Review by Hazel Reid // Photos by Shelley Te Haara
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Australian musician Peach PRC hit the stage just after 8pm alongside a guitarist and she was definitely a crowd pleaser from the get go as they were chanting her name ahead of the set. This is the first show of her supporting duties with Yungblud on his Life On Mars NZ & Australia tour leg. Peach performed a ten track set including hit songs Symptomatic and God is a Freak – she even threw in a cover of Wheatus’ Teenage Dirtbag. Peach had the crowd singing along and cheering throughout her performance at Shed 10 and finished with fan favourite tune Josh to end on a high.
This visit to NZ from Yungblud (a.k.a Dom) was much anticipated and he mentioned to fans earlier in the day that he knew that he needed to come to NZ on this tour this time and had been loving it so far – Dom and Peach had arrived in the country the day before the show and had been seen taking in some sights including an open mic comedy night and a visit to Auckland local Ding Dong Lounge!
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After a short break following Peach PRC it was obvious the crowd was rearing and ready to go for Yungblud’s set (there was a lot of noise). The sound desk’s playlist suddenly stopped mid-track and it was time to welcome the man himself to the stage. As the lights dimmed a voice came booming onto the sound system (asking the crowd if they were ready to scream, go mad, jump and celebrate ‘with every ounce of your being’) that really set the mood. Yungblud started his set last night with Strawberry Lipstick followed by Parents.
For his third song, superdeadfriends, Dom wanted the crowd to make a pit in the middle so began yelling “wider!” to try and get some movement – this carried on for a little bit before performing The Funeral and jumping on guitar for I Love You, Will You Marry Me. Another example of the strong fanbase he has here was hearing him sing the first few words of a lyric and the crowd loudly finishing it off like it was their own. “We are never missing Auckland again”.
Weird!, Mars, Fleabag and his newer release Memories filled the middle of his set with Dom and his band really putting on a full-energy show. Around the tenth song, Kill Somebody, Dom started to get a bit emotional – “I have a fucking family in Auckland!” he said as he started crying. “I’m just expressing myself in the way I want to… what changed everything for me was every one of you! We’re making a fucking difference – we are a culture of love man. I promise you if you feel lonely, Yungblud doesn’t leave Auckland tomorrow, you are fucking Yungblud.”
After playing I Think I’m OKAY, his collaboration with Machine Gun Kelly, and then getting a cute red tambourine out for Loner, the stage lights dimmed and screams for an encore almost immediately began. Yungblud soon answered the noise with three more songs – Braindead, God Save Me and Machine Gun, ending the night with the audience’s phone lights in the air.
The amount of energy Dom exudes is incredible, and I can confirm he was still bouncing around the stage during the last song even after putting on an impressive 90 minute set. One of the main takeaways from the concert was the level of connection and sense of community that was in the room, it was just something else. The interactions between Yungblud and the audience throughout the show was really special – it was kind of one of those you-had-to-be-there moments (so make sure you’re there the next time he performs live… okay!?)
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YUNGBLUD SETLIST:
Strawberry Lipstick
Parents
superdeadfriends
The Funeral
I Love You, Will You Marry Me?
Weird!
Mars
Fleabag
Memories
Kill Somebody
I Think I’m OKAY
Loner
Braindead
God Save Me
Machine Gun
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PEACH PRC SETLIST:
Blondes
Symptomatic
Colourblind
Dear Inner Child
Heavy
Favourite Person
God is a Freak
Teenage Dirtbag
Forever Drunk
Josh