Neneh Cherry and Rocketnumbernine – SpiegelTent, Auckland Arts Festival – 4 March 2015
Here I am queueing outside the venue, so polite for a rock n roll gig. Shout out to the guy behind me who knew Neneh Cherry did an album called Raw Like Sushi, and had a song he loved called Seven Degrees. (ah, Seven Seconds, but sure, bro). Once inside, the room is being pumped […]
Check Out These Judas Priest Concert Photos – 4 March 2015
13th Floor photographer David Watson was on the scene at Tuesday’s Westfest show and collected some excellent images with his trusty camera. Click on any image to view the photo gallery.
More Westfest – Mt Smart Stadium – 4 March 2015
Tuesday afternoon is an odd time for a rock festival. Judas Priest’s closing number — I only caught the end of it; I had to work all day — might have better been titled Rockin’ Before Teatime. Theirs is not music that wants to be performed in daylight. As soon as Judas Priest left the […]
Judas Priest, Faith No More & Soundgarden – Westfest 2015 – Mt Smart Stadium 3 March 2017
It seemed a little surreal…watching the leather-clad Judas Priest in the late afternoon sun as they banged out metal classics like Breaking The Law and Living After Midnight. Later the nearly-full moon (out) shined during Soundgarden’s closing set. But overall Westfest 2015 came across as well-organized, well-behaved and LOUD. I arrived at Mt Smart shortly […]
Conor Oberst & The Felice Brothers – The Powerstation
This was one show you didn’t want to be late for. Openers The Felice Brothers alone were worth the trip to the Powerstation and when it was revealed that they would also serve as Conor Oberst’s backing band, well, that sealed the deal, making this one very special night, indeed. Having said that, I was […]
J Mascis – The Studio
You could have been forgiven, were you not a fan of J Mascis, had you not noticed that he had taken the stage at The Studio last night. As a guitar tech finished off a few final adjustments on a cutaway Gibson acoustic, the house lights still up, a man in jeans and a black, […]
Shakey Graves – Tuning Fork
Preconceptions can throw you off. I expected the audience at Shakey Graves’ Tuning Fork show to be older and more laid back. Instead the sold-out crowd seemed to be mostly in their 20s and ready to party. I also expected the music made by the Austin, Texas-based musician to be a mix of country and […]
Peter Hook And The Light – The Studio, 27 February 2015
Before the Happy Mondays and the Stone Roses, long before Oasis, Peter Hook was a mainstay of the Manchester music scene, playing bass first in Joy Division and then, following the death of Ian Curtis, New Order. But New Order are infrequent performers of late, and its members, increasingly, are solo artists. Bernard Sumner, the […]
Finns at the Zoo – Auckland Zoo 27 February 2015
What do you call seven Finns in a rotunda – a flock, a festoon, a filth or a frolic? This is the question posed by New Zealand’s first family of pop as they wrap up a set of magical songs at Auckland Zoo. Crowds arrive with picnic baskets and beach-chairs and stroll through the zoo, […]
Foo Fighters – Mt Smart Stadium 21 February 2015
We review the Foo Fighters at Mt Smart Stadium 3 February 2018 here. Well, they finally made it. A day after their aborted Town Hall benefit show, Dave Grohl led his Foo Fighters through a two hour and 45 minute set at Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium in front of tens of thousands of happy fans. […]
Perfume Genius – The Kings Arms 20 February 2015
Who looks like Doogie Howser, sings like Patti Smith, croons like Chris Martin and tore up the stage like an avant-garde hurricane at the Kings Arms last night? Seattle musician Mike Hadreas, AKA Perfume Genius, that’s who – and next time he comes to Auckland he’s sure to be playing on a bigger stage. The […]
Marlon Williams -The Tuning Fork, 20 February 2015
Marlon Williams seems to have made Auckland’s Tuning Fork his second home. Now based in Melbourne, the Kiwi crooner filled the intimate venue just eight months after his previous headlining show. Last time Marlon was at The Tuning Fork he was aided and abetted by Aldous Harding and Australian songstress Melody Pool. This time around […]
Broods – Auckland Town Hall (Concert Review) 13 Feb 2015
Broods’ debut album Evergreen hasn’t even reached the six-month anniversary of it’s release into the wild but this brother-sister duo from Nelson had no problem filling up Auckland’s Town Hall last night. This was the fourth stop on the Evergreen tour that finishes up tonight in Hamilton. Nashville-based support act HalfNoise – former Paramore drummer […]
King Missile IV – The Kings Arms (Concert Review) 12 Feb 2015
It was a small, but enthusiastic crowd that greeted John S Hall and his latest incarnation of King Missile as they took the stage late on Thursday night at Auckland’s Kings Arms. There had been a parade of opening acts including Lovey Dove, the husband and wife duo of Dan West (guitar) and Azalia Snail […]
CJ Ramone – The Kings Arms (Concert Review)
Presenting himself as something like “the last man standing” (with apologies to Marky Ramone), CJ Ramone paid tribute to his fallen band mates with a solid, if somewhat predictable, set of Ramones tunes, peppered with a few of his own. I was at the Vector Arena earlier in the evening to review Roxette, so when […]
Roxette – Vector Arena (Concert Review) 7 February 2015
Yes, they’ve still got the look, but do they have the sound? Swedish popsters Roxette blew into town last night giving audience members reason to wallow in a bit of nostalgia. As it turned out, it didn’t matter how they sounded as the fans did a fair share of the singing. With most of their […]
Passenger – Civic Theatre (Concert Review) 30 January 2015
“You might have thought Passenger were a band,” Michael Rosenberg told Auckland’s Civic last night. “Auckland, it’s just you, me and a guitar. Is that OK?” The two-thousand strong audience certainly seemed not to mind. Rosenberg, performing since 2009 as Passenger following the breakup of the band of the same name, opened with Rolling Stone, […]
Paul Simon & Sting Vector Arena (Concert Review) 30 January 2015
There were enough musical instruments on stage to stock a good-sized shop as the somewhat unlikely pair of Paul Simon and Sting joined forces (and bands) to sing their own and each other’s songs to a sold-out crowd at Auckland’s Vector Arena. Judging from the smile of Paul Simon’s face as he and his new […]
Laneway Update
Mayor Len Brown is just introducing Mac Demarco as I make my way to the media area to file this report. I’ve just seen Connan Mockasin, Angel Olsen and Courtney Barnett. I’ve gotta say Connan was a bit of a disappointment. His neo-psychedelic noodlings were long and aimless. Much more focussed was Angel Olsen. The […]
Laneway Is Underway!
Auckland’s Laneway Festival has just begun. The sold-out show will be running all day down at Silo Park. The 13th Floor has already scored an interview with Courtney Barnett. You’ll be able to watch Courtney talk about her highly-anticipated new album soon on The 13th Floor. Here’s a photo of Tiny Ruins looking resplendent in […]