Gig Review: Collins Class @ Kings Arms, Auckland – 23/09/16

I arrived early at the Kings Arms to find a decent crowd building. I hadn’t heard much about Aussie band Collins Class. Apparently, the name comes from a type of submarine that was described as “noisy and useless” so you can see these fellas have a sense of humour.

Tonight is the end of a whirlwind NZ tour and from talking to the bands it seems much fun has been had so there is a bit of a party atmosphere going on and everyone seems really relaxed. So before we get to the headliners, let’s look at the rest of the line up.

First up are Royal Jackets, they ease into the set and its clear from the start these guys know how to craft a song. Things really pick up with the track Allan, I’m Bored and it’s great to see a band who are willing to experiment. They do it well.

Next up is Hunt The Witch – They have a grunge/stoner vibe and Sam Whitely has a stage presence that could be described as slightly different but fascinating. He has a great voice and when you add the heavy riffs from guitarist Bevan they blast through a set that just gets better with every song. Loved this band and from the reaction, the crowd did too.

Headliners Collins Class opt to go on next and you have to love a band with a drummer on lead vocals. There is real chemistry between the three guys and you can tell they are fully committed to putting on a great show. Jeff is tight on the drums and a great front man who gets the crowd involved which is no mean feat when you are stuck behind a kit. Gaz and Chad keep the banter going and it’s easy to see why Collins Class have been making waves over in Aussie. The opening songs keep the energy kicking along and then they change track into a couple of slower numbers and show a more subtle side. For me, I think the band connected with the audience more on the faster paced tracks so it is great when they finish with more high energy rock and they even got James from Dead Beat Boys up for an end of tour Led Zep duet which was a great end to a tight set.

Now I hadn’t seen Fuser since 2005 so I was really looking forward to checking them out again. They have a style that reminds me of UK band The Wildhearts and they killed it tonight keeping the energy pumping and anyone who is lucky enough to see them on their upcoming tour in Europe is in for a treat.

Ah, the Dead Beat Boys. When it comes to energy these guys are a blur on (and more often off)  the stage. Their gigs can be an assault on the senses and the onstage banter is hilarious. They are deliberately shambolic at times but when they do hit their stride the songs are a great blast of punk ‘n’ roll. Fewer cover songs in the set would be a good idea as their originals are far better but as usual, the Dead Beat Boys are always entertaining.