I knew nothing about the band at the time - what I'd heard about them was from an ad on bFM, and they couldn't get a work permit so the tickets to their Squid were free, which made it doubly special. It turned out to be that good.
I walked in not expecting anything - I hadn't listened to their records, nothing. I was just totally blown away that night - the excitement, the energy level - I hadn't felt like that since seeing some shows in London in the early '90s. It was amazing to walk in and hear that power again.
They opened with a cover of The Rolling Stones' Gimme Shelter - how ballsy is that? They owned it that night - it wasn't a cover, it was like they had written the song. There was magic and you could feel it that night. It just hit me that I was home.
That gig was an oasis away from everything else that was happening in music at the time. It also summed up the sound that was being heard at the Kings Arms - The Datsuns, The D4, The Rock and Roll Machine.
A lot of people talk about when The White Stripes played here the first time but, to me, The Hellacopters was the one. I think they left a blueprint for a lot of bands.
Volume presents Beastwars North Island Tour
November 4: Biddy Mulligan's, Hamilton w/ Mountaineater & Arc of Ascent
November 5: 4:20 w/ Mountaineater & Arc of Ascent
November 12: Bodega w/ Detrytus & Arc of Ascent
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