Live Review: Six60, Fait

The coloured lights adorned The Astor Theatre, as it filled up for a sold-out show. Hipster drop-crotch pants and long shirts were the men's fashion items of the night, while the ladies were all glammed up.

Without a word spoken Fait roared onto the stage with guitars blaring and drums pounding. Surrender To became a blaze of guitar riffs and bobbing heads as Elise Higgins headbanged her way through the wordless song. There was something soothing about listening to the alternative atmospheric soundscapes; they gave off a hypnotic feel that engulfed one's body with a calmness. Not a word was spoken to the crowd during the set — best wordless set ever.

As the theatre began to buzz with mainly Kiwis, the crowd got pumping with the interval music, the excitement was in the air and the alcohol was flowing. With the lights dimming to a dark blue, Six60 hit the stage, sending the already excited crowd into a frenzy of moving bodies, as the guys smashed out FTW.

Stay Together and Don't Forget Your Roots got the crowd singing at the top of their lungs as the soul rock sound filled the air, before hugs and tears were exchanged between friends and families in the crowd. The drum and bass kicked in with Rise Up, with sound-drowning guitars making the crowd a moving mass of intoxicated dancing bodies trying to avoid discarded can-mines.

The battle of the drums began as bass guitarist Chris Mac joined Eli Paewai on the skins. The two took drumming to a whole new level; the crowd loved every beat. Those weren't the only skills shown off, as Mac did a captivating guitar bit of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit.

The energy in the theatre changed as lead singer Matiu Walters sang three songs acoustically, bringing the mood down and losing the crowd's already short attention span. All the energy and hype went into the first half of the set; the song order selection could have been better to keep the crowd's attention going. However, Walters's vocals were amazing and consistent throughout the set, hitting all the right notes, even the high ones.

Special ended the night's entertaining set, with the crowd singing to the final words. These New Zealanders know how to put on a show and put up a crowd; they just have to keep the excitement going throughout the whole set.