#hailtree

Melodic Hardcore and Punk beats blasted through the speakers at Thirsty Dog as Chasing South, Bad Sport, Take Hold and Melanie jammed out on stage. The atmosphere was energetic and engaging and a great way to spend a weekend during New Zealand Music Month! 

The team at Snakebite Productions created such a great line up and the night was full of talented musicianship and high energy making for a fantastic night all round.

A mellow instrumental introduced Alt Rock band, Melanie, before the tempo picked up and lead singer, James, kicked their set off with some strong vocals. Their sound throughout the first track reminded me heavily of bands like Basement or Balance and Composure. Triple Knot was a damn good jam with its fast tempo and strong vocals. Melanie had the crowd jumping and swaying within moments of their set. The band treated the crowd to a few tracks from their Melon EP, and a few new songs were included in their set like, No Shoes, which was introduced by frontman James, “This is another new one! We’ve played it a couple times before. It’s a little dancey tune so dance along. This one’s called No Shoes”. 

Their high energy was contagious and got the crowd spin kicking and singing along, especially during their cover of Blister In The Sun, originally by Violent Femmes. Unfortunately the mic cut out a few times near the end but no one was distracted or effected by the technicality which was great to see! Guitarist, Robin, and Bassist, William, kept jamming out while their drummer kept the beat going. James exclaimed “what a shit show!” but it was honestly a great set all round!

Melodic Hardcore band, Take Hold were up next. This band are going to take the world by storm with their strong lyrics and melodious guitar and bass. Frontman Jai, began the set creating a strong connection with the crowd as he jumped around with his mic in the pit. Although the crowd were head banging and moshing all over the place, Jai’s vocals were strong and hard hitting. I always respect when artists get down from the stage to groove with the crowd, it creates such a strong sense of belonging and feels super welcoming. 

Take Hold have such honest and well written lyrics and you can tell there is a lot of passion and energy that gets put into each of their sets. Tonight was no different with the crowd jamming along throughout each track, especially during Scatter and Overboard. It’s always so great seeing friends, fans and family letting go of the weeks stress and negativity by moshing and swaying along to some heavy vocals and melodic instrumentals. Their set ended with a new song titled, Diminish. If you're into Purity or Counterparts be sure to keep an eye out for Take Hold’s EP which is due to release in June!

All girl band, Bad Sport, followed with their Melodic Alt Rock. Lead Vocalist, Mandy commanded the stage with her confidence as she jumped around and belted out strong vocals. It’s so great seeing more and more female artists and bands around Auckland currently. This four piece rocked out with Summah kicking ass on the drums, Ashlee on Guitar, Alex on Bass and vocals from Mandy. They were so dynamic and strong up on stage which reflected in the way the crowd were swaying along to their set. 

They treated the crowd to a new track titled, Party, and if you dig Take It Off from The Donnas you will dig this tack when it’s released! These girls reminded me of the all female fronted bands from the 70’s and 90’s like No Doubt and The Runaways. It was great to see and hear such a variety of inspirations in Bad Sports music and we can’t wait to hear whatever the band records next!

Auckland band Chasing South counted in their set and greeted the crowd in Maori before thanking the crowd for sticking around as it was getting a little later in the evening. Lead vocalist, Chris, mentioned “thanks for sticking around! I know it’s late, I’d usually be in bed around this time so thank you!” They began their set with a track from their Carry The Weight EP, El Dorado. Although there was no IT Crowd intro like in the recorded version, this song was still a solid track to start their set with as it got the crowd moving and moshing straight away.

Chasing South have been a part of the Auckland scene for years, and it’s evident that time has just brought this band closer together - as they pay homage to their High School years by dedicating a song to their former classmate Jai, before Chris invites their old frontman Andrew to join the band for Who The Hell Is Sam Sultra? telling us that Andrew’s about to skip the country, and so they’ve got him along to party one last time with them before he goes. 

As Chasing South close out their set with Depth, Chris takes a moment to thank us all for listening to them play, explaining that the band was formed by a couple of “outsider metal kids at high school” - and that music was one thing that got them all through. It was beautiful to have the set wound up with such an important topic, and Chris encouraged anyone who wanted to talk, to come over and have a chat with them after the show.

Snakebite Productions created such a solid line up for Friday nights gig at Thirsty Dog. It was the perfect balance of melodic guitar riffs and heavy vocals to warm us all up on this Autumn day. Chasing South, Bad Sport, Take Hold and Melanie all brought something new to the stage and it was inspiring seeing the confidence each musician had to share honest lyrics and original music with strangers, friends and family. A few of these bands have new music coming soon so be sure to check out all of their links to stay up to date on releases and events in the future!

PHOTOS Chasing South | Bad Sport | Take Hold | Melanie

Chasing South Facebook | Instagram | Spotify 

Bad Sport Facebook | Instagram

Take Hold Facebook | Instagram | Youtube Melanie Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp  Review by Helena Barnett