[Gig Review] One Republic @ TSB Bank Arena, Wellington, NZ - November 17, 2013

[Lazy]

So about 2 weeks back I went to see this. I have taken the time since then to fully appreciate what I saw and think on it.

 

One Republic is a rock/pop band with lead singer Ryan Tedder. They are a five piece band that mixes some great guitar work with some cello, piano, and even some violin.

 

After a lovely opening act from the lovely Ginny Blackmore, the stage crew got to work. First thing to happen was a giant sheet dropping down to cover the stage from view. You could then see people moving on from the sides carrying the musical equipment that was about to transport us to another world. My initial thoughts on this was to hide the setup from the crowd and build anticipation for when they started. How wrong was I...

 

After an intermission to setup, the house lights dimmed, the intermission music ended, and the show that everyone had waited for, begun. So we hear the band start Light it Up and instead of dropping the curtain for a big reveal, they use lights from on stage to do a magical shadow show while they are performing. The coordination of lights and music was beautiful and had the entire how screaming along. Near the end of the song they dropped the curtain to a giant roar from the crowd and finished out the opening song.

 

After the opening song, they did some acoustic songs starting with Secrets, with the cello and violin. This was then followed up by All the Right Moves. After that came Stop and Stare, with Ryan Tedder hitting the awesome high note at the end of the song. Then it seemed we were in for a bit of a treat. A beautiful Spanish guitar solo before the big hit, Counting Stars. 

 

While all of this was ongoing, the lights used for the initial shadow act at the start were used in brilliant conjunction with more multi coloured lights and some smoke/steam shooting out from behind the band. This melded perfectly with the music and showed that hours of coordination and prep work had been well worth it. Also to note was that Ryan Tedder showed great enthusiasm and energy as he was constantly dancing and running up and down the stage. At a couple of points he even perched precariously on a couple of stands at the edge of the stage. 

 

Following this, a piano was wheeled to the fore. Ryan Tedder sat down and played Apologize. While playing the piano was lit up and changed on cue during the song. Tedder then took a moment to interact with the crowd with a sing along back and forth with the crowd to the song I Got a Woman by Ray Charles which then morphed into Gold Digger. This stumbled a bit with the crowd initially repeating the wrong lyrics back to some laughter from Tedder.

 

From here on it was filled with hits in a climatic race to the end of the show. The songs Can't Stop, Something I Need, Preacher and Good Life. This was also filled with more of Tedders jumping and dancing around the stage. Tedder started Good Life by talking about his love for New Zealand and changed the lyrics slightly to reference Wellington instead of London in the intro. Also in here was Life In Colour, however they had changed the lyrics of the song to suit the live performance.

 

After this the Band returned for an encore featuring Burning Bridges, I Lived  and finally If I Lose Myself. During I Lose Myself, Tedder jumped off the stage and right up to the crowd. Held up by security on the barrier and then running up and down the line touching as many fans as possible.

 

Once we got outside, I was feeling a bit drained but still very alive at the same time. Definitely an experience I loved and one I would repeat again if they come to a city near me.

 

 

[Nyanna al'Meara]

Aaaa wowwww, so jelly!!!! I looove One Republic :D great review, I can almost see the gig come alive what a perfect gig for Welly...

[Lazy]

Thanks. It was an amazing night and well worth the flights and all. I was a fan of them for ages and so glad when I found they were coming to NZ (even though it wasnt Christchurch).

[Cass]

Wow! How awesome Lazy! Great review, and I agree with Nya, your description had me imagining the show as if I was there. 

 

I do absolutely love Counting Stars and have recently added all of One Republic's songs to my playlists. Thanks for posting - your review has inspired me to go and check if/when they're playing here, so I can go! *runs off to do just that* 

[BridMorgan]

Lazy - 2

Nya - 1

Eb - 1