Greg Johnson – Sky City Theatre: May 2, 2025 (13th Floor Concert Review)
New Zealand Music Month is going well so far, thanks to Greg Johnson’s Vine Street Stories 30th Anniversary Tour.
The Jungle Giants – Powerstation: May 2, 2025 (13th Floor Concert Review)
If you were at the Powerstation in Auckland last night, you were treated to a double dose of indie euphoria. As part of their Hold My Hand tour, Aussie legends The Jungle Giants lit up the room with electric energy.
Gracie Abrams – Spark Arena: April 29, 2025 (13th Floor Concert Review)
Dubbed by many as the heir to Taylor Swift’s storytelling throne, Gracie Abrams lit up a rain-soaked Auckland night with a sold-out show at Spark Arena that proved one thing: sometimes, all you need for an unforgettable evening is a microphone, masterful songwriting, and great lighting.
Supergroove – Auckland Town Hall: April 26, 2025 (13thFloor Concert Review)
A full house turned out to help a reunited Supergroove celebrate their significant musical legacy. Their output was relatively small, but their influence on NZ music was, and still is, huge.
There’s A Tuesday – Double Whammy: April 26, 2025 (13th Floor Concert Review)
There’s A Tuesday brought their Blush Tour to Auckland last night and we sent Azrie Aziz over to Double Whammy to do double duty…to shoot and review the show.
Salt Water Criminals + Awning – Goblin: April 24, 2025 (13th Floor Concert Review)
Both Salt Water Criminals and Awning have just released new nga waiata online. I Believe in Dog is by Salt Water Criminals and Rabbit is by Awning. Both bands are imports, Salt Water Criminals from Ōtepoti and Awning from Poneke, Both bands played (and wowed) at the inaugural Junk Festival last year…. And both bands have members intersecting with each other, and other […]
C. Zukey & Arahi – Whammy Bar: April 23, 2025 (13th Floor Concert Review)
An interesting combination for a Raapa/Wednesday Po/night at Whammy Bar, C. Zukey with his dream pop comparisons to The National, and Arahi, Silver Scroll Nominee and wave-maker with his 2022 debut EP Revelator, full of melancholic melodies and harmonics.
Toto & Christopher Cross – Spark Arena: April 23, 2025 (13th Floor Concert Review)
Toto brought their Dogz of Oz Tour to Auckland along with their buddy and fellow yacht-rocker Christopher Cross.
Chaka Khan – The Civic: April 16, 2025 (13th Floor Concert Review)
American soul/disco/funk diva Chaka Khan packed Auckland’s The Civic on Wednesday night, drawing a crowd made up largely of smiling folks well into their 50s, 60s and 70s. Although there were a few younger fans sprinkled across the grand venue’s red seats, I was – at 52 – one of the least-seasoned patrons.
Bad Manners – Tuning Fork: April 16, 2025 (13th Floor Concert Review)
50 years! Well the genesis was there in 1976, however their first live show wasn’t until 1978. But really, that’s just splitting hairs (pun intended) Bad Manners were a 100+ weeks feature in the British Singles Charts in the early 1980’s, with their take on two-tone and ska. While the onward decades have seen breakup, […]
Mary Ocher & Power Nap – Whammy Bar: April 11, 2025
Some 20 years since she first made her Aotearoa concert debut, European maven Mary Ocher returned with last night to once again, push the envelope in Tamaki Makaurau.
Crash Test Dummies -The Powerstation April 9, 2025 (13th Floor Concert Review)
Some 35 years after forming in Winnipeg, Canada, Crash Test Dummies made their New Zealand concert debut last night at Auckland’s Powerstation and the fans showed up in droves.
Hoodoo Gurus – The Powerstation: April 5, 2025 (13th Floor Concert Review)
Tamaki Makaurau’s affair with Hoodoo Gurus harks back to the mid 1980’s when Ponsonby’s mighty Gluepot still hosted concerts. Way back then, on the 5th (and 6th) October 1984, just over 40 years ago, in the Gluepot, Tamaki Makaurau first experienced these Stoneage Romeos, Hoodoo Gurus, (They also played a private show an extinct hipster […]
The Sex Pistols ft. Frank Carter – Auckland Town Hall: April 2, 2025
Three out of four Sex Pistols can’t be wrong…and when the fourth one is not Johnny Rotten, they prove to still be a very good band.
Dua Lipa – Spark Arena: April 2, 2025 (13th Floor Concert Review)
Dua Lipa brought her Radical Optimism Tour to Auckland’s Spark Arena last night, delivering a tightly choreographed 2-hour set filled with glitter, glamour, and glorious music, proving she is not only well on her way to becoming an immortal entertainer – but that her meteoric rise is only just beginning.
MJ Lenderman & The Wind – The Powerstation: April 1, 2025
April blows in with MJ Lenderman & The Wind at The Powerstation and that’s no foolin’.
Dungeon #25: Clementine, Warm Leather & The Shelves – Whammy: March 27, 2025
While Tamaki Makaurau may have lost a mighty Totara of live music venues several years ago, The Kings Arms Tavern. We are living in a post-covid time of an abundance of cozy, small and intimate venues: 605 Morningside, Cupid, Goblin, Big Fan, Small Gods, The Button Factory, Audio Foundation, are a few, and the latest […]
Search For Yeti – Whammy Bar: March 27, 2025
Search For Yeti conquered at their debut Auckland show at Whammy Bar with support from the brass heavy rock stylings of Moongoat and the increasingly ruckus, jangle-punk of Cowboy Dan.
In Praise Of Older Men – Keeping The Rock & Roll Torch Lit in NZ
This may not be the most popular opinion, but its one I felt I need to share, that of the good work done recently by old dudes like Shihad, The D4 and Guitar Wolf.
Fazerdaze – Powerstation: March 22, 2025 (13th Floor Concert Review)
Fazerdaze, aka Amelia Murray, released Soft Power back in November of 2024 and now the album has finally gotten a live airing at Auckland’s Powerstation, aided and abetted by Amelia’s bandmates, collaborators and friends.