Kiwi rock was alive and well in Auckland on Saturday night. Performing at Galatos Bar was outstanding rock band Like
A Storm, who were playing their first ever headline show with huge support from up and coming rockers Black Smoke Trigger.
Black Smoke Trigger came onto the stage first with their hard hitting rock sound and heavy vocals from lead singer Baldrick; they really got the audience up and on the floor. Their energy on the stage did more than warm the crowd up, it got them pumped. Even if you hadn’t heard their songs before, it was easy to get caught in the moment. The crowd cheered at the end of every song. When they sung Caught In The Undertow, Baldrick gave a bit of the back story about the video and the song. It really got the audience singing along. Black Smoke Trigger put on one huge hard rocking 40 minute set.
Next on the stage were the headline act themselves Like A Storm, with Black Smoke Trigger’s Josh 
Coyle-Te Maro on drums. With only a month to learn the songs, I was amazed that he did not miss a beat all night.
From the first note, the audience made it clear that they were happy to see Like A Storm. The energy on stage was electric. Lead vocalist Chris was very engaged with the fans, who were enjoying every minute of the show.
As the show continued they slowed things down with Matt singing an acoustic version of Linkin Park’s Crawling, a song that was dedicated to the late Chester Bennington. After that treat, the hard rock continued with Like A Storm being joined on stage by Baldrick to sing their version of AC/DC’s TNT, to the huge excitement and delight of the audience who sang word for word.
Chris also used his didgeridoo with such ease; the audience loved every minute of it.
As the show wound up Like A Storm finished with their most well-known song Love The Way You Hate Me. As the song began, the crowd started singing along with every word. Chris then jumped off the stage and sang among the audience, who were undoubtedly loving every minute of this experience. Giving the audience that extra level of enjoyment, I’m sure it’s something they definitely won’t forget anytime soon.
Like A Storm are very much making a big name for themselves In New Zealand, and I’m sure there’ll be plenty of people looking forward to seeing them return.
Photos courtesy of Morgan Creative.
