A black silhouette danced against the red-lit back wall of the Brisbane Powerhouse. The spotlight flashed, revealing the silhouette to be The Veils' frontman Finn Andrews.
Fully visible, he let out a pained yowl as he manically strummed his guitar. Stumbling and hobbling away from the microphone, he kicked at the air and wailed until his voice cracked, his signature wide-brimmed hat hanging on to his scalp for dear life.It's an intense amount of energy for the opening song. However, instead of burning out, Finn and The Veils kept that spark burning for the entirety of their set at Brisbane's ΩHM Festival Of Other Music (1 March).
Over the course of 20-plus years, the New Zealand band have crafted an incredible body of work ranging from tender ballads to apocalyptic sermons. The high quality of their songwriting continues on their sixth album, '...And Out Of The Void Came Love'.
While Finn last toured Australia in 2019 in support of his solo album, The Veils have been absent from these shores since 2009. This year, the band broke their drought, showing that time has not diminished their blaze.
The muted chug of Georgia James Potter's electric guitar echoed throughout the theatre. Usually, Georgia is the lead singer-songwriter of local rock trio Moreton, but on this occasion she played an intimate solo set to a huddle of early arrivals lounging on the floor in front of the stage.
In a soft murmur, Georgia sang songs inspired by George Orwell, Leonard Cohen, and sh.t tattoos, as featured on last year's album, 'The Dog Days'. She is an impressive songwriter, displaying a light touch on lines such as in a new song: "The blanket sets the tone, but the heart sets the boundary."
Unfortunately, anyone impressed by her songwriting were unable to purchase a physical release due to her car recently being broken into, with all of her merch and make-up stolen: "But they didn't steal this guitar and pedal board," she said, puzzled. "So, if you see any Moreton shirts floating around, suss them out."
After opening with the fiery 'Bullfighter (Hand Of God)', Finn sat at his piano. As he faced his keys, his hat's brim cast a shadow over most of his face and notes twinkled with his fingers.
Dave Khan's slide guitar sighed throughout the band's rendition of 'No Limit Of Stars', and Joseph McCallum's drums were joined by the heavy stomp of Finn's foot beneath his keyboard. Along with the anchor of Cass Basil's bass, the four-piece built a storm around Finn's wails and moans.
Dave's violin shrieked, and Finn flailed his arms, hollering a sermon about blackened skies and blood moons, culminating in bashing his own guitar until it too shrieked into the night.
"We've made another little album before we headed over here," Finn calmly announced to an excited crowd. "Can we play something from it for you?" Of course, no one turned down the offer and the crowd was treated to a hushed piano ballad and anticipation for a new album soon.
After finishing their set with a volatile performance of 'Nux Vomica', featuring broken guitar strings and shrieks of feedback, Finn returned alone for an encore at his keyboard.
Hunched over his keyboard again, his left hand raised high and bashed his keys, beginning a deranged rendition of 'Axolotl'. His instrument shook from the quakes from the slamming of his hands and stomping. Andrews' croon broke into a yelp, his voice breaking as he wailed: 'Who needs The Devil when you've got The Lord?"
The Veils ended with the same intensity as they began, and no one ever averted their gaze from the fiery performance burning before them.
