Live at Spark Arena
26 September 2025
Live Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall
Grinspoon’s ‘Comeback Fire’ Sets Spark Arena Ablaze After 15-Year Hiatus.
When the lights dimmed and that familiar rumble filled Spark Arena, it felt like a pact: that Grinspoon had come home and they weren’t here to play it safe. Fifteen years had passed since their last crack at this stage in Auckland, and from first chord to final encore, they delivered a performance that felt part reunion, part reckoning.
The set opened with “Unknown Pretenders,” the riff crashing in like an electric tide across the crowd. Within seconds, the mosh pit erupted. What began as controlled chaos devolved into full-blown rapture: bodies flying, limbs clashing, sweat and adrenaline mingling. At one point a woman vaulted into the fray and shoved past guys, asserting space, refusing to be sidelined. It was a pit unhinged.
Phil Jamieson strode to the front mic and barked, “Hi, we’re Grinspoon, thanks for having us. It’s been 15 years since we’ve been back here.” With a glass raised, he toasted, “Cheers, big ears!” The crowd roared back.
Across the stage, Joe Hansen held court on bass, decked in a Shihad T-shirt, a respectful nod to the pantheon of Kiwi rock. It was a small gesture, but in that moment it felt like lineage: Aussie import meets Aotearoa kin.
They segued into “Ready 1” and the gap between stage and floor dissolved. Jamieson leapt off amps, raced the edge, nailed landings with rock-star precision. This wasn’t a nostalgia act, it was a reassertion.
As the show unfolded, so did the story: a band that had slipped from hometown glory, but never lost its pulse. Their “Whatever, Whatever” album released in 2024 had already signalled their refusal to fade quietly, and tonight they played with that conviction.
They moved deftly between full-throttle rockers and slower moments of reflection. The crown jewel, of course, was “Chemical Heart.” The pace slowed, the guitars softened, and yet the emotional intensity remained. It was a moment to breathe, but not to rest. They poured themselves into it, nails-to-the-glass, forging connection over decibels.
Jamieson’s stagecraft was magnetic. One moment he’d be crawling across the floor, the next spiralling upward off a stack. He commanded his domain like a man half his age, yet his voice carried the weight of someone who’s lived the highs and the scars. It was a reminder: this band can still bleed rock.
The rhythm section, Hansen on bass and (implicitly) Kris Hopes on drums, held everything fast. Meanwhile, guitarist Pat Davern carved riffs with both grit and melody. In the tighter, quieter moments, the harmonics cut clean; in the heavy passages, the wall of guitars smothered everything. The dynamic range was wide, but never unfocused.
A standout moment came when Grinspoon paid homage to fellow Aussie legends INXS, delivering a powerful take on Don’t Change that only a homegrown rock band could pull off.
Grinspoon’s return to Auckland wasn’t a walk down memory lane. It was a blazing torch passed to the present. Fifteen years out didn’t dull them, it sharpened them. They arrived not to rest on their legacy, but to stake it again.
If they’re going to keep doing this, touring, writing, pushing, then tonight was proof they can. A stadium-worthy set, a pit that ravaged, and an audience that got exactly what it wanted: to feel alive, again, through rock.
Reviewer: Paul Marshall
Photography by Paul Marshall
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