Going Global Artist Showcase – Triple Whammy: August 29, 2024

After a long day attending seminars and panel discussions, Going Global attendees let their hair down at the first of two artist showcases which were also open to the general public.

Taking place at “Triple Whammy”…the new Double Whammy split in two plus the original Whammy Bar…12 artists performed 20 minute sets back to back to back starting at 7:40 in the evening. Incredibly and impressively it all ran like clockwork!

With Double Whammy split in two, the second stage was essentially the old Wine Cellar and sure enough, there was Rohan, in his place, doing sound.

I’ll try and give you a brief rundown of each of the 10 acts I caught…

7:40PM: Nikita Tu-Bryant:  The Taiwan-born Kiwi artist was part of a trio known as KITA (they played at last year’s showcase). Now she’s on her own, but tonight getting a little help from Arahi on drums. Nikita knows how to put on a show. She stopped long enough to tell us that she is involved in acting, theatre, acrobatics along with music. She and Arahi got things started on the Double Whammy stage with a dynamic 15-minute set that impressed early patrons.

8:00PM: Ebony Lamb: Sliding over to the original Whammy stage we catch our old friend Ebony Lamb. She, long with bass player Phoebe Johnson and drummer Hikurangi Schaverien-Kaa (who are also in Dateline) came up from Wellington to showcase a handful of songs including My Daughter, My Sister My Son, the opening track from her self-titled album.  A lovely 20-minute, 5-song set, Ebony let us in on what she learned at “Glowing Global“…top tips for a successful showcase which must include mentioning your name from the stage clearly and repeatedly. Got it!

8:20PM: Bella Rafflyn: Bella and her band occupied the Triple Whammy stage and rocked out for a cool 15 minutes with her own brand of grunge pop. Meanwhile, Bella nailed the self-promotion thing employing a minion to hand out flyers titled, “Who The F*ck’s Bella Rafflyn”. It is full of essential info such as who she’s listening to: Broken Bells/The Beths (among others) and her idols: Eddie Vedder and Courtney Barnett (among still others). Definitely one to watch.

8:40PM: Borderline: Not to be confused with Dateline…Borderline are four well-dressed gentlemen who are fans of The 1975, Coldplay and Ed Sheeran. But we won’t hold that against them. Their set had a few technical glitches but they got through it in style, leaving some in the crowd screaming for more.

9:00PM: Bridges: Its back over to original Whammy where Bridges is already on stage. Bridges is Auckland-based singer/songwriter Rachel Hamilton. Outfitted in a white flowing blouse, Bridges transforms Whammy into her own dream-pop den. Her band is: Rāwiri Waters, Bray Jefferys and Sam Nas and they nailed their 20 minutes in the spotlight.

9:20PM: Dateline: Now, for the aforementioned Dateline. We saw Phoebe and Hikurangi backing Ebony Lamb earlier, now it’s their turn to shine. Dateline is the project of Hastings singer-songwriter Katie Everingham. The sound is straight-ahead indie-rock and the crowd loves it. The line-up has been changing over the years but they sound tight tonight. Lots of jangle and lots of energy!

9:40: Half Hexagon: This thing has been going on for two hours and it’s still running on time. We caught Half Hexagon opening for Princess Chelsea a few weeks ago at her David Lynch-themed Mid-Winter show at The Wintergarden. The trio is James Milne (aka Lawrence Arabia) on keys and synths, Julien Dyne on drums and Yolanda Fagan, also of Na Noise and Echo Ohs, on vocals. They are a refreshing change of pace…more experimental and confrontational and just plain weird.

10:00PM: Erny Belle: To the OG Whammy once more for what turns out to be the highlight of the evening for me. No surprise as I’ve caught Erny many times before. Tonight she is seated with an acoustic guitar and accompanied by a full band.

Strumming softly, the 20-minute set starts tentatively, but quickly builds an emotive force as Erny sings …as the crowd readjusts from the wildness that was Half Hexagon.  I notice as the 5-song set progress that Erny seems to draw from the same emotive well as Aldous Harding…not that she’s copying Aldous, but that she possesses a similar quirkiness and intensity that can be somewhat disquieting. The set ends with a slinky Hell Hole from Venus Is Home. I could go home happy right now

10:20: Who Shot Scott: But I stay for Who Shot Scott, the new alternative hip hop project by Iraqi born, New Zealand bred artist/producer Zee (Zaidoon Nasir). A very different vibe from Erny and the energy level sizzles on the old Wine Cellar stage. They’re not my cup of tea, and they play a bit longer than they should have, but they were good fun nonetheless.

10:40: Jujulipps: Packed with plenty of attitude, Jujulipps gives it to us straight and keeps the room pumping. Going global, Jujulipps is South African-born and Auckland based. The showcase is shifting into party mode and Jujulipps is ready to party with her new song, Game Over, which is out today (Friday). Less than 2 hours from release-time Jujulipps has her way with the stage, the song and the crowd. She gets her 15 minutes in and it’s time to go.

Dick Move and Flaxxies are still set to play but bed beckons and I’ve seen both acts enough to know that the crowd will be left in good hands.

There’s more in store tonight and things get underway again at 7:40 with Holly Arrowsmith and other artists expected are Ringlets, Lou’ana and Swallow The Rat. See you there!