Live at Double Whammy
30 November 2024
Live Music Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall
Erny Belle at The Others Way Music Festival
Having attended more live shows than Gordon Ramsay has recipes, I’ve seen it all—from the painstakingly meticulous to the gloriously chaotic. As a songwriter and musician with an ear for just about every genre under the sun, it was no surprise that tonight’s lineup at The Other Way festival served up something for everyone. In fact, it was nothing short of a sonic smorgasbord, a carefully curated feast of aural sculpting that tantalised every sense.
Erny Belle
Ngāpuhi singer-songwriter Erny Belle, aka Aimee Renata, continues to carve her own dark, immersive path with her sophomore album Not Your Cupid, which dropped in 2023. On a very wet evening in Auckland, she brought the somber tones and intimate storytelling of her album to life onstage, alongside a five-piece band of seasoned session musicians.
From the start, it was clear that Belle’s sound is as raw as it is magnetic. The opening song began with just Renata and her acoustic guitar, her voice vulnerable yet commanding. But then, out of nowhere, an unfortunate burst of feedback ripped through the venue, halting the show for a brief moment. A stunned pause followed as Renata took a breath, composed herself, and dove back into the performance with an almost imperceptible shrug—her quiet strength and unspoken resilience shining through.
The audience, for their part, seemed unfazed by the technical hiccup, appreciating the richness of the music regardless of the minor disruption. But the vibe, at least in the early moments, was more reflective than raucous, with long silences between songs that left the atmosphere feeling a little like a private rehearsal rather than a public gig. The occasional awkwardness in Renata's stage presence, where she avoided direct engagement with the crowd, created a sense of distance. It wasn’t bad, just… unpolished, like we were part of something personal that hadn’t yet reached its full potential. But perhaps that was part of the allure.
Then, in a shift as subtle as it was powerful, Double Whammy illuminated the night with a smoky, dim-lit aura, pulling the room into a completely different space. The barriers between Renata and her audience slowly dissolved, as she began to speak through the music rather than to the room itself. The melancholy beauty of her voice intertwined with the fluidity of the band, creating a hypnotic blend of alt-folk and soul that felt less like a gig and more like an intimate confessional shared between old friends.
Erny Belle’s magic is in her contradictions—there’s darkness in the light, vulnerability in the power, and soul in every chord she plays. By the end of the set, any traces of early awkwardness had melted away, replaced with the kind of quiet enchantment that only someone truly in tune with their art can evoke. As the audience quietly filed out, they left with more than just the memory of a show—they left with a story. And sometimes, that’s exactly what a song is meant to do.
Reviewer: Paul Marshall
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