Minuit

By Wal Reid

Artist:  Minuit

Date / Venue:  Thursday November 27th -  The Tuning Fork, Auckland

It was the mother of all flings, Minuit's "swan song" performance, Auckland's Tuning Fork the final resting place for the Nelson band that first appeared on the local music scene in 1998 with their self-released EP,Sonic Experience - Ruth Carr, Paul Dodge and Ryan Beehre aka Minuit (French for midnight) wasted no time getting the show started as the burgeoning crowd started to make their way to the front of stage.

 Body-shaped box & stories for boys rang out across the crowded room before the intensity was turned up on the very danceable book of the dead and their first single Species II; which was used in the intro to the TV show Queer Nation, Ruth took time to turn to the audience as someone in the crowd shouted out to the band to which she replied "Jason, is that you?" It was that kind of night where memories & Minuit's signature keyboard sound collided wonderfully together.

Any true fan would've gone nuts tonight, the band obliged the audience covering material off their five albums including my fave, the excellent Last Night You Saw This Band as they ripped into Islands, Last Nightand Warheads. The venue by this stage had reached fever pitch as Ruth & Co darted to and fro across the small stage. Crowd favourites (manic chords) Fuji, the patriotic Aotearoa, Tokyo and the wonderful Menaceweren't left out of the mix as Dodge & Beehre played up like a couple of crazed marionettes behind the electronic componentry, with Carr the ringleader directing the crowd front of stage, hard to believe with so much talent to boot this would be the Minuit's swan song gig their final legacy.

Still time on the clock before the after party and the night was in full swing, 25 Bucks, Fake & Sum Of Us prised their way into the set before the gig was over as fast as it had begun Minuit have always been a band to challenge & push the boundaries of electronic pop music, their staple synth-pop sound has endeared many a music fan and this fling was a fitting tribute to this hard working trio.

No sign of the embroidered Minuit banner but we understand this is being kept in a safe place until the Trade Me auction is over, so for one lucky fan they'll have a keepsake that's been part of the band's history and travelled the world Gone but not forgotten, as they say it's not over until the next time