Church & AP - The Hollywood Avondale

You can’t help but question why a gig might run an all ages event when concerts are so often paired with sweat, beer and sunglass-wearing-two-steppers. I couldn’t pin the reason of it being the case of Church and AP’s Godsend Tour, I settled with the possibility their fan base was younger than I had assumed. Nonetheless, I ventured on; swaddling my fears formed from previous all age concerts (I’m looking at you Sticky Fingers). To my advantage, it pairs well with my exceptional ability to lose my ID right at the worst moment, such as that morning.

PollyHill

PollyHill & Half Queen

Once I stepped through the doors of The Hollywood Avondale, the environment was instantly calm, friendly. My initial questioning of the lights being too bright turned to make the space feel safe and the audience attentive, you can’t make a racket when the audience can see every atom of the culprit. With no dark corners to explore or shadows to suss out, your focus is on the act and the act only. The light in the room let you see the demographic, and the ages were on the side that I didn’t expect. Along with the usual suspects, the hall was filled with mums, dads, uncles, aunties, and only the odd speckled late tween. It made being in a space with such visibility to its wide net of patrons incredibly intimate.

Fable

Fable

Church & AP

This level of care became a recurring theme through the night, with respect shown from Church and AP to the acts that came before them. A handful returned to the stage to join in on some of their biggest hits, it’s like they featured all along. When it all came to a head; the love from the fans was eminent by everyone going absolutely bezerk to each track. Members of the crowd starting jumping on to replace the opening acts, one man spitting a verse out so perfectly it was like he was Church and AP’S very own lost Dreamgirl. No security was seen here trying to haul anyone off stage, they were cheered and encouraged by none other than the headliners themselves.

I left that night with an entirely different level of satisfaction to I was expecting, or hoping for. I danced what I needed to get out of my system, right until the last encore (I see you Fire Sale). Between tracks, we were informed on the history of the venue and it’s significance to NZ hip-hop, girls were begging one of the boy’s mums to be their daughter in law in the line of the bathroom…honestly, the night had it all. These boys know what they’re up to, every move they make is so well informed by their own experiences and values to what hip hop is on an international scale. To be able to experience such insane music in an environment that complimented it so well feels very lucky to experience. Sick, sick night, all ages and all.

Words by Loewn Whyman

Image by Madeleine Brighouse-Mayo