Live at the Domain sends Auckland back to the pop-punk 2000s
Wintergardens to the left, Sky Tower and palm trees to the right, Live at the Domain brings an electric energy to Tāmaki Makaurau's favourite park on Friday night.
Tadpole, one of Aotearoa’s most influential rock bands, and alt-rock royalty Yellowcard have already warmed festival goers, kicking off the feat that is LATD, presented by Endeavour Live.
This premium, outdoor summer concert series comes to Auckland’s Domain for the first time ever, and it's definitely no small, DIY Kiwi festival. The stage wouldn’t look out of place at Barcelona’s Primavera or Chicago’s Lollapalooza, and everyone is buzzing.
Highly Suspect enter the stage to a cinematic choral piece, sharp with an orchestral backing. They acknowledge the crowd, throwing up the universal sign for rock music, the audience answers instantly, a sea of hands cutting into the sky. As the sun sets on a perfect NZ summer day, front person Johnny Stevens smokes a dart while ripping a smoking solo on his white hollow body Gretsch.
Everyone surges toward the stage as Good Charlotte are welcomed by pyros and flashes of white and red light. They waste no time pulling us straight back into their early 2000s pop-punk world - head banging, band tees, snapbacks, black jeans (minus the skinny, some things are better left in the past).
Their guitars hang low, played in that classic wide leg stance, and we’re swallowed by visuals that move with every song; skulls, misty skies, neon skeletons, galloping dinosaurs!
Thousands of us bounce in unison, screaming every word. There’s nostalgia and reunion, a collective reminder of what bands like Good Charlotte represent; music that’s loud, timeless, fun and ours.
