Fresh from their two-week tour of Australia and New Zealand, Dartz the band were building a drum kit in a random Christchurch backyard shortly before 12pm on Saturday.
Midday marked the first of four cities the band would perform in within 12 hours, all in the name of celebrating crate day.
“Crate day is about everyone coming together on the first day of summer, catching up, having some drinks,” said founder and lead singer Danz.
He acknowledged the binge-drinking culture connected with the day, which began in 2009 as a promotional event for The Rock radio station, but said the day had taken a life of its own.
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Sinead Gill/Stuff
The Dartz, from left – Clark Mathews, Rollyz, Crispy and Danz.
There was hope the culture had shifted over time. In the past, the day had been associated with a spike in alcohol-related injuries and even death in the case of retired doctor, Anton De Croos, in Invercargill in 2020.
“We embrace the ‘share a crate with your mates’ vibe rather than finish a crate yourself situation,” said Clark Mathews, who played bass.
“Our connection to crate day started a few years ago. We piled a bunch of gear into a van in Wellington and drove around the city, and played 14 parties in one day,” he said.
Despite their growth in success since then – including a debut album topping the NZ Album charts in November, a tour across the ditch and an upcoming spot at Laneway festival – they were loyal to their “reputation for crate day shenanigans,” Mathews said.
In the lead up to crate day, the band did a call-out for hosts on social media. Instead of looking for money, Dartz asked hosts to supply the hard-to-travel-with gear like a drum set and amplifiers.
Christchurch resident Sam Elliott saw the post on Twitter and immediately volunteered his backyard in Linwood.
Sinead Gill/Stuff
Dartz lead singer Danz was hopeful the culture would shift towards sharing a crate among a group of friends, rather than try finish one alone.
“I thought I could borrow them [the gear], but nah, I had to hire it,” he said.
It cost him $600, but he said “why not?”
“I’m a fan … they’re probably the most hardworking, gracious, polite band in the country.”
At 2pm the band were on a flight to Wellington, for a 4pm house party before their second flight of the day.
Their Auckland gig was at 8pm, then, after a drive down to Hamilton, 11pm marked their last show of the day.
“I’m terrified,” Mathews said, to which Danz quickly pointed out, “it was your idea”.
Sinead Gill/Stuff
Peter the cat was enjoying the attention during crate day, and was a fan of the music, Elliott said.
“It was, but I’m optimistic … as long as the weather holds out at this specific time in every specific city, we’ll be in for a good one.”
The band described their sound as “if Dave Dobbyn was born in 1995” and “if Kiwi music was put in a blender”.
“Half of it is music, half of it is shenanigans,” Danz said.
