Johnny Marr – Powerstation (Concert Review)
By the time Johnny Marr finished playing How Soon Is Now, the closing song of his main set at The Powerstation tonight, he surely knew that he had played a triumphant show. From the moment he strutted and swaggered onto the tiny stage, looking somewhere between Ron Wood and Liam Gallagher gone mod and joined […]
Ryan Adams – Auckland Town Hall (Concert Review)
One thing about a Ryan Adams show…you never know quite what you’re in for. Before tonight, I’d seen him three times and he had been very good, very bad and somewhere in-between. The evening began with Tiny Ruins. This time around it was just Hollie Fullbrook performing solo and she has been consistently good recently, […]
Bic Runga & Tiny Ruins – The Wintergarden at The Civic (Concert Review)
There was never any doubt that this was going to be a special night of music. Each of these artists has already proven to be among this country’s finest singer-songwriters. The question was, what would they sound like together and what songs would they choose to collaborate on? Click here to read the entire review […]
Gin Wigmore – Powerstation
With a new album only just released this week, Gin Wigmore played her first show in well over a year and Auckland’s Powerstation. On stage, she mentioned she was concerned that her fans may have forgotten her. But there was no need to worry as the venerable venue was packed. If fact, when this […]
SNFU: Drunk on a Boat!
The history of Punk in Canada (let alone the World) can not be told without the mention of these 4 letters: SNFU. In 1996 they rocked Australia and New Zealand and 2015 sees a return of Chi and his motley crew!
Marlon Williams & The Yarra Benders – Crystal Palace (Concert Review)
Auckland’s rickety old Crystal Palace hosted Marlon Williams Album Release Tour. Sure, the old cinema is drafty, and the supports holding up the awning outside caused a few patrons to worry as they stood in line waiting entry, but fortunately Marlon brought the house down in the best (and safest) way possible. Marlon Williams career […]
Seether – Logan Campbell Centre
South African stadium rock band Seether has all the ingredients for greatness. They’ve got the outstanding vocal chops of singer Shaun Morgan, stage presence and energy to spare, and hard-rocking songs that nod to classic bands from The Foo Fighters to Nirvana to Metallica. From the first song of their Auckland show, Seether showed […]
Anika Moa and Julia Deans with the APO – Auckland Town Hall (Concert Review)
Two of New Zealand’s finest singer-songwriters team up with the APO to present unique versions of their tunes. Billed as “Divas,” Anika Moa and Julia Deans displayed none of the negative traits associated with that label. There were no costume changes, no entitled attitudes, just two beautiful voices backed by a stunning orchestra. The last […]
Machine Head – The Studio (Concert Review)
The Machine Head tour has been hugely anticipated, selling out across Australia, and last night was no exception. Machine Head were said to be playing the full two and a half hours with no support, an odd choice; but a great one in the eyes of the legions of fans lining up around the block […]
5 Seconds Of Summer – Vector Arena June 18, 2015
It wasn’t until the penultimate song of their main set at Auckland’s Vector Arena that 5 Seconds Of Summer — 5SOS to the really cool kids — actually became the band they really want to be. 5SOS are not an easy band to pigeonhole. It would be easy to dismiss them as an Australian One […]
Caroles, Te Kooti Brotherhood, Graves, Parents – Lucha Lounge (Concert Review)
What better venue for a hardcore punk show than Newmarket’s Lucha Lounge, where pictures of masked Mexican wrestlers glare threateningly from the walls. The evening opens with Caroles, a heavy three-piece whose primarily instrumental sound ranges from film track gorgeousness to tightly controlled chaos. Their moody set is both sublime and deranged, traversing everything from […]
Don McGlashan – Hopetoun Alpha
Don McGlashan quickly warmed up the chilly Hopetoun Alpha by playing his stunning new album, Lucky Stars, in its entirety, then treating the sold-out crowd to a second set of old favourites. The Hopetoun Alpha is a lovely little venue, but it only holds about 300 or so people for a sit-down concert, so […]
Yngwie Malmsteen – Powerstation
Swedish guitar shredder Yngwie Malmsteen posed and preened his way through a thunderous set of generic metal tunes…using a wall of Marshall amps as his backdrop. It was certainly an impressive sight…a wall of Marshall stacks lined up to cover most of the Powerstation stage and towering at about 8 feet. I felt bad for […]
Josh Rennie-Hynes – Wine Cellar
Auckland greeted the young Australian singer-songwriter with a cold, wet slap in the face. The weather may have kept patrons away from K’Road on this blustery Wednesday night, but those few who braved the elements were treated to a beautifully-nuanced performance. The evening marked the return of Josh Rennie-Hynes, who first toured New Zealand last […]
Bad Manners – Kings Arms
If you saw Douglas Trendle sitting and having a pint at the King’s Arms, you’d likely write him off at the nutter down the pub you’d rather avoid, the UKIP voter with a pitbull under a corner table and a half-looked-at copy of The Sun by his beer tankard. But on stage, Trendle becomes Buster […]
Chick Corea & Herbie Hancock – Civic Theatre
If ever there was needed any evidence to prove the power of music as a real-life fountain of youth, you only needed to watch these two jazz giants, both in their mid-seventies. The more they played together, the faster the years seemed to disappear.
Anika Moa – The Powerstation
Sure, Anika Moa has performed at The Powerstation before, but on this, her first show in support of her latest album, Queen At The Table, we heard an Anika we never heard before in a Powerstation that looked vastly different that it has in the past. I arrived at the venerable venue just as She’s […]
Shihad – The Powerstation
Sometimes bands and venues just seem to naturally fit…The Rolling Stones and the Marquee Club, The Grateful Dead and The Fillmore West, The Ramones and CBGB’s. Here in New Zealand we have Shihad and The Powerstation. The veteran band returned to their natural home to perform their album, Killjoy, celebrating 20 years since its release. […]
Mick Harvey – The Tuning Fork
Perhaps not surprisingly, the vibe at Mick Harvey’s show at Auckland’s Tuning Fork was similar in tone to Nick Cave’s solo shows this past December…just smaller in scale. Harvey delivered a short, emotionally-charged set, fired up by his excellent guitarist JP Shilo. The faithful gathered on this Wednesday night to commune with Mick Harvey and […]
Red Fang – Kings Arms
Last night was the highly anticipated and sold out show for Portland’s Red Fang….And I think the best way to describe it would be ‘clusterfuck’. Problems with visas then delayed flights, the main act didn’t play till about 02:45, by which time I was pissed and tired and sick of being hit on by dude […]