On the 6th of September, 2025, Tāmaki Makaurau music media and events producer Liam Hansen wrangled four bands into their living room, disguising their 21st birthday as a flat gig inspired by the Eyegum house parties that created spaces for low-cost-high energy live music as venue hire fees in Tāmaki Makaurau fall further and further out of affordability for young bands. Corey Fuimaono, currently of RNZ’s ‘Eight ‘til Late’ and formerly of 95bFM and Aroha Bridge, was there to capture the ruckus of the night, weaving between crowd members to showcase the raw emotion fuelled through the tracks of Neither Do I, Park Flyers, CCTV, and 花溪 Flowerstream that reverberated across the Mount Roskill/Mount Albert suburb border lines the flat sat in limbo between.
Now, “Live At The Void” lives on as an independently produced, edited, and distributed concert film, highlighting the impact and perseverance of DIY live music amidst a cost-of-living crisis, venue shortage, and an abundance of fantastic bands waiting to wrestle back control of the music community from major labels and corporations.
With full sets from each band captured, the film is captioned with context throughout, providing insight and directors commentary into the production of the event and the ensuing film. Crossing independent filmmaking with written journalism and loud music, “Live At The Void” serves as an archive of the Tāmaki Makaurau alternative music community at the tailend of 2025, chronicling the trials and tribulations of the night in the wider context of a music scene persistent to exist against all odds.
