I’ve seen Shihad dozens of times, even if I’m not that excited by their latest album I’ll generally still catch their tour. They’re one of the best live rock bands you could ever see. I’ve managed to get to a few Town Hall shows (R.I.P?) Wellington’s Town Hall was the best place to see Shihad once they moved up into the nearly “Stadium-Rock” daze. I remember seeing them there when The General Electric was released – that was what clarified to me just how much of a phenomenal live band they were, all the right points being hit.

But in recent years – and actually this is the last full Shihad show I’ve seen – the highlight was heading along to see them play at their old school. In 2011, as a thank-you, as part of the filming for the very good Shihad documentary, they played a Friday night all ages show at Wellington High School. A friend dropped me a line at the last minute – did I want to go because he had backstage passes.

The backstage pass element didn’t interest me so much, but seeing the show was something I was very keen on.

So we went. Later I would write about how it was just another chance to see one of the best live bands you could hope to see; I was struck with how crucial every member of the band is, how crucial to the overall sound.

Before and after the show we met most of the band – nice guys too.

But what a show – perfect setlist – and just this wonderful feeling of celebration. Some parents were there with kids, you could tell some weren’t really ‘fans’ as such, but I bet more than a few of them left as fans. It just had this lovely community vibe to it. But beyond that it truly was one of the best Shihad gigs I’ve seen.
Stubs is an occasional feature here at Off The Tracks – looking back through the ticket-stub box and remembering how the show went down.