Author: delightfuljon

Categories
Fan Review

Fan Review #1

Well, I’ve just put on 2020-01-16 and am laying on my bedroom floor thinking about the night I saw EnPa in Upper Hutt. We got a First Show debut and a Ticket closer! It was literally FATE that we WENT to Paekakariki for grans’ 80th on the same day they were playing ONLY THEIR SECOND SHOW AND my cousin works at the pie shop they were playing behind, AND he took me over with him to get me out of the house.

I swear nothing in my LIFE has ever meant as much to me as this band. I was RIGHT in front of the cellist the whole time and the whole band was looking into my eyes at some point during the show. I tried to talk Ned into driving me and Pip on a whole ROAD TRIP to see them all over the South Island but of course that didn’t happen and now we may never get another chance again, ever, because now the whole band has left the country!

So much for Enthusiastic Panther being the band of the long white cloud. Why can’t we ever keep anything good? Just when they were building a real fan base at home they fuck off to America to impress the yanks. I mean, I can see going to Canada, I’m going there on a commonwealth exchange programme (hopefully!), Bazza spent 3 months in Toronto on one and said it was absolutely brilliant. But right to Hawaii and California? Honestly!

Saw a reddit thread where some complete nutter Roseann is sleeping with Jesse’s hair!?? She doesn’t even KNOW HIM like I do, I am saving her phone number (250-555-1544) in case anything happens to him. I feel awful because part of me wants them to be happy, but also I don’t want them to sell out so soon in their career, they are JUST getting KNOWN! Hoping they will just come home and spend more time HERE getting famous (OR NOT! They could just settle down with kiwi girls and play locally, nothing wrong with that life right??)

Categories
Statistics

Band Statistics #1

After 9 shows:

Countries visited: 1
Shows performed: 9
Average show score: 52
Best show: Hamilton, NZ (61)
Worst show: Wellington, NZ (37)
Songs in catalogue: 13
Average song score: 53
Highest rated song: 2020-01-21 Blue Orange (Invercargill, NZ)
Lowest rated song: 2020-01-14 The Wave (Wellington, NZ)
Longest song: The First Show (8:20)
Shortest song: Sure (3:15)
Original songs versus covers: 8:1

Categories
Uncategorized

How To Read this Story

Most blogs put the most recent story on the top, but this one is reversed so you can read it from top to bottom. That means you’ll start with show #1, and as you read you’ll make it to the most recent shows.

Most recent show: Edmonton, Canada
Category links: Lore, Infographics, Fan Reviews, Statistics, Reviews
Direct tour links: New Zealand, USA, Canada

Categories
Lore

Lore #1

The “Wavers“
The Wave is a unique song. Most people don’t like it, but for some reason a small and committed group of fans absolutely love it. They bring signs to shows, they organise online as “Wavers” and they analyse the performances where the song makes a rare appearance.

Part of the appeal is that The Wave often has an improvised section by the singer in the latter half of the song. Wavers enjoy the novelty this gives each performance, even as most other fans use the song as a bathroom break.

“The Big Three”
EP has three crowd-pleasing songs called Reload, Blue Orange, and Ticket. But that’s part of the problem. Early in EP’s career, these three songs were a surefire way to win over the crowd because they’re really solid songs.

But fans have taken to calling them “The Big Three,” and not always in a positive way. In the eyes of many hardcore fans, The Big Three are played out and are a sign that the band is lacking confidence in a show.

A concert that doesn’t play any of the Big Three is seen as courageous, and by extension, great. A concert that plays the whole set, which many do, is seen as a bit of a cop-out.

Duke’s Revenge
This song actually broke up the band after they played their best show to date in Hamilton. (2020-01-26) When the band got together 3 months later to prepare for their big US tour, the drummer declared he’d never play the song again.

“Well, your part doesn’t come in for two measures after ours,” the singer pointed out. “So it’s not up to you, is it?” Duke’s Revenge has turned into a bit of a powder keg as a result. The band is convinced that they’ll break up again – maybe even in the middle of a show – if it gets played again.

Categories
Show USA

Show #10: Honolulu, USA

Setlist
Duke’s Revenge, The Wave, Ticket, The First Show, Pixilxil, Four Turtles, Reload

Review
The band decided to play a trick on the drummer, and leads the whole show with Duke’s Revenge. Torn between putting on a good show and standing up for himself, he ends up playing along.

The Wave delights a small percentage of “Wavers” in the audience, but drags down the show. A decent showing, but not great.

Concert rating: 55/100

Details
Date: 22th April, 2020
Concert id: 2020-04-22

Categories
Fan Review

Fan Review #2

Sometimes a song just becomes your whole world! I’m not taking about a jingly ear-worm that you can’t get out of your head, I’m talking about a song that arrests your attention from the first note, tosses you in the back of the squad car, and doesn’t let you go until the last notes have faded.

I was NOT expecting to find a song like that in a shaky video of some concert footage uploaded by one of my guild mates who lives in New Zealand. (Hi Sammie! Yes, I’ll bring my pally on Thursday’s raid). Sammie said I’d love it and they were right! The song is called “The Wave” and the band is the Enthusiastic Panthers, a Kiwi band that’s… MAKING WAVES! Bwahaha! 

As some of you know, I’ve been going through some stuff lately, and “The Wave” just perfectly summed it all up, then wrapped its arms around me and pointed to the way out of all the pain. Every time I listen to it I feel lifted up. So I’ve been playing it, like, all the time. Lol. The melody just holds me close as it blows my mind. The lyrics are my new favorite poem. The drums… that beat powers up my heart. (Their drummer ROCKS!!1!!!). I’ve checked out their other songs and they’re ok, but a little uneven. I think I like Blue Orange second best, but Duke’s Revenge is a track only the band’s mothers could love.  

From their website it looked like they only played small venues around New Zealand, but ZOMG!! They just announced US dates on Twitter!!! THEY’RE COMING TO LA!!! Of course I’m going to see them here on my home turf. After that they’re going to play gigs up the coast and yours truly is going to go on a fangirl road trip! 
I can’t wait to be in the presence of the band and let The Wave wash over me live! 

Mitch and Marie: Drinks are on me for the SF show -which is only fair because this is your notice that I am staying on your sofa. 

Suzette: they’re playing Portland and you should go. I can’t make that date, but goGoGO!!!!

Lamisse: I’m coming up for EP’s Seattle snow. Let’s hang out, but please don’t drag me up the Space Needle *again*. 

Categories
Show USA

Show #12: San Francisco, USA

Setlist
The Wave, On the Low Rung, Blended Together, Lilliput, Duke’s Revenge, Blue Orange

Review
A truly awful show for the band. The Wave kicks things off, which gets a groan from a sizeable portion of the crowd. Then the show manages to get even worse. A subpar rendition of Blue Orange finishes out the set on a bit of a high note, not that most people even stuck around that long.

Concert rating: 44/100

Details
Date: 24th April, 2020
Concert id: 2020-04-24

Categories
Show USA

Show #11: Los Angeles, USA

Setlist
Lilliput[1], Pixilixl, Blue Orange, Ticket, Reload, Sure

[1] Debut

Review
“We have a curse! We have to stop debuting songs at the front of the show!” the drummer yelled backstage.
“We don’t have a curse,” the singer said. “Lilliput is going to work, trust me.”

It did not work. To salvage the show, the band played The Big Three as a triad in the middle of the show. That works, and in fact the band registers their best show to date. Morale is running high after this show, but there continues to be a debate within the band about the “always start with a new song” strategy.

Concert rating: 64/100

Details
Date: 23th April, 2020
Concert id: 2020-04-23

Categories
Show USA

Show #13: Portland, USA

Setlist
Top, Ticket, Waiting for Fred, Pixilixl, Blue Orange, Reload, The First Show

Review
A better show than San Francisco, but a bit uneven. Blue Orange and Reload are standouts but The First Show is not a strong closer.

Concert rating: 63/100

Details:
Date: 25th April, 2020
Concert id: 2020-04-25

Categories
Show USA

Show #15: Missoula, USA

Setlist
F-12[1], Midst[2], High School[3], Patrick Swayze[4], Guyute[5], Celsius[6]

[1-6] Debuts
[5] Phish cover

Review
This concert was arranged at the last minute with a cryptic poster. Online sleuths quickly determined that the “stars and moons” motif in the flag was morse code that spelled out “New Album,” which led to a lot of anticipation leading up to the show.

Even casual fans of the band know that the band has no studio albums, only recordings of live shows. This made the hint “New Album” all the more mysterious. Shouldn’t you have a first album before you can call the next one new?

The concert kicked off with a new song called F-12, but was then followed up with five more, for a total of six brand new songs from the band. The Big Three didn’t make an appearance, and neither did any of their other songs. For people new to the band, it was an average show. But for EP’s rabid fan base, it was an instant classic.

The stand-out songs of the night were in the middle of the show: Midst, High School, and Patrick Swayze. The rendition of Guyute was technically a cover, but thoroughly reworked to feel like a fully EP song.

With that, the short US leg of the tour was over. Up next: Canada!

Concert rating: 55/100

Details
Date: 24th April, 2020
Concert id: 2020-04-24