Wairarapa school bands get town hall rocking

MIDWEEK

Masterton Town Hall was once again rocked with the sounds of young talent as bands from Wairarapa secondary schools competed in the 25th annual Smokefreerockquest on Saturday night.

In the end, however, it was the band from Dannevirke High School, Worship the Fallen, that took honours with a heavy metal set that pumped up the crowd.

At the doors of the town hall older patrons 25 and over were offered the option of listening from the balcony, while younger fans quickly moved up near the stage.

Music fans and musician supporters paid $20 for the privilege of hearing the college pupils perform.

The night kicked off with a performance by Front Back and Sides - a band from Wairarapa College, which provided five of the dozen acts of the night.

Front Back and Sides had a classic rock guitar sound, offset by the clean-cut look suggested by their name, and balanced first by the smooth vocals of first Edward Kerr then clear-toned Cameron Elliot.

Honour Among the Thieves, a Kuranui College band, took the stage next, introducing a sombre note with their dark shirts and brooding melodies.

Solo artist Laura Jean, who was in last year's SFRQ top 20 line-up for the national final, sang two haunting songs of alienation in Stranger to Society and Home.

Cast a Shadow, another Wairarapa College band, then fired up the crowd with a self-titled song and some showmanship by lead singer Trent Graham, who wasn't afraid to mix it up with the audience.

Third place-getters Underground Bass and the Smooth operator turned up next, as Joseph Raea brought on a Sinatra vibe helped out by a mean bass guitar, saxophone and a class female vocalist.

The winning solo/duo band, Broken Guitars, from Wairarapa College, was up next - as Taylor Houston and Matthew Sale surprised with a wordless item called The Ballad, or the Whistling Song - followed by the clever lyrics of Steroeotypical Song.

Afterwards, the pair revealed that, unsurprisingly a damaged guitar was the inspiration for their name.

"We've always just jammed and mucked about together but this year we sat down and wrote some songs," Mathew says.

These year 12 students have been playing together since year nine but this is the first time they've entered Smokefreerockquest.

Not if We Can Help It, from Kuranui College, also impressed with the Smokefree Award For Women's Musicianship going to keyboardist Anna Jamieson.

The guitar foursome of Turtle, from Rathkeale College, kept the crowd happy with a smooth-sounding blend of sound.

Prevent the Tragedy, from Wairarapa College, were the winners of the Skinny People's Choice Award, voted in by text.

The Weathered Owls, from Kuranui College, also kept the crowd fully engaged.

The real battle, however, was between the final two bands of the night.

"Who's been waiting for some metal?" demanded Ethan Withey, lead singer of Worship the Fallen from Dannevirke High School, before he and his boys lit up the crowd and got some aggressive moshing going on.

The fully professional sound of Back to the Remedy, a three-time regional winner, rounded off a night of quality music but it wasn't quite enough for them to make it four years in a row.