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Honestly, there is nothing more enjoyable than watching a crowd of mostly inebriated patrons try and bob and sway to a ¾ rhythm. And as it often is at the Crown, rhythm and movement was the name of the night. With a fully packed out crowd eager to vibe as much as the space allowed, the bands involved absolutely obliged.
Opening up were Dale Kerrigan, and credit to the scene, the room was already packed. Armed with a handful of new pieces of material and the same raucous energy, they set the tone and they set it loud and fuzzy. Their new EP was sounding great, with some real evolution going on, and by the end of their set the room was already full of that warm buzz that makes for a great platform for the headliners. Job done, and job done well.
Outside for a quick inhalation-of-your-choice break, and the weather was as feisty as the sounds. Few complaints here and there but for me, the perfect pairing, like a cold plunge into a sauna into a cold plunge. Special shout out here to the bloke who spent 10 minutes pitching the first 10 seconds of his new Batman trilogy. “He’s 6’4”, but he’s wearing the trunks”. Ace.
Back into the cauldron for Cruelly, a grungy Te Whanganui a Tara-based quartet with a history of gigging with Pearly* and Dale Kerrigan - first time in our corner of the country though, and what better venue to cut your teeth on. Possibly just edging out the other two bands as the most 90s tinged of the lot, they brought their own flavour with some gorgeous harmonies and some much appreciated switch ups in their time signatures.
They had the crowd on a string, sometimes held loosely and then tautened within the same minute. With many patrons a few pints in, the timing of the collective bobbing and swaying often threatened to fall apart completely, only to be roped right back into line by a blazing chorus section. A real ebb and flow to their tunes, reminiscent of the best Hole tracks. Major shout out to their rhythm section.
A quick mass exodus out into the elements once more for the sweat to melt into the rain, and then an even quicker pile back in when the tuning sounds heralded the arrival of Pearly*.
And what an arrival. I may be running out of synonyms for fuzzy here towards the end but their set was like a hug of warm static. Tight in performance, loose in affect, it was everything the crowd needed to properly shrug off the dust of their week. Standing in the centre of the crowd I could visibly see tension rolling off of people’s shoulders as they sunk into the sonic haze.
All in all a credit to the bands and a credit to the sound engineering, just a resoundingly toasty gig to spite the wind and the rain. Another jewel in the Crown!
Photo credits https://dunedinsound.com/gigs/
