The xx gave a stunning performance last night at Auckland's Trusts Arena – their first NZ show in eight years, unfortunately it was roundly ignored by the chatty crowd.
Romy Madley Croft The xx performing in Finland in 2012 Photo: Wikimedia Commons
There were three different groups of friends around me who spent the majority of the show chatting amongst themselves. I looked further into the crowd and realised most people I could see were deep in conversation, ignoring the band they (and those around them) had paid good money to see.
Was it a sign The xx weren't connecting with the crowd or is that just how New Zealanders behave at gigs now? Apparently catching up on each other’s wild new years was a priority last night.
The band opened with two of their most popular songs - ‘Intro’ and ‘Crystalised’, but the beats and bass (played by Jamie xx and Oliver Sim, respectively) were completely muffled, and – after witnessing sound issues ruin the SZA gig earlier in the week, I was almost ready o walk out.
The XX - Oliver Sim, Jamie Smith, and Romy Madley-Croft Photo: supplied
Luckily the issues were mostly resolved within a few songs.
For a band with three albums, the 1-hour-15-minute set felt a little short, but it was packed with all of their beloved hits, and some new takes on old favourites.
‘Dangerous’, ‘Islands’ and ‘Fiction’ were highlights, as was ‘Performance’, which Romy introduced by saying, “This next song I would like to dedicate it to anyone who finds it hard to share how they really feel.”
The xx’s strength is their ability to create intimacy within the sparseness of their music, and to invite their listeners in. The power of vocalists Oliver and Romy (Madley Croft, who also plays guitar) comes from their restraint in singing their songs of love and loss.
With each album it feels like they are getting more comfortable with that vulnerability, and to use the same hackneyed phrase as the loud dude next to me at the concert, they’ve aged like a fine wine.
The notoriously shy Romy and Oliver are clearly comfortable taking their turns singing in the spotlight, and it was sweet to watch how they interacted and allowed the other to take over each verse.
At one point Romy stood off to the side, holding one arm across her body as she watched Oliver singing, ready to pick up her guitar for her part.
For their third album I See You the band used more samples (gathered by sonic magpie Jamie xx) and leaned into their love of pop melodies. It was the songs that sounded more like Jamie xx’s solo work that worked best in Trusts Arena, a venue that is essentially a tinned-roof basketball stadium.
It was in the final third of the show where the band – and its audience, who finally stopped the chatter – found its flow, though it was no coincidence that this was the part of the show that turned a little dancey.
‘Shelter’ received a disco treatment and a surprise addition of ‘Loud Places’, from Jamie xx’s spectacular album In Colour, got everyone moving.
The cheering after ‘Loud Places’ was so loud that Romy, with her hand on her heart, was left speechless as she tried to express her gratitude and promised they would be back… let’s just hope we don’t have to wait eight years next time, and that Auckland will have a better mid-sized venue to choose from other than Trusts Arena or the Logan Campbell Centre.
