Review: Shihad in Auckland

Iconic Kiwi band Shihad.

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When: August 7

Location: The Powerstation, Auckland

Iconic. It's not a description many bands earn.  It's used even less about albums.  But, if you look the word up in the New Zealand music dictionary (assuming one existed), you would legitimately find Shihad.

Recently, the Wellington band proved this point with a series of shows; song-by-song performance of their, yes iconic, album Killjoy and, culminating in last night's spectacular showing of The General Electric at Auckland's Powerstation.

It might seem like a lofty idea to perform an album from whoa-to-go.  And it's something no other Kiwi band has tried before.  But if someone was going to try it, Shihad was the obvious choice.  And they pulled it off perfectly.

It was the third time the band had cranked out The General Electric in it's entirety, after trips to Christchurch and Wellington, but it felt like the band were playing it for the first time. The excitement on stage was as obvious as the anticipation of the crowd. 

From the opening chords of My Mind's Sedate, Jon Toogood and the boys proved they were there more than happy to be there.  And when he screamed the title track's line, "Don't it feel good just to be alive", it seemed obvious that, last night, he was feeling that.

Toogood is the ultimate frontman, teasing the crowd and bouncing around the stage like a man half his age.  In fact most of the time it's hard to believe the band are a bunch of guys in their late thirties.

Shihad were as tight as only a band that has played together for over two decades can be.  But even veterans can be nervous, apparently.

"Performing an album from start to finish was a daunting idea, but I'm glad we did it, cause it's been thrilling," Toogood admitted to the crowd.

But there was little time for friendly banter, as the band powered through their most successful album to date.  The crowd was a sea of sweat and devil horns, hollering along to hits like Pacifier and Sport and Religion.

The only problem with performing a record in its entirety is the balance between singles and album tracks. And The General Electric is front-loaded with singles, meaning the middle of the set lacked a bit of intensity. But their raw energy stopped the band from losing the dedicated crowd.

After a delicate version of "Brightest Star", featuring Toogood on his own, the band returned to the stage for a powerful encore of Interconnector from the Blue Light Disco E.P, sung with the singer balanced skilfully on the top of the speaker stack and a multi-tasking roadie hoisting a mic stand above his head.

A storming version of lost classic, La La Land, and a stagediving trip into the crowd for Toogood rounded out a memorable night from one of the most reliable live bands around.

This year, Shihad turn 22. And The General Electric was recorded 11 years ago.  But from this performance, it's clear some things really do get better with age.

- © Fairfax NZ News