Gig Review: Devilskin @ Powerstation, Auckland – 19/10/2019

Rock is alive in well.

The sea of black was ready for rock at the Powerstation tonight. With a solid line up made of Black Smoke Trigger, Like A Storm and the headliner Devilskin, the audience in Auckland wasn’t ready for just how good this show was.

Devilskin are celebrating their 10th year as a group and they certainly proved why they are well respected within, not only the New Zealand rock scene but the global scene too. The way the group commands the stage, with the duo of Paul Martin and Nail roaming the stage like any rockstar should and Jennie just completely demonstrating why she is one of our greatest vocalists, Devilskin showed us all why they are still around. From the opening track, all the way through to the end of the encore, the power, and energy levels never once dropped. It’s moments like these when a band as tight as Devilskin are, remind me just how great our New Zealand rock scene is. Not only was the energy alive and breathing on stage, but that energy was consistently transferred back and forth with the incredibly active audience. I watched and listened in the mosh pit as we all sung our hearts out to tracks like All Fall Down, Start A Revolution and Pray. The mosh pit was pushing and shoving, people throwing themselves around, yet if someone fell everyone went to pick them up. It was a beautiful sight.

Halfway through the show, Nic Martin performed one hell of a drum solo. It was tight, loud and technically sound. It highlighted one of the most striking elements of Devilskin’s performance: they are super tight. Their sound is incredibly huge. Each instrument was clearly heard, guitar solos ringing out, drums cracking through, bass holding the low end together. Jennie’s vocals sat perfectly in the mix the entire time. Watching her sing her heart out is refreshing. Rock music has really seen a decline over the last decade, but it is performers like Jennie that give me hope that she will inspire the new generation. It looked like she was having a lot of fun, as did the whole band. It was contagious. Every single person in the venue was caught under her spell.

Hit after hit after hit, Devilskin worked their way through their catalogue, including introducing some new songs along the way. The new songs were powerful and felt right at home in their set. The audience certainly got right into them too.

Both of the opening acts Black Smoke Trigger and Like A Storm rocked hard. Again, the quality of their sound was superb. A stand out moment was when Marcus from City Of Souls joined Jennie with Like A Storm and performed Nil By Mouth. It was a surprise that completely stole the first part of the night. The whole audience was singing at the top of their lungs. This was also the case when Like A Storm’s guitarist, Matt Brooks, slowed things down and sung Crawling by Linkin Park as a tribute to Chester Bennington. We all sang with so much passion. Mental Health is an important issue and both Like A Storm and Devilskin talked about this in their sets, encouraging people to speak up and take care of each other. It was humbling, awesome and honest.

Overall, the entire night was a blast and certainly one of the best rock shows I have seen and heard in years. I will be looking up Black Smoke Trigger after seeing them rip up the stage as the opening act, and I will continue to blast both Like A Storm and Devilskin. Jennie and her band demonstrated why they are one of New Zealand’s premier rock acts. If you get the chance to see them, do it. You will get blown away.

Photos by Nikita Weir/Antonia Pearl Photography