Die! Die! Die! & The Beths – Whammy October 14, 2017

Die! Die! Die! celebrated the release of their new long player Charm Offensive with a sold out show at Auckland’s Whammy Bar. The 13th Floor sent reviewer Matt Lord and photographer Chris Zwaagdyk along. Here’s what they came back with…

With a night of bands already in full swing, I arrived to catch the last of the support bands, The Beths, whose jangle driven pop I really quite liked. Stand out track for me was Whatever which has a radio friendly melody designed to lift your mood. With an army of loyal fans in the crowd, I’ll hopefully catch them again soon.

A little technical intermission between bands saw NZ noise merchants Die! Die! Die! arrive on stage around 11.45pm to a sweaty, dark, full capacity Whammy Bar.  Opening up with People Talk and then The Blinding from 2008 album Promises, Promises wasting no time at all stirring up their devoted fan base into anarchic frenzy. Andrew Wilson, vocals/guitar makes for mesmerising entertainment, clearly fully amped with the crowd, he climbs through them with his guitar, repositioning himself stood on the Bar Counter. The crowd love it. The next three or four songs has the crowd in full mosh pit mode, crowd surfing ensues as Wilson dips between singing in the audience, loosing his microphone and then eventually re-joining his other band members Michael Prain and Rory Attwell on stage.

The show is pure energy, a full assault on the senses with Wilson’s sniper mic technique of attack then retreat. This band are LOUD, how loud? I was measuring around 108db on some bass frequencies.

Billed as the release tour for their current long player Charm Offensive, the band kept the faithful happy touching on songs from their extensive back catalogue. A great version of SINISTER off this new album has Wilson sending his guitar into delay, placing it down and finishing the song partially Accapella. Also, My Friend Has a Car He Starts with a Hammer and Bottlecaps and Phones both sound great. As does A.T.T.I.T.U.D. from Promises, Promises.

The momentum of the energy rarely slows down, this is a band in their true element, playing live. For a three piece, the sound is massive. It’s a confrontational performance which wraps up with Wilson surrounded by fans in the pit. Delivering a passionate, sweat drenched performance with the crowd mouthing every lyric of Shynees Will Get You Nowhere and Ashtray! Ashtray! from their self titled album.

A live experience not to be missed, come back soon.

Matt Lord

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Chris Zwaagdyk: