#001 R 2011
BE 6 SEPTEM
RUCKS, TRIES & CHORUSES – KEITH QUINN MEETS JORDAN LUCK SCALING MOUNTAINEATER’S WALL OF SOUND THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT – THE WHO STORM WELLINGTON ‘68 COCO SOLID INTRODUCES ‘HOOK UPS’
Whether you put down hard-earned money for last night’s adventures or your name was on the guest list, door stamps serve as spoils from a night out. It was once we got our own stamp for VOLUME that it felt like we’d set the tone for this new thing of ours, freshly-inked newsprint covering music, film, games and culture, served piping hot every Tuesday at key destinations across the country. VOLUME aims to deliver you to the frontlines of pop culture, and we’ve assembled a team of writers, reviewers, photographers and illustrators from New Zealand and beyond to take you there. Think of issue one as a tasting plate of what we’ve lined up for you, a throwback to the gritty, grassroots beginnings of Rolling Stone, The Source and Rip It Up, with content supplemented and enhanced by our web editor Hugh Sundae, serving up extra gravy in the form of photo galleries, video, audio, exclusive album streams and more over at nzherald.co.nz/ entertainment. Welcome to VOLUME – your name’s on the guest list.
EDITOR Sam Wicks sam.wicks@volumemagazine.co.nz WEB EDITOR Hugh Sundae hugh.sundae@nzherald.co.nz DEPARTMENT OF VOLUME SALES John Baker john.baker@volumemagazine.co.nz DESIGN Xanthe Williams and Stephen Czerwonka WRITERS Gavin Bertram, David Carroll, Marty Duda, Keegan Fepuleai, Duncan Greive, Jessica Hansell, Joe Nunweek, Sam Valentine, Christiaan de Wit, Aaron Yap PHOTOGRAPHERS Roger Grauwmeijer, Nick Kingstone, Milana Radojcic AN APN PUBLICATION
SUBTERANNEAN HELPLESSNESS BLUES
HOW DOES IT FEEEEEL?
VOLUME is pleased as punch to present Fleet Foxes in association with Mystery Girl, 95bFM and RadioActive.fm, playing Wellington’s Hunter Lounge in the New Year on Friday 13 January and the Auckland Town Hall on Saturday 14 January – tickets are on sale 9am Thursday 29 September from ticketmaster.co.nz and buytickets.co.nz. Last time Fleet Foxes played Wellington, Robin Pecknold told the crowd they were off to Weta Workshop to meet Richard Taylor and his team. Wonder if they’ll be conjuring up a little Middle Earth pastoral pop this time for The Hobbit?
MADELEINE SAMI How does it feel having the World Cup in town this week? I was in France when we lost to the French a couple of years ago. I saw a grown man cry that evening, and I thought, ‘maybe we take rugby too seriously and we need to diversify a little bit’. I hope we win, but I also hope that if we do lose we don’t get too depressed. Who’s got the best voice in The Sami Sisters? Oh, shit dude – what are you trying to do here? I’d rate myself third and then I’d rate both girls first-equal – Priya’s got a real diva vibe and Anji’s got a smoky, sad vibe. What are you listening to right now? I’ve been listening to a bit of Nirvana and some ELO and Britney Spears – Tame Impala as well. I have pretty eclectic taste. Last question – do you have more fun being a thespian or a muso? I don’t know – I find being a musician more challenging because I’ve done it for less time, and I really enjoy the personalities and the vibe. There’s a lot more room to move with it right now, and I feel like I’m getting my fix. The Sami Sisters play the Going Global Music Summit as part of the REAL New Zealand Festival next Monday on Auckland’s Queens Wharf with Zowie, The Vietnam War, Ghost Wave, The Stereo Bus, Seth Haapu, The Transistors and more. Check realnzfestival.com for seminar and live music showcase details.
MORE FOLDBACK SOPHIA PONCE – DOOR PERSON
I’d describe myself as a ‘door bitch’. Basically I’m in charge of the door; I’m in charge of who goes in and out. I have a few rules here, and they apply to everyone – from the promoter, to the bands, to the venue. I’m always on time so I expect the same. I’m nice but if I’m dealing with an arrogant person, I will give them the same treatment. Sometimes people say, ‘don’t you know who I am?!’ I don’t let people go into the show for free so if they’re not on the guest list, they need to pay. People turn up towards the end of the show and expect a discount – it doesn’t work like that. The door list is closed as soon as the show starts and I don’t take any more names – if a musician forgot their girlfriend or their mum, they have to pay. And they all need a stamp because I don’t have time to ask ‘which band are you from?’
SEND ME A POSTCARD Delaney Davidson is currently on tour in Europe – his song ‘Little Heart’ is a finalist for this year’s APRA Silver Scroll, which will be awarded at the Auckland Town Hall next Tuesday.
THE CAT’S PAJAMAS Neil Finn’s latest project, Pajama Club, sees his better half, Sharon, come to the fore. No longer just the cooler one in the corner, now a bass-wielding rock chick with a sultry voice. Listen for yourself at nzherald.co.nz/music – we’re streaming their album till Sunday night.
Ever synched The Wizard of Oz with The Dark Side of the Moon? Drop the needle on ‘Speak to Me’ on the MGM lion’s third roar for a little prog rock synchronicity. The Wizard of Oz stage show comes to Auckland’s mighty Civic Theatre from this Saturday, and we’ve got two double passes to give away along with two copies of the ‘Experience’ two-disc version of The Dark Side of the Moon. For a chance to scoop the loot, email loot@volumemagazine.co.nz with another example of rock’n’roll serendipity.
CLASS IS IN SESSION
You may not be able to tell from my calm demeanour but apparently I’m full of hate.
A little over a week ago, I had the pleasure of hosting two bands that, when combined, rival all the noise ever created in the world. Cairo Knife Fight and Beastwars were the lineup for our second Sundae Session, a series of ongoing studio sessions recorded and filmed for nzherald.co.nz. It’s a simple idea and we’re certainly not the first to ever film an in–studio session, but good Lord did we nail it. In my yoof I worked on music shows where we’d get bands into sterile TV studios and expect them to perform to a un-sociallylubricated audience... “Okay, be rock’n’roll… NOW!” If we wanted to shoot at actual gigs we’d no doubt knock the guitar tech as we tried for a good shot side-of-stage, or annoy the punters by turning on a sun gun to get a shot of that guy dancing in the front row, blinding the audience in the process. Sundae Session is designed to be a happy medium, set up to get the best quality pictures and sound, and for the bands to have a great time. Cairo Knife Fight and Beastwars played outrageously loud sets, and you’ll get the goods soon enough. Head to nzherald. co.nz/sundaesessions where you’ll find sessions already up from Grand Rapids and Nightchoir. In the meantime, check out the Sonic Reducer live section of this here mag for photos from the latest session.
PROBABLY A GOOD quality to have for a rant called Sundae Roast. Not that this necessarily has to be a weekly dressing down of a chosen target – like many bad promotional campaigns, movies, etc, the name came first and I’ll have to try to make the content fit the title. It’s a pun! Sam’s brief was pretty open. Have a bitch, point to what we’re doing online, have some fun. Thinking back to a night when some friends informed me how much anger I seem to have toward things that weren’t worth the bother (think it had something to do with Top Model), the having-a-bitch part should be easy. That’s not to say I want to slaughter sacred cows for the hell of it; any Sweetman can do that. Unfounded grudges may be a
keen hobby, but I’m trying to cut down – at least out loud. Anyway, there is too much good shit going on around here to worry about Twitter users who think preceding something lame with a hashtag makes it sound less #lame. For one thing, there’s this. Yes VOLUME is the baby of a big media company, but the shiny new phone recording box on my desk isn’t for trying to catch politicians with their pants down. It’s for interviews which you’ll read in these pages and on our website, all part of our endeavour to make your popular culture experience better. Stick around. It’s a pretty good time to be working for an evil corporate.
MORE GRAVY
Street press, magazines, online television, social media – the lines are blurring. Did any part of you want to click on ‘social media’ just then? The stories you’ll read in VOLUME lend themselves to online extras. More photo galleries, video, audio, exclusive album streams. It seems you don’t have to look far to find a World Cup hater (it’s a large international event – it’s going to get a lot of coverage), but getting rock stalwart Jordan Luck in a room with rugby Don and Beatles aficionado Keith Quinn for our first Talking Heads? Brilliant. You had to be there. Luckily we took cameras in…
THE BUSINESS STREET POSTER 2COL NUCHCH_THE BUSINESS STREET POSTER 2COL NUCHCH 30/08/2011 09:24 Page 1
NEW ZEALAND TOUR
NOVEMBER 2011 PLUS GUESTS
UNEDIN D B U L C S N A E MUSICI USIC BAR CHCH H T V O N WED 02 NOV THE VENUE M NGTON THURS 03 NOV BODEGA WELLI UCKLAND FRI 04 THE KINGS ARMS AL GROOVY RECORDS(W(AKELL)L), ORDS Z, REA V SAT 05 NO TICKETS FROM UNDERCTH4ERCOAFFDAEER.C(COH.NCH),ANSDLOCOWSMBOICATCORRECNER (DUNEDIN)
THE HOLY MOUNTAIN
FIVE OF THE BEST 1. High Dependency Unit – Memento Mori (Flying Nun, 2000) Four perfectly formed post-rock marvels from HDU’s later years. 2. Kahu – Okahu (Global Routes, 2005) Bleak, epic guitarscapes form the only entry from Dingemans’ solo project.
Mountaineater’s Tristan Dingemans has found a new lease of life after falling back in love with music. Text Gavin Bertram
AFTER SPENDING ALMOST a decade weaving magic with High Dependency Unit, Tristan Dingemans found himself in a malaise. The Dunedin trio had toured overseas, released a raft of fine EPs and albums, but when HDU essentially called it a day in 2002 he went through a period of barely even listening to music. “For a number of years I lost touch with music utterly,” Dingemans reflects, sitting in the sun by the coffee cart he ably mans in Dunedin’s Exchange. “I used to listen to it every day, and I got to a point where I wasn’t. But it’s returned with a vengeance and it’s amazing.”
“THERE’S ALMOST A RITUAL ASPECT TO IT, IN A POSITIVE WAY.” One of the main reasons for that is Mountaineater, the monumental rock trio that the guitarist/vocalist has been part of for the last three years. But there have also been some major lifestyle changes, which have left Dingemans feeling better than he has in years. He’s more in tune with himself, loving playing music, and looking to the future. There’s a Mountaineater EP on the horizon, a follow up to a seven-inch single the band released in 2009. And this month they’re touring New Zealand with fellow Dunedin band Left Or Right. For these dates Operation Rolling Thunder drummer Rob Falconer will be filling in for regular sticks man Chris Livingston, who has other commitments. “We had the prospect of not doing
the shows and I just couldn’t face that,” Dingemans reflects. “The reason I play music isn’t to make money – it’s to share this thing I’ve discovered and just the sheer joy I get out of playing music. Especially at a gig, the feedback loop is almost exponential. There’s almost a ritual aspect to it, in a positive way.” While he’s careful to avoid overtones of organised religion, the musician agrees that the communion-like aspect of live music is undeniable. That applies both to the connection with the audience, and among the band. It’s something that has clearly developed over the three years Dingemans, Livingston and bassist/ guitarist Anaru Ngata have been playing together. The rhythm section has known each other since childhood, and already shared a strong musical bond that Dingemans was keen to tap when he finally reached the point of starting something new post-HDU. He’d performed solo as Kahu, and continues to, but hungered for the structure and power of a dynamic three-piece again. And with Mountaineater, songwriting is approached differently to the way music was constructed with HDU. “There is definitely a lot of material to draw from,” Dingemans says. “As opposed to HDU, where we would write at the recording studio almost exclusively. I think the music in this context will be better for it because it’s had more time to evolve. I’m setting the challenge for myself to write better songs, and rather than having the lyrics and vocals as an afterthought, it’s a fundamental part of the song and is integral to the structure.”
3. Mountaineater – ‘Mata’/‘Sun Fired’ seven-inch (Monkey Killer Records, 2009) A bombastic, promising first outing from his new outfit. 4. Operation Rolling Thunder – III (Monkey Killer Records, 2010) Dunedin’s Falconer brothers have their own twist on guitar-centric instrumentals. 5. Jakob – Solace (Midium, 2006) Third album from Napier’s wondrous post-rockers, with Dingemans on one track. He’d hoped the band would have started new recordings with veteran HDU engineer Dale Cotton by now, but it’s been a busy year outside the band for the three. However there is the prospect of that EP before year’s end, and the hope of working on an album over summer. Despite the various setbacks, Dingemans is driven to make it happen. “The material is definitely there and I can’t wait to get it done,” he says. “It will get out there. It’s fundamental to my mental wellbeing that it happens. If for whatever reasons it didn’t then I’d feel incomplete. It’s all about that passion, and making more magic.” MOUNTAINEATER AND LEFT OR RIGHT ON TOUR: Sat 10 Sep – Saints & Sinners, Invercargill Fri 16 Sep – Bodega, Wellington Sat 17 Sep – The Kings Arms, Auckland Sat 24 Sep – ReFuel, Dunedin
JORDAN LUCK The Geraldine Kid and the voice of New Zealand rugby are avid fans of our beautiful game. Jordan Luck and Keith Quinn got together for the inaugural Talking Heads to talk rucks, tries and choruses. Photography Ted Baghurst You probably don’t know this Jordan, but ah, I’m a very good singer – I have sung with bands quite often. But the catch is I know my limits, so I only sing one song – one song – and then I walk off. I can do one song from front to back. What is the song? You know it – Chuck Berry – ‘Johnny B. Goode’. (Luck and Quinn start singing). So if you’re ever playing and you see me back five rows from the front, call me up and I’ll just do one song, and then I’ll leave, and I can do it from front-to-back. So, no encore, just leave ’em waiting. I tried an encore once, and it was a disaster ’cause it was a surprise. What was it?! It was ‘Back in the U.S.S.R.’… Oh right.
… by The Beatles. Now I got confused with the rhymes and the guys in the band had to… I should of stuck to my principle of one song. (Luck and Quinn start singing). We better leave it at that. Oh, that would be an encore – easy! And then, following that, you could go on to The Beach Boys.
“BUT JORDAN, IF YOU’RE GOING TO TALK BEATLES, TALK TO ME, YOU TALK TO ME, ALRIGHT?” Well they did ‘Back in the U.S.A.’. Yes. Which is a good song. We’re back to Chuck Berry again, aren’t we really? Well Chuck Berry fascinated me all his life ’cause when I first started being interested in The Beatles, a lot of their early stuff was Chuck Berry’s songs. They did ‘Roll Over Beethoven’, which is very like ‘Johnny B. Goode’, which they also did on those tapes that they did. But they were singing that rock’n’roll stuff – the old story, the sailors would bring the tapes into Liverpool, and The Beatles would listen to the tapes and LPs as they called them then. But Jordan, if you’re going to
& KEITH QUINN talk Beatles, talk to me, you talk to me, alright? Now intriguing about that, because I do believe you saw them live. I saw them live… 1964? 1964 – they came out in mid-June 1964. The Beatles played four shows in Wellington, and they played four shows in Christchurch, four in Auckland, and they played two in Dunedin, so they were here for nearly a week. And I went to the second show on the first night in Wellington. (Luck hugs Quinn). Yep. They were onstage, sang nine songs, and were onstage for 20 minutes – that was the whole show The Beatles sang. They had other acts on the show – there was a band called Sounds Incorporated, and Johnny Devlin, he was on it. I’ve seen those photos. The Beatles played for 22 minutes and then they left – but it was a fantastic 22 minutes. Favourite Beatles track? Ah, side one, track one, first album, “One, two, three, four! She was just 17/ And you know what I mean… ” Oh! That’s my favourite – only because… (Luck sings ‘I Saw Her Standing There’). Do you know, there was a time I put Beatles commentary, Beatles song, into a rugby commentary? There was a game out at Eden Park between the All Blacks and the Wallabies for the Bledisloe Cup, and I was commentating, and Andrew Mehrtens kicked a penalty goal, Andrew Mehrtens kicked another penalty goal, Andrew Mehrtens
kicked another penalty goal, and as the number of penalties mounted, I thought about this White Album by The Beatles, and there’s one track on there that is very unusual – it’s just all sounds. ‘Revolution 9’? Exactly – number nine – there’s a voice in the middle of it going “number nine, number nine, number nine”, right through the song – you’ve heard it. It’s not really a song – it’s a collection of sounds with rhythms. A collage. Exactly – a collage, Jordan. Anyway, so Mehrtens got seven penalties over, and then he got eight penalty goals over, and I was getting so bored of saying “and then there’s another penalty goal over, there’s another one over”, when it came to the one that was going to be the world record number of points, as he lined up and kicked it, it went straight through the posts, I said, “number nine, number nine, number nine…” To watch Jordan Luck and Keith Quinn in conversation, head to nzherald.co.nz/ volume – live from 2pm Tuesday. Keith Quinn is part of the commentary team calling all 48 games of Rugby World Cup 2011 on Maori Television. The Jordan Luck Band plays the Cloud on Auckland’s Queens Wharf on Saturday 15 October.
We have five copies of EMI’s Rucks, Tries & Choruses compilation up for grabs – email loot@volumemagazine.co.nz with your choice of an alternative Rugby World Cup anthem for a chance to win.
A column in which Duncan Greive scours the world’s charts in the hope of finding, if not the perfect beat, then something worth whistling at least. It’s divided into three sections: the world (comprising a chart from a country somewhere on Earth); the net (a chart forged from that ‘domain’) and the locals (a chart from ’round our way). THE NET
I’m opening this section with a chart compiled from Spotify. The Swedish streaming service, with its infinite catalogue and brand new model (never buy music again – just rent it forever) is a very bright spot in a world of stilltanking physical and flatlining digital sales. There are strong rumours out of the majors that it will arrive here before the year is out, and when it does we might be able to get a gawk at the ridiculous levels of data it spews out. For example we could see a chart for ‘what men aged 35-49 in central Wellington listen to on a Friday night’. Maybe that’s too much information. In the meantime we’re relying on sharemyplaylists.com and its worldwide Spotify top 10, which tells you the most playlisted songs, as opposed to most listened to – but it’s pretty informative all the same. You can certainly see why Per Sundin, the head of Universal Sweden, was quoted as reaching straight for the Spotify charts each morning nowadays. So what do they tell us? As you can see from the chart, it’s terrifying in a way – every single one of the top 10 has an enormous 4/4 house beat, with popr’n’b-rap vocals. I can see the appeal – it’s brutish and hypersexual music – but for there to be nothing else at all
is sobering. Because if the major label heads are looking at that, then that’s what they’re commissioning. So expect to see ‘ft. Pitbull/David Guetta’ on almost everything for a while yet.
THE WORLD
So what’s soundtracking the financial apocalypse in Greece? Shockingly, it’s Lykke Li’s wistful, rushing ‘I Follow Rivers’, a song which was barely bNet down here. I guess there’s something about its forlorn outside-looking-in feel that would provide melancholy succour when all around is in ruins. But when they’re done being sad, they party – Pitbull still has his mandatory 30% of the top 10.
THE LOCALS
Our chart is fairly static – that gross Maroon 5 song is still number one. But I’m pleased to see that the New Zealand penchant for Euro-cheese is as strong as ever, via Mr Saxobeat – an outrageously silly video, that one. The only genuinely local song (Kimbra has a claim, but RIANZ aren’t tagging it as such) is Six60’s absurdly-titled ‘Don’t Forget Your Roots’ – apparently as a nation we’re enjoying being admonished about our family ties over plodding pastiche reggae/funk sung by Dunedin student-types. Jolly good.
WORLDWIDE SPOTIFY TOP 10 1 Pitbull ft. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer – ‘Give Me Everything’ 2 LMFAO ft. GoonRock & Lauren Bennett – ‘Party Rock Anthem’ 3 David Guetta ft. Flo Rida & Nicki Minaj – ‘Where Them Girls At’ 4 David Guetta vs. Snoop Dogg – ‘Sweat’ 5 Swedish House Mafia – ‘Save The World’ 6 Pitbull ft. T-Pain – ‘Hey Baby (Drop It to the Floor)’ 7 Chris Brown – ‘Yeah 3x’ 8 Far East Movement ft. Dev & The Cataracs – ‘Like A G6’ 9 Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull – ‘On the Floor’ 10 Flo Rida ft. David Guetta – ‘Club Can’t Handle Me’
GREECE TOP 10 SINGLES CHART 1 Lykke Li – ‘Follow Rivers’ 2 Benny Benassi & Chris Brown – ‘Beautiful People’ 3 Pitbull ft. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer – ‘Give Me Everything’ 4 Imany – ‘You Will Never Know’ 5 Nikos Vertis – ‘An Eisai Ena Asteri’ 6 Pitbull ft. Marc Anthony – ‘Rain Over Me’ 7 Nayer ft. Mohombi & Pitbull – ‘Suave’ 8 Adele – ‘Set Fire to the Rain’ 9 Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera – ‘Moves Like Jagger’ 10 Adele – ‘Rolling in the Deep’
RIANZ TOP 10 NEW ZEALAND SINGLES CHART 1 Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera – ‘Moves Like Jagger’ 2 Gotye ft. Kimbra – ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ 3 Six60 – ‘Don’t Forget Your Roots’ 4 Alexandra Stan – ‘Mr Saxobeat’ 5 Jason DeRulo – ‘It Girl’ 6 Lady Gaga – ‘You And I’ 7 Rihanna – ‘Cheers (Drink To That)’ 8 Adele – ‘Someone Like You’ 9 Adele – ‘Set Fire to the Rain’ 10 Calvin Harris ft. Kelis – ‘Bounce’
TOP FIVES PENNY LANE RECORDS – Christchurch
Satin Panthers (Warp)
Polyfolk Dance and Butter, HudMo’s first two releases for Warp, were true revelations for electronic music lovers around the world. The young Glaswegian managed to glue beats and melodies together in a way that had been absent from the scene since the mid-’90s. Few things could have been more flattering than a raving Benji B of BBC Radio 1 dubbing him the Aphex Twin of hip hop.
MARISSA NADLER Marissa Nadler (Box of Cedar Records) On her fifth album, Boston-based Nadler advances her eerie gothic folk further beyond her waifish singer-songwriter counterparts. The quiet ambition of these songs sees her let characters re-occur from song to song, hide old funk synths in Spaghetti Western melodrama, and lighten her sometimes funereal mood. BLACK PALM Better (Magic Bag) Auckland trio play like a band of extraterrestrials whose only experience of Earth music is transmissions from our recent past. Unfortunately those transmissions appeared to consist solely of The Datsuns and The Have. Competently played but wholly unexciting blues-rock. FALLING IN REVERSE The Drug In Me Is You (Epitaph) Falling In Reverse are rote US popmetal, circa 2011. Perversely
Like previous Hudson Mohawke releases, Satin Panthers is a throwback to times when all record sleeves were seductive eye candies. This one, made by fellow Scotsman Konx-om-pax, couldn’t supplement the music better. As kitsch as the music, the whole package just plays with your greedy record collector instinct. Luckily these five bold tracks don’t disappoint. The intro, ‘Octan’, sounds like an ecstatic beat-less soundtrack to a fairytale for grownups. ‘Thunder Bay’, number two on the track list, is a feast of gabba-style Juno synths, UK Funky rhythms and the accelerated voices that have become HudMo’s trademark over the course of his short career. During the remainder of the EP, two interlude-like cuts build up to the centerpiece of Satin Panthers. Like HudMo’s best work to date, ‘All Your Love’ is pure r’n’b in a glamorous and futuristic context. With a combination of suspense, unearthly vocals and superb beat programming, this is one of the most spectacular electronic tunes of 2011. Review Christiaan de Wit
entertaining in small doses, the full-length shows them up as somewhat cack-handed chancers, mistaking chops for ingenuity. Savvily, they take not one but two shots at riding the Stephanie Meyer bandwagon (‘Raised By Wolves’, ‘I’m Not A Vampire’). JUNIOR BOYS It’s All True (Domino) Not as cohesive as the Canadian duo’s early highlights, but It’s All True has a careening sense of reverence to ’80s Kraftwerk, OMD, and Depeche Mode. Though some of the songs don’t catch under the glossier production, it features some of their highest career highs. TY SEGALL Goodbye Bread (Drag City) If last year’s excellent Melted from Bay Area-based Segall achieved the garage-punk heights of Jay Reatard, this is a lefthand turn. The title track and ‘Comfortable Home’ brim with more conservative pop smarts that might worry some, but it soon develops a fantastically acid-fried edge.
TREVINATOR’S TOP FIVE RECORDS 1: Miles Davis – Bitches Brew 2: Funkadelic – Maggot Brain 3: Foo Fighters – Wasting Light 4: Ramones – Ramones 5: The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds TOM DALTON (Anika Moa/ Datsuns Manager) TOP FIVE TRADE ME PURCHASES 1: Pair of Boland BTX 100 stereo speakers 2: Space Waltz – ‘Space Waltz’ 12-inch (1975) 3: Holden 4 x 12 speaker box 4: The Wetbacks – ‘Out Of the Swamp’ 12-inch (1985) 5: Holden 15 watt practice amp (1973) VOLUME FIVE TOP SHREDDERS 1: 2: 3: 4: 5:
MEMORY TAPES Player Piano (Carpark) Memory Tapes’s early stuff was likeable enough – it cloaked itself in the same reverby mystery as Washed Out and Toro Y Moi. Here, they miss the immersiveness of the former or the effort to avoid repetition from the latter – what we’ve got is a slightly more schizoid Postal Service with awfully tinny percussion. BENJI BOKO Beats, Treats, and All Things Unique (Tru Thoughts) Boko has been picked up by the likes of Calvin Harris as support, some sort of crate digging legitimacy for the plasticy, gimmicky state of British electronica right now. The result ambles along benignly enough – too bright to hate, but too aimless and complacent to ever love. BIG TALK Big Talk (Epitaph) What do The Killers do when Brandon Flowers’
Ben Tawhiti Warren Maxwell Billy TK Snr anytime Brett Tauri from The Smoke Aaron Tokona
Vegas-sized ego fucks off to do a solo album? The drummer opted to keep splitting the difference between the band’s superficial roots-rock reverence and ’80s synth-pop alacrity. Turns out these two things make a satisfactory Goo Goo Dolls tribute. FINK Perfect Darkness (Ninja Tune) Fin Greenall’s blues/folk project continues to inexplicably find a home on Ninja Tune. Popular syllables on this album include “hyyyeah”, “lyaaaaaahh”, and “rahhhhhhnnnbow”. ALKALINE TRIO Damnesia (Epitaph) Illinois pop-punk troubadours reach out to their fans for a compilation of covers of themselves. Listening to this album you feel torn between realising the Alkaline Trio were never really that distinctive, and the guilt of realising you will totally drop coin when Jimmy Eat World do the same thing. Nice Violent Femmes cover on here, though.
On the eve of their third EP release, we meet up with Drab Doo-Riffs front man Karl Steven in the K Road food court to talk tofu, educational philosophy, and rock’n’roll. Text Joe Nunweek Photography Milana Radojcic IF F. SCOTT Fitzgerald once glumly declared that there are no second acts in American lives, Karl Steven appears to be onto his third. Plus an encore or two. The rule, I think as I watch him devour Malaysian tofu and noodles with great gusto, is obviously not universal. The most recent act, Auckland’s Drab Doo-Riffs, has just finished a nationwide tour in its own right with Liam Finn. Exuding a sort of frazzled but chatty energy, Steven is the first to admit to being “knackered”. “Once upon a time it felt like I was able to do it every night. Now, it’s like my
body protracts every late night and every hangover out into the next week and beyond. Like it’s telling me: “what are you doing?” That said, he’s aglow – the tour went well. Frazzled but chatty. It wasn’t always like this. Steven’s best-known project, Supergroove, succumbed to touring. A death by a thousand cuts – “the Australian pub and sports club circuit killed us.” Even then, he was escaping from an environment “that had just got too fucked to continue, had stopped being fun.” The antidote was to throw himself into books – loads of deep thought, lots of theory. “I figured it made sense for someone looking to figure out some sort of system to understand it all
with. And you can either go down the route of philosophy, where you’re given the right questions you need to be asking, or religion, where you can be given all the answers.” Not someone to do things by halves, he threw himself into academia and renounced music. He made it to Cambridge, bearing out gloomy winters and musty libraries to emerge with his doctorate in philosophy. It is not, we agree, the most lucrative path of study ever. “But I hate that sort of thing, the idea that the value of study is connected to its dollar earning value. That’s not why I went into it at all.” And it was in the exhausting home stretches of that study that the pendulum swung back the other way. (“I guess that’s what I do. I kind of get obsessed with a thing until I burn out on it.”) By his own admission, he avoided listening to music for years. And then he started making it again.
WHAT’S IN A NAME? A Drab Doo-Riffs interview in
There’s something refreshing about the Drab Doo-Riffs, even after some two years of raucous performances in and around Auckland. Between Marcus Joyce and Mikey Sperring, they have one of the best rhythm sections in the North Island. Caoimhe Macfehin forms a gentler foil to Steven’s kinetic yelp. Their sound flaunts the nascent sounds of surf, rhythm’n’blues, electric blues. It’s rock before it fattened on extended suites and tape loops and tritones.
“I DON’T THINK I’LL EVER DO MY BIG PSYCHEDELIC OPUS. I’M TOO MUCH OF A POP GUY FOR THAT.” By his own admission, Steven isn’t too big on these digressions. “I don’t think I’ll ever do my big psychedelic opus. I’m too much of a pop guy for that.” It’s a palate cleanser – what better way for a jaded soul to return to music? The first Drab Doo-Riffs songs got written and laid down by dictaphone over in England, but the ease with which a band coalesced around them is striking. Steven speaks affectionately of “a particular
time when all the players have this extraordinary feel and care about the songs, and it’s almost intangible. The songs are hot. Even if there’s a couple of flubbed notes, it feels better than something which is played perfectly but where you can hear how sick everyone is of the whole thing.” Accordingly, the band have blasted out quarter-hour EPs rather than let these songs stagnate for an album. The latest, A Fist Full Of Doo Riffs, is out this week. The band itself is tight – sonically, but as a functioning unit of people as well. “We turn each others weaknesses into strengths. Mikey loses shit all the time, but he likes to drive and be in control, so he’ll drive the van around. Whereas Marcus is a bit more OCD about stuff. So now he keeps the keys so that Mikey can find them when he needs to drive.” Their poster art is all Joyce’s lurid grimaces, the production and arrangements their own. “The industry’s a very different place. Now, we can keep all of those things in-house.” And Auckland? “Auckland,” Steven says, “is a different place. I mean, my fondest memories of Supergroove are when it was small – it was just playing house parties at friends’ places. There wasn’t really anywhere else to go – it was the ’90s, and people didn’t go to see rock’n’roll shows. They all went to nightclubs, you listened to music out of PAs.” Sometimes, it’s not the same when you come back – it’s better. The Drab Doo-Riffs’ A Fist Full Of Doo Riffs EP is out this Friday on Liberation Music.
Rip It Up last year gave the game away – asked for the origin of his latest group’s moniker, Karl simply said: “What do Dune, the second Lord Of The Rings movie, Star Trek: Voyager, Deadwood and Dune have in common?” With all due respect to that venerated publication, it wasn’t the irreconcilable riddle they made it out to be. ‘Drab DooRiffs’ comes from cult horror and fantasy actor Brad Dourif – he of the pallid complexion, soft tone, and chilling gaze. Wormtongue in LOTR, Doc Cochran in Deadwood, the voice of Chucky in Child’s Play. A creep for the ages. Why Dourif? Karl picks up: “We were at this comedy gig, years ago, and we were watching this guy up on stage who was specialising in impersonations. Just a pretty stock-standard repertoire of imitating voices and tics and stuff, then a heckler yelled out ‘Do Brad Dourif!’ And we were just… What? He’s a character actor. How do you begin to do an imitation of a character actor?” Faced with that uphill battle, the poor comic’s ‘drab Dourif’ set the scene for the group. In-jokeyness aside, the flippant, fun name rolls off the tongue. Steven is a fan of Nuggets, the seminal ’60s compilation of garage-punk obscurities, and ‘Drab DooRiffs’ feels like a good fit alongside inscrutable titles like The Shadows Of Knight, Zakary Thaks, and The Cryan Shames. It’s got to be better than just calling your band ‘Tool’.
LENNONYC
Director Michael Epstein (Paramount/Transmission)
WHO IS HARRY NILSSON (AND WHY IS EVERYBODY TALKIN’ ABOUT HIM)? Director John Scheinfeld (LSL Productions)
MY FIRST REACTION before watching this documentary about John Lennon’s decade in New York was sceptical. There has been a parade of films about the late Beatle over the past few years, and it would seem there could be very little new to be said about him. Well, it turns out there is still plenty to learn about Lennon. This two-hour film was originally produced for the American Masters public television series and it is a must-see for anyone remotely interested in Lennon’s life and work. The film is chockfull of previouslyunseen footage of Lennon in the studio, onstage and with his family. Plus the film features newlyrecorded interviews with those closest to Lennon including Yoko Ono, photographer Bob Gruen, and musicians Elton John, Earl Slick and Andy Newmark.
LENNONYC follows John’s career from musician to activist to family man. It portrays its subject as a complex, intelligent artist who certainly wasn’t perfect. One of the most memorable moments comes when Yoko recounts the events that led up to their breakup in 1973. Lennon’s behaviour was humiliating for Ono, and she is to be commended for dealing with the details so publicly. Other highlights include studio outtakes and chatter from Lennon’s recording sessions and a very moving moment when young son Sean sings “With A Little Help From My Friends” to his dad. The perfect companion to the Lennon film is Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him)? Nilsson was Lennon’s drinking buddy during his ‘lost weekend’ in LA. Like Lennon, he was a gifted artist who was far from perfect. Both films give an unflinching look at their subjects and detail their journey from superstardom to alcohol abuse and then redemption. Review Marty Duda
Team McMillan BMW
director Asif Kapada
(Working Title/Universal Films)
SENNA
Director Asif Kapadia (Working Title/Universal Films) IF YOU HAVE zero interest in Formula One racing, then Asif Kapadia’s Senna is a damn fine way to get up to speed (no pun intended) with the professional life of the late Brazilian Formula One champ and his impact on the world of motorsport. The narrative that Kapadia and writer Manish Pandey have managed to pull from 1500 hours of archival tape is so emotionally stirring that it occasionally seems to be about a
person who still feels very much alive, and when Senna’s fatal crash of ’94 in Imola, Italy finally comes, it delivers a strangely fresh shock as if we were watching a live broadcast. After briefly establishing Senna’s humble beginnings as a teenage go-karter, the film launches into his stratospheric rise to fame, and the central conflict that would haunt the rest of the story: Senna vs. former McLaren teammate-turned-nemesis, Frenchman Alain Prost. Eschewing traditional talking heads for voiceover recollections from commentators, close friends and colleagues, it’s an enthralling, fluidlyedited documentary, matching the ecstasy of Senna the Racer with the enigma of Senna the Man who was by turns boyish, charitable, defiant and God-fearing. And if Kapadia’s portrayal veers towards hagiography – the score swells unnecessarily during Senna’s already-moving death – it doesn’t stop the fact that it’s an utterly absorbing yarn that does a bang-up job of capturing the amazing life he led on the track. Review Aaron Yap
SHORT REEL Following the release of West Memphis Three (wm3.org), Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky’s doco Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory will screen with a new happier ending at the New York Film Festival later this month. Martin Scorsese is currently in talks with Leonardo DiCaprio for a remake of the 1974 James Caan film The Gambler. Indie director Jason Eisner, whose ultra-violent grindhouse flick Hobo with a Shotgun blew minds at the New Zealand Film Festival this year, has revealed that his next project will be something similarly grindhouse-y called Blatant Violence High. 1990 medical sci-fi thriller Flatliners is getting remade by Columbia Pictures with Source Code screenwriter Ben Ripley penning the script.
HISTORY MADE...
1968 THE WHO
Jim Pilcher witnessed The Who play the Wellington Town Hall on 31 January, 1968. WE WOULD GET a lot of those package rooms where they were staying – it shows with three or so bands on the was pretty cruddy really. The Beatles bill. Then the ads came out – The Who, stayed at the St. George which was the Small Faces, and Paul Jones. At the the hotel in Wellington at the time. time, they were the punk rockers, the We went down to the Town Hall mod rockers of the music scene. The where they were setting up the gear, Small Faces were huge at the time, The and security was pretty lax. I walked Who were even bigger, and Paul Jones into the auditorium, and there’s all had just left Manfred Mann. this Marshall gear onstage. Also set up The Who had this onstage was Moon’s reputation of smashing Pictures of Lily drum up their gear – it’d cost kit – it was called that a muso here a bloody ’cause it had nudie lifetime’s savings pictures on it. to buy a guitar, and Paul Jones opened here these guys were up the show, and smashing it up! then the Small Faces My friends and I all came out and they went out to the airport blew me away, before to see the plane come The Who blew ’em in. They were these off the stage. I mean, Keith Moon little white skinny Daltrey was swinging and JimPilcher guys – they didn’t have his microphone, and suntans like we did. Townshend was at his very best – big, We found out somehow that they tall, skinny guy, he was. Being it was were staying at the Hotel Waterloo the last night of the tour, everything opposite the Wellington Railway got smashed up. There were smoke Station. I saw Keith Moon standing bombs going off, amps being knocked outside the hotel – we’d heard stories over, Moon’s drums were kicked over. that Moon was a real nutter and you There were some great photos in The couldn’t get close to him. I just said, Evening Post of that final blow-up. ‘do you mind if I have a photo?’ ‘No They came into town, blew it up, and problem at all.’ We went up to their then they were on their way.
TrinityRoots
...AND IN THE MAKING
W/ TYRA HAMMOND AND THE BLUEBIRDS
THE POWERSTATION, AUCKLAND FRIDAY 2 SEPTEMBER Review David Carroll Photography Nick Kingstone TRINITYROOTS’ THIRD COMING saw a refigured lineup coming together to continue the legacy of one of New Zealand’s best-loved bands. The diversity of the crowd underlined the esteem in which Trinity are held, with a fresh blend of deep roots reggae and psychedelic rock only part of their appeal. That undeniable bro-ish charm is undoubtedly another part; yet these are jazz school alumni with serious musical chops, unafraid of stretching songs live every which way. So shit was hype. Anticipation was high. And due to one of the founding members leaving the band only a few months ago, there was genuine excitement: who the fuck
“WHO THE FUCK WAS GOING TO REPLACE STICKS MAN RIKI GOOCH?” was going to replace sticks man Riki Gooch? Opening act Tyra Hammond and The Bluebirds didn’t so much heighten anticipation, as cause a certain amount of restlessness. Everyone loves each of those guys – and Tyra is a genuine star – but a handful of seemingly hurriedly put together blues covers did them no favours. Thankfully they closed with a couple of tracks from the Opensouls’ excellent Standing in the Rain album. Any concerns about the punters’ attention spans were dashed the instant TrinityRoots took the stage, opening with an expansive version of ‘Two By Two’. It must’ve been terrifying for new drummer Jean Pompey to step into this scene, but she showed no sign of nerves, as she set about pummelling her drums right from the outset. Lacking the power of Gooch, she made up for it with her dexterous and busy playing; and the group sounded as cohesive as ever, if
not more so. Her warm vocals were a welcome addition, and the harmonies she, frontman Warren Maxwell and bass player Rio Hunuki Hemopo (alongside the shadowy figure of Mark Vanilau, who added keys and guitar) cooked up stepped the sound to another level. Indeed, an unexpected highlight was Pompey singing Dawn Penn’s ‘No No No’ from behind the drums. From a loping, lolloping ride through ‘The Dream’, a fiercely dubby version of ‘Egos’ and an outstanding reading of ‘Home, Land & Sea’, it was clear to the adoring crowd that, even without one of their cornerstones, TrinityRoots are still capable of laying down music that breaks through barriers, transcends age and race, and unites those who really care to listen. Amen.
AUCKLAND
Jason Mohi Duo – The Crib, Ponsonby, 10:30pm, Free Shae Snell – Sale St, Freemans Bay, 2pm, Free Ra Gossage – Sawmill Cafe, Leigh, 4pm
WEDNESDAY 7
Chung Lao and The Brood – Kings Arms, Newton, 8pm Teenage Kicks – Cassette Number Nine, Auckland CBD, 9pm, Free Jason Eli – Sale St, Freemans Bay, 7:30pm, Free Rewind – The Ginger Minx, Mt Eden, 7pm, Free Chicane – Sugar Bar, Newmarket, 7pm, Free Live Latin and Brazilian Music – The Mexican Cafe, Auckland CBD, 8:30pm, Free Salsa Night – The Kingslander, Kingsland, 8pm, Free Nick Warren Balance Tour 2011 – Flight Lounge, Auckland CBD, 9pm, $35
THURSDAY 8
Annah Mac – Little Stranger Album Release Show – The Basement, Auckland CBD, 7pm, $15 Cassette Allstars ft. Aza Pony, Dirty Uncool, MTron & More – Cassette Number Nine, Auckland CBD, 10pm, Free Sonic Altar with Dakota Scream & Devilskin – Kings Arms, Newton, 8pm, $10 Dave Dobbyn – Howick Club, Howick, 8pm, $55 Shame On Me – Khuja Lounge, Auckland CBD, 8pm, $5
The Nudge
FRIDAY 9
The Nudge – Big Nudge Pie Tour – Golden Dawn, Ponsonby, 8pm, $5 State of Mind & Borderline – InkCoherent, Newton, 10pm, $10–$20 Drab Doo–Riffs – A Fist Full Of Doo Riffs EP Launch – The Winchester, Newton, 8:30pm, $9
MONDAY 12
Going Global Music Summit Showcase – Shed 10, Auckland CBD, 6pm, Free
Panther and The Zoo Panther and The Zoo – More Fun Album Release Tour – Kings Arms, Newton, 8pm, $10 Jazz In The Basement & Dylan C – 1885 Basement, Auckland CBD, 8pm, Free DJ King Salsa – The Mexican Cafe, Auckland CBD, 11pm, Free Punk Rock at Joe’s Diner – Forte Bar, Auckland CBD, 10pm, Free Alizarin Lizard – Mad As a March Hare Tour – Cassette Number Nine, Auckland CBD, 9pm, Free
SATURDAY 10
Clap Clap Riot, Glass Owls & Heavenly Creatures – Kings Arms, Newton, 8pm, $10 Caitlin Smith – Sawmill Cafe, Leigh, 8pm, $20–$25 This Flight Tonight & Guests – Shadows Bar, Auckland CBD, 9pm, $10 Evol Intent ft. Nanotek – Zen Night Club, Auckland CBD, 10pm, $15–$25 DeeWhy & Grant Marshall – Sale St, Freemans Bay, 7pm, Free Pure Trench Bar – Trench Bar, Auckland CBD, 9pm, Free Split Second – The Crib, Ponsonby, 10:30pm, Free The Jordan Luck Band, Ekko Park – Juice Bar at The Windsor Castle, Parnell, 9pm, Free Alizarin Lizard – Mad As a March Hare Tour – Khuja Lounge, Auckland CBD, 9pm, $10
SUNDAY 11
The Sunday Club – Nectar, Kingsland, 3pm, Free
The Vietnam War
COROMANDEL THURSDAY 8
Alizarin Lizard – Mad As a March Hare Tour – Mama Gin’s, Thames, 9pm, $10
WAIKATO FRIDAY 9
Dubrising – FLOW, Hamilton, 10pm, Free Marimba Festival – Musical Milestone – St Paul’s Collegiate School, Hamilton, 4pm
SATURDAY 10
Three Houses Down & Ni–N–Jah – Paeroa & District Memorial Hall, Paeroa, 8pm, $25 Luger Boa & Black River Drive – YOT Club, Raglan, 8pm, $20–$25
SUNDAY 11
Alizarin Lizard – Mad As a March Hare Tour – YOT Club, Raglan, 9pm, $10
HAWKE’S BAY / GISBORNE THURSDAY 8
Eminence & Darklight Corporation – Guns At Dawn Tour – The Cabana, Napier, 8pm, $20
powered by eventfinder.co.nz
BAY OF PLENTY WEDNESDAY 7
Swamp Thing ft. Michael Barker & Grant Haua – The Pheasant Plucker, Rotorua, 8:30pm, Free
THURSDAY 8
Beyondsemble – Opotiki Heritage Arts Centre, Opotiki, 7pm, $25 Bay Salsa – Buddha Lounge, Tauranga, 8pm, $2 LSG Group – The Pheasant Plucker, Rotorua, 9pm, Free
@peace – San Francisco Bath House, 9pm, $15 Live Music Friday – Elaine Abras Trio – Mojo Bond St, 6pm, Free Battle–Ska Galactica presents The Big Welly Ska Night – Bodega, 9:30pm, Free Future Soul – Matterhorn, 10pm, Free
Dave Dobbyn – The Big Top, New Plymouth, 7pm, $40
MANAWATU / WHANGANUI TUESDAY 6
Alizarin Lizard – Mad As a March Hare Tour – Space Monster, Wanganui, 9pm, $10
FRIDAY 9
Eminence & Darklight Corporation – Guns At Dawn Tour – The Royal, Palmerston North, 8pm, $20
SATURDAY 10
House of Shem – Rangataua Hall, Ohakune, 8pm, $30
WELLINGTON WEDNESDAY 7
Cecil & Hercules with Toy Ghost – Mighty Mighty, 8:30pm, $5 Elzhi – San Francisco Bath House, 8pm, $25
THURSDAY 8
Benefit Show for Familia Moja – Mighty Mighty, 8pm, $10 The Gig Before The Storm – Happy, 8pm, $10 No Idea – Hotel Bristol, 8:30pm, Free
FRIDAY 9
Rumbleandscratch D&B Session with Nanotek – Bar Medusa, 9pm, $5
Christchurch Arts Festival – Ed Muzik – North Hagley Park Events Village, 7:30pm, $10 Family Cactus – Spirit Lights Tour – The Blue Pub, Methven, 8:30pm, Free Come for The Honesty, Stay for Ashei – The Venue– Musicbar, 9pm, $5 Christchurch Arts Festival – Electric Wire Hustle Family – North Hagley Park Events Village, 6:30pm, $20
SATURDAY 10
FRIDAY 9
SATURDAY 10
THURSDAY 8
FRIDAY 9
TARANAKI Shihad – The Big Top, New Plymouth, 7pm, $50
CANTERBURY
Roseneath Centennial Ragtime Band
SATURDAY 10
Roseneath Centennial Ragtime Band – Bodega, 10pm 24 Hour Party People – San Francisco Bath House, 9pm, $10 Chow Down – Chow Tory, 10pm Darren Watson & The Real Deal Blues Band – The Lido Cafe, 8:30pm, Free Hard Candy – Mahara Gallery, Waikanae, 12pm, Free Eminence & Darklight Corporation – Guns At Dawn Tour – The Garden Club, 8pm, $20 Horusset NZ Tour – Bar Medusa, 8pm, $10 Killing Bear EP Release Party – Happy, 9pm, $10 Whole Lotta Led Unplugged & Clockwork – Parade Cafe, 8pm, $15 What Happened to the Techno – Sandwiches, 11pm, Free
SUNDAY 11
In Like Flynn with Ainslie Allen – D4 on Featherston, 7pm, Free Sunday Live Music – The Library, 8pm, Free The Boptet – The Lido Cafe, 7pm, Free The Flamingo Trio – Public, 7:30pm, Free Harmony Lane – St James Theatre, 6:30pm, Free
NELSON FRIDAY 9
Honey & Wine – The Boathouse, Nelson, 7:30pm, Free
Christchurch Arts Festival – Electric Wire Hustle Family – North Hagley Park Events Village, 10:00pm, $20 The Shameless Few – Pierside Cafe and Bar, 8:30pm, Free
SUNDAY 11
Christchurch Arts Festival – Island Summer – North Hagley Park Events Village, 1pm, $20
OTAGO TUESDAY 6
Nick Warren Balance Tour 2011 – Debajo, Queenstown, 9pm, $25
FRIDAY 9
Family Cactus – Spirit Lights Tour – Opium, Wanaka, 8:30pm, Free RJMC + DJ Perplex – Revolver Bar, Queenstown, 9:30pm, Free Friday Jazz Club – Les Alpes Restaurant, Queenstown, 7pm, Free
SATURDAY 10
Family Cactus – Spirit Lights Tour – ReFuel Bar, Dunedin, 8:30pm, $15
Kid Kenobi & MC Shureshock (Aust) – Revolver Bar, Queenstown, 10pm, $10–$15
SUNDAY 11
New Edinburgh Folk Club Concert Series: Anna Rugis – The Church, Dunedin, 7:30pm, $15–$20
SOUTHLAND FRIDAY 9
Nirvana Tribute Show – Saints and Sinners, Invercargill, 8pm, $5 Left or Right – Wachner Place, Invercargill, 5pm, Free
SATURDAY 10
Phoenix Foundation: AllAges Concert – Civic Theatre, Invercargill, 8pm, $5 Mountaineater & Left Or Right – Frozon & Freezor NZ Tour – Saints and Sinners, Invercargill, 9pm, $10–$15
CRS Music Management and Brent Eccles Entertainment have just moved to new premises in Morningside... former tenants Native Tongue have moved to Khyber Pass in Newmarket... bFM’s bSTREET 2011 was a big success, with K Road resembling an indie Sunset Strip... the best little bar no one has heard of, the Lucha Lounge in Newmarket, is hosting regular gigs... Rackets impressed at bSTREET, and now the band is making a series of videos called ‘Six Sick Singles’ of A and B-sides... Maureen Gordon, the matriarch of the Kings Arms, just celebrated a significant milestone – Happy Birthday Maureen!... Beastwars and Cairo Knife Fight ripped it up at York Street Studio for the next Sundae Session... Leonie ‘Oi Girl’ Hayden is the new editor of Rip It Up... Golden Dawn has been hosting a wide variety of DJs and events including a sold-out show from Times New Viking – coming up they’ve got Locally Left, a leftleaning political debate featuring Jacinda Ardern, Ben Hurley and Russell Brown, and Wellington’s St Rupertsberg... Tabac has been home to raucous Friday nights – Rekkit hosted by Dylan Cherry has a wealth of new noise-niks in September with Volantes, She’s So Rad, The Brood, God Bows To Math, X-Ray Fiends and more – ex-’80s punkers No Tag (or threequarters of them) recently performed there, and Harry Ratbag can be regularly found spinning gems... SHAFT have a new single out in September... Real Groovy is taking on new tenants, with word of a barber and a tattooist on the way... Going Global Music Summit hits Queens Wharf next Monday with performances from The Sami Sisters, The Vietnam War, The Stereo Bus and more, plus guest speakers from around the globe... The Cavemen, teen delinquents from Western Springs College, were recently given trespass notices after an appearance on bFM’s Fancy New Band slot... ex-Supergroove manager and photographer Stuart Broughton is opening a new gallery at 10 Ponsonby Road called Black Asterisk (blackasterisk.co.nz) this week... Prowler debuted at a housewarming party last week – their first public show’s at Whammy on Thursday 15 September… Viking Weed from Hamilton played with
Beastwars in Whangarei recently and will bring their stoner groove to Tabac in October with Old Loaves and Spook The Horses... Sticky Filth had their first rehearsals in 15 months recently since the two accidents that took both Chris Snowden and Craig Radford out of action – expect a new album through 1157 soon and dates in November... Andrew Tolley’s new group Eyeball Jones debuted recently... working class hero Tourettes’ album release show at Whammy with Alphabethead and Jay Roacher was splendidly decorated by Tanja Thompson (the artist formerly known as Misery)... new Drab DooRiffs’ EP is out soon on delicious 10-inch vinyl, which includes a 3D poster of the band... TrinityRoots debuted new drummer Jean Pompey at a sold-out Powerstation show last Friday... with the impending 20 th anniversary of Nevermind, bFM will be hosting a Nirvana tribute night... a Hallelujah Picassos retrospective is pegged for later in the year – Picasso core!
Paul Huggins’ RPM Records store has just opened... Flying Nun are preparing for November celebrations to mark their 30th birthday... Bodega celebrates 20 years in the same month, and has a busy month coming up with visits from Mountaineater, Left Or Right, the wonderfully named Roseneath Rag Time Band, plus future dates from Galaxie 500 and the Red Hot Chilli Pipers... Going Global hits Wellington next Wednesday with performances from Beastwars, Cairo Knife Fight and more... political punk outfit Fantails just released their new album Shake Your Tail Feather at the Bath House... and what Wellington broadcaster was recently wrapped in a blanket, tied in wire, thrown on the back of a truck, and doused by firemen’s hoses?
Al’s Bar is gone after five years – proprietor Al Park is looking at possibilities for another live venue... Galaxy Records has reopened at The Archive in St Asaph Street... Lyttelton’s live scene is on hold until a plan for the port town is devised – Wunderbar may re-open late-October but there’s no word on El Santo... the Dux has announced a possible
new venue in Addington... The Harbour Union is performing all the main centres plus the APRA Silver Scrolls next week... The Brewery has become the main venue in town though sound issues exist, and The Venue in Hornby is rocking as well... The Transistors just returned from Auckland, doing a live-to-air on bFM, bSTREET and a Roundhead session... yacht clubs, bowling clubs and house parties are hosting events – one such is the House Of Khan which has hosted the Psych Tigers and Trannos... T54 are touring... Ipswich are developing a name for themselves... Von Voin Strum’s ’70s-influenced rock is pricking up ears... RDU’s back, on the street in a specially converted van... Rumble & Bang, the doco on ’60s rebels Chants R&B directed by ex-Newmatic Jeff Smith, played to a full house at the recent film festival in Christchurch – in attendance was drummer Trevor Courtney… this weekend Billy TK joins son Mara TK on stage with Electric Wire Hustle as part of the Christchurch Arts Festival.
James and Olly from The Transistors
Thundercub’s new video for ‘Falcor’ is on YouTube on the back of great Auckland and Wellington shows... the Julian Temple Band’s new album is available on iTunes… The Chills play this Saturday at Urban Factory with Robert Scott and upand-comers Two Cartoons... the Mokopuna record label is due to launch 68 Dunedin acts due to play on the streets during RWC game days... Verlaines and Cut Off Your Hands play Sammy’s on 24 September... Delgirl play the Nelson Arts Festival in October... MANTHYNG’s new album is due to drop next month... a local act has not been chosen as Elton John support.
FRENZAL RHOMB
GOING GLOBAL
If you’re looking to take your music overseas, you can find what you need to know before you go at the Going Global Music Summit, featuring delegates from overseas and a host of local talent. Brought to you by IMNZ, it’s all free and in Auckland on Monday 12 September at Queens Wharf – seminars from midday to 4pm, and live acts including The Sami Sisters, The Transistors, The Vietnam War, The Stereo Bus, Zowie and more. Wellington’s up next on Wednesday 14 with seminars at Wharewaka on the waterfront from midday to 5pm, and a live showcase at the San Francisco Bath House from 6pm featuring Cairo Knife Fight, Beastwars, Iva Lamkum and Family Cactus. For more information, head to indies.co.nz.
FLEET FOXES
Tolkien folk/pastoral Sub Poppers Fleet Foxes have announced two shows in January brought to you by VOLUME. You can see them at Wellington’s Hunter Lounge on Friday 13 January and the Auckland Town Hall on Saturday 14. Tickets on sale from 9am on Thursday 29 September from ticketmaster.co.nz and buytickets.co.nz.
Did these guys ever grow up? Did the singer ever cut off his manky dreads? Find out when the Ocker punkers return to New Zealand for their own shows next month, playing Bodega on Saturday 28 and the Kings Arms on Saturday 29. Tickets from UTR, Real Groovy, Slowboat and Bodega.
EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY One of the last groups we expected ANIKA MOA & BARNABY WEIR
The two songsmiths hit the road for The Acoustic Tour, beginning at Auckland’s Hopetoun Alpha on Thursday 15 September – their tour takes in nooks and crannies nationwide. Congrats on the twins, Anika – now perhaps if you tour you can get some sleep! Full tour dates at eventfinder.co.nz.
to see on Letterman recently, Explosions In The Sky, return for two New Zealand shows in December, playing the Bath House on Thursday 15 and the Kings Arms on Friday 16. Tickets from UTR, Real Groovy, Ponsonby’s Rhythm Records and Slowboat.
RUSSIAN CIRCLES
Hailing from Chicago, instrumental metal titans Russian Circles bring the noise to the Kings Arms on Tuesday 13 September and the Bath House on Thursday 15.
ALICE COOPER
MONO
PORTISHEAD
Geoff Barrow, Beth Gibbons and Adrian Utley bring a full band to Auckland’s Vector Arena on Thursday 10 November. On the European summer circuit, Portishead have been blowing away audiences with a spectacular show dipping into their three albums. Tickets available now from ticketmaster.co.nz.
They played a jaw-dropping performance at their last Auckland show in 2009; now noise architects MONO return in early October for a Kings Arms show with Jakob. Blurring the boundaries between art metal and neo-classical, these Japanese post-rockers have established themselves over the last 12 years as the leading voice of epic majestic noise. MONO play the Kings Arms in Saturday 1 October – tickets available from undertheradar.co.nz.
Vincent Furnier finds time to play Auckland before his golfing tour of Australia starts – will he play anything from Killer, the best Alice Cooper album ever? Cooper brings his all new nightmare to Auckland’s Trust Stadium on Thursday 22 September (Joan Jett’s birthday, innit).
RUMOURS
Roky Erickson, Beirut, Eilen Jewell, Guitar Wolf, The Damned, Mulatu Astatke, Anna Calvi, The Sisters of Mercy, Delaney Davidson, The 5.6.7.8’s, Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears....
DUNEDINMUSIC.COM SIXTH BIRTHDAY REFUEL, DUNEDIN SATURDAY 2 SEPTEMBER
Review Sam Valentine Photography Roger Grauwmeijer FOR A CITY that too often seems sadly concerned with its musical past as opposed its future, it was refreshing to see the Dunedinmusic. com sixth birthday relying heavily on youth and new talent for its celebrations. While still featuring expected performances from its past (read: a bland set from Martin Phillipps) the website-come-record label, designed as a community base for the discussion, promotion and the growth of Dunedin music, also showcased the city’s rapidly burgeoning high school scene. Drawing from the successful Chicks Project, a community initiative to provide mentors and venues
for young performers, sets by the likes of Nirvana devotees The Suds, and the heavy funk of Ostrander Aardvark saw a refreshing naivety on display, the typical angst and boredom of teenage years influencing both sound and performance in its vitality and energy. Featuring 23 acts spread across two stages, it would be impossible to detail all the highs and lows, but Louis Smith easily stood out as an evening highlight. His sneeringly sarcastic set and selfdeprecating Dunedin humour was a
welcome respite, gluing smiles to faces throughout the duration. Closing the night was Thundercub. Never ones to disappoint, the small ReFuel front room was packed as their set began. With a level of instrumental control matched by their wide sonic palate, Thundercub’s mathminded electro-rock was a climatic end to the day. This was a promising celebration of a bright young community, which seems eager to present the future of Dunedin music. Martin who?
SUNDAE SESSION CAIRO KNIFE FIGHT & BEASTWARS
YORK STREET STUDIO, AUCKLAND SUNDAY 28 AUGUST Photography Milana Radojcic
ELECTRIC WIRE HUSTLE SALE ST, AUCKLAND SATURDAY 3 SEPTEMBER Review Keegan Fepuleai Photography Nick Kingstone
SUMMONING THE CROWD with a jam reminiscent of Mara TK’s roots in blues and psychedelic grooves, Electric Wire Hustle announced their intention to bring their unique blend of forward-thinking hip hop, soul and rhythm to Sale St on a crisp Saturday evening in Auckland. The dance floor was quickly transformed into a mass of head nods and spontaneous dancing with ‘They Don’t Want’, joining the dots between Marvin Gaye, J Dilla and Charles Mingus. Setting the tone to simmer with ‘Chaser’, the Wellington trio then went about weaving a selection of material from their debut EP Waters and 2009 album Every Waking Hour.
“JOINING THE DOTS BETWEEN MARVIN GAYE, J DILLA AND CHARLES MINGUS.” 2011 has seen Electric Wire Hustle tour the States and Europe, playing to massive crowds at festivals like Glastonbury and Sonar. Somewhere in between all this touring they have managed to start work on their new album, and all in attendance at Sale St were treated to a taste with new single ‘If These Are The Last Days’. Some of the newer material may have been lost on some in the crowd, but those who are up on the future bass, 2-step, juke and garage scenes coming out of Europe and the States got down to the heavy bass lines, synths and rhythms EWH laid down. Mara TK’s vocal performance was hypnotising, Myele Manzanza’s percussion was on point, and Taay Ninh and Benny Tones’ control of the MPC and keyboards left any further music experiences for the evening surplus to requirements.