I realised in the lead up to this show that, despite Shihad being quite big when I was growing up, I'd only ever seen them once. It was a good show though - on the General Electric tour, at a point where it seemed the band were on the brink of big things. Of course with hindsight that looks like the band's apex and they're now playing the 2.30 slot at Splendour. There must be a sense in which that hurts, but the band seem pretty comfortable in their skin and happy with their role as one of a small handful of big bands in the very small New Zealand pond.
But I digress. This show was a 'secret' warm up for their Splendour gig. Jon Toogood made a few jokes about the fact that the Electric Generals was a very poor choice of secret band name. The band whipped through about an hour of greatest hits (they've just released a greatest hits album so they've got more excuse than most). The highlights were to be expected - My Mind's Sedate, The General Electric, Pacifier, and Home Again. The only lowlight (and fuck is it bad) is Sleepeater. It sounds like all the worst things their attempt to make it big in the US was about - songs self consciously designed based on marketing appeal rather than quality. That approach failed and this song is awful.
Most shows by NZ bands feature lots of expats turning up to talk all the way through the show about how they saw the band at a much larger venue in NZ. This show is better than most but still features a bit of talking.
Empty Shell
My Mind's Sedate
The General Electric
Lead or Follow
Pacifier
Run
Factory
Wait and See
Home Again
Comfort Me
Sleepeater
Derail
You Again
http://www.mediafire.com/?prx31f2jcngp4
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