Gig Review: Darryl Baser @ Moon, Wellington – 18/08/2018

Unfortunately, Moon wasn’t rocking this Saturday night in Newtown. The crowds may have been watching the All Blacks in a nearby bar.

However to his credit, Darryl Baser got up and tried to rock the few people present amidst the remnants of the garlic smell from the pizza oven that stopped serving 20 minutes earlier. Yes, I had missed my dinner.

The pinball machines in the corner provided a welcome distraction when the artists weren’t playing and the beer was flowing throughout Moon.

The whole event sounded more like an open mic night as the venue was virtually empty, which was unfortunate for the musicians.

Then Darryl arrived on stage closely followed by the bar man with an espresso. Very touching. He seemed to wait quite nervously for the bar music to be turned down, so he could perform. When this didn’t happen, Darryl read messages on his phone. Come on Moon pay attention.

The black guitar was gleaming, not even a finger print in sight as Darryl waited for the 60’s pop music to die down in the background.

The bottle of water on stage is only one third full. Maybe it’s gin?? The smoke machine on the shelf looks like it’s on standby for another band, maybe they should have switched it on to add some more atmosphere.

Darryl had come all the way from Dunedin and his plane was delayed. It’s been a long day. The first song called Pretty was very intense and had a somewhat morbid feel.

Most of Darryl’s songs seemed to start in a minor key which didn’t lift the mood, but they lightened up to a major in the chorus. The music certainly sounded more like poetry than songs and some of the words were touching.

Strumming to the beat of his voice, instead of a drummer means you can’t tap your foot and join in. It felt up and down rather than consistent.

A strange gig and not to my taste, but it’s always good to have diversity.

You can view Pretty here.

_{Review written by Tony McDonald}