Concert Review DRAX Project Auckland - Sat, 27th July 2019

Drax Project | Photo Mark Derricutt

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By Saffy Wihoite

Artist: DRAX Project

Date: Saturday, 27th July 2019

Venue: Town Hall, Auckland, New Zealand

"This is so much fun!" Shaan Singh calls out over the crowd, a huge smile across his face.  It has been a whirlwind 18 months for the boys of Drax Project; starting with opening for Ed Sheeran at the biggest stadium concert in New Zealand history. Then there was the constant touring, endless writing and development for their upcoming album, and finally ending with a sweet homecoming tour. Their time performing overseas shows through their newfound stage confidence and easy-going interactions with the crowd.  I had a suspicion that they were going to play songs from their yet to be released album--something I've noticed from previous shows of theirs - and I was not disappointed.  They bring some intimacy to their headline gig by having it double as an album release show.

The Auckland Town Hall is a stunning location for a gig.  It retains the old architecture, carved white pillars and balconies, and thick, deep red curtains decorate the walls.  The vibe is still very much Elizabethan theatre, which always makes a nice contrast to a modern music performance for whichever artist is playing that night.  A marrying of old and new arts.

Opening as support for Drax Project are Auckland-born singer-songwriter, Paige, and electro-pop duo Fortunes.  Having been taken along for the ride by big names like Six60, Lorde and Gorillaz, it seemed only fitting that the support would be up-and-comers to the scene. 

Before Drax Project even takes the stage, the stage crew needs to set it up. The crowd is paying little attention at this point, but sudden cheering makes me take notice.  A well-polished, brassy saxophone is gently carried over the stage and placed in its holder.  The saxophone is classic Drax, their little show stealer secret, and a huge fan favourite.  

The crowd itself is of a mixed age group; for some, it is a friendly family event, for others, it is their well-intentioned best night out.  All are excited and pumped up for Drax Project; the hum of chatter was electric, the audience excitable, and eager. 

9:30 hits and the hall goes dark.  The excitement from the crowd is palpable, reaching a new height as the musicians take the stage.  Launching straight into Sidebit, Drax Project starts their set off with an even pop-ier take on this already upbeat track.  The stage visuals pulse the typical Drax Project pink and purple, and flash brightly white - an almost overwhelming effect. 

Next up is Toto, a chill beat that gets you into the mood to explore the night.  The boys are standing in a line; the stage is rather thin, giving them a runway to move about on. It’s also multi-layered, and as they jump through the different levels, I find myself wondering what would happen if they missed their landing due to the bright lights.  But they are clearly pros at this now, having performed all over the world and coming off of the back of the X Tour with Christina Aguilera.

They wrap up the floaty, lust-song, Only Us, and their cover of Pony starts immediately.  Drax Project have some amazing covers, a few of them are fan faves and must always be pulled out for shows.  Covers and sax are classic Drax Project, as is playing new tracks at gigs.  They talk a little bit about their crazy past 18 months, gushing a little bit.  It is endearing, they clearly are not fully at home on stage, but are trying to place their roots there.  As they interact with the crowd, there are small moments were they seem unsure, or have the familiar wince of ‘Why did I just say that?’ but overall, they are confident and comfortable.  A big change from when I saw them opening for Ed Sheeran. 

With the crowd well-fed on favourites, they share with us a new track, not yet released.  Natural Selection utilises each band member.  Ben O’Leary gets a little guitar solo, along with the sax, while the drums take a low beat.  It is jazz meets reggae-pop, with deep bass and use of triggers and synths to give it a pop-yet-not twist.  Shaan runs up the levels to play his sax solo against the visual display of pinks and purples and yellows.  His silhouette contrasts against the lights, it would make for a great photo! I used to think that playing new tracks at concerts would be a bad idea because people would not know the words, but it hardly mattered. The crowd were as enthusiastic for the new tracks as they were for the old, beloved ones. 

The stage goes black with the final beat of Natural Selection. It is silent. Purple beams of light move about before creating a cell-like effect over the stage. The boys have used the cover of darkness to move into different positions. Shaan takes to the keyboard/synth and stars singing the open to Cold, which is played in full.  Cold is my personal favourite.  Shaan’s voice is melodic and gives me 2000s pop vibes, but modernised. They have the performance of this song down to an art, roaming the stage to pose aesthetically, moving within the stage lights and in complement to the visual behind them. Shaan picks up his saxophone and injects it into the track. The saxophone is a definite show-stealer and crowd-pleaser. The stage performance adds an otherworldly depth to this song.

Another new track, Holiday, invades the stage. The drum kicks are heavy as heck, it looks almost exhausting to be the drummer, if not for the fact that Matt Beachen made it look like so much fun. Holiday, like most of the new tracks I heard throughout the night, sounds like the B-side to NOON.  It is shaping up to be a more mature, more experienced album, which fits what the band has gone through in the past 18 months. Holiday is about missing somebody but having to be away from them to achieve your dreams. Or as they succinctly put it “I ain't on holiday.”

Thinking they had made us too sad, they promise a song about being able to spend time with your loved ones. Prefer definitely has a happier feel to it and really caught my attention live. It is a bubbly track, a love song delivered with an RnB twist to it. 

To make us feel even more special, they play Brain, for the very first time. Before playing, they talk a little bit about how the new album is about the connection between emotions and thoughts. Something that most people struggle with, we tend to try to think through our emotions instead of feeling them.  The guitar for Brain is repetitive but in a good way. Your ear becomes comfortable and even a bit attached to the expected sound as the drums are kicked hard and heavy, dropping bass spikes during the chorus. They have a fake end, where the crowd went wild for the new track. They smirk and continue in a fully ‘gotcha’ way. 

They remind us often about how much writing they’ve been doing, and repeatedly express how much fun they are having. There must be a comfort in playing homecoming gigs, if not just for the fact that the tour is nearly done. They’ve missed home, as you would, telling us that they had not been able to find fish and chips outside of the country and about what a tragedy that was.  Sam Thomson calls out their loyalty to Watties, “Give it up for Watties!” amusing and distracting Shaan and Ben attempting to move into the next track.  It is nice, seeing them clearly having a good time with each other and finding a home on the stage.

Shaan announces that they will be playing one of their first-ever tracks, City Lights. This track is very pulled back, just Ben and Shaan stay on stage. Shaan sings this acoustic track with his impressive range. He can hit quite high, and hold notes for a long time. The vocals seem Justin Timberlake inspired. The crowd has their flashlights on and are waving them in lieu of lighters.  The song is soft, raw, and played with love.

Matt and Sam re-join the stage as they head back into a trusty cover, Latch, played with low-fi beats and Shaan’s classic melodic vocals. The accompanying visuals are distracting in their simplicity. Pink, line-art faces on black screen, making the track feel very trance-like. 

The stage goes pitch black. The next track starts, a funky bass number, but we are kept in the dark. When the lights flood the stage, Ben has teleported to one of the higher levels while the rest of the band jams below him. The track bleeds into Sam’s jazz-y bass solo. Once Hollywood is over, Shaan admits to us that they wrote that before ever going to Hollywood, which they find amusing. It is likely quite different in reality.

They continue through some new tracks from their upcoming album, treating us to the chill vibe that is Relax, and then contrasting it with the live dubstep that is Savages.

The night is nearly over despite seeming timeless. They ask for a sing-along but refuse to give us the words, claiming that we will definitely know them. The visual display melts back to the typical Drax Project colours of pink and purple, and the familiar bars of Woke Up Late burst to life. This is a well-developed, well-performed song of theirs, and the familiarity shows. They easily jam through Woke Up Late, integrating with the crowd and using the stage to its fullest.  They are aware that their time is nearly up and they want to wring each possible moment from it. They finish their set with a new track called Catching Feelings, which had to be awkward for those ‘situationships’ out there. 

They exit the stage, almost awkwardly. I noted that they left their shrugged off clothing on the stage so I was unsurprised when they returned for the encore. I had been unsure if they would, having only seen them as support in the past.  They thank us expressively for the encore request. Shaan and Ben take seats up on the levels while Sam and Matt take up their trusty spots. Shaan asks us, uncertain, if we would want to hear a new song.  Like completely new - as in, written in the past fortnight new. The crowd is responsive, screaming and cheering to hear this fresh track. 

Smart Love is a song of growing into mature relationships, regardless of how one used to approach them in the past. I hope this track makes it onto their upcoming album. They are happy with the very first play of their very fresh song. Shaan confesses to the crowd that it is so crazy and so much fun to play songs to crowds for the first time because you get to see how it affects others. 

They head into All This Time, their new single which is available via Spotify. All This Time has that same mature feeling that this newest album must be born from, with all of their greatest tricks on display. Shaan plays around in all the ranges he is so capable and the sax gets little moments to shine throughout the single.   

They wrap up with their well-honed cover of Cry Me a River/Higher Ground.  This cover seems to be the epitome of Drax Project’s whole aesthetic, as throughout the gig I kept thinking about the music video for this song.  It has the big range of vocals that Shaan is good at, plus the show-stealing saxophone, with some funky bass and otherworldly drumming.  They jam this cover hard. The night is so close to the end, and the band seem to feel it, riding that wave of joy. If you happen to follow them on Instagram, the post-gig stories show them full of energy and bouncing around, riding that high. “Morale is high!”

Drax Project are a good time, and a really fun band to watch. I would wish these kiwi guys luck on their journey, but after seeing how many fans they have, and how hard those fans go, I don’t think they need the platitudes. They’re doing just fine by themselves, and I cannot wait to see what they do next.  Keeping my eyes and ears peeled for the upcoming album, it can’t come soon enough.

SETLIST

Sidebit

Toto

Only Us

Pony

Natural Selection

Cold

Holiday

Prefer

Brain

City Lights

Latch

Hollywood

Relax

Pieces

Savage

Woke Up Late

Catching Feelings

ENCORE

Smart Love

All This Time

Cry Me A River/Higher Ground

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