Kiwi rock legends Shihad won't be offering punters any support when they go on a national tour later in April, just almost two hours of the meanest time imaginable.
The band starts its The Meanest Tour at Altitude, in Hamilton on April 4 and winds up eight gigs later at
Wellington's Stone Village on April 14.
After almost 20 years producing some of the finest rock ever made in NZ Shihad the tour will feature songs from its double CD greatest hits collection The Meanest, which is crammed full of 38 slabs of outstanding Kiwi rock and after selling more than 250,000 albums, and headlining some of the biggest stages around the world there's little else for the band to achieve
So with a back catalogue of singles and hits that easily fill the double CD it's no surprise that as the band goes out on tour to celebrate The Meanest, they include the notation that there'll be no support.
Instead they will be playing a 100-plus minute set to give enough time to cover the bulk of hits and favourites from their entire catalogue.
The tour set embraces the two dominant personalities of the Shihad live experience.
The first half set sees the band working from a crowded front of stage in homage to the close proximity in-your-face intensity of the rock bars and clubs where their music was informed and first played. This part of the story recreates the unrefined fervour of the countless early career gigs if less than salubrious surroundings that gave potency to the bands live performance, while presenting the raw classics from their debut EP Devolve and their first three albums Churn, Killjoy and the self-titled Shihad.
The band's work ethic and commitment was cast in the gritty reality of hauling gear in and of venues and up and down stairs on a merry go round of one night stands from Tutukaka to Thames and from Poland to a small town in Texas.
The second part of the shows embraces the big stage era where Shihad grew wings and a swagger and ramped up production. Incendiary live performances followed and nothing short of a legend status bestowed as they strode the many arena stages at home and abroad - the Big Day Out, Rhythm & Vines, Rippon, Rock am Ring, Roskilde etc. Albums from The General Electric, through to Ignite comprise this era and the many live favourites and radio hits within are given a thorough belting by Shihad while fittingly accompanied by aforementioned ramped up production.
The Meanest Tour:
April 4 - Altitude, Hamilton.
April 6 - Brewers Field, Tauranga.
April 7 - Coroglen Tavern, Coroglen.
April 8 - The Powerstation, Auckland.
April 11 - Railway Hotel, Greymouth.
April 12 - Victory Room, Nelson.
April 13 - The Big Top, Christchurch.
April 14 - Station Village, Upper Hutt, Wellington.