Auckland-based rock act Villainy will play to more than 100,000 people over two shows opening for AC/DC.
Auckland-based rock act Villainy will play to more than 100,000 people over two shows opening for AC/DC.
When Kiwi band Villainy plays ahead of Aussie rock giants AC/DC next month, they're looking forward to making Western Springs shake.
"The entire neighbourhood is going to hear us echoing over their heads," laughs front man Neill Fraser ahead of the biggest shows of the band's five-year career.
Along with Shihad, Villainy have today been confirmed as the opening acts for AC/DC's two New Zealand shows, at Wellington's Westpac Stadium on December 12 and at Auckland's Western Springs on December 15.
It's a major boost for the quartet, who have toured steadily since releasing their second album Dead Sight to positive reviews earlier this year.
So far, Villainy's biggest concerts have been opening for bands like The Offspring and Incubus at Vector Arena, Auckland's indoor stadium with a capacity of 12,000.
The combined audience for AC/DC's two outdoors New Zealand shows is likely to top 100,000.
But if Fraser's nervous, he's not showing it.
"If you'd asked me five years ago I'd be shaking. But we've played enough shows over the years that we know what we're doing and how to do it," he says.
"It's just tweaking it for that environment. We'll play hard and fast and give the most passionate performance we can."
Shihad will open for AC/DC for the third time during their December shows in New Zealand.
Having already opened twice for AC/DC, in 1991 and again in 2010, Shihad front man Jon Toogood is seasoned when it comes to performing in front of crowds of that size.
His advice for Villainy is to "play f***ing good".
"Seriously, that's it. You play good every time you walk on stage. There's no difference doing that at a pub in Palmerston North, and in front of 60,000 people in Western Springs" he says.
"You've gotta be a good band every time you walk on stage. That's what AC/DC does and that's what we've tried to do."
Toogood admits AC/DC have influenced Shihad from the moment drummer Tom Larkin gave him a copy of their seminal album Highway to Hell after the pair met at Wellington High School.
"Those songs are part of my whole life. That's how we soundcheck, that's how we judge how things are sounding good, we play AC/DC riffs because it's the biggest, purest, cleanest version of hard rock that you can get. It's the source."
And if Shihad's four members are ever feeling tired, Toogood admits Shihad has a motto influenced by the Aussie rockers.
"Whenever we're tired or can't be bothered, we're like, 'What would AC/DC do?'
"They're the ultimate working class band. I love that about them."
Who: Kiwi rockers Villainy and Shihad Where and when: Opening for AC/DC in Wellington on December 12 and Auckland on December 15. Tickets: From $99 to $169.90, through Ticketek and Ticketmaster
