| TEGAN AND SARA AND JACK [JOHNSON] live in Auckland! |
| Written by Sarah Mudgway |
| Friday, 03 December 2010 10:08 |
 When JACK JOHNSON announced he was bringing his ‘To The Sea’ tour to New Zealand, I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t exactly bubbling with excitement. I can see why some people - and as Thursday’s concert at Vector Arena proved, lots of enthusiastic people - like the guy. His music automatically conveys images of the beach and all the Summer time memories which go with it... and while I’m a firm appreciator of all things beachy, Mr Johnson - to me - is best likened to a vanilla ice-cream. I love ice-cream and associate the icy treat with many a Summer spent at the beach, however vanilla as a flavour just doesn’t grab my attention like a chocolate mint, or goody-goody-gumdrops. It’s not horrible, just not my preferred choice of treat. But oh how our excitement increased when Jack ‘Vanilla’ Johnson announced that he was bringing Coup De Main’s favourite Canadian twin-set TEGAN AND SARA, along as his opening act. Unlike one particular CDM staff member, I had never experienced Tegan And Sara live before... and boy was I in for a double treat! Tegan And Sara have visited New Zealand shores previously, for what I’ve had described to me as the weirdest show at Shadows, ever. Needless to say, Vector Arena was a far larger (and I’d bet better quality) venue for the sisters who opened up their 45 minute set with an acoustic version of ‘Dark Come Soon’. Immediately the strength of the Quin sisters’ voices was obvious, with Tegan taking over the main singing duties for the opener and Sara accompanying with spot-on harmonies. ‘Living Room’ saw their three-piece backing band members take to the stage, creating some movement from the T&S fans at the front of the GA crowd, even prompting the Jack Johnson audience to at least tap their toes along. The fact that Tegan And Sara are twin sisters and therefore exceptionally close was a definite aid in the strength of their performance. It isn’t too often you see two front-women (or men) as in sync with each other as T&S were, even when still under the weather from a bout of food poisoning (from their previous tour-stopover, India). ‘The Con’ was followed by my personal favourite song of their set ‘I Bet It Stung’, which saw Sara take over the majority of the singing responsibilities. Perhaps due to their short set, the sisters didn’t banter too much with the audience, instead moving from song to song at a quick pace. However, Tegan did share a quick story about a "high guy" she encountered whilst walking in Auckland, and dedicated ‘Walking With A Ghost’ to him. Ending their set with ‘Speak Slow’ and ‘Hop A Plane’, the duo definitely won over some new fans with their energetic and entertaining set. While Jack Johnson may not rank high on my musical preference list, I do have to give the man major kudos for his environmental and charitable efforts. Not only was he donating all profits of his tour to selected local charities, he also had a non-profit area at his show for fans to learn more about environmental issues - and by doing so, have the chance to win a seat on stage during his performance. In a time where all celebrities seem to endorse an endless amount of charities, it was admirable to see Jack Johnson actually using his position as a musician to really make a difference in a very obvious way. To you, Jack Johnson, I say keep up the good work. Speaking of good work, by the time he took to the stage, the Vector Arena was near capacity and his legions of fans were exceptionally excited. Opening up his set with hit single ‘Taylor’ I have to admit that love him or loathe him, the man can sing. With a digital backdrop shifting between his cover art and images of the ocean, I couldn’t help but wish that I was experiencing his performance at around 7pm on a hot Summer’s day, outdoors. His laid-back, surfer sound and attitude seemed to lose a little of its sparkle in a darkened arena, however his fans did not seem to care one bit, singing and clapping along to every track. As well as pulling out all his hit sing-a-longs - ‘Sitting, Waiting, Wishing’, ‘Bubble Toes’ and ‘Breakdown’ - Jack also played an array of tracks from his latest release ‘To The Sea’ which debuted at Number One in NZ. While Jack impressed me with his talent, my highlight of his set was found in his bouncy bassist, who spent a good amount of the set just vibing to the sounds, slowly bouncing along with his bass in hand, staring out into the sea of people staring back at him. Perhaps it was the regular puffs of marijuana smoke coming out of the audience drifting on-stage that impacted him, but this bassist for sure wins my unofficial "I’m just totally vibing, dude" Award of the year. All in all, for my low expectations from Jack ‘Vanilla’ Johnson, I came away from the concert pleasantly surprised. His charitable sensibilities and suitably laid-back yet still energetic performance was definitely a huge hit with his dedicated fans, and perhaps I’ll even upgrade him to French Vanilla - the better of the vanilla variety. Tegan And Sara setlist - Thursday December 2nd, Vector Arena, Auckland: Dark Come Soon Living Room The Con I Bet It Stung On Directing Walking With A Ghost Hell Back In Your Head Alligator Where Does The Good Go Speak Slow Hop A Plane |
