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Critic Orientation Review - Dunedin
There have been plenty of reviews and even an LP and an
EP to tell you how good the Cakekitchen is but sometimes
a band can play so well live, NOTHING can prepare you
for the performance. For all I know the Cakekitchen may
play like this all the time and maybe they didn´t think they
were so special. But they were. The three of them - Graeme
Jefferies, Rachael King and Robert Key - even look great
as a band by just being themselves, which is one hell of a
head start.
Those who remember This Kind of Punishment for their
angst would´ve been widely surprised to have seen the gaunt
faced, glittery-eyed Graeme Jefferies looking perky and full
of mischief. His work on that V-Shaped Gibson guitar was a
real treat, sometimes delicately picked, sometimes big and
gnarly like he´s in the Clean or something, and plenty in
between. The bass playing of King and the drumming of Key
is also up there, and as a band they have so much control that
not even the slower songs sapped the set of any momentum.
And the momentum was considerable, despite several short
interludes where Jefferies broke strings. They have so many
likeable songs and, were it recorded RIGHT NOW, student
radio would be thrashing a song called "The Shadow is Me."
Neat harmonies and all.
This was one of several new songs they played besides
material off the records. To show just how un-po-faced
this band is they even did a version of "The Hollies"
Magic Woman Touch which also underlined that no
matter what they´re up to they don´t lose their power.
The song was slowed down, throbbing and full of singing.
The two deep male voices nicely offset by King.
Overall they really lift their songs live, giving what may
sound a little prissy on record more pep, and the idea of
maudlin is utterly obliterated. It was nearing one o´clock
by the time they finished - encoring with "Airships" from
the Xpressway Pile-Up compilation. In the long break before
they came back on stage I´d been sagging. But there I was
stamping the ground for more and thinking of how this had
left most of the Orientation performances trailing. By plenty.
Richard Langston
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