A look The Others Way

Last Friday Banished Music and a whole host of other supporters put on the annual The Others Way Festival along Tāmaki Makaurau’s Karangahape Road. For those unacquainted, this festival utilises the many venues along Karangahape Road and its side streets, creating a musical bar-hop to catch as many (or few) artists from the 42-act strong lineup. The venues span in size, vibe and location from Raynham Park and Neck of the Woods closer to Queen Street; Whammy, Backroom, Wine Cellar and Underground in St Kevins Arcade; Pitt Street Church towards East Street Hall, Galatos and a site specific outdoor stage on Galatos Street. The Others Way is a festival I have always wanted to go to and this year I was lucky enough to attend. Considering I had never been before I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, except that the schedule looked hectic and there were not enough hours for me to see all the fantastic artists that graced the 2023 lineup.

The Others Way was a family affair for me, with my parents in attendance too. I jumped in the back seat of the car like a child again to make the drive from Muriwai to town, except this time Mum made me a margarita in a to-go cup to sip on the way. Perfect. Once we arrived at Karangahape Road the energy was palpable. To my surprise they don’t actually close the street off! It’s business as usual for many establishments of K Road, but I think this adds to the whirlwind time and chaos of the evening. Bumping into friends along the way I made my way to Wine Cellar to watch Salt Water Criminals. It was a delight to see the full band as any time I’ve seen SWC it has been Reuben solo so getting to hear the songs with all the elements post album release was fantastic. Considering this was one of the first acts of the evening I was delighted to see how busy it was. They ended on My Greatest Achievement, the first single from their 2023 album ‘House of Highs’, which really got the crowd going.

On my way to the Galatos Outdoor Stage I popped into the Pitt Street Church to see Molly Lewis, the Australian-born musical whistler. On the street I heard someone announce to their friend with incredible enthusiasm “that’s some mighty impressive whistling!” And that was an accurate statement. This was wild and extremely impressive, certainly one of the most unique acts I saw this evening and her vibe among the pews was immaculate. Trinity Roots provided a very enjoyable mellow reggae sound, perfect for the outdoor stage while it was still light and warm. You could tell they are such a well loved band with the crowd bopping along to syncopated rhythms and soulful vocals. After a bit of a boogie Mum and I boosted back to St Kevins to catch the last of Jazmine Mary’s set. This is another act who I have seen but without the full band. The added instruments created so much complexity with the violin and drums and of course Jazmine’s vocals were as beautiful as usual. A surprise member of the band was the resident ghost - a ghost that I initially thought was a scarecrow or statue, but upon closer inspection I realised was in fact moving! This really tickled me. A great piece of performance art that complimented the music so well.

I knew the next block of time was going to be my most packed period of the evening. There were so many bands I wanted to see and I was going to try my hardest! Unfortunately I didn’t have time to see Indie Powerhouse Marlins Dreaming, but I did catch the beginning of Ringlets (featuring former Marlins Dreaming member no less. Coincidence?) They hit the audience with punchy riffs and powerful vocals. A memorable moment was Leith (vocals) recounting the art exhibition he attended earlier in the day that featured many chairs that you weren’t allowed to sit on. A unique and cruel torture he mused, before launching into their next song without skipping a beat.

I was really excited for Fazerdaze and that excitement was justified as they ended up being a standout act for me. I’ve been a bit late on the Fazerdaze train but have really gotten into them this year. They started the set with Come Apart from the 2022 EP ‘Break!’ immediately locking the crowd in. They were tight and polished and sounded so shockingly similar to the records I was amazed. The vocals and harmonies between each of the members really stood out to me creating a satisfying interplay and big wall of sound that was hard to resist dancing to. While I was in the area I thought it would be rude not to pop into Vera Ellen. As per usual they were incredible. I think they are some of the most talented musicians and it was great to see them play again. I was slightly disappointed to see a crowd much smaller than I would have expected (and that they deserve), but it was a super dense time within the schedule and they still put on an amazing show.

I ran back to St Kevins (sensing the theme here?) to catch the beginning of Office Dog. Their album Spiel has been a huge hit, cleaning up at the SRN awards recently, so it’s no surprise that Whammy was extremely packed. Kane’s iconic vocals permeated through the room with gritty instrumentation and punching drums. Across the way is Underground, a relatively new all ages venue, to catch local punk band Melanie. Their high energy, noisy music packs a major punch and was a fun divergence after some more indie tracks. There is no meandering into songs with these boys, it’s huge sound and huge energy right from the jump, and it was so great to see people really going for it.

Now at this point in the evening I had been on my feet for approximately four hours and was in desperate need of a sit down, some food and a drink. A Sal’s slice and beer from Underground Bistro worked a treat before heading back into the mix. Jujulipps is a name that I’ve been hearing more and more recently and upon realising the time and that her set was almost over, I ran (literally) down the stairs of Neck of the Woods to find a crowd busting out some killer dance moves, almost rivalling those seen up on stage. The one song I managed to see was so much fun, providing some pounding RnB beats and quick lipped rapping leaving me wanting more.

In a surprise twist for me Grecco Romank ended up being my absolute favourite of the festival. It was funny, entertaining, great to dance to, a feast for the ears. Perhaps I have been living under a rock, but I hadn’t heard of them prior so went in with absolutely no expectation and each new song made me more and more invested. The electronic backing, operatic singing and low pitched drawling speak, with their captivating stage presence was perfectly combined for such a wildly enjoyable experience. Plus, I did love yelling the chorus line “fucking around taking the piss!” with my Mum. Classic.

The last act of the night for me was The Circling Sun, Tāmaki based Jazz supergroup. Their giant ensemble was honestly comedic on the tiny Whammy stage, I think I counted 14 people weaving in between the pillars and instruments. The Circling Sun is clearly made up from incredibly talented musicians and the free flowing rhythms with the addition of the choir was a delight. A great way to end the evening.

Unfortunately with the nature of the festival there were so many acts that I didn’t manage to see even though I would have liked to. I’m sure Frank Booker and Nathan Haines threw down some groovy house tunes, MĀ was highly recommended to me and I heard did not disappoint, I would have loved to experience MOTTE’s ethereal soundscapes live since their album release and if I could have muscled through the crowd spilling into the hallway for Dick Move I’m sure that would have been fantastic.

It’s fascinating to think that there were probably many people who went to every act I didn't, resulting in totally different Others Way experiences. But that’s part of the beauty isn't it? The ability to really make the festival your own. Thank you so much to Banished Music and Kylie Leggoe from Great NZ Publicity for getting us there and thank you to The Others Way for believing in the bounty of incredible local talent and putting on such a great festival.

Words and Photography by Rosa Nevison.