Review: Fred Again.. At Auckland’s Spark Arena.
We live to feel, and the range of feelings that poured to and from the 12,000 people at Fred Again’s Auckland show was nothing short of magical.
My mum and dads faces light up with gorgeous smiles when they talk about seeing Billy Joel and Elton John play together in 1998 at the then Ericsson Stadium in Auckland. When my time comes, and I have my own little people running around, I look forward to sharing with them a piece of my heart. I look forward to smiling ear-to-ear when I tell them about the magical evening of connection, gratefulness and love at Fred Again’s show!
All of Fred Again’s music is deeply linked to people and emotion. He captures such raw human moments with his sampling and then extends those moments into a piece of art that we share collectively. Human experiences shared, all together.
Angie (i’ve been lost) is the closing track on Fred Again’s debut album Actual Life (April 14 — December 17 2020). Before playing that song at Spark Arena, Fred said, “This is my favourite part of the whole night, when we sing these 2 lines together.”
I’ve been lost, I’ve been lost, I’ve been lost, i’ve been lost for a while.
But I’m really trying.
I’m conscious of using profanity, but I will indulge in using the C word for this. Here it comes. During COVID, we all felt lost, we were on mass experiencing something we hadn’t before. That song so beautifully distils the feeling of being rudderless in a world you thought you knew.
While talking about Angie (i’ve been lost) I NEED to mention how wonderful Angie McMahon is. She is Australia’s darling. Mix Bruce Springsteen with Lana Del Rey, keep the driving guitars and add softer delicate moments of self reflection and bam… You have Angie McMahon.
To a choir of screams, Fred proclaimed his love of our country, “New Zealand and Australia has been our favourite fucken place to come down to, so thank you so much.” There were many lovely moments on stage where Fred Again asked for the house lights to be turned on so he could see the crowd. “Before that happens [and the lights come on] I’m terrified up here, and now it feels nice.” It was really refreshing to hear him in real time, share how he was feeling.
Fred Again had a second stage set up in the middle of Spark Arena where he played a few songs from. He noticed Wellington DJ Messie and her mates and invited them on stage to boogie. Messie played alongside Fred Again and Joy(anonymous) on Monday at the iconic Coroglen Tavern in The Coromandel. Fred Again put out the call to NZ DJ’s to send him their best work and Messie was hand-picked to join them on stage. Fred Again then asks the NZ Government if Messie could get a passport on short notice so she can play more shows with him overseas! The passport was sorted in a day! That’s also the allure of Fred Again, he’s a nice, kind-hearted bloke who wants to uplift and engage a community.
He’s gone out of his way to give an opportunity to an aspiring kiwi DJ, and then spent the time to really be present and listen to their work, and then petitions the government to help him help her further! Priceless.
Fred spent many moments onstage behind the piano. Playing arena’s is still a relatively new thing from him, and I got the feeling that he feels safe when he sits down and can connect physically with an instrument. It was almost as if the piano was reminding him to take a breath and be in the moment.
Tony MUST be talked about too! What an incredible guy to have supporting you and playing with you onstage! Tony Friend joined Fred Again.. In 2021 as an onstage DJ. Since then he has been Fred’s right hand man! Tony Friend is a talented musician, DJ and Producer who has a deep love for dubstep and DnB. The experience would not be the same without that man, from his technical ability to his bounding enthusiasm and love of music, he adds the special sauce on a spectacular show.
Fred also mentioned many times throughout the night of how grateful he was and how moments like these are lost on him. So to Fred, Joy(anonymous) and the incredible crew they tour with, thank you. Thank you for sharing yourselves, connecting us, and giving us the best school night gig ever.
Forever grateful.
Side note.
Joy(anonymous) is a force of pure love and happiness.
In the opening act slot, they set the tone and vibe for an evening stunningly. Made up of Henry & Lou, the boys started pop up gigs in London during (fuck, here i’m using C word again) COVID. Their mission was to create a community and bring joy into people’s lives during the exact time we needed that the most! They performed last November at Studio The Venue down K-Road in Auckland. If they come back, which I hope so soon, I cannot recommend seeing them enough!
