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Review: Music in Parks Pakuranga, with AutoMatic 80s, Rikki Morris and band, Oni Kidman, Brother Sister, and Vanessa Toro, at Lloyd Elsmore Park, Pakuranga, March 9.
Barefoot in the grass and dancing as Music in Parks Pakuranga can have you do.
In a baking sun, we melted in the heat and sung, danced and swayed, learned of some new songs and acts, and all went home with a spring in the step and smile on the dial.
That’s the feel-good factor culture of Music in Parks – you can’t beat it on a good day, to celebrate our art in Auckland’s magnificent scenic parks, on a Sunday that exemplified this never-ending summer that just keeps on giving.
Musical discoveries of the day were opener Vanessa Toro, with her cool self-produced indie-soul productions and vocal; Oni Kidman – daughter of Rikki Morris – and her honest and accomplished songs about real things young people experience and feel in an indie-pop-country style; and Brother Sister, who are dedicated to all of the good things about 1980s music, though I suspect none of them were born in that decade.
Brother Sister are in fact two brothers, synth n’ keys player and vocalist Dave, and Ben on drums, with funky-rock bassist sister and supporting vocalist, Tas.
They’re fantastic at what they do, and they’ve done their study and homework, because the influences they’ve drawn from are the best ingredients of the seriously musical ’80s bands, and their set is completely originals.
Interesting storylines in the lyrics and humour in them and in Dave’s continuity banter.
Brother Sister are fun and would be a great band to book for themed parties.
They’ve got an album out, and had tape cassettes available of it, too, at the merch desk, next to the free sunscreen and water – thanks Music in Parks.
It was a pleasure to have Rikki Morris come and play at Pakuranga, with his band of legends – Chet O’Connell on guitar, Wayne Bell on drums, Chip Matthews on bass, and Karl Benton on keys, and Oni Kidman came and joined him on family harmonies on his 1988 No. 1 hit, Nobody Else, for which he also won songwriter of the year.
It was a great set with its fair share of “ballads”, including songs from his recent album About Time, which has tracks produced on it by Bell, the other massive hit Heartbroken, one off the 1996 album Everest, and Right First Time by Th’ Dudes.
AutoMatic80s closed the concert with their high-quality ’80s repertoire, which is pretty much what they’ve played at their previous three Music in Parks Pakuranga gigs, and the crowd loves it.
Everyone’s up dancing to their healthy selection of all styles of ’80s bangers and there’s plenty of energy and class musicianship that makes the whole Automatic 80s experience authentic.
When I’m with you baby, I go out of my head, I just can’t get enough – the 1981 Depeche Mode classic that was a teenage hit with this writer, a fave on sunny Sunday.
Bravo to Auckland Council’s Music in Parks team, to The Rock Factory for top-class sound and production on a hot, at times windy arvo, and the crowd who turned out to show its worth investing in the communities’ social well-being.
Music in Parks shows the city cares about its citizens and culture. Ka pai.
