hecklergigs: Goldenhorse, Water Rats, 19/09/06

There’s a decent sized crowd filling Water Rats tonight, and a relaxed buzz of anticipation. We’re here purely to see one of our favourite New Zealand bands, Goldenhorse, who have just finished touring all over Germany, and are here to play their second and final London gig this year.

It was great to see them again after so long, last time we caught them was just over a year ago at London’s Toast festival, where the combination of hot sunshine and wine being sold by the bottle had resulted in the rare sight of a Goldenhorse mosh pit. For those unacquainted with the gorgeous, well crafted pop rock gems of this band, let this be your introduction.

We would describe their music as quite lovely. Songs to daydream to, dance to, and perhaps fill you with a warm glow of happiness. Tonight’s set featured songs from both albums Riverhead and last year’s Out Of The Moon. Truthfully, as a fan who’s enjoyed seeing them many times before, we have to say we were slightly disappointed this time. An example of them at their best seems to shine through on Trinkity Trunk near the end of the set. It sounds huge, and they’ve clearly saved this til last, as they often did with epic sounding Dark Forest at early shows back in Auckland.

Watching and admiring singer Kirsten Morelle as she delivers those soaring notes over graceful pretty riffs only reminds us - this ain’t just any quirky upbeat rock band. They are seriously good, in that their songs are memorable and can sound heartfelt and touchingly genuine. Other high points tonight were mostly the best of the old favourites – Baby’s Been Bad with the extra reggae breakdown thrown in for good measure. Maybe Tomorrow was as always the sweetest song, pure optimism and nostalgia all at once. Wake Up Brother sounds extra solid tonight and they end nicely with Don’t Wake Me Up, a positive uplifting way to finish.

So what was it that wasn’t quite right tonight? Was it the sound in the venue? Maybe it was just the sound of a band who’d just finished a big tour, were a little tired, and were playing to an easy crowd of ex-pats who’d packed out this cosy venue, for what could have been an amazing little intimate gig. They leave without an encore, despite the chanting of the crowd, but then we're reminded they’ve rarely done encores.  Don’t get me wrong, we really enjoyed seeing them again, but at the end we were left with the feeling we’d been expecting that little bit more.

www.goldenhorse.co.nz

[story by Dedee W]