Auckland City Rockfest

10 bands, 1 night. As far as swansongs for the Kings Arms Tavern go, the Auckland City Rockfest is definitely doing it justice.

The Kings Arms has always been rather blessed when it came to sound quality, but today we finally got a show with some brilliant lighting as well; official photographers and amateur mobile phone users alike reveled in the ability to take brilliantly lit photos of the bands as they performed.

Coridian is the first to take to the stage at the early time of 5:15pm. Despite the early time slot, there was a reasonable turnout for the up and coming band.

This four-piece alt rock group have a solid sound, with good equipment. The noise is loud and the silence is in fact silent. Initially the vocals were rather light, and overpowered by the guitars, but by the end of the first track Nonetheless, the mix was spot on. Moving into their latest single release Reflections, they busted out a lively bass riff with a lot of energy.

This is the first time I’ve seen Coridian live, and vocalist Dity Stranger is quite the showman. Despite his smaller stature compare to the other members of the band, Dity has an amazing stage presence and an infectious energy and passion that resonates well with the audience. Like a modern-day kiwi Freddie Mercury, he has immaculate control of his vocals, from low to high, and has a good balance between soft and heavy vocals.

Coridian is a very tight band that is well coordinated.

I’ll definitely be expecting big things from them in the future.