By Amberleigh Jack*
The man in red on stage at Auckland's Christmas in the Park. Photo: Supplied / Darren Patterson
Review - We've yet to find our seats at Auckland Domain on Saturday night, but already spot a young punter in tears - perhaps a mistimed pre-gaming of sugar before this year's annual festive gig and crashing a little too early.
An hour before the 2024 Coca-Cola Christmas in the Park kicks off - and a year since Santa last graced the stage for his Auckland fans - these youngsters are already fizzing.
A line of eager barrier huggers have already nabbed their spots in the front of the stage and despite a fairly heavy police and security presence, a couple of stragglers look ready to high-tail it over the fence to the VIP spot as soon as mum and dad have their backs turned.
This may not be Travis Scott with his fight clubs, but one young punter in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles t-shirt is already breaking into balloon sword fights with his mates. This could get rowdy.
Disclaimer: I don't have children. Nor am I a Christmas dance and music extravaganza faithful. I know the big seasonal hits, sure. I have vague, but fond, memories of my 1990s teen years by the museum watching Frankie Stevens, McDonald's Young Entertainer, Ainslee Allen and - if memory serves me right - half the Shortland Street cast of the time.
The joy-filled, bedazzled ensemble at the Auckland Domain that I found myself at on Saturday is a little different to the shows I've recently attended. There are more reindeer headbands for a start. And a lot fewer black band tees. But a gig's a gig, right?
Some of the crowd at the Auckland Domain. Photo: Supplied / Darren Patterson
Refreshingly, it was one of the few I've been to lately that didn't feature an obligatory "Up the Wahs" to connect with the local fans. Although I haven't heard so many calls of "Merry Christmas" since working Christmas Eve at a busy Auckland mall pre-Y2K.
Like all good gigs, the evening kicked off with a sure-fire crowd-pleaser. 'Feliz Navidad' immediately got a few people dancing in front of the stage, though most were pretty mellow in our area. Shout out to the eager pint-sized fan in front of us, though - valiantly belting out every word.
With a little banter from emcees Lana Searle and Adam Percival, the crowd responded to the call of, "Auckland, are you ready for Christmas?" with an enthusiastic cheer, but that waned with a couple of the less mainstream numbers that hit a bit too early in the set for the kids to stay riled up.
'Snoopy's Christmas' is this reviewer's jam, though. And the arrival of Santa to perform the huge hit drew the biggest cheer of the evening so far.
Old mate Santa drew the biggest cheer of the evening. Photo: Supplied / Darren Patterson
Nate Pesata's rendition of Wham's 'Last Christmas' brought a smile (this doesn't count as a Whamageddon loss, right?) and Dillon Rhodes and Nyree Huyser's 'Fairytale of New York' (with slightly adjusted lyrics. It is a family show after all) even elicited a "yeah!" from my gig buddy for the night.
The dancers were polished and impressive from start to finish, and Santa's return to kick off the party end of the night with a Crowded House remix duo with Vince Harder wasn't what I'd have imagined the holly man's go-to ditties were. He did throw in a bit of banter with Harder about being good and delivering presents, though.
Classic Santa.
Hip hop legend Che Fu got almost as big a cheer as the big man himself. He's not one for sparkles or suits, but he still knows how to own a stage and managed to finally get the crowd around us on their feet with 'Misty Frequencies', 'Chains' and 'Fade Away'.
And where Che Fu got the crowd dancing, Georgia Lines got them loud. Kicking off the second half with glow sticks, cell phone lights, a growing crowd against the barrier in front of the stage and plenty of noise, these kids were ready for a rave.
Georgia Lines on stage. Photo: Supplied / Darren Patterson
A very festive, sparkly, Christmas-themed smiley rave, featuring many pop hits.
When Vince Harder, Paul Fagamalo, Iri Aumatangi and Freshmans Dance Crew leapt into a Backstreet Boys and N'Sync medley, I felt like I was caught in a fever dream, and not an entirely comfortable one. It was a feeling that continued when suddenly I was watching a cover of B52s' Love Shack.
But the clear stand-out of the night was Dillon Rhodes cover of Queen's 'Somebody to Love', despite initial mic issues that were quickly resolved. I'm about as knowledgeable on my The Voice history as I am with my annual Christmas concerts, but shit, this guy is good.
Is it OK to swear when reviewing Christmas in the Park?
Equally as impressive was the crowd-pleasing, loud-as-hell firework display that came with the onstage finalé of 'Uptown Funk'. I'd love to say more about that performance, but we moved further to the side to get a better view of the fireworks - which were as loud and impressive as Dillon Rhodes is good.
And seriously. Shit, he's good.
* Amberleigh Jack is a freelance entertainment and lifestyle writer
