2019 Vodafone Music Awards Review
The Dudes performing at the 2019 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards
By Andra Jenkin
Date / Venue: Thursday November 14th, 2019 - Spark Arena, Auckland
There are people in hats and floaty dresses, spring has sprung and with it comes the 2019 VMAs, the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards. There’s a sporty look to the arena and a building excitement as myself and Michael Day, (who I was in a band with back in the day); find ourselves inadvertently on a walking bus to the venue. But what a way to travel. Wahine toa are in sparkling dresses, and against the backdrop of the BNZ, where the men in suits should be more serious, they are instead showing signs of funkiness and flair.
Inside is elegant, opulent and red. The lighting is monochrome and while it looks amazing the red lighting does negate the spectacle of what the glitterati of the music industry are wearing, and that is a large part of the show.
Glowing red orbs hang above the central dais. This is round and white and looks pristine. It is surrounded by tables around which sit the celebrities, sponsors and stars of the music world, including our own Jacinda Adern. Part of me wishes she was on the line up, because how cool would it be to have the PM DJ a few tracks tonight?
The seats are in the upper deck, with a good view of both central dais and stage. Shihad plays quietly in the background, piped through the speakers. The screens to either side of the stage play rotating white on black images of a skull, the head of a statue, stretched, with the warped parts shadowed in gold and a pair of white headphones with the same effect.
Sam Smith starts us off with a rundown of the general mayhem and gets the crowd to get a bit louder and generally enthusiastic before the events begin. Then the lights change and from beside me I hear “Go the Beths!”
Sweet melodic tones fill the stadium, and looking like Fiona McDonald, straight fringe and unassuming outfit is Elizabeth Stokes, singing a quirky poppy optimistic Frente like number, then Tristan Deck the drummer gets more involved, and suddenly Johnathon Pearce and Benjamin Sinclair are creating a more full sound, with guitars being thrust around. There’s beautiful reverb and Elizabeth is making Dying a Little Death sound poetic and effortless. It’s a bright and popular opener, and when the music stops we are all left wanting more than one number. The Beths are going on my list as a live gig to listen to.
The fluent Te Reo introduction from Laura Daniels is well received. She’s paired with rock royalty John Toogood, who makes a joke about it being a bad idea to change a band’s name. “I like when you were called “Pussy Fire.” Laura quips.
Bic Runga is the designer of the Tui this year, which from afar is a transparent rectangle. Unable to find anything online, I discover that I don’t know what it looks like close up without an artist waving it around thrilled to be holding it.
The first award of the night goes to Six60. This one is for Radio Airplay. The band is a juggernaut and it will be a surprise if they don’t pick up more. Best Rock Artist is Villany, they are performing later and the audience is eager to hear them judging from the reaction.
The suit the presenter of the Classical Album is wearing is incredible, sparkling and perfect for the night. He tells us Simon O’Neill is the winner, but that he is currently winging his way over Europe.
Benee takes the stage, with a voice full and rich, in a pink floaty pantsuit. The boys are in black in back as she stomps the runway, all funk and attitude, in her element. The song has kick and groove, the kids in front of me can’t help themselves - they’re out of their seats. The song, Soaked up my Brain, smooth. With a last deliberately gawky movement Benee finishes. “She’s cool.” Michael tells me.” It’s clear he’s not wrong. She looks barely out of high school, though later we learn she went to university for a whole two weeks before bailing to make music. Not all making the same choice will have the same consequences, but Benee is already destined to go much further than these shaky isles.
The Beths is the winner of Best Group. Elizabeth tells us they were ‘Really hoping to win this award.” A whoop from beside me is taken up by the whole audience, and the band’s acceptance speech is the right amount of humble and proud of each other for the Auckland crowd.
Best Maori Artist is awarded to Troy Kingi. By now the audience has noticed a trend, if you’re on the line up; you’ve probably won an award. As is traditional a haka breaks out from two separate tables, being led from the first step by Kingi himself. The stadium erupts. This too is what we’ve come for. On a night where waiata is honoured, so too should be the toanga of te reo, and the customs and protocols of tangata whenua.
Kingi tells the audience, “Find out our history and our country will change for the better.” Then Best Soul/R&B Artist was taken out by Bailey Wiley.
Best Pop Artist was Benee again. She cleaned up this year, now wearing a gothic looking black dress, with blue stripes framing the black bob-cut, she went home with awards for Best Solo Artist and Best Single, which she accepts from the Prime Minister, Jacinda Adern. Benee is increasingly surprised by all the love, “I’m a solo artist, but I couldn’t do it by myself.” She tells us, sighing, almost grunting and yawping happily. “I am a bit of a weird one and I have trouble doing things,” she says. Not making music, she seems to be doing pretty well in that area. She wins Breakthrough Artist of the Year too.
Hermitude, who I had the privilege of interviewing earlier this year, aptly presented Tali with the best Electronic Artist award. She was overwhelmed in Te Reo, and in a genuinely heart-warming display, said that she “Wasn’t supposed to care – but I actually really care.” Michael has been helpfully feeding me information about various artists and tells me of her international success and presence at festivals.
Hailing from a dairy farm in Taranaki, with 18 years in the industry under her belt, hers is the tale of many a New Zealand artist. She is grounded, with the determined underdog kiwi attitude we all recognise, when she encourages wahine toa to enter the male dominated world of drum and bass, telling them, “There’s a place for you in this scene,” including “Female identifying, trans and non-binary peeps,” in her invitation.
The lights dim to black and on stage they come up on a black background, where a choir, again, all in black, are conducted, for the Avantdale Bowling Club. Tom Scott raps over the top, an obvious crowd pleaser that gets an enthusiastic audience response.
Troye Kingi again wins for Best Roots Artist, and there’s the whole entourage on stage now. “Much love to all the parents in here.” Kingi acknowledges that some of us would rather be home with a cup of tea. Not me, I couldn’t care less what my kids are up to, I’m watching any number of excellent artists, including Kingi and tonight is about the music.
Six60 wins Highest Selling Artist.
John Toogood cruelly reveals that a member of Villany used to be his accountant. Man, when those guys break bad they don’t fuck around. Heavy bass resonates through us with a driving sound you can feel inside.
There’s something beautifully ironic when the award winner, at the biggest acknowledgement of creative talent in the music industry, is singing, “No one Gives a Fuck about your Dreams,” to all the luminaries. I’m stompin my feet and throwing my hair around. I’m from the west and if we don’t headbang to metal we get chucked off the map. It’s the rules.
Ticker tape rains down in a Cirque du Soleil moment, with red lights and white balloons.
Best Hip Hop is presented to Avantdale Bowling Club by Mellow Downs, in massive braids, and a glorious blue shiny Polynesian print oversized shirt. The speech gets political fast, with Tom Scott having a rant about the advertising aspect of the show, which to be fair seems sometimes intrusive, to the point of lowering the tone in some ways, though it is a night the sponsors look forward to as a reward for all their kind wallet opening. Tom tops it by saying, “Jacinda should visit Ihumatao.” Later Avantdale Bowling Club will win Album of the Year and another haka performed.
Teeks and Holly Smith deliver a tribute to those the industry has lost this year. Their names and pictures in black and white appear on the screens beside the stage while How Great thou Art is repurposed for the occasion and sung in both English and Te Reo. Strangely apt is the stagehands, sweeping up the ticker tape, making the mood that much more poignant.
Then an astounding list of their accomplishments are shown on the screen as the International Achievement Award is given to The Drax Project only the second New Zealand artists after Lorde to make it onto the US top forty, this century.
Best Group winner The Beths also take home the award for Best Alternative Artist, and there’s a lull in proceedings before we are all pumped up by Troye Kingi’s performance. Black robes and white guitar, with culture up front and centre as traditional Polynesian garb and Maori cloaks, complete with feathers in the hair are worn by performers kneeling in a row on the runway. They walk down to the red carpet in front, waving flags of the different nations, I see the Maori flag of sovereignty and think of tino rangitiratanga and the honouring of te Tirity O Waitangi being a long time coming, but at events like these the journey is being made and the artist’s mana is apparent. It is a political and beautiful display, fully appreciated by the crowd.
Best Worship Artist goes to Harbourside Worship, which is as good a place as any to do it.
Unsurprisingly, considering the other categories they’ve taken out, Six60 win the People’s Choice Award, a coveted one for sure. They are of course popular, one of the few New Zealand bands able to organise and command their own stadium crowd.
I go to get a drink and discover that counter to the central concepts of capitalism, the bar has bizarrely closed early. Perhaps we’ve gone overtime and the licencing laws have kicked in, but it is a disappointment to the upper seats who watch the bar below with envy.
Mitch James’ performance kicks in with a rhythmic pop number with a laid back beach vibe. It’s a catchy tune, a toe tapper and James has good pipes and a soul sound.
Finally, Six60 are up to present Th’ Dudes with the Lifetime Legacy Award. The screens transports us back in time to when they looked like young drunken yobbos, belting out some of the greatest and most well-known rock and roll bangers and anthems New Zealand has ever heard. They are well deserving of the award for their contribution to New Zealand music, and the crowd rises out of respect. Peter Urlich accepts the award, flanked by Dave Dobbyn and the band. Urlich dedicates the award to “Our fallen brother, Ian Morris.” I grin as I hear my father, Dr Rock, on Peter Urlich’s list of people to thank, a list which includes Charlie Gray, Murray Cammick and BFM among others.
Full respect to Peter, he’s still got great chops and shows them off during a medley of Walking in Light, Asian Cigarettes, and cries of Ya, ya, ya, ya, ya!” can be heard from all over the stadium as the standing, dancing crowd join in the rock anthem. End of the night and full of the exuberance people have begun to dance on the central podium, and the tiers are all filled with patrons out of their seats and rocking. It’s been a great night out for musicians, industry and fans alike.
A celebration of something eternal and universal, that brings us all together. Music