During his band’s final Auckland show ever, Shihad frontman Jon Toogood (pictured here on stage at Spark Arena) found a quiet moment among the high decibels and pyrotechnics to reflect on his Wellington-born group’s early days. “We started out playing to skinheads at the Clarendon in Taranaki St … lookat us now”. He was addressing some 6000 fans at the Auckland indoor stadium, 5000 of whom were already sporting a T-shirt marking Shihad’s farewell “Loud Forever” tour.
Barring future reunions, the jaunt brought the band’s 37-year history to a close, and cemented a reputation as this country’s greatest live rock act. Arguably, only Split Enz has meant more as a group to a couple of generations of Kiwi rock fans – and Shihad’s version of the Enz’s I Got You featured in many of the final New Zealand shows.
Having said a blistering goodbye to Auckland, the next night Shihad brought Wellington’s final Homegrown festival to a close. What may be the last Shihad show was a Sunday night last blast of more than 30 songs at capital city venue Meow Nui, about 500m from where the Clarendon once stood.
