Gig Review: Josh Leys @ Mt Eden Village Centre, Auckland – 18/05/2018

As part of NZ Music Month, Auckland local Josh Leys played an intimate show at Mt Eden Village Centre. The atmosphere made me feel a bit like I was at a school dance. The coloured lights, the circle around the main floor and a crowd with a mix of students, kids and parents.

Josh was positioned in the centre of the stage with a wash of changing colours over him. Around him was an array of instruments which he feeds through his loop station and his guitar which can be turned into a different instrument as well. On the set list was a wonderful mix of covers and original music. A couple of the covers I paid attention to was Slow Hands originally by Niall Horan and Wonderwall by Oasis. During his set he had the sound guy join him on guitar, as well as others on percussion and keyboards, essentially becoming a full band.

As the set went on the crowd seemed to get more into it as well, with the awkward semi-circle becoming more of a dance circle. Though it’s hard not to dance when he covers fun dance hits like Gold Digger by Kanye West, The Lazy Song by Bruno Mars and Sorry by Justin Bieber. This got crowd on the outside of the circle moving on the spot as well, bringing a whole new energy to the performance. Josh’s set had a good mix of different tracks. Some of the original songs he performed were yet to be released including the exceptional track Hold On To Your Love.

Josh’s vocals are brilliant, and he is somewhat confident in his own abilities too. His music seems to be more of a mix between acoustic and hip-hop. Then to mix it up and add a funny element Josh put a hat on and walked to the centre of the stage with a boom box in tow. It Was amazing and gave a bit of an 80’s feel. The final mix obviously had to include the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song, making it an incredible and fitting end the set.

The gig was fun and intimate. I felt like it would have been nicer to have more people there, but it was also great to see such a young crowd enjoying the music. Josh had such a bubbly and fun personality which added to the performance and allowed everyone to get involved and enjoy the night. It was definitely a fun and entertaining night all around for all ages.

_{Review written by Shelley Te Haara}