Holly Arrowsmith with Skyscraper Stan – The Tuning Fork (Concert Review)
A full bill at the Tuning Fork last night saw Tom Cunliffe, and then Skyscraper Stan, open for Holly Arrowsmith. Arrowsmith topped the bill, but she wasn’t the highlight of the show. Cunliffe kicked the evening off with a fairly rudimentary set of by-the-numbers folk numbers, one man and a guitar offering little new to […]
The Others Way Festival
Despite a cold, drizzling rain and an unexpected visit by the fire department, The Others Way Festival can definitely be chalked up as a success. Spread across seven venues along Auckland’s K-Road, it was easy to move around from show to show, the music was diverse and exciting and it sold out. I started my […]
Auckland International Cabaret Season: Opening Night (Concert Review)
The five-day Auckland International Cabaret Season kicked off last night with Tim Finn’s solo show, White Cloud and then a parade of seven female vocalists paying tribute to Billie Holiday inLady Sings The Blues. Tim Finn’s one man show…well, ok, two man…guitarist Brett Adams sat quietly in the corner playing along with Finn’s piano and […]
Jamie Lawson – The Tuning Fork (Concert Review)
Manchester singer-songwriter Jamie Lawson opened to an attentive full house in the Tuning Fork with All Is Beauty, the first of an uninterrupted string of catchy and often achingly beautiful acoustic pop songs, hitting his stride quickly and confidently. His lovelorn serenades are reminiscent of Damien Rice, although not as dark in content and tone. Indeed Lawson […]
Postmodern Jukebox – The Powerstation (Concert Review)
You wouldn’t have thought a jazz covers band would be on a 100-date tour, but thanks to YouTube, Postmodern Jukebox made their Southern Hemisphere debut at a packed Powerstation. PMJ is the brainchild of American musician Scott Bradlee, who takes pop music in a time machine back to likes of ragtime, vintage jazz, doo-wop and […]
SNFU – Whammy bar (Concert Review)
It’s nine o clock and there’s a pretty nice turn out at Whammy already, which is rad as Whammy gigs have a reputation for being late ones (although apparently they are trying to change that; so guys, turn up to gigs at Whammy on time!). There’s plenty of familiar faces, but the older faces, the […]
Hellyeah – The Studio (Concert Review)
Aww Hell No. I arrived at the Studio around 8PM for the Hellyeah gig; I was super looking forward to it, I’ve spoken to Chad Grey a few times and he is a really fuckin’ nice dude. First sign something was amiss was the chained and bolted front doors with a sign saying ‘Hellyeah […]
The Warratahs & Swamp Thing – Tuning Fork (Concert Review)
A bill can be confusing. I read The Tuning Fork’s billing for last night’s show to mean that Swamp Thing and The Warratahs would be playingtogether; oh, what a wonderful noise that would have been. Instead, as drummer Michael Barker explained to me after the show, the idea for last night’s concert came out of […]
Good Riddance – Galatos (Concert Review)
So last night was the night for pop punk legends Good Riddance, and first impression walking in to the always great but oft forgotten Galatos was ‘oh god, it’s a total Sausage Fest (A feeling that intensified throughout the night), but a pretty damn good turn out for a Thursday night in Auckland’. Doors were […]
Marc Ribot – The Tuning Fork (Concert Review)
Guitarist extraordinaire Marc Ribot performed a rare solo acoustic show at Auckland’s Tuning Fork. It was a showcase of intense musicianship that left the assembled fans spellbound, despite the fact that there was very little personal interplay between Ribot and his audience. This was very much a case of an artist letting his music do […]
Lydia Lunch & Retrovirus – The Kings Arms (Concert Review)
Along with her band Retrovirus, Lydia Lunch brought plenty of attitude to The Kings Arms and a performance to justify that attitude. It was, despite the weather, one of the hottest shows of the year…noisy, confrontational, emotional and powerful…the way rock & roll is meant to be. For a brief time it felt like the […]
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Powerstation (Concert Review)
If we’re being charitable, we’ll write off the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion’s show at Auckland’s Powerstation to the fact that the show had been postponed from last Friday night due to an illness in the band. The rescheduling, we’ll allow, can account for the rather disappointing turnout at Wednesday’s show; the illness could explain the […]
Kitty, Daisy & Lewis The Powerstation (Concert Review)
It’s been a lean few weeks for live music…thankfully, the film festival is taking up the slack…so that made the anticipation of seeing Camden siblings Kitty, Daisy & Lewis even greater. The trio have performed there before…Kitty celebrated her 18th birthday there in 2011. This time is was Lewis’ turn to blow out the candles […]
Mimsy Cable – Wine Cellar (Concert Review)
An early Sunday show often has a different mood about it, especially for a more intimate seated gig at the Wine Cellar. Tonight is also special as it’s Mimsy Cable’s first show in four years. She’d been working up to releasing her debut EP, The Coral Reef, for that long, so it felt like […]
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 […]