Enlightening Six60 doco reveals much

The ‘‘Dunedin Sound’’ was never like this. Sure local bands were gaining national, sometimes international attention for their songs when I was growing up in the Edinburgh of the South, but the likes of The Clean, The Chills, The Able Tasmans and Straightjacket Fits never dominated the New Zealand charts, sold out stadiums or even created clear sing-a-longable lyrics.

However, as the entertaining and enlightening Till the Lights Go Out detailedly recounts, the path to success for Six60 has not been a smooth one. Less-thansweet reviews from local music critics, band ructions, fallouts with record labels and a tragic accident have all helped shape the band first formed on

Dunedin rugby fields and a now famous flat on the city’s lessthan-salubrious Castle Street.

In fact, so storied and dramatic is their history that all this needs is a breathless, portentous voiceover and it could be the ultimate Kiwi episode of VH1’s infamous Behind the Music series.

Fortunately, Julia Parnell is a far more sensible and savvy director than that. From The

New Sound of Country through Prime’s excellent Anthems series and last year’s The Chills: The Triumph & Tragedy of Martin Phillipps, she has proven more than adept and adroit at crafting taut and interesting tales and eliciting passion, emotion and unguarded moments from her subjects.

Here, she skilfully weaves together a raft of archival footage with contemporary interviews with all band members past and present: Eli Paewai, Chris Mac,

Ji Fraser, Marlon Gerbes, Matiu Walters and Hoani Matenga. All are given the chance to tell their side of the story, air their past concerns and grievances and – just for a moment – bathe in their success.

Parnell also cleverly, to poorly paraphrase one of the band’s hits, ‘‘doesn’t forget their roots’’, taking each of them back (bar Aussie-born latecomer Mac) to their hometowns so they can relate how their interest in music began. This is actually where some of the most intriguing and revelatory moments play out. Gerbes asks his dad about his early years helping found the Mongrel Mob, while Paewai discusses how he was brought up by his grandparents and aunt.

Singer Walters and lead guitarist Fraser also don’t skirt around the early overuse of alcohol to mask their stagefright, the battle for control of the band and lost opportunities. Walters, in particular, seems frustrated that they haven’t achieved more international success, seemingly due to a combination of their own issues and record labels mishandling them (which included a German label releasing a Euro house version of Forever). In fact, there’s so much male emotion on display it’s likely to give certain exrugby commentators conniptions.

For outsider perspective, Parnell brings in the charismatic duo of Tikki Taane and Stan Walker, while The Spinoff’s Duncan Grieve provides the ‘‘their place in New Zealand’s music history’’ spiel and the boys’ former rugby coach Josh Kronfeld adds colour from the early days.

It’s not all perfect, the boxing allusions and allegories come across a little strong, while the lack of mention about opening for Ed Sheeran on his recordbreaking 2018 New Zealand tour does seem a little strange (Did they enjoy it? Did they learn anything from him?). And although the 2016 balcony collapse is deftly and sensitively handled, it feels odd to have new footage of injured student Bailey Unahi without actually talking to her.

Those quibbles aside, the decision to focus on the build-up to the band’s groundbreaking sell out of Western Springs in 2019 seems like a narratively sensible one, even if it now seems so long ago.

is

❚ currently having a number of ‘‘hometown premieres’’ around the country, before screening nationwide from November 26.

CREDIT: ALDEN WILLIAMS/STUFF Till the Lights Go Out focuses on the lead-up to the band’s groundbreaking, sell-out concert at Western Springs in early 2019.