I'd been really looking forward to this show already, having heard a few tracks by DARTZ. I have a young bass student who keeps me updated with current Kiwi punk bands, and she'd played me a handful of tracks from The Band from Wellington, New Zealand. Closer to the time, however, I learned that support was from this dog, which got me even more amped.

As much as she adores loads of local bands, my student Luci's absolute favourite is this dog. We've learned the bass lines to their songs Feel The Same, Clockwork, and new single Bug Eyed., so I was already well acquainted with why she likes them so much. As a live act, they certainly didn't disappoint. Front-man Robbie was affable, lively, and hyped. He has a unique and distinct voice, and delivers sharply clever lyrics with a half sung, half speaking style. It sits well over the rich and thoughtful alt-rock being wrought by his bandmates, a tight and polished act with a strong sense of melody, with both refinement and rocking out in equal measure.

The band changeover time was super quick, as this was the first of two back-to-back shows for DARTZ (the second later show being with support from Crustaceanz, which according to Luci "was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!", an even dozen exclamation marks, so you KNOW it's good). DARTZ are in the midst of a nationwide tour in support of new single Earn The Thirst, a rip-snorting "sports-rock" anthem that kicked off their set. What a hell of a set it was, too. Peppered with top banter from bassist Clark Mathews and vocalist Danz, the high-energy pace didn't let up from start to finish. Sweaty, snotty, and saucy, they most definitely earned the thirst. Every song was a frenetic banger, with the loving crowd joining in on 40 Riddiford St, Bath Salts (with a cheeky nod to Slice Of Heaven in the middle), DMC, No Dogs At This Party, Toyota Corolla (my bittersweet nostalgic favourite, to this day still mourning the theft of my beloved 1985 FX-GT), Bush Weed, and High At The Beach. 

I can only surmise that DARTZ must have indulged in some suitably hearty portions of Weetbix to be able to perform with this much energy for the first half of the match, only to apparently do it all just as hard out in the second half. A most able and worthy demonstration of how thirst is earned.

The tour continues 3 November at Galatos in Auckland.

Photo Credit: Peter K Malthus

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