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Okilly Dokilly @Wellington San Fran, February 18 2020

Reneducation complete, the evil symbol of Homer Simpson destroyed, Okilly Dokilly wandered back to Springfield a happy bunch.

Whatever preconceived notion you might have about the world’s only band to be based on Simpsons’ character Ned Flanders (genre: nedel), dump them at the door. This is a seriously good band who manage to have a laugh with it and shred their way into oblivion at the same time.

The matching outfits, the moustaches and the quirky names (Head Ned, Shred Ned, Zed Ned and Dread Ned) might seem like a gimmick – and to some extent they are – but Okilly Dokilly have forged their own pigeonhole and now they’re roosting away to their hearts content.

To see punters turn up with fake moustaches, Simpsons tees and the pink polo and green jumper combination was to see a band who have created a whole sub culture for themselves and a following who’ll rip an inflatable donut to shreds because Head Ned told them to.

But you don’t maintain that following by being pants live and the softly spoken Head Ned brings all the Godly charm and respectfulness that you’d expect while growling like a banshee with its nuts in a vice.

Godspeed Little Doodle, Slaughterhouse, Reneducation and more ripped through San Fran before the final apocalypse of White Wine Spritzer sounded the death bells for the show. It’s their best known song, it’s heavy as fuck and if you haven’t heard it’ll probably change your life.

This show followed the key tenants of reneducation, the process by which the band helps the audience get closer to Ned Flanders. Head Ned maintained the aura of Flanders throughout the show and were joined by support band Dr. Colossus’s (the Simpsons based doom metal band) bassist for their encore.

Perfect sound let the charisma of Okilly Dokilly flow through San Fran as they played up to the role they had cast themselves perfectly. The riffs were brutal, the synths jagged away and Dread Ned did God’s work on the drums.

To you this band might seem like a gimmick, but try telling that to a packed Wellington crowd who were treated to a show consisting of a highly charismatic frontman, talented musicians and an audience who went absolutely nuts.