The Bats – Hollywood Avondale: March 7, 2026 (13th Floor Concert Review)
The warmth of a late summer evening in Tāmaki Makaurau set the stage for a long-awaited return: The Bats, one of Aotearoa’s most enduring musical institutions, stepping back into an Auckland spotlight. Inside Hollywood Avondale, the anticipation felt almost familial — the sort of atmosphere you get when a beloved band hasn’t graced a local stage for far too long.
Half Sister
Opening duties fell to Half Sister, the local trio whose adventurous, slow-unfolding pop experiments offered the perfect counterbalance to the night’s headliners. The blend of textural synths, restless rhythms, and softly skewed melodies created a curious and inviting soundscape.
Formed in 2022, the group brings together drummer Gary Sullivan (Jean‑Paul Sartre Experience, Solid Gold Hell, Dimmer), keyboardist/vocalist Hermione Johnston, and guitarist Greta Anderson (The Blue Marbles, Superette). Their performance didn’t demand attention so much as coax it, building a sense of exploratory hypnotising calm that felt like an intentional prelude — interesting textures, quirky shifts and gentle curves before the familiar contours of The Bats’ world came into view.
The Bats
From the first notes, the band played with that characteristic unforced ease, the kind that only forms across 40 years of a shared journey.
The set leaned into Corner Coming Up, their eleventh studio album and a release already generating the kind of affection usually reserved for long-established classics. The new material blended seamlessly with the band’s earlier catalogue: chiming guitars, melodic bass figures, gently unspooling vocal lines — hallmarks of a group that has always followed their own path.
Hollywood Avondale proved itself the ideal environment Its soft acoustics and old-cinema intimacy amplified the detailed interplay between Robert Scott, Kaye Woodward, Paul Kean, and Malcolm Grant. On this tour the band is supported by Ryan Fisherman. At times the performance hovered on the edge of dreamlike, especially during the more reflective pieces that highlighted the emotional continuity stretching across their discography.
The audience skewed heavily toward longtime followers who’d grown up with Daddy’s Highway and The Law of Things, with a sprinkling of younger fans. Every familiar intro line was met with knowing grins; every new track was received with the kind of open-minded enthusiasm The Bats’ seem to quietly invite.
Though the set proudly showcased their newest work, the band didn’t shy away from looking back. Older favourites appeared throughout the night like well-timed reminders that while their sound has evolved, its core always remained intact: melodic, unhurrie, upbeat..
The band eased into the night with Lucky Day, a light, sun-washed opener that immediately set a relaxed, optimistic mood. Scott’s understated vocal delivery paired beautifully with Woodward’s bright, chiming guitar lines — a reminder of the group’s unmistakable jangle-pop roots.
Standouts of the front end of the set included Trade in Silence carried a thoughtful, unhurried pulse, with Kean’s melodic bass playing giving the song a quiet lift. It settled everyone into that familiar Bats zone — reflective, but never gloomy. Smoking Her Wings unfolded with a controlled intensity. Grant’s steady drumming grounded the song while the layered guitars spiralled upward, giving it a sense of restrained propulsion. Woodward’s lead turn on Mir was one of the night’s gentlest moments — soft, clear, and warmly received. The harmonies wrapped around her vocal line with effortless grace. Smallest Falls felt like a quiet sketch rendered in fine detail — delicate, intimate, and another reminder of the band’s ability to make smaller songs feel emotionally precise.
Midset tone was anchored by the likes of The Gown which shifted the energy into shadowier terrain. The band’s synchronicity really shone here, with subtle shifts in volume and texture drawing the crowd in close. Thoughtful and beautifully paced, When the Day Comes balanced introspection with melodic clarity. It marked one of the most quietly affecting moments of the set. The beloved cut from Daddy’s Highway, Block of Wood prompted a surge of cheers. Its bright strumming and crisp vocals reaffirmed the enduring charm of The Bats’ early catalogue. Rooftops from The Deep Set arrived like a warm reunion — a song everyone seemed to hold in shared memory. The sparkling guitars and easy chorus made it an instant crowd-pleaser
As we entered the last part of the show there was the deeper, slower-burning selection, Two Lines from The Guilty Office which introduced more space and stillness into the set. Its meditative quality quietened the audience beautifully. Simpletons by comparison was a fit of fun. Crisp and bright, Field of Vision reignited the room’s energy, its interlocking guitars prompting a long burst of applause. Line to the Stars was complex, well structured and lifting.
They closed with one of their defining songs, Made Up in Blue shimmered with its signature melancholy. The audience’s stillness said everything — this was a high emotional point. The encore launched with North by North, a triumphant and crowd-ready pick. The band threw themselves into it with full confidence. Miss These Things was the perfect sign-off for a night steeped in their legacy and reflected the thoughts of both bandmembers and the audience.
This Auckland show formed part of the Strange Universe – Autumn Edition series curated by Banished Music and Strange News — a run of events that treats live music with the care and intentionality it deserves. Within that wider programme, The Bats felt like a natural centrepiece: a living thread connecting eras of New Zealand independent music while still contributing meaningfully to the present.
By the time the last notes dissolved into the room, there was a clear sense that the evening had been more than a simple tour stop. The band have endured far beyond the cycles of fashion that have come and gone around them, and their ability to produce new work as confident and charming as anything from their past is a quiet marvel.
It was a beautifully paced night delivered by musicians whose chemistry remains effortless. Hollywood Avondale proved the perfect venue for a band that thrives on nuance and closeness. (shame about the appalling stage lighting). The Bats continue to stand as one of New Zealand’s remarkable musical treasures, timeless through unwavering authenticity.
Looking around the audience, I wondered if we all fully appreciated the import of the evening. The Bats form a legendary component of the nation’s musical history, core to the Flying Nun sound, deliverers of the classic Daddys Highway with the mesmerising North by North. All four of the original musicians playing together four decades later and what’s more producing new music. A gorgeous, career-spanning set in one of Auckland’s most atmospheric venues. The Bats remain quirky yet brilliant.
John Hastings
Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Chris Zwaagdyk:
The Bats:
Half Sister:
