Extract the venom, spit it over the shoulder

Shihad are one of the most successful bands to emerge from New Zealand, I was lucky enough to get to witness them take home the Legacy award at the NZ Music Awards in 2010. Earlier in the year, Shihad were touring the country in honour of 2 of their best albums, Killjoy and The General Electric. I would've loved to have gone and seen them both but being a poor art student, I had to decide which one I was going to attend. In the end it was obvious, I was going to see The General Electric album being played in its entirety. The show was sold out and local shredders, Heavy Metal Ninjas opened the night with an impressive display of guitar manipulation. The NZ audience was now ready for Shihad and they delivered with interest, kicking off the show with My Minds Sedate. They transitioned straight into The General Electric (the song) and the atmosphere was buzzing. New Zealand loves when Shihad plays and Shihad love putting on one hell of a show for us. The rest of the album was played with the usual intensity that Shihad have always brought to the stage and lead vocalist/guitarist Jon Toogood was at his best, rocking out like a true skinny white guy. The encore was filled with lesser known tracks from earlier albums and Jon even climbed the sound system at one point. It was a great night that NZ fans can always expect from one of our greatest rock groups ever.

Shihad. 07/08/2010. Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.

Shihad - Jon Toogood

Over New Years, I headed down to Waihi to see Shihad play another show. This time they were playing as part of a summer festival that was travelling around New Zealand over the holidays. I live in Auckland, so it was a pretty decent drive down to see them, but that would never stop me from seeing a band I loved. To add to the allure, one of my favourite NZ bands were playing in support, Christchurch duo Cairo Knife Fight, along with Chart Topping Indie Pop group, The Naked & Famous. I drove down there in the morning and spent the day on the beach and walking around the cliffs, until I headed off to the venue, Waihi Beach Hotel. A big stage had been built outside the Hotel and I was able to grab a spot in the front row, just to the right of the centre. Cairo Knife Fight opened the show to a rather calm crowd but by the time they were done playing, the audience was alive and thriving. I've seen CKF many times and they always manage to win every single person in the audience over by the end of their set. The Naked & Famous played a good set, their style of alternative pop music got everybody moving and really appealed to the younger people in the audience. Finally, Shihad took the stage and the place just erupted. Unlike earlier in the year when I had seen them, they were playing a set list of their greatest hits and it was an amazing display. Starting with the new and haunting Final Year that lead straight into heavier hits My Minds Sedate and The General Electric. They worked their way through their history playing older songs, like Semi-Normal and Run with newer songs, like Engage and Lead Or Follow. Ending the show with massive hits Comfort Me and Sleepeater, the atmosphere was absolutely electric. They came back for an encore where they played their 2 most well known songs ever, Home Again and Pacifier. The show was well worth the trip down to Waihi and I even managed to see the band afterwards and get them to sign my set list.

Shihad w/ The Naked & Famous + Cairo Knife Fight. 03/01/2011. Waihi Beach Hotel, Waihi, New Zealand.

As we fall into sequence

This years Big Day Out really lived up to its name. I took the train and arrived at the venue around 10 o'clock, I had to make sure I was there early because one of my favourite bands were playing in the opening slot. Street Chant took the stage at 10:30AM which is exactly when I got through the gates and ran to the barrier, so I could rock out to my favourite NZ band. They played a great set and I even made 3 news that night as one of the crazys who was rocking out first thing in the morning. I stayed at the Green/Converse stage for a while after that but I was only interested in every second band. That didn't bother me too much though because it meant I got to stay against the barrier on the Converse stage and just wait for the bands to come to me (while I tried to pretend I couldn't hear the awful bands playing on the Green stage. Next band to play was Die! Die! Die! and they had a really extreme set with a lot of crazy fan participation. Later, the Greenhornes played and I'm not a huge fan of theirs but I am a giant Dead Weather fan, so there is no way I could pass up seeing little Jack. During that time, I missed seeing Drab Doo-Riffs on the Lilyworld stage, but I will see them plently more around Auckland in the future, so it is okay. I made my first trip to the main stages after that, Airbourne were playing their hearts out and Joel O'Keeffe climbed the stage structure to thrash his guitar high above the ground. I headed over to the Boiler Room next to see CSS, they played a really fun and energetic show. For the rest of the afternoon, I was running between stages seeing the likes of Lupe Fiasco and Wolfmother, until it was time to go see one of the main events (in my opinion), Crystal Castles. The only problem was that Alice was in a leg cast, so their performance wasn't the best it could've been. They still played some of my favourite songs but they cut their set short in the end, I am just hoping that they will come back to NZ one day so I can see a proper show filled with Alice insanity. Shihad were playing their General Electric album on the main stage and they are always a classic NZ BDO band. I started moving away before Shihad were finished though because I wanted to get a really good spot for the next band, Iggy and the Stooges. Despite only playing at 7PM, Iggy was the highlight of the night. His set was an example that the raw power of rock and roll never dies. It started to rain during his set and I got completely soaked but I didn't care at the time. I ran over to the Green Stage in an attempt to keep warm, I got there just in time to catch the end of local band, The Naked & Famous. Sia played right after and it was such an awesome show. She was dressed in this big box with stripes painted in it and then her body was painting in the same stripes, so she looked like a chameleon trying to blend in with her background. Her performance was very sweet and adorable, especially considering it was happening while Rammstein were playing on the main stage. It was now very dark and I was extremely wet and cold, but there was still one band to see. I headed over to the main stage to witness Tool, but I was thoroughly underwhelmed. Not much happened and they didn't even play my favourite song, Parabola. At this point, I was freezing cold so I started to make my way out of the venue and towards the trains, where I could find some warmth and dry clothes when I got home. I don't have any photos from the later bands, but here are some of the best of the earlier bands:

Big Day Out 2011. 21/01/2011. Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand

Street Chant

Die! Die! Die!

The Greenhornes

Airbourne

Wolfmother

Shihad