good way to switch into rock festival mode. Unlike many Kiwi bands which have failed to overcome the much vaunted second album, Hurdle, The D4 has confidently passed beyond it. Its latest songs, such as Feel It Like It and What I Want, have quickly matched and even surpassed earlier anthems.
Climbing up into the QE2's eastern stand for a quick beer and to capture some early afternoon sun provided an overview of the Southern Amp set-up. It is like a mini-Big Day Out with a dance tent, sideshows, food and drink stalls, and a substantial main stage with hospitality areas for the participants in behind. With a few dark clouds beginning to gather, it was time to check out the Ministry of Sound tent.
Sola Rosa provided an excellent alternative for those wishing to escape the dramatic rock posturings of the likes of Pluto and the End of Fashion. In a mode reminiscent of UK dance duo Basement Jaxx (except mellower), Sola Rosa mixed laptoptronica and live music that incorporated a colourful array of styles downbeat, nu jazz and soul and even a little Latin bossa nova.
The Ministry of Sound Tent was superbly set up and definitely conducive to dancing. Later on into the afternoon and evening, it rumbled to the rhymes of Hip Hop (King Kapisi, Sir Vere, Savage), shook to the stonkin' breaks of Minuit and pumped to the sounds of Australia's No. 1 DJ and MC team, Shureshock and Kid Kenobi.
Back in the main stadium, the crowd was in a subdued mood, mainly due to the seated and very laidback musings of Break Co-ops. An announcement shortly after, that the proposed main act, Hoodoo Gurus, was not to appear, due to a family crisis back across the ditch, brought murmurings of discontent as well as pleas for its replacement to be The Foo Fighters. Alas, The Bleeders, (who were conveniently appearing at The Esplanade later that evening) were ushered in at the 11th hour to cover.
The crowd's spirits were evidently lifted again though by the super Spiderbait (with Black Betty rating in my all-time top 10 cover versions) and also the wonderful Living End from Melbourne, which raced through a rocktastic set of old and new: Roll on, a crowd singalong, Second Solution, and a cracking new number called What's on Your Radio.
SOUTHERN AMP ROCKS WHILE THE LOCALS SLEEP
written by guest on 30 Nov 2005
Southern Amp rocked with a huge line-up of talent from NZ and Aus last Saturday in Christchurch. I’m not from Christchurch and certainly no Crusader’s rugby fan, so there’s no one-eyed Cantabrian bias here.
Southern Amp with its awesome line-up of music ROCKED! Im a huge Big Day Out fan, but this was almost better, quality music, crowded but with room to breath and mosh without getting totally beaten & crushed. Like BDO was 6 or so years ago!
The only issue seemed to be the crowd, which with a line-up like this should have to be bigger. So, were the locals? Everyone I meet was from Dunedin, Queenstown, Nelson, Wellington, Auckland, even Inver-bloody-cargill!!
The concert had a huge line up... The Bleeders (who replaced HooDoo Gurus at the last minuite,…not that I’m complaining!), Gasoline Cowboys, Steriogram, The D4, Pluto, End of Fashion, Breaks Co-op, Spiderbait, Elemeno P, Blindspott, and big guns The Living End.
The Ministry of Sound tent saw the talented Christchurch locals Nacoa & Switch warm it up for the fantastic Sola Rosa. Then the trusted quality of Kiwi Hiphop legends saw DJ Sir Vere & MC MZRE, King Kapisi, Savage and the Deceptikonz keep the tent pumping.
Tim Phin, Mark Dynamix then showed how DeeJays do it with their top shelf MOS mixes. The very original Minuit gave a spectacular live performace, then the legendary Aussie DJ’s Kid Kenobi and MC Shureshock signed off the days events in solid Ministry of Sound style.
The Rock stage kicked off with Auzzie rockers Gasoline Cowboys and by the time Steriogram hit the main rock stage they had the crowd that had arrived rocking, the dynamic white 'rap star' front man Tyson Kennedy knows how to entertain. Even if their music isn’t your cup of tea, when these boys are live on stage you can feel their energy. And from the way they had the crowd up and moving at Southern Amp I’m sure they converted more than a few new fans!
The hard-rocking D4 keep the music fast and LOUD (so loud I'm sure the Southern Alps sunk a few inches and noise complaints definitely followed). Then Pluto arrived (think ‘Rockstar’ and visualize: long hair, super tight jeans, leather and attitude) and brought their own quality brand of sound, wrapping up with the popular Long White Cross. Auzzie rockers End of Fashion continued the rollicking with their gothic-ish infectious thumping beats and had the crowd singing along with their hit ‘Oh Yeah’.
Breaks Co-op seemed to struggle at first (perhaps a bit mellow to be thrown amongst this rock line-up) but once the crowd recognized their songs, especially the ‘folky’ hit ‘The Otherside’ they settled down and enjoyed the suns first serious appearance of the day.
Spiderbait hit the stage and turned up the volume with their cracking set of killer riffs and machine-gun-deadly rhythms. They are called the new ACDC and they certainly live up to this complement when their live performance. Their cover of the Ram Jam classic ‘Black Betty’ was fantastic and certainly a HUGE hit with the crowd.
Then the well known Elemeno P rocked up and delivered a solid performance with their anthemic songs. The crowd was instantly up and singing along, to the hits “Veronia” and the classic "Fast Times in Tahoe". The lines "they say that absence makes the heart grow fonder/ But I doubt it I really doubt it/ playing ping pong over oceans/ messing with emotions messing with my head", echoed through the crowd even after the band left the stage.
The headliners The Living End demonstrated their experience with a quality performance and a rocking super-tight set. Complete with punk dress-up suits these boys and their original pure-punk rockabilly sound rocked.
The Southern Amp festival was definitely a thought-out event, with a fantastic set-up on the main rock stage and also in the Ministry of Sound tent. No complaints with the venue either, QEII could have been made for this.
Credit is due to the organizers and radio stations (The Rock and ZM) for their obvious (although very self-branded) promotional efforts.
This is one of the only music festivals with a well known line-up to brave a visit to the South Island in a long time. If locals won’t support events like this - they won’t happen. And the North Island will gladly take them off your hands!
