Indie Bands to rock the Whanganui Musicians’ Club

The featured band at Whanganui Musicians Club is Orangefarm, an indie rock outfit based in Wellington.

The Whanganui Musicians’ Club is presenting an evening of contemporary Indie rock on August 26, with two bands lighting up the stage in a show that lovers of modern music are sure to enjoy.

The featured band is Orangefarm, an indie rock outfit based in Wellington. Band leader Nigel Mitchell has been working on the music since 1992 when his collaboration with Peter Holm first began.

Over the years, the band has undergone several transformations. The current line-up sees Mitchell (vocals, guitar) and Holm (bass, guitar, vocals) joined by Vivien Reid (French horn, bass, vocals), Clint Meech (keyboards), and Andrew Kerr (drums).

Their recent press release speaks of “Bittersweet Tales” in this way:

If you’ve spent time in the unhurried world of New Zealand, indie rock in the past couple of decades, you might find something comforting, almost familiar about the music of Wellington band Orangefarm.

It strolls forth with a skipping beat, a propulsive guitar strum, and a gentle toot of French horn, all suggesting we’re all headed off somewhere cross-country.

But as the lilting tune and his/hers harmonies take hold, it’s apparent there’s something thorny going on.

The music often deftly wraps lyrical barbs in its pop hooks: bittersweet, literate touches and moments where the deceptively low-key music is a framework for complicated emotions and some cosmic ideas.

Supporting Orangefarm is Ngāti Stank, a Whanganui-brewed band fresh to the scene. Their songs are inspired by the ebbs and flows of singer/songwriter Bobbi Rae’s life, cooked in a spicy mix of the band’s eclectic music backgrounds.

Onstage with Bobbi are Eneti Waretini (bass), Josh Kosmala (drums), Denis Troufleau (keys), and Ross Laurie (lead guitar).

“The aim with every musical decision,” says Bobbi “is to encourage the use of the stank face”. For those not familiar with the vernacular, a stank face is a reflexive expression made by musicians and music lovers to show appreciation for a particularly stanky (i.e. funky) beat, solo, or riff. Come and check it out!

■ Whanganui Musicians Club, Drews Ave on Saturday, August 26, at 7pm. General admission is $25 or $20 for club members. Cash on the door.