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 […]
Interview with Chad Grey from HellYeah!
HELLYEAH is a Supergroup that lives up to the title. Featuring ex-Mudvayne singer Chad Gray, ex-Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul, ex-Nothingface guitarist Tom Maxwell, bassist Kyle Sanders (ex-Bloodsimple and brother of Mastodon bassist Troy Sanders) and Christian Brady (ex-Überschall) guitar. HELLYEAH are in a league of their own with their own. Their distinct sound and stage presence is best described as pure metallic fury and […]
Oscar-Winning Director Morgan Neville Talks To The 13th Floor
The New Zealand International Film Festival revealed its schedule this week and we here at The 13th Floor are very excited. In the weeks leading up to the festival we’ll be presenting interviews with directors, producers, actors and musicians who have films featured this year. Once the festival gets underway in Auckland we’ll have a […]
Watch Aly Cook’s 13th Floor Video Session
Kiwi country singer has just touched down in Italy, beginning a European tour in support of her new album, Horseshoe Rodeo Hotel. Just before she took flight, Aly stopped by The 13th Floor to talk to Marty Duda and play a couple of songs from the new album. So, watch here as Aly Cook, along […]
Watch Aly Cook Perform Midnight Cowboys at The 13th Floor
Kiwi country singer Aly Cook has just released her second album, Horseshoe Rodeo Hotel. She, along with a couple of her bandmates stopped by The 13th Floor to talk to Marty Duda and perform a couple of songs. We’ll have the entire session ready soon, but in the mean time, here they are playing Midnight […]
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 […]
Watch Hopetoun Brown’s 13th Floor Video Session!
Here’s another in our series of 13th Floor video sessions. This time its Hopetoun Brown, an act that possesses a truly unique approach to making music. They are Nick Atkinson and Tim Stewart, who also serve as the horn section for Supergroove. They begin their tour of New Zealand this Thursday at Auckland’s Freida Margolis […]
Bands For Blankets (Concert Photos)
This past weekend Auckland’s Thirsty Dog Tavern, located on K’ Rd, hosted the Bands For Blankets Benefit to help out the Auckland City Mission. For the price of a coat or blanket to be donated to the Mission, patrons were treated to a lineup of some of New Zealand’s most rockin’ bands. 13th Floor photographer […]
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 […]
RIP: Ornette Coleman
Jazz great Ornette Colemnan has passed away at the age of 85. His contribution to music was immeaasurable. For more information, read this obituary from The New York Times. Click here to listen to Ornette Coleman’s recording of Lonely Woman from the 1959 album The Shape Of Jazz To Come:
Watch AC/DC Concert Promoter Garry Van Edmond
Yesterday, promoter Garry Van Egmond announced two AC/DC New Zealand tour dates. The veteran promoter also sat down with The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda to talk about the ins and louts of the concert promotion business. The Australian-based promoter has been putting on shows since the mid-1970s…one of his first tours was The Bee Gees. […]
Johnny Marr Winner!
Congratulations go out to Paul Douglas who named The The as one of the many bands Johnny Marr has played with other than The Smiths. Paul has won a double pass to see Johnny Marr perform at Auckland’s Powerstation on Thursday, July 16th. See you there!
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 […]
Watch Shaun Kirk’s 13th Floor Video Session
Australian blues man Shaun Kirk kicked off his 2015 New Zealand tour with a show at Auckland’s Tuning Fork last night. A day earlier he stopped by The 13th Floor studio to play a couple of songs and talk to Marty Duda. Shaun played a rousing version of Two Hands On The Wheel and then […]
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 […]
Watch Shaun Kirk perform ‘Two Hands On The Wheel’ at The 13th Floor
Australian blues man Shaun Kirk braved the wind and rain to make his way to The 13th Floor tonight to play a couple of tunes and chat with Marty Duda. We’ll have the entire session ready for you soon, but in the mean time, here’s Shaun singing a special version of Two Hands On The […]
Watch Josh Rennie-Hynes at The 13th Floor
Here’s Australian singer-songwriter Josh Rennie-Hynes at The 13th Floor on the eve of his latest New Zealand tour. Josh talks to Marty Duda about the writing of his new song, Land Of Clouds, inspired by his previous trip to NZ, then Josh and Reb Fountain perform the song exclusively for The 13th Floor. Both Josh […]