Gig Review: Mako Road, The Stranger Days Tour, 3/6/2022
Mako Road playing Christchurch Town Hall, 3rd June 2022.
L-R: Robbie Day (drums), Connor McErlich (guitar), Rhian Ward (vocals, guitar) and Connor Jaine (bass, vocals). All photos taken by me on a Samsung that couldn’t hold the quality together that evening.
A much anticipated year after tickets went on sale for the Stranger Days tour, the Mako Road lads finally went ahead on Friday night, rip roaring their way into the hearts of us Christchurch folk once again.
Rhian, CJ, Connor and Robbie took over the Christchurch Town Hall and showed the city that they formed in who was boss and it was delightfully perfect, as any Mako Road gig tends to be.
With rescheduling a few times due to covid restrictions, they were able to bring back their Stranger Days album tour and bless everyone with their immensely energetic show they’ve set out to create over the time that they were unable to play live shows and all of that hard mahi has inevitably been proven to have paid off.
It hasn’t been an easy road for the Mako Road men to be able to promote their album, which came out mid-2021, however, they have achieved many things that bands can’t after a long time off - they engaged the audience and had everyone enthusiastically amped for the night ahead, something that they have been able to maintain at their shows across the country consistently since bursting onto the music scene.
Mako Road are unmissable in concert, making them a hot, sought after band by millions of listeners everywhere.
Having seen and become a big fan of Mako Road over nearly three years, the way that they have been able to continuously improve as a band is very unparalleled to other acts we have presently worldwide, this has them as winners in my personal book.
Every show, every moment and every second of their time is consumed by creation which makes the boys and everyone who hears them froth.
The Stranger Days tour started off with a feast of old tunes, allowing us fans to get warmed up for the grooved up night that was about to be embarked on. First up, they kicked off the evening with their blasting-ly popular 2018 tune, Glimmer, which sent everyone into an absolute frenzy of enjoyment - a great way to open up the show with a song that everyone knew the lyrics to.
The space themed banner is always such a winner for me.
Mako Road have this incredible stage presence that is both professional and fun, allowing them to express themselves with mass energy that they show up with every single time they perform, sending out the waves of passion they hold close to them. The Stranger Days tour is magically divine on all levels and deserved to be completely sold out.
Mako Road have been jet setting between New Zealand and Australia recently, leaving everyone wondering how they can continuously keep going, but they do it happily, with full smiles on their faces, something I highly admire from these four.
Known for their garage rock/pop/indie music, they once again packed out the main stage of the Christchurch Town Hall, just as they had done on their last show in November of 2020 in a smaller hall within the venue, proving that their fanbase has expanded rapidly in the past year and a half, growing as fast as their music is taking over the airwaves.
Mako Road continued to bring the vibe of awesome to send us into the long weekend for the entire hour and 10 minutes they were on stage, playing everything from Brodie Street to Lady to Surfing on Mars and a definite favourite for all, The Sun Comes Up.
What I enjoyed about the show is that they entwined the new songs with the old, bulking together a couple of each at a time, then going back and forth, rather than playing a full EP and then the album, then an EP again. The whole hall was shouting the lyrics when they covered the infamous Come Together by The Beatles, a tune that always, quite literally, brings people together and leaves a strong lasting impression.
One of my favourite parts of the Stranger Days show was when Connor asked if we had all bought our running shoes and goes on to say that we will understand a little later. This is when the highly upbeat, thrilling and last song from the album, Anywhere You’d Like to Go, is performed and would actually be a superb song to be able to run along a trail to as it gradually gets faster and faster throughout, testing the ability of Mako Road being able to allow their instruments to be played that quickly while keeping in time with the track. A whole lot of fun.
Mako Road, Stranger Days tour setlist, 3rd June 2022.
As quickly as the show started, it was coming to a close. Immediately after The Sun Comes Up was performed and the guys left the stage, we were all shouting out for one more song. Mako Road always provide and came back for another two songs, not just the one, with Robbie playfully pulling his bandmates back onto the stage to perform Drink from the Water and Halfway to High, suitable songs to close the clean, immaculately organised show.
In conclusion, the Stranger Days tour was a mammoth hit, therefore, Don’t Keep Me Waiting and leaving us hanging on for another show there, boys!
-
To celebrate the success of the tour, here are a few photos I was able to shoot of the Mako Road lads in August 2021 at their Napier show for the Stranger Days tour. These were taken on the Sony A6000.
Connor McErlich
Rhian Ward
Connor Jaine
Robbie Day
Connor and Rhian