Gig review: Shihad still top of NZ rock

FAIRFAX

SONIC ASSAULT: Shihad are still one of the powerhouses of New Zealand rock.

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OPINION: Shihad is the band that has dominated hard rock in New Zealand for the last two decades. Remarkably, it is now 22 years old.

An impressive feat in a small pond with bands coming and going.

Shihad has been causing waves since the early 1990s and, arguably, the band's sound was really cemented with second full-lengther Killjoy, released in 1995.

Currently performing a series of shows to celebrate the album in its entirety, there was a strong feeling of anticipation among the sold-out hometown crowd.

People were ready to rock. And when the band launched into You Again, the opening track from Killjoy and a firm concert favourite throughout the years, it was very clear that the musicians and audience were there to celebrate.

Fans were singing every word, locked in a communal sway as the ominous grunt of You Again's barking riff set the tone.

From the sludge and grit of The Call through to the middle of the album where the phasing-in-and-out thrum of Deb's Night Out becomes, in this context, a perfect mid-set tempo change, and then on through to the climax of Silvercup and Get Up, this was a party.

Close your eyes and you hear the sound of Shihad in 1995.

Jon Toogood, still the best frontman in the country, encouraged people to rock along, saying, "this was always going to be special because it's Wellington. And it's Killjoy".

That summed it up, as did the buzzing riffs from Toogood and Phil Knight, the nodding basslines from Karl Kippenberger, and Tom Larkin's awesome drum thunder.

And the fact that, regardless of some mis-steps in their career, Shihad remains the country's greatest live rock band - and an encore featuring Screwtop from the debut album, Churn, was very special.

Shihad: Killjoy San Francisco Bathhouse, Saturday, July 31

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