Spark Arena Jan 29th 2026
Reviewed by Jeremy Elwood | Photos by Steve McCabe
The Greenstone Summer Concert Tour lineup announcement has, for many, become a highly anticipated moment of finding out which eclectic mix of “wow-are-they-still-alive?” nostalgia acts will be rolling in this time. Past lineups featuring Cold Chisel and Icehouse, or Lynard Skynyrd, 10cc and Starship may feel random, but there’s a definite, deliberate logic at play.
The 2026 edition, held indoors at Auckland’s Spark Arena for the first time following a very successful opening show at Taupo this Saturday last, has a clearer bloodline than some. Iggy Pop and Joan Jett are known in certain circles as the Godfather and Godmother of Punk. They both started in bands which may not have dominated the charts, but whose influence resonates through modern rock music, before going on to successful solo careers marked by a couple of signature songs.
Local openers Zed did dominate the New Zealand charts, and it’s a sobering thought for someone who was there that it happened 25 years ago. In 2000, their debut album Silencer and it’s singles Renegade Fighter and Glorafilia, were literally everywhere. After disbanding in 2004, they reunited for the 20th anniversary of that album, and have been playing and recording since, releasing their third album Future Memory in 2024. The new album takes centre stage for much of their set, and has a distinct late 80s vibe – songs like Face the Rain and Bonfires could easily soundtrack a John Hughes movie, in a good way. Boh Runga joins them on a couple of numbers, and the aforementioned big singles close out a rock-solid hour. It also establishes what will become two overarching themes for the whole show – an incredibly tight band, and flawless sound. It’s possible that for Greenstone’s team, moving indoors and not having to battle the elements for one gig is like taking a night off, but this whole gig is mixed impeccably.
For all their experience, in comparison to the two headliners Zed are still virtual newcomers.
Joan Jett co-founded the Runaways in 1975, and released her self-titled debut album, later re-released as Bad Reputation, in 1980. Honestly, her voice tonight sounds even better than it did then, and alongside her band The Blackhearts she rips through an incredibly impressive set.
It’s a standard fourpiece, with guitarist Dougie Needles having been part of the band since 1999, and bassist Hal B. Selzer and drummer Micheal McDermott becoming Blackhearts in 2015 and 2016 respectively, but they make an enormous sound. It’s Classic American Punk, deeply rooted in 1950’s rock and roll, down to the biker gang look. Joan Jett fronts it with a swagger and mastery that feels as if she’s only now entering her prime.
Unlike many touring US artists in the current climate, Joan Jett addresses the mess in her home country head-on, reading a short speech referencing the events in Minnesota before launching into a fired up take on Change the World. Covers of The Replacements Androgyny – a wry take on gender fluidity, from a band born out of Minneapolis – and Everyday People are perhaps more subtle, but no less clear on her stance. (Jett has always made covers her own, so we’ll ignore the fact that her 1980 single Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah) was originally a hit for Gary Glitter.)
There are a few newer songs here, too, from her 2023 EP Mindsets, but the set is building up to a foursome of back-to-back bangers. Let’s face it, you either love or hate I Love Rock and Roll¸ but in a live setting like this, it’s an absolute monster. When it leads into Crimson and Clover, I Hate Myself for Loving You, and Bad Reputation, any doubts on Jett’s ability to still rock are well and truly put to rest.
Iggy Pop, once the shirtless, self-harming frontman of The Stooges, is 78 now. But apparently no one has told him that. Which is totally understandable, because he still looks and acts like he could smash a bottle and come after you, or himself, with the jagged end.
He hurls himself onstage, and hurls his leather vest off, before the opening chords of TV Eye have even hit the back of the room. Yes, he still performs shirtless, and I’d love to say he looks great for his age, but let’s be fair, Iggy Pop has never looked great for any age. He prowls the stage like a simian shaman, thrusting his microphone out into the audience or into his pants so that he can flail those sinewy limbs about like a wind sock. In contrast to Jett, he front-loads the first half of his set with hits. Raw Power is the second song up, and the title says it all. Passengers and Lust for Life soon follow, a one-two punch that gets the crowd roiling into the closest thing to a mosh pit you can reasonably expect from middle aged summer concert goers. I Wanna Be Your Dog just seals the deal – we’re entirely in his hands.
His seven-piece band are superb, and he obviously respects them – about the only time he actually stays still are when a solo is being played, and he simply stands there, admiring it. They all look half his age – probably younger in the case of the two horn players, who surely couldn’t have imagined when they took trumpet and trombone lessons that they’d end up backing a punk idol who received his lifetime achievement Grammy five years ago. But he shows the same respect for his audience, lighting us up at one point, section by section, to say “I see you. I need you.”
It feels true, and it goes both ways. These are legacy acts, for sure, but their legacy is a living one. Rather than a dusty piece of rock history, this was raw, relevant and reaffirming.
Bravo Greenstone, bring on next summer.
Tickets are still available for the Wanaka show on Saturday 31st January; details here.
