Julia Deans and the Shins
A second after Joanna and I got to the door of the Union Hall at Victoria University, I realised I'd forgotten my ID. Oh, no! I was positive I'd be refused entry without it, horrified at the thought of having to go all the way home to get it thereby missing Julia Deans and making Jo miss her too or maybe Jo would refuse to drive me and I’d have to run home and get it - but the doorman hardly batted an eye. Instantly my concern turned to consternation. What did he mean, "I think we can let you through"?! Did he emphasise "you" as if it's blatantly clear that my days of being 17 are well behind me? I mean, they are, but tell that to the check out operators at the Miramar New World.
Impending old-age dramas aside, I was relieved to get in, although I'd forgotten to bring any money too. That'll teach me for getting up to no good before I leave the house.
Julia Deans was outstanding. She played solo with an acoustic guitar, her voice was powerful and clear and she knew how to use it. She closed her set with 'Beautiful' and 'Lydia', excellent tracks from a few years back in the Fur Patrol repertoire. Much of the young ori crowd was transfixed, but not all - WHAT is up with the group of exchange students who obnoxiously yelled at each other within three people of the stage?! And it wasn’t as though they were arguing – this appeared to be their normal mode of communication. Ghastly.
So the Shins were cool - indie pop rock - happy and fun. Since I’d only heard one track prior to seeing them (Kissing the Lipless or something?) I didn’t really go hard but I definitely enjoyed myself and maybe I’d go see them again.
The whole buzz of being at an ori gig at the Union Hall took me back to the (vastly superior) Otago Union Hall and the many many orientation gigs I attended there. That could start a whole lot of reminiscing but I don’t think I’m quite ready just yet.
Impending old-age dramas aside, I was relieved to get in, although I'd forgotten to bring any money too. That'll teach me for getting up to no good before I leave the house.
Julia Deans was outstanding. She played solo with an acoustic guitar, her voice was powerful and clear and she knew how to use it. She closed her set with 'Beautiful' and 'Lydia', excellent tracks from a few years back in the Fur Patrol repertoire. Much of the young ori crowd was transfixed, but not all - WHAT is up with the group of exchange students who obnoxiously yelled at each other within three people of the stage?! And it wasn’t as though they were arguing – this appeared to be their normal mode of communication. Ghastly.
So the Shins were cool - indie pop rock - happy and fun. Since I’d only heard one track prior to seeing them (Kissing the Lipless or something?) I didn’t really go hard but I definitely enjoyed myself and maybe I’d go see them again.
The whole buzz of being at an ori gig at the Union Hall took me back to the (vastly superior) Otago Union Hall and the many many orientation gigs I attended there. That could start a whole lot of reminiscing but I don’t think I’m quite ready just yet.
posted by Jessie at 07:59
9 comments
9 Comments:
Being a Shins fangirl I saw them when they were up here last Wednesday. Hearing 'New Slang' live was totally worth slumming it with The Kings Arms crowd.
Girlfriend, you need to procure a copy of 'Oh Inverted World' right now.
Yeah, the Union Hall is terrible gig wise. Especially cos of the cranky old bastard who complains about noise as soon as it gets past 12. Or maybe its earlier.
I'd have loved to have seen Julia - I remember when Fur Patrol did a gig at Bodega a couple of years ago and she finished off with a couple of solo performances - they were pretty special.
You didn't miss anything by not seeing the Shins at the Otago Union Hall, because they didn't play there, which sucks. Instead, they were in what I know of as the Main Common Room but I think gets called upstairs Refuel - it got rather cramped and I couldn't get anywhere near the band. So my experience of them was a bit muffled.
You must have been very close to where I was during Julia's set. All I could hear were the little'uns near the front screaming at each other about how they were gonna "KICK YER ARSE".. blah blah blah. I moved back to get away from the smelly little blighters before the Shins. And yes. You should get Oh, Inverted World because it's really quite fabulous.
They didn't ID me either. I didn't even realise until after the show that the red tag they'd put on my wrist meant I was "of age". I was kinda horrified to be honest. I said to someone "But they didn't ID me!" and they looked at me like I was mad.. "perhaps that's because you don't look under 18?" *sigh*
Hey, all, cheers for the comments.
Tam: Yeah, I'm keen to check it out, just haven't got my hands on a copy yet.
Jimmy: I was at home by 11:15! I couldn't believe how on time the gig was, although there was a big wait for the main act.
Barry: Ah yes, the 'in-between' sized venue - bigger than Refuel, not as big as the Union Hall. I saw TrinityRoots play there, and Rockers HiFi back in the day...
Lisa: Mostly I could hear "Westside!" a lot. Grrr. You had a red tag? Mine was green... and I saw some blue ones too! I wonder what the code is?
I tend to celebrate every time I get IDed these days. Although truth be told, I probably get IDed more now than I did when I was 18 (and still underage at that time). Ah, the perils of being old. Ha!
New World are absolute nazis when it comes to ID checking. Today I had hardly reached the checkout and the girl was already furiously dinging the bell. As if an underage person would be drinking Becks! What an insult to my snobbish beer standards!
Quite right. Boycott.
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