Ace Frehley – The Studio
Former Kiss axeman Ace Frehley offered up a set of somewhat generic, mildly entertaining, but ultimately unlistenable hard rock to The Studio in Auckland. To be fair, it wasn’t necessarily Ace’s fault that his music was unlistenable… that charge should be levelled directly at the sound man. Don’t get me wrong, I love a loud […]
Napalm Death and Carcass 23 April 2015
Unless you have been living under a rock somewhere you are likely aware last night was the final show of the Deathcrusher NZ tour, and I have no need of my (blood and booze stained) notebook to declare it gig of the fucking year. The Kings Arms was more packed than I have seen it […]
Sam Smith – Vector Arena April 22, 2015
Despite only releasing one album, albeit one with five singles, 22-year-old Sam Smith played the first of two shows at Auckland’s Vector Arena. Unfortunately the need to accommodate so many fans here trumped his musical needs resulting in his intimate, soulful songs being lost in the big room. But I was possibly the only one […]
Watch Mel Parsons’ 13th Floor Video Session
Mel Parsons has just released her third album, Drylands. Currently Mel is touring New Zealand playing 23 dates over the course of the next month. Mel recorded a video session at The 13th Floor on the eve of her nationwide tour, performing three songs from the new album, and chatting with Marty Duda Save
Win Tickets To See The Dickies!!
Bubblegum punk rockers The Dickies tour New Zealand for the first time this month. The 13th Floor has a pair of tickets to giveaway…for any of the four NZ dates. To win, just be the first to name your favourite Dickies cover tune. Click here for more info about The Dickies and their NZ tour. […]
Delta Rae: Carolina’s On Their Mind (Interview)
Delta Rae is a six-piece band formed around three siblings from North Carolina. In addition to Ian, Eric and Brittany Holljes the band features Elizabeth Hopkins as their fourth vocalist along with Mike McKee (percussion) and Grant Emerson (bass). The band has just released their second album, After It All. Delta Rae has just recently ventured […]
Jimmie Dale Gilmore – The Tuning Fork April 20, 2015
Anyone who has spent any amount of time taking in the parade of artists that have played at the Tuning Fork over the past year or so might easily think that literally everyone and his brother who was born and raised in the American South can sing, write songs and pick a guitar. The latest […]
Watch Don McGlashan Play ‘When The Trumpets Sound’ at The 13th Floor
Don McGlashan released his latest solo album, Lucky Stars, last Friday. He spent part of that day up at The 13th Floor studios talking to Marty Duda and performing a couple of songs from the new album. We’ll have the entire session ready for you to view in a few days. Meanwhile watch as Don […]
Dr Hook’s Dennis Locorriere: Timeless Tunes (Interview)
Dennis Locorriere has been singing the songs of Dr Hook & The Medicine Show ever since he joined the band way back in 1967. Those songs…Sylvia’s Mother, The Cover Of The Rolling Stone, Sharing The Night Together…have become New Zealand family favourites for those brought up during the 1970s. Dennis and Dr Hook parted ways […]
Jakob – The Kings Arms
The role of the artist is a question posed by artist and audience alike, in an attempt to seek the purpose behind creativity and its cultural celebration. Ambiguous in nature, it can be difficult to underpin the exact purpose of the artist in an oversaturated market of “art” for entertainment value- a shallow reading of […]
Soak – Golden Dawn (Concert Review)
18-year-old Irish up-and-comer Soak played a short but spellbinding set at Auckland’s Golden Dawn. And in a little over half an hour she indeed proved to be an artist to keep an eye on. Soak is the stage name for Bridie Monds-Watson, the teenager from Derry who has garnered attention from the likes of the […]
SJD & Voom – The Tuning Fork
Vector Arena’s little sister venue The Tuning Fork may look like a Coffee Club franchise from the outside, but once you’re in the front door the heavy red velvet curtains, scent of whiskey and kitschy sign behind the bar give off a vastly different vibe. Tonight the lit-up sign reads SJD, because Sean James Donnelly […]
Ricky Martin – Vector Arena
Get ready to shake your bon-bon, as Ricky Marty opens his One World tour in New Zealand, with the premiere at Auckland’s Vector Arena. First off, I must admit I can hardly be called a Ricky Martin fan…I can probably name two of his songs and I’ve never seen X Factor, so whatever shenanigans took […]
Interview with Derek Boyer of Suffocation
Tove Partington had a chat with bassist Derek Boyer of Suffocation prior to their upcoming NZ/Aus tour with Decapitated. Talking accidents, streaming/download politics and upright Bass, you can catch Derek with Suffocation pretty soon; Grab your tickets here, it looks to be a killer show. -Tove m/
Mel Parsons – Tuning Fork
Mel Parsons kicked off her 22-date New Zealand tour with a show at Auckland’s Tuning Fork. Parsons has just released her third album, Drylands, and most of the musicians responsible for creating that record were on stage with her.
Interview with Waclaw "Vogg" Kieltyka of Decapitated.
Tove Partington had a quick conversation with Waclaw “Vogg” Kieltyka of Decapitated prior to their upcoming NZ/Aus tour with Suffocation. You can hear the interview in full below. You can see this brilliant Polish Death Metal band when they reach these fair shores! Grab your tickets here, it looks to be a killer show. -Tove m/
Watch Mel Parsons Perform ‘Don’t Wait’ At The 13th Floor
Kiwi singer-songwriter Mel Parsons is about to embark on a nationwide tour beginning tonight at Auckland’s Tuning Fork. Mel has just released her third album, Drylands, featuring contributions from Anika Moa and Ron Sexsmith.
RIP: Percy Sledge
Soul man Percy Sledge has passed away at the age of 74. Percy’s best-known recording was his 1966 hit When A Man Loves A Woman. But Percy was much more than a one-hit wonder. He recorded a slew of under-appreciated deep-soul classics over the intervening years. Check out his 1969 single, True Love Travels On […]
Counting Crows – Civic Theatre
Two years ago the Counting Crows were forced to cancel shows in Wellington and Auckland at the very last minute due to lead singer Adam Duritz’s health. Fans who turned up to see them in Wellington were particularly peeved as they were notified of the cancellation just minutes before the show was to start. But […]
James Reyne: Rockin’ With Rod (Interview)
Aussie rocker James Reyne is in Auckland to open the show for Rod Stewart’s two concerts at The Vector Arena. The former front man for Australian Crawl has been busy on his own, recording with his band, The Magnificent Few. The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda spoke to James Reyne recently about the prospect of opening […]