Anika Moa & Mulholland – Kings Arms October 20, 2017

The Kings Arms was packed last night as the Auckland stop of singer-songwriter Anika Moa’s In Swings The Tide 10^th Anniversary Tour rolled into town.

Moa is touring her 2007 platinum selling album In Swings The Tide, her third and most successful album. This tour is a massive achievement for Moa after she nearly lost her hearing in August when her left eardrum burst and got infected.

The old tavern was full to the brim of loyal fans. You could tell the audience had been with Moa right through her career and were looking forward to hearing those old songs again. Moa even said how weird it was playing those songs after so long, so I am sure the crowd appreciated it.

Mulholland kicked the night off with a solid set of Crowded House-esque rock. This is the band of Anika’s guitarist Jol Mulholland and they did a good job of setting the scene as the crowd gradually built for the main event.

While the appetiser was nice, it was Anika that everyone was looking forward to. Moa took to the stage with her very tight three-piece band. Jol Mulholland on guitar, Tom Broome on drums, and Anika’s long-time bassist of over ten years Chip Matthews.

This show was predominantly about celebrating the album In Swings The Tide, so Moa kicked things off by playing the album in full, something that is in vogue at the moment with Bic Runga about to do the same thing with her album Drive. All of the fan favourites were on show including hit single Dreams in My Head, Wise Man Say, and title track In Swings The Tide. Moa even dedicated a song to the former owner of the Kings Arms Maureen Gordon who passed away last week.

Moa was in fine voice musically, but also in terms of her engagement with the audience. She talked throughout, cracked jokes, and the crowd loved every word. She even managed to fit in a couple of mentions of New Zealand’s new Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, much to the crowd’s delight. Her stage presence and personality are a strong feature of her performance and this was on show throughout the night.

One thing is for sure, an Anika Moa concert is never boring, and with her vivacious nature, you never got the impression that this was just another gig for her. Moa was having so much fun and for one song she even got friends in the audience to join her on stage and provide backing vocals.

Moa was also in a storytelling mood, explaining what songs meant to the crowd at every opportunity. This included introducing the first song she ever wrote aged four, and a very personal story about My Old Man, a song about her father. Moa explained how she wrote this song before her father died and recounted the story of the first time she played it to him. These were deeply personal stories, but Moa brought them to life in a funny and mostly non-serious way.

The show finished with a mixture of hits including Running Through the Fire (Storm) which closed the show, as well as some new songs. Whether these new songs are an indication of a new album, we will have to wait and see, but in the meantime, one thing is definite, and that is Anika Moa is back playing music, playing it well, and enjoying it as much as she ever has done before.

Sam Smith

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