By Teylor Moss

Artist: alexisonfire.

Date / Venue: Monday January 23rd, 2017 - The Powerstation, Auckland

Tattoos, ripped jeans, a peculiar scent of beer and and bourbon coating the room and more tattoos. Definitely at the right place. Performing to this crowded/almost full venue: The Powerstation.

 First up is one of our very own, Barracks, from Rotorua. Hyping the crowd up for the main act alexisonfire. Suiting the vibe in this room with ease, they knew how to put on anamazing stage presence that the crowd was loving. A raw unpolished sound, which gives the garage band feel that couldn’t have suited this crowd any better. I noticed it was a bit crowded on stage with the 5 piece band lined in a neat row, including the drummer. I was a bit on edge as it looked like the guitarist was going to hit the bassist with the neck of his guitar, fortunately that didn’t happen.

A small intermission, gives the roadies time to set up the stage for the main act and gives the crowd time to recover and prepare for the next onslaught.

A dark stage slowly fading into a dim light, with a tune that reminded me of starwars. Suddenly bursts into heavy bass and a light show that bounced off every wall in the venue. This has to be the most dramatic, well thought out entrance I’ve seen.

Roaring across the stage in melody and madness, the band of Canadian misfits have claimed this stage as their own and are using every inch. Looking to the crowd, the fans are screaming every word and jumping as high as they can. Though they have good sound and a good hook, I found most of the songs blurred together, as they didn’t have much distinction. I was a bit shocked and slightly disappointed when I only heard about 4 bars of a guitar solo the entire show. Never the less the crowd was loving them and their music.

Coming to the end of the concert, we begin again with a 4 or 5 song encore. I could see the crowd starting to slow down and shift, die hard fans would be loving this as they really were giving the crowd everything they had.

This show was crowded to the walls, and even the bartenders were singing along. A good concert, but I feel you have to be a fan to get the best of it.

Thankyou to all the staff who helped the night run so smoothly and of course a massive thankyou to Barracks and alexisonfire for coming all the way out to party on a Monday night.