Live at Paraoa Brewing Co.
20 July 2025
Live Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall
Chaos, charisma and a double bass rodeo: 19-Twenty blow the lid off Paraoa Brewing Co.
There’s something wild brewing in the beachside town of Whangaparāoa—and no, it’s not just the IPA on tap at Paraoa Brewing Co. It’s the unrelenting energy of 19-Twenty, the Australian blues-roots-rock trio who turned the intimate venue into a raucous, foot-stomping frenzy Sunday night. The crowd came for a gig. What they got was a genre-defying, full-tilt sonic assault laced with humour, grit, and chaos—and they loved every second of it.
From the first strum of the guitar, frontman Kane Dennelly wasted no time throwing down the gauntlet. His powerhouse vocals—equal parts blues preacher and rockabilly outlaw—pierced through the clatter of clinking glasses like a lightning bolt. By the time Jeremy Berg’s drums thundered in, and John Gwilliam began attacking his double bass with the ferocity of a man possessed, the room had surrendered.
Gwilliam, who plays like the ghost of rockabilly past channelling Flea on upright, is part-musician, part-madman. At one point, he was quite literally riding his double bass like a bucking bronco—flailing, plucking, and somehow still staying in tune. The crowd roared. You can’t make this stuff up.
The boys aren’t just about showmanship, though. When they launch into “Natural Woman” (no, not that one), Dennelly's guitar bounces with a skiffle-swing groove before the band swoops in like a freight train. It’s this blend of roots revival and punk blues that makes 19-Twenty hard to pin down—and impossible to forget.
At one point, as the audience clapped along with tribal intensity, Dennelly laughed and thanked the crowd for “keeping Jeremy in time”—a nod to the band’s humour and freewheeling, no-setlist style. “We just play what we feel,” he confessed. It shows. Every note feels lived in, every lyric half-shouted with conviction, like it was written in a motel room after a long night and too much whisky.
“You’re Not My Problem Anymore”, written by Dennelly and famously performed at Byron Bay Bluesfest on April 20, 2025, was a highlight—brutal, honest, and defiant. The lyric “you’re not my problem anymore” hits like a breakup grenade lobbed with swagger. Knowing it came from a real relationship only adds to the sting.
The finale? “Two & Four”—a stomper that practically demanded audience participation with the catchy lyrics “Let’s Dance on the 2 and the 4”. By now, the crowd was one with the band: clapping, singing, and even dancing. It’s a track that encapsulates the 19-Twenty ethos: dirty, joyous, and loud.
As the last note rang out and the sweat-drenched band took their bows, fans surged to the merch stand, queuing up not just for vinyl and t-shirts—but for a moment. A memory. A handshake from the chaos they’d just survived.
After the show, I caught up with the lads backstage, and there was one burning question I had for Dennelly. Mid-set, 19-Twenty had launched into a hauntingly heartfelt version of Driving With The Brakes On—a deep cut from one of my all-time favourite bands, the mighty Del Amitri, who hail from the misty musical highlands of Scotland. I had to know: how does an Aussie blues-rockabilly trio stumble across a melancholic gem like that? Kane cracked a grin and explained that he first heard it performed live by none other than Colin Hay of Men At Work fame. Struck by its lyrical beauty and emotional weight, Kane tracked it down and taught himself the tune. And learn it he did—though the whole band deserves credit for breathing new life into the song, delivering it with a soulful grit and jazzish swagger all their own. It wasn’t a cover—it was a reinvention. The kind of reinterpretation that earns the right to sit in the same room as the original.
This was the final stop on their whirlwind New Zealand jaunt, but judging by the thunderous ovation and the wide-eyed newcomers clutching fresh vinyl, 19-Twenty won’t be strangers here for long. They didn’t just play Paraoa Brewing Co.—they detonated it.
Recommended Tracks:
- Tramp Stamp
- You’re Not My Problem
- Two & Four
Reviewer: Paul Marshall
Photography by Paul Marshall
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