OW. DIG THE GIG UO HEAT 1 seriously brought the energy. Like a moth to a flame, DropKicks was set alight by raw talent and debut performance, and a crowd to match.

The angelic aura that is @beccacaffyn warmed up the PA, and well and truly set the tone for the night to come.

Jesse Hanan, of @_ivynz fame, blessed the crowd with a voice that was for once not operatic in delivery, but equally as engaging; his debut Host with the Most performance. Not bad for a first timer eh.

Monkey Do brought the full package - and it's only the second time they've played live before. Seriously impressed. An eccentric but palatable, fuzzy but smooth, mix of Britpop and pure Rock n Roll. Excited to see Monkey Do's finals performance, congrats on taking out Heat 1!

The recently rebranded "FÜBAR!" were heavy heavy HEAVY players in Heat 1. Rage Against the Machine, plus 2 mindblowing originals, left the audience rattled to the core but still wanting more. It'd be remiss to say that we mightn't be seeing a repeat performance from them down the track...

70's Corn Syrup Explosion (possibly the best band name ever) was a bright addition to a night that was dominated by distortion. These smooth cats brought out the sax, the bop, the groove, and time signature changes that would've made Coltrane himself tingle. Their first ever gig, and it felt as if they had been playing for years. Seriously excited to see what comes of this fresh flame of talent, a spark of musical prowess - we may be in for some serious bangers in the next few years.

Zara Rose was fantastic. Their Radiohead cover was next level (who even has the guts to take on a RadioHead song?!), and Courtney's vocal delivery was strong. Zara Rose had the stage presence to match, and what's better is they're a bit of a Dunedin supergroup, if you will.

DTG OU has started off with a bang, and it looks like we're only going up from here... see you all you good souls this Wednesday at DropKicks for another round of underground goodness.

Seren Stevens thanks for capturing the magic!