Live at Whammy
2 September 2026
Live Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall
Three Bands, One Very Loud Wednesday: Buzz, Lipstick & Frank On Tap Turn Whammy Into a Sweatbox
There are two kinds of people on a Wednesday night in Auckland: those already thinking about Thursday morning, and those who have decided Thursday morning can wait.
At Whammy Bar on Wednesday night, I found my people.
“I appreciate all you mid-week warriors who are out on Wednesday. You’re my kind of people,” came the sentiment from the stage, and looking around the room, nobody seemed particularly interested in arguing.
The occasion was a co-headline mini-tour bringing Wellington's Lipstick and Frank On Tap north, with Auckland's Buzz opening the evening. The bill promised loud guitars and plenty of energy. It delivered both, although, as is often the case with young bands playing small rooms, it also delivered a few glorious moments of beautiful chaos.
And that's exactly why we go to gigs like this.
BUZZ — THREE PEOPLE, A LOT OF NOISE AND ONE VERY ANGRY GUITAR
Buzz opened with an instrumental, immediately establishing that this wasn't going to be your polite, ease-into-the-evening kind of set.
A three-piece, drums, bass and guitar/vocals, they play thrash-tinged rock with a sound that's difficult to pin to one particular influence. Young, loose and seemingly fuelled by an enormous reservoir of inner energy, Buzz aren't afraid to let things get messy.
The singer announces, almost casually, that the next song is about clowns.
Then they proceed to sound like the circus has just been set on fire.
The guitarist is the obvious danger man. At one point he pushes his guitar up and down against the foldback monitor, strings-down, effectively using the monitor like a bow against the instrument while distortion pours out of the speakers. Then he drops to his knees, throws himself around and eventually slams the guitar head-first into the floor.
This is not Guitar Centre etiquette.
It's rock 'n' roll self-destruction, and, for a few glorious minutes, it works.
There is genuine emotional weight beneath the aggression too. When the singer delivers the lyric “they cut you down in a little town”, he hits the line with such passion that it lands somewhere between anger and anguish. Then he screams it, turning the lyric into something far more visceral.
The guitar, meanwhile, is taking a beating that would make a roadie reach for the defibrillator.
Eventually, on song five, the battered instrument finally gives up.
For a couple of minutes, there's a genuine technical crisis onstage. But rather than killing the momentum, it becomes part of the spectacle. The guitar eventually springs back to life, although by now it's looking like it has survived a small war. The strap is even held together with gaffer tape after the original guitar loop has broken.
You couldn't buy better rock 'n' roll authenticity.
Their eight-song set includes “Take Me Under”, which initially sounds almost rockabilly in its opening chords before detonating into manic punk-rock territory, complete with screamed vocals.
Then comes “I Feel Better Now”, a song that suggests there's considerably more potential lurking beneath the band's controlled chaos.
When Buzz finish, the audience goes wild.
And judging by the condition of that guitar, so does the insurance company.
LIPSTICK — POLISHED, TALENTED AND READY FOR THE NEXT STEP
If Buzz represented raw nerve endings, Lipstick arrive with a considerably more polished proposition.
The Wellington four-piece have been building a name for themselves in the capital's indie scene since forming in 2023, with three of the original members coming together while studying music at Massey University. Their sophomore EP, Better Ways to Spend the Night, arrived in March 2026, pushing their sound towards darker new-wave textures, driving alternative rock and big melodic hooks.
Live, it's immediately apparent that these are competent musicians.
Lead singer and guitarist Oliver Bailey shares vocal duties with bassist Tyrone Henderson, giving the band an extra dimension that works particularly well when the two voices lock together.
Then there's the bass.
Heavily flanged bass effects have become an important part of Lipstick's sonic identity, adding a wiry, slightly psychedelic texture underneath the guitars.
“Giving It Up Now” is a highlight, a strong, catchy song with the sort of chorus that feels built for a bigger room.
But there is one problem tonight, and unfortunately it's not one the band can completely control.
A faulty effects pedal creates a grounding problem, resulting in one guitar buzzing throughout the set. Between songs the problem becomes particularly noticeable, and in some songs the buzz is downright intrusive.
The bigger issue is musical rather than technical. Many of the songs pound along relentlessly, with everyone seemingly playing at full capacity from beginning to end.
What is missing is light and shade.
Rock music needs dynamics. The loud only becomes truly loud when it's contrasted by something quieter. The biggest chorus needs the intimate verse. The explosion needs the fuse.
Lipstick have the songs and the musicianship. What they're missing is some restraint.
That's the kind of thing a good producer can help unlock.
And, interestingly, the final song demonstrates that the band already have the ingredients. There are dynamics there. They just need to let them breathe.
FRANK ON TAP — THE BAND THAT KNOWS WHERE IT'S GOING
Frank On Tap are perhaps the most developed proposition of the three.
The Auckland-based four-piece have been steadily building their reputation since emerging from the Wellington scene, relocating to Auckland in 2023 and releasing their debut EP Beside You before delivering their debut album At Sixes and Sevens in September 2025.
The album was produced, engineered and mixed by De Stevens and includes tracks such as “Mary & Me,” “Rush,” “Surrender” and “Angels Whisper.”
I've already caught Frank On Tap live at Whammy, just last week, in fact, at Going Global, the NZ music industry conference that brings delegates from around the world to New Zealand to discover the next generation of emerging talent. And that's exactly what I did.
Frank On Tap had just 20 minutes to make an impression, but they certainly made the most of it. Playing in front of a room full of music industry professionals can be a tough gig. The audience tends to be reserved, with everyone seemingly trying to maintain that all-too-familiar industry-cool composure. But Frank On Tap cut through it.
They were explosive.
So tonight was my chance to see what they could do with a full set, in front of a room filled not with industry delegates, but with the general public, people who had come simply to hear the music and have a good night.
And the difference was noticeable.
This was Frank On Tap in their natural environment, and they delivered. Their performance was energetic, confident and full of purpose. Judging by the reaction from the crowd around me, I certainly wasn't the only one witnessing something special taking shape.
Tonight, their experience showed.
They're tight.
They're confident.
And they're beginning to look like a band that knows exactly where it's going.
And importantly, they understand that a live show isn't simply about reproducing the record.
“Sweet Nothing” is greeted by screams and cheers from the audience the moment the band announce it. Clearly, this one belongs to the fans.
And that's one of the great moments of any gig: the split second when an artist names a song and the room tells you, before a note has even been played, exactly how much that song means to them.
Frank On Tap have that connection.
Their music occupies a sweet spot between alternative rock, indie songwriting and a more muscular live attack. Their own description talks about rhythm-driven grooves, layered guitars and a balance between harder material and softer moments and that dynamic ambition is increasingly evident onstage.
They've also developed into a band with genuine live credibility. Their history includes headline shows, an NZ tour and appearances outside New Zealand, while their 2026 schedule has continued to expand that footprint.
The final song of the night is “Angels Whisper.”
It's an appropriate closer, expansive, melodic and big enough to leave the room wanting more.
THE MID-WEEK WARRIORS WIN AGAIN
There is something wonderfully democratic about a small Auckland club on a Wednesday night.
No enormous production.
No VIP barricade.
No pyrotechnics.
Just bands, guitars, drums, bass, a few dodgy cables and a room full of people who would rather be here than anywhere else.
Buzz brought the chaos.
Lipstick brought the polish.
Frank On Tap brought the experience.
None of the three are finished products, and that's precisely what makes nights like this exciting. You can hear the potential. You can see the mistakes. You can watch musicians figuring out exactly who they are in real time.
Buzz may want to invest in a second guitar before the next show.
Lipstick might want to kill a few effects, leave some space and let their songs breathe.
Frank On Tap simply need to keep doing what they're doing.
Because somewhere between the broken guitar strap, the malfunctioning pedal, the shouted choruses, the screaming audience and the inevitable “ONE MORE SONG!”, something important happened at Whammy.
A bunch of young New Zealand musicians reminded everyone that the underground isn't dead.
It's just waiting for Wednesday night.
Reviewer: Paul Marshall
Photography by Paul Marshall
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