Alexisonfire – Powerstation January 23, 2017

 

After splitting up five years ago, Canadian rockers Alexisonfire are back together and touring down under. Their show at Auckland’s Powerstation found them picking up right where they left off.

It’s been a decade since this post-punk quintet has played in Auckland. Last time, they had The Bleeders opening for them, a Kiwi band who, as lead singer George Pettit told the crowd last night, eventually became next-door neighbours when they moved to Toronto.

In addition to Pettit, the band also features vocalist/guitarist Dallas Green, who has been here under his much quieter moniker City And Colour.

But tonight it was all about making a big noise, and that’s just what Alexisonfire did and their fans loved it, singing along right from the outset, with some frenetic moshing breaking out almost immediately.

Beginning with Drunks, Lover, Sinner And Saints, the band focussed mostly on their 2006 album Crisis, with the opening song serving as a mission statement of sorts…”this is from our hearts, sincerity over simple chords”, while asking the listening, “are you pretending, are you even listening”.

You’d be excused for not picking out the lyrics during the show as Pettit’s “unclean vocals”, basically a roar, rendered most of them incomprehensible. But that didn’t seem to matter as most of the audience had done their homework and had no trouble singing along.

The band did make an effort to make their political leanings clear, at one point referring to the recent assault in Washington of White National Richard Spencer, encouraging the crowd to “punch every Nazi in the face, always”.

They also proclaimed the show “a safe place”, despite sexual orientation or gender.

The 13-song set was topped off with a four-song encore that began with an epic The Northern and finished with Happiness By The Kilowatt, which found Dallas Green singing Prince’s When Doves Cry in a sweet falsetto.

For myself, I could appreciate the band’s energy and good intentions, but I found their sound to become somewhat samey after awhile. It seemed that the energy in the crowd diminished after the first three or four songs, coming back at the end.

But hey, the show gave everyone involved a chance to let off a little steam and have a good old singalong, so…

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Ivan Karczewski:

Alexisonfire set list:

  1. Drunks, Lovers, Sinners And Saints
  2. This Could Be Anywhere In The World
  3. Old Crows
  4. We Are The Sound
  5. Waterwings (and Other Poolside Fashion Faux Pas)
  6. Boiled Frogs
  7. Rough Hands
  8. Crisis
  9. Mailbox Arson
  10. .44 Caliber Love Letter
  11. Dog’s Blood
  12. Accept Crime
  13. Young Cardinals
  14. The Northern
  15. Pulmonary Archery
  16. Accidents
  17. Happiness By The Kilowatt