A momentous start to an era of live shows

Six60 have played live to more fans than perhaps any other band since the pandemic began, and the Eden Park show was nothing short of historic.

Successful sell-outs of Western Springs meant the band from Dunedin were simply running out of Auckland venues to play — and that meant setting their sights on arguably the hallmark of New Zealand venues.

The battle to play Eden Park was one the band had been very vocal about. But a council ruling finally let the music play at the stadium well equipped to cater for an eager crowd.

The show marked the beginning of the end of live music disruption the pandemic has forced upon us. And with the red tape gone, it was a moment for New Zealand music that will be remembered for years to come. And the band were prepared for this moment.

They shoulder-tapped a group of legendary musicians and friends: Maimoa, JessB, Troy Kingi & The Clutch, Sir Dave Dobbyn, and Drax Project to support. Recently-knighted Dobbyn was certainly most anticipated among the early comers, and the Eden Parksized singalongs of Slice of Heaven and Welcome Home were excellent. His set began as the sun went down and the stadium filled to capacity. He’s a Kiwi legend who deserved to be a part of this night.

Drax Project’s set was a super high energy switch-up. Their saxophone-backed sound was a shot of electricity and it’s not hard to imagine they too could sell out this venue one day.

But let’s not forget who the 50,000 fans were here to see.

As if on cue, a small rain shower began when Six60 took the stage, but it soon made way.

The band are polished crowdpleasers and they kicked off the night with Don’t Forget Your Roots, a beautiful welcome that seemed low-key at first before the stage lit up to reveal a stunning haka and Ma¯ ori welcome.

“What’s up, Eden Park? You don’t know how long we’ve been waiting to say that, but we’re finally here,” Walters told the crowd with a big grin on his face.

Launching into a string of their early hits, the band seemed, at times, like they were warming up to the massive crowd.

But then Walters belted out stunning high notes during Purple, and the pyrotechnics lit up the stage and it was clear they had complete control over their enthusiastic fans.

During White Lines, they brought out the Defence Force band to level up the song — one of several special moments. They also brought back Drax Project for Catching Feelings.

At two hours, it was a long set. They chose to perform an entire EP of songs back to back because they knew their loyal fans would dance along to every note.

Even in moments where the singalongs dwindled, the dancing and jumping showed the band were maestros of the stadium.

It was fitting the band were the ones to finally let the music play on full volume at Eden Park. The show was the first chapter of a brand new era of live music at the stadium, and Six60 met the moment effortlessly.