The Mockers – Powerstation January 20, 2017

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After a brief, 30 year break, The Mockers returned to Auckland’s Powerstation, the second stop on their 8-date reunion tour. There was what appeared to be a full house on hand to greet them, cheering and singing along like it was 1985.

On paper this seemed like a venture that was likely to, if not fail, then disappoint. Several of the bandmembers hadn’t seen each other since the 1980s and they didn’t get together to rehearse until this past Monday. And just who well would those old tunes hold up anyway?

As it turns out, surprisingly well. Just ask the guy who was standing next to me. I swear he knew all the words to all 20 songs The Mockers trotted out during the show.

The band for this tour consists of guitarist Brett Adams, keyboard player Tim Wedde, bassist Geoff Hayden, drummer Chris O’Connor  and of course, front man Andrew Fagan. Guitarist Dean Hazelwood stopped in for a few tunes as well.

The show began with After The Rain, a single from 1983 that sounded a bit…restrained. Keep in mind, at this point, the band had only performed one show previous to this, in Hamilton. So it sounded like they were still a bit tentative about dipping their musical toes into the reunion/nostalgia pool.

But it didn’t take them long to get used to the water…by the time they got to the end of Seven Years Not Wasted, both the band and the crowd were fully enjoying themselves.

“Good evening Auckland, glad to see we’re all still alive!” announced Fagan.

Always known for his outrageous outfits, this evening found the flamboyant front man sporting an all-white get-up topped with a white scarf, or some kind of head gear wrapped around the top of his noggin.

But despite some early technical issues with the keyboard, the band sounded great and Fagan’s vocals got stronger as the show progressed.

He seemed to be relishing the fact that they were still here after so many years, prefacing most of the songs with the date they were released and in the case of some…Trendy Lefties, Murder On Manners St, Phone Call At Midnight…stories behind the songs.

When they got to Alvison Park, guitarist Dean Hazelwood joined the group to add a few licks to the tune he originally played on. Fagan also introduced his “Apricot Jacket” purchased back in 1983. It, of course, was stunning.

During the 20-song, 105 minutes set, the band managed to play just about every single they released along with plenty of album faves.

Hazelwood returned to chime in on Forever Tuesday Morning and the three-song encore included Sleeping Through My Storm, a song written in tribute to fallen drummer Steve Thorpe who passed away in 1986.

Leaving the Powerstation, I overheard a couple of fans discussing what they had just witnessed, declaring that it was much better than they had expected. I must concur.

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a bountiful photo gallery by Michael Flynn:

 

The Mockers set list:

  1. After The Rain
  2. Seven Years Not Wasted
  3. Far From The Madding Crowd
  4. Casualty
  5. Trendy Lefties
  6. Phone Call At Midnight
  7. Alvison Park
  8. Swear It’s True
  9. Murder On Manners St
  10. Another Boring Day In The Amazon
  11. Woke Up Today
  12. One Black Friday
  13. My Girl Thinks She’s Cleopatra
  14. Take Back Your Tears
  15. Shield Yourself
  16. Forever Tuesday Morning
  17. New Day Dawning
  18. A Winter Tale
  19. Sleeping Through My Storm
  20. Friend Of A Stranger

 

 

 

Marty Duda
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