Razorlight

The summer* of gigs has started, with Suzanne Vega a couple of weeks ago, and now Noughties almost-legends, indie rockers Razorlight. Remember them? They had a string of hits around 20 or so years ago, culminating in the No. 1 smash, America. They released three albums in that time before splitting up. Artistic differences? I think it was mainly that the singer, Johnny Borrell, was a bit of an arsehole. And by a bit, I mean a lot.

Anyway, that’s all in the past, they’ve reconciled their differences and are now doing America: 20^th Anniversary Tour. And they’re coming to New Zealand!

But first, of course, dinner. I booked Kisa as it’s handily placed, just up the road on Ghuznee Street, not far from the venue, Meow Nui. For once we dispensed with bread and dips, as these tend to fill you up with bread and dips, and dived straight into a selection of mixed mezze – kebabs, turşu, böreks, and cured fish. Yum! Once again, the Mosaic Group (of which they are part) are doing their passport promotion, so we’ll probably visit some of their other locations over the next few months.

Then on to Meow Nui. We’ve been there before, most recently to see Bret McKenzie. But what’s this? No seats? Yes, this is a proper, old-fashioned gig where you have to stand around waiting for the band to come on. Fortunately, there’s a bar. There was also a merch stand, but I didn’t fancy the design of any of the t-shirts so I skipped that one.

First up was local band Dropper, who came on for the traditional half-hour warm-up set. They’ve released an album on CD (yes, actual physical medium!) so I’ve ordered that.

Then on came Razorlight. They played a mix of songs, old and new, as they reformed in 2018 and have since released two albums, bringing their total to…five. Way to go, fellas! All the hits (they didn’t have enough to afford the luxury of leaving any out) interspersed with other songs, old and new material. Borrell isn’t much one for the bants between songs, they just got down and did it. He does have a lot of front-man energy, though, and loves showing of his ripped abs.

After an hour they left the stage before returning for a five-song encore, finishing up, inevitably, with America. A jolly good night out with proper rock’n’roll music. From here they’re going to Australia, then onwards to Europe and the UK. Catch them if you can!