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# Gig Review: Park Flyers
- URL: https://www.rootsmag.nz/gig-review-park-flyers/
- Published: 2026-09-09T22:34:41.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-09T22:34:41.000Z
- Author: Ryan Brash
- Tags: Review

28/08/2026, The Welsh Dragon — *Words by Tia Cranefield*

## *“Scared of the Guitar”* 

$5.00 ticket in hand had me expecting a half assed, crappy sound, cramped pub room kind of a show at the Welsh Dragon on a windswept Friday night. Having missed the instantly iconic nature of the **Park Flyers** album release performance at Over the Hill Record Store the previous week, it seemed only reasonable to make the short stroll to the pub. I did so through the welly wind out of curiosity to hear the live sound of a few tracks from the duo's debut record ‘*you’re a real brick.*’

  
I was met with shock, surprise, and wonderful horror. With a space warmed beautifully by two fantastic openers, Park Flyers somehow repainted the entire temperature of the space before their first song began. There was a soft anticipation coming from the compact pub room crowd, a keen suspense heightened by the sound of an old mini Casio keyboard, echoing the tense expectancy coming from the audience.

This was one of the only gigs where I’ve ever felt like ‘something was going to happen.’

And happen it did.

Park Flyers then proceeded to confidently and mercilessly allow their bona fide sound to erupt throughout the room, luring in hypnotised tipplers and minglers from dark corners of the back of the dragon. Despite the harsh, sound reflective, glass ceiling blanketing the performance space, the group delivered a direct, crisp, and well-defined sound, while never losing the deliberately noisy and messy character of the songs.

Raunchy and stiff drum patterns evolving to fluid arrangements, interweaved with desirable precision into the smoothly woven talk of the guitar.

Unpredictable and mysterious storytelling techniques connected me to the music even more so when mixed with the charm of familiar vocal lines that shed vulnerability into the air around the group. Armoured by exceptional musicianship and skill, Park Flyers let their instruments play around the songs, making their two-piece band feel like an orchestra. High energy pieces did not sacrifice emotion but instead uplifted it.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/82/ae/82ae15cc-791b-45a9-a46a-3900b2eee181/content/images/2026/09/the-welsh-dragon-bar.jpg)

The Welsh Dragon. Photo from Trip Advisor

The sound and composition was like nothing I’ve ever heard. Notes fell where I least expected them to be so satisfying, and they had me gloriously horrified at how I could love listening so much, yet be so unaware of what would happen next.

The solidarity between the members of Park Flyers could be seen, heard, and felt onstage, the connection infectious and for lack of a better word, magical. The pair had the audience at their feet, hanging on every chord, snare hit, scream, and whisper.

Park Flyers had me leaving the Welsh scared of the guitar, scared that I was so sure I’d heard all that the instrument had to offer. However, I always find myself overjoyed at the endless creativity that Wellington's live music scene consistently offers, and Park Flyers symbolised that creativity perfectly at The Welsh Dragon $5.00 ticket show.

A band not to be missed under any circumstance.

*Words by Tia Cranefield*