Gig Review: Jordan Luck Band & Ekko Park @ Cosmopolitan Club, Pukekohe – 4/08/2018

The last date in The Jordan Luck Band and Ekko Park tour came to a blinding end at Pukekohe’s Cosmopolitan Club.

With the average demographic well into the forties and fifties (with a smattering of us in the younger generations) it was a night that rocked, whatever your age was.

Kicking things off was the unstoppable Aucklanders, Ekko Park, fronted by their charismatic Irish frontman, Joe Walsh. It was all ears, and even if the majority were there just for Jordan Luck, I could see a fair few nodding their heads in appreciation, after all, Rock doesn’t discriminate.

For an odd choice of venue, it was packed and the crowd jovial, which made for a cool atmosphere. Ekko Park didn’t hold back and played a solid set from their first two albums, 2013’s Tomorrow Tomorrow Today and 2015’s Know Hope, with a smattering of gems from the yet-to-be-unveiled 2018 album, currently in progress. Their set included a blinding cover of Gloria and David Bowie’s Heroes.

If that wasn’t nearly enough for the waiting crowd, Guitarist Alex Hargreaves turned things up a notch by jumping on a table in rock star glory during one of their songs, much to the delight of punters. This is certainly something you wouldn’t typically see at the Cossie Club – making the most out of venues and having fun is what it’s all about and Ekko Park delivered just that.

The man himself, Jordan Luck took to the stage bang on 9:30pm, and within seconds the partly empty floor erupted with a swarm of people that seemingly came out of nowhere, ready and waiting to get their boogie on. Within those few seconds, Jordan Luck had the crowd eating out of his hand, not that it needed much effort with such a willing crowd.

Hit after hit had droves of people cemented firmly on that dance floor all night, including Victoria, How Is the Air Up There and plenty of other Exponents gems. The sound was pitch perfect, which can be hit or miss in any venue, but thankfully they had a fantastic sound engineer at the helm, Kyle.

Added to Jordan’s impeccable stage presence and lovable boyish charm was the rest of band ‘fantasy’ line-up that included Ekko Park’s, Joe Walsh on guitar, Daniel ‘Beaver’ Pooley (formally of The D4) on drums, Bryan Bell (ex-frontman of 90’s outfit, Dead Flowers) on guitar, and former founding member of The D4, Rich Mixture on bass. A hell of a line-up and their energies combined made for a ferocious good night and plenty of sing-a-long national treasures; Hello Sailor‘s Blue Lady (a personal favourite) La La Lulu and the aptly named, I’ll Say Goodbye (Even Though I’m Blue), that Jordan dedicated to Beaver over his recent heartbreak loss.

When all was said and done, they ended the night with a rapturous encore that included fan favourite, Why Does Love Do This To Me, as happy and drunk punters exited the floor, beaming smiles all round from a truly great evening.

_{Review written by Kerry Monaghan}