The Joel and Benji Madden-fronted band returned to rock Auckland’s Domain on Friday night, injecting a healthy dose of 2000s nostalgia. Before they hit the stage, Mitchell Hageman talked twin telepathy, Tara Iti golf, and why they think they’re at their best.
Fresh from a round of golf up north, superstar Joel Madden says Tara Iti is “maybe the nicest golf course I’ve ever been to”.
His identical twin brother, who ended up just beating him, said the same.
“And super chill at the same time. So not stuffy, if that makes sense.” Both still can’t believe “how f***ing” beautiful our country is.
It’s been nearly 10 years since the tattooed twins brought their pop-punk-rock catalogue to our shores, and now they’ve gathered a whole new legion of fans.
Many Kiwis first got a taste of the pair as X-Factor Australia judges. Others, a little bit older, played the CDs on boom boxes and watched them as MTV staples.
They always came across as such chill dudes – and they still are. Perhaps, I would say, even the most courteous lads in show business.
Before belting out hits such as The Anthem and I Just Wanna Live in front of a packed Auckland Domain, the brothers were gracious to anyone they met backstage, offering chairs and making sure they said hello to everyone they met.
It’s also a new era of music for the pair as well. Still fun, still punchy, still fresh, but with years of experience – and fatherhood – to guide them (both have children with respective partners Cameron Diaz and Nicole Richie).
“We’re not trying to go back and act young. We love being right where we’re at. To be able to be right where we’re at and do this is a privilege,” Joel, 46, says.
“I don’t know if we thought we wouldn’t be doing it [back in the early 2000s], but I think back then, if you asked me what we’d be doing at 40 or 45, that sounded so far away. You kind of go, I don’t know if I’m going to still be doing this at 45, but today it feels really natural. And I think that’s because we’re getting to do it on our own terms,” Benji adds.
“I think also with the new record [their eighth album Motel Du Cap], we really did make a record that we wanted to make right now at this age, where we weren’t trying to relive something.”
But don’t get me wrong, they’re still absolutely stoked there’s an appetite for nostalgia and grateful for a whole new legion of fans.
“In the past year and a half, we’ve done some of the biggest shows of our career, and we see the people that are coming are every age,” Joel says.
“Young people who’ve never seen us play, and even young people who just got into rock music. Then we have older people who grew up with us who have been to multiple shows and bring their kids and everything in between.”
“I think we’re a better band than we’ve ever been, so we’re putting on a better show,” his brother adds.
The new album also ended a long hiatus. Both agreed it was a good time to reset and refocus.
“I think that was really valuable for us to just be able to go and live our lives,” Benji says.
Naturally, being identical twins, I ask the pair if twin telepathy is a real thing.
“It’s not like you would think, but it is a thing. It’s not as explicit as people put it. It’s like you hear their thought, but you know their thought,” Joel says.
Getting older has also come with another bonus. They “very rarely” get sick of each other.
“When we were younger, I don’t know if we knew how to communicate as well. Now we get along great. I mean, we hang out all the time. We hang out when we don’t have to,” Joel adds.
Benji says he feels honoured to still be able to do the job he loves, and thanks fans for showing up.
“There’s no better feeling than being up there and everyone being together singing and having a good time, and when you feel that with a crowd, it definitely keeps you coming back.”
And if you want to chase that Lifestyle(s) of the Rich & Famous, the brothers say don’t focus on the result
“Focus on the work and the process. Just take it one day at a time and work hard,” Benji says.
“You gotta just show up every day. You gotta, you know, believe in what you’re doing. If you don’t, you really have to ask yourself if you believe in what you’re making versus what you want. Some bands have it upside down, they want the result, and so they’re just making things to try to get to that result instead of focusing on the music and the process and the art they’re making first,” Joel adds.
“Make something that you would bleed for, and it’ll take you somewhere.”
Mitchell Hageman joined the Herald’s entertainment and lifestyle team in 2024. He previously worked as a multimedia journalist for Hawke’s Bay Today.