Dispatches from staff writers Gabi Lardies and Lyric Waiwiri-Smith at Auckland’s The Others Way music festival.
On Saturday, light rain fell as The Others Way festival took over 10 venues on and around Karangahape Road. Though impossible for a team of two to catch all 47 acts, here’s what we did see.
Princess Chelsea and The Dream Warriors
The Studio was my first stop after the line to get wristbands. Princess Chelsea and her band The Dream Warriors had it packed to the brim at the sweet hour of 7pm. Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that this band of seven is not only tight as hell but also has an electric chemistry on stage. It’s a lot of talented, cool and beautiful people on stage all at once and Chelsea Nikkel at its centre, sometimes creeping around like a Louise Bourgeois spider and sometimes casually tapping a tambourine as one of the guitarists smashes, also somewhat casually, their guitar on stage. One highlight came near the end of the set with the song ‘Everything Is Going to Be Alright’. It was dark, dismal and fun. Another highlight was the image of the flying seagull superimposed on flames. / Gabi Lardies
Mokomokai
I genuinely believe rapper Dirty is one of the best lyricists we have in Auckland, if not New Zealand. The Mokomokai frontman, alongside producers Dusty and Ghost, was first up at Neck of The Woods at 7.15pm – maybe for some, being an opener can be a bit of a tough gig, but for 45 minutes, the hip-hop trio delivered ample aura to make the festival their own.
Heading down Neck of the Woods’ stairs took a little more focus than usual thanks to a) the rain and b) slight tipsiness, but once you enter the cave, you’re swallowed by the beat, and by Dirty’s untouchable bars: “shorty e noho on my face like a nice cushion, I’m Hone Heke for the teke.” He’s jealous of the barstool his lady sits on. Too fucking right, tu fucking meke.
The best thing about Mokomokai is they only sound like Mokomokai. Their music is pure Aotearoa, informed by the back streets of Grey Lynn and fields of Te Tai Tokerau and styled in Māori and Pasifika steeze. I wish I had a dollar for every time Dirty said “teke” – I’d put my earnings towards making sure I never miss another Mokomokai gig. /Lyric Waiwiri-Smith
Dam Native
After the recent reissue of their debut album Kaupapa Driven Rhymes Uplifted, the kool style of Dam Native made a real comeback in 2024. It really wasn’t a surprise to see The Studio packed so tightly with dancing bodies trying to catch the hearty 90s hip-hop group perform the album that had been lost to time. And frontman Danny Haimona, joined by a dancer waving the tino rangatiratanga in a red body suit and a V for Vendetta mask, revived his raps effortlessly.
Dam Native was one of my must-see, non-negotiable acts of the night, and experiencing the fusion of hip-hop, te reo Māori and kaupapa driven rhymes live definitely healed the wairua. But you could also tell the stage is a space Haimona hasn’t returned to for a while – he held an incredible presence throughout but there was a sermon after every song, and he paused the show half-way to host a giveaway and announce a new album. The most crack-up bit? When two girls were chosen to go on stage to receive free T-shirts, and a white-presenting young man in the crowd shouted: “you brought up the Pākehās!” /LWS
Diggy Dupé
It’s a damn shame that Diggy Dupé was on at the same time as Dam Native. I skipped their final song to join the exodus of six brown people (me and my mate included) who so-far had exclusively traveled back and forth between The Studio and Neck of the Woods all night, where all the hip-hop acts have been placed.
If you’ve ever lived in Grey Lynn, you’ve probably listened to Dupé and if you haven’t heard him, you’ve obviously never been in Grey Lynn. Honestly, no one reps Auckland City like the musicians who come out of Grey Lynn. Dupé’s a really solid rapper and performer, whose songs are essentially part love letters, part guidebooks to the suburb’s streets and its people. And when he’s done, it’s back to The Studio. /LWS
Ladi6
The whiplash of paying $12 per can of beer all night has given me a lot to think about while watching Ladi6. But I’m letting the momentum build and feeling pretty sure my union is fluid like water – I can see it in the way my hands naturally make themselves busy by flying in the air, and the back and forth of my hips. I’m the tides, and Ladi6 is the moon. Oh fuck – I just realised being here means I’m not at Theia. /LWS
Skilaa
OK, I completely missed Theia, but I managed to catch the last 15 minutes of Skilaa in the absolute sauna that was Whammy. There was sweat on the floors, walls and in the air, and the pints of beer that everyone’s clutching can only make the dehydration worse. But the humidity is secondary only to the musical stylings of Skilaa, who managed to make the heaviness of the atmosphere feel like a warm hug.
The ensemble’s genre is a mix of alternative RnB, psychedelic hip-hop and jazzy folk, making their show a charcuterie board for the music lovers who love all sorts of music. Afterwards, I duck my head briefly into Whammy’s neighbour Double Whammy to check how Voom are going – they’re sounding pretty good. /LWS
Half Hexagon
Wowwweeeeeeee! Yolanda Fagan is a very usual suspect of K’ Road, found more often than not at a little underground gig. She’s been in bands (most recently Na Noise and Echo Ohs) for as long as I can remember, and yes she is a dead ringer for LadyHawke, but let’s not let that distract us from the fact that superstars walk among us. I saw her do a backwards flip roll on stage and other unlikely body contortions, while at the same time putting her voice through heavy effects.
Half Hexagon is a supergroup, as tends to happen when musicians have been active for a while. The other members, Julien Dyne (Soundway Records, Circling Sun, Avantdale Bowling Club) and James Milne (Lawrence Arabia), were both tethered by their instruments, synths and drums, which create the psychedelic backbone of the songs. Though songs is perhaps not the right word. Their set was more like an elongated jam session, with one thing blending into the other, than a series of well defined songs. It’s the kind of thing you can only pull off if all three parts are this uber talented. /GL
Las Tetas
I was intrigued to see Las Tetas on the lineup – I haven’t heard a peep from them since about 2013 and thought perhaps another band had stolen their excellent name. Ten minutes before their set Lucy Stewart, Charlotte Gallichan-Stewart and Kristal G, all the same as ever – mini skirts, tights, docs, some grown-out bleached hair and loose suit pants — arrived at Whammy! with their instruments. I’d been sitting in the deepest alcove, the one where the seats are draped in a pink crushed velvet and where the broken arcade games swallow people’s coins in exchange for nothing, and wondering how many generations of bands have played in this underground concrete, erm, place.
After 10 years, Las Tetas are releasing an album. As always, they gave classic punk with grungy vocals. On stage, they were understated performers, still and mostly looking down at their instruments as the walls of sound emerged. It was a pure and unadulterated Whammy experience. /GL
Soaked Oats
Every boy in this band has an “I meditate” vibe. I’m sure they also surf and every band photo is taken on film. Their style of guitar-driven indie-pop isn’t particularly to my taste, but that’s not to say they’re not good. I found myself here by accident, because for unknown reasons the festival timetable is in 24-hour time. Festivals are not airports people!! Perhaps 24-hour time makes sense for events that include the morning (though even then I’d argue to simply use am/pm) but The Others Way started at 5:45 pm, solidly in the evening.
Anyway here I was, on the last remaining sprung dance floor in the city, a band was on, and I could feel the floor bouncing. High above, the ceiling had pretty mouldings. Galatos is an underrated venue that should rebrand as a dancehall. Soaked Oats fans were dancing with every part of their body, and especially their arms. I smiled and joined in. When in Rome. /GL
Half Queen
Half Queen emerged through the hazy blue light of Neck of the Woods in the wee hours of Sunday looking like a sexy, tall hobbit. There were tailored balloon pants, a white shirt with voluminous sleeves, a little waistcoat and a very avant garde hat/hood. Her performance could not be faulted as one fun beat turned into another. She has been a staple of Tāmaki nightlife for a while now and even I have seen her at Neck of the Woods several times.
It was a little different at the festival. The crowd, though gathered tightly at the front, was not that big, and it was more subdued – the dancing smaller, the outfits more mundane – than usual. It felt like a collection of individuals rather than a community, and the night late and long rather than celebratory.
At this point, my tether for paying $12 for very small and piss-weak vodka sodas had run out, and I never quite managed to get a good buzz going even though next time I look at my bank account I’ll think “yikes”. Without the lovely wooden dance floor I grew accustomed to at Galatos, my back started to hurt and I made my way to Sal’s Pizza. /GL
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