Brooke Fraser performs at Spark Arena with the Auckland Philharmonia. Photo: Tom Grut
Review: The crowd waiting to get into Brooke Fraser with the Auckland Philharmonia at Spark Arena was spilling across the road and into the nearby reserve when I arrived. It would later be revealed she drew the venue's biggest crowd ever for a solo New Zealand artist.
Getting in was an as-per-usual slightly difficult affair. My companion and I - and potentially all the other Aucklanders not at the Blues game - spent a soggy 20 minutes trying to get in.
If I am being honest, I would go see The Wiggles if the Auckland Philharmonia is involved. I am an easy mark for an orchestral reinvention of popular music, but Fraser's work is well-suited to it. Her ballads picked up a triumphant tone when the brass and drum sections kicked in, and the flutes and strings were able to emphasise the playful tones on the songs that needed it.
Before Fraser was opener Georgia Lines, her usual fun and bubbly self in between belting numbers. Lines has just released an album, The Rose of Jericho, so most of the songs came from that.
She also played two covers, 'Hine E Hine', which I heard last year when she opened for Bic Runga, and 'When the Party's Over' by Billie Eilish. Like the last time I saw her, Lines easily won the audience over with her charm - no mean feat for an opening act.
Fraser arrived on stage and started with 'Magical Machine' from her fourth album Brutal Romantic. Wearing a red pantsuit and long jacket with some '80s-inspired shoulder pads, Fraser remarked after the song that it was the "most numerous band" she had ever played with, as screens to the side of the stage listed off the members of the orchestra.
Brooke Fraser performs at Spark Arena with the Auckland Philharmonia. Photo: Tom Grut
The second song was 'Better', which had a dark and moody light scheme, quickly followed by 'Betty', which had a much more playful vibe and playful lighting and stage design.
It's hard to pick a singular high point of the two-hour show, so here are a few: two people rushed to the front of the stage while 'Kings and Queens' was playing and put their all into creating a tiny dance party; at one point Fraser warmly admonished the crowd for giggling during an intro, and said we should all think of inflation to help hold that in; and the crowd participation during 'C.S Lewis Song' was on another level.
The orchestra had one of its biggest moments during one of her biggest hits. Fraser explained when she first heard the arrangement she called it "batty", but didn't say what song it was.
The audience waited patiently through the first few seconds, and there was an audible jolt when everyone recognised the first few notes of 'Something in the Water'. It was perfect and playful and made my companion jump in her seat and exclaim "oh, it's this one".
Fraser herself shone in every song, but also in the chatter. She warned us at the start she liked to chat, and oh boy did she. She was funny and personable, filled with stories about her time being a performer over the last 20 or so years, as well as some background on some of the songs - including a currently unnamed song about her youngest daughter and a callout for donations to World Vision as she prepared to sing 'Albertine'.
Georgia Lines performs at Spark Arena. Photo: Tom Grut
There were of course surprise guests aplenty. Georgia Lines reappeared to join in singing new song 'Hourglass', along with Ny Oh. Teeks also made an appearance on 'Who Are We Fooling', and all four paid tribute to Sir Dave Dobbyn and performed a cover of 'Welcome Home'.
In the middle of all that, Fraser made a passionate speech about New Zealand's female artists of the early 2000s, specifically Bic Runga, Boh Runga and Anika Moa, all of whom were in the audience to hear it. They were briefly shown on camera, and it looked like Moa was having the time of her life.
'Arithmetic' and 'Shadowfeet' finished the show, and Fraser ended the night with a standing ovation from across Spark Arena.
She mentioned at the start of the night it would be recorded. I know the second it is available I will be racing to listen to it and relive the evening.
