Mumford & Sons – Vector Arena November 10, 2015
When did Mumford & Suns turn into The Killers? My date for the evening made the comparison after the formerly folky band rocked Vector with electric guitars turned up to 11. Marcus Mumford and ‘sons’ – Ben Lovett, Winston Marshall and Ted Dwane – ditched their signature acoustic banjo-sound on Wilder Minds, and plugged in […]
R.I.P. Allen Toussaint
The great Allen Toussaint has passed away at age 77. Toussaint was one of the finest musicians, songwriters and producers New Orleans had to offer. Among his compositions are Southern Nights, Working In A Coal Mine, Mother-In-Law, Brickyard Blues, Fortune Teller, A Certain Girl and hundreds of others. He also produced sessions for The Meters, […]
10cc – Aotea Centre November 10, 2015
In the early 1970s, as they managed their transition from anonymous churners-out of slick but disposable pop and into a coherent band in their own right, 10cc produced some of the most intelligent, engaging music of the decade. Their pigeonhole-unfriendly music, encompassing straight ahead rockers like Art For Art’s Sake, typically written by Eric Stewart […]
Watch Lisa Crawley Perform Up In The Air at The 13th Floor
After releasing her new EP, Up In The Air, Lisa Crawley has just embarked on her tour of New Zealand. Before doing so, she stopped by The 13th Floor to record a video session. We’ll have the entire session ready to view soon, but in the meantime, check out this performance of the song, Up […]
Burt Bacharach – Vector Arena November 7, 2015
I was born too late to see Irving Berlin or Cole Porter or Duke Ellington or George Gershwin perform their own songs, but last night I was fortunate enough to witness another of the great American composers play and sing his own songs. And if you don’t believe Burt Bacharach’s name belongs alongside those […]
Sunken Seas – Wine Cellar November 6, 2015
Timing is everything. Fortunately Courtney Barnett’s show at the St James ended with just enough time to make it up Queen Street to catch Sunken Seas at the Wine Cellar. The two acts made for a thrilling double bill on this Friday night in Auckland. Sunken Seas started out from Wellington, but front man […]
Courtney Barnett – St James Theatre November 6, 2015
There were two reasons to get excited about last night’s Courtney Barnett show. Of course, there’s Barnett’s own brand of literate rock and roll…but for many, it was also returning to Auckland’s St James Theatre, a venue that holds a lot of memories for a lot of music fans. For myself, a quite a […]
Hozier – Vector Arena November 5, 2015
The Irish musical phenomenon known as Hozier rolled into town to play one sold-out show at the Vector Arena. It’s been little over a year since Andrew Hozier-Byrne released his debut album, but already he is able to draw huge crowd thanks to the success of his hit, Take Me To Church. The question […]
Death Cab For Cutie: Staying In Shape For The Road (Interview)
Death Cab For Cutie will be making their way to New Zealand in February for their second show in Wellington and first-ever show in Auckland. The band has gone through a few changes since they were last here, losing founding guitarist Chris Walla and releasing their 8th album Kintsugi.
Robbie Williams – Vector Arena: November 3, 2015
This is Robbie Williams’ “Let Me Entertain You” tour. And after sitting (and standing) through his nearly two hour show at Auckland’s Vector Arena, no matter what you think of his music or his persona, one thing is certain, the man delivered on his promise. I would venture to say that every one of the […]
The Broken Heartbreakers – Tuning Fork October 31, 2015
The Broken Heartbreakers played a warm, heartfelt set of tuneful songs, spaciously presented with subtlety and skill. The lush harmonies of Rachel Bailey and John Guy Howell were impressive, and the guitar work of the pair also very tasteful and melodic. This band has been together since 2002, and I saw them in a late […]
EL VY: The Value Of The Unpredictable (Interview)
EL VY is the collaboration between The National front man Matt Berninger and multi-instrumentalist Brent Knopf, currently a member of Ramona Falls and formerly of Menomena. Although The National has kept Matt pretty busy of late, he still found time to write and record a full album with Brent. Calling themselves El VY (pronounced like […]
Win Robbie Williams Tickets!
Congratulations to Tony Kemp and Kevin Palmer who have won the tickets to see Robbie Williams! Robbie Williams brings his “Let Me Entertain You” tour to NZ this week with a show at Wellington’s Basin Reserve on Saturday, Oct 31 and Auckland’s Vector Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 3rd. The 13th Floor has one double general […]
Win Tickets To See Mel Parsons at The Crystal Palace
Kiwi singer-songwriter Mel Parsons kicks off her 5-date mini-tour this Saturday night in Auckland at the Crystal Palace in Mt Eden. Not only is Mel touring with a full band, but also with Julia Deans, who will be featuring songs from her soon-to-be-released new album. As a special Halloween (trick or) treat, another very talented […]
Mel Parsons Returns To The 13th Floor
With just a few days until she embarks on a five-date nationwide tour, Mel Parsons stopped by the 13th Floor studios to talk about touring with Julia Deans and their show at Auckland’s Crystal Palace this Saturday (Halloween) with special guest Anika Moa. Fortunately Mel brought her guitar along and you can also watch her […]
Hopetoun Brown – Auckland Village Music October 30, 2015
Hopetoun Brown is the horn-blowing offshoot of Supergroove featuring Nick Atkinson and Tim Stewart. After playing up and down the country for the last year or so, the act has just released its debut album, Burning Fuse. Nick and Tim celebrated the release of their new long player with the first show of a nationwide […]
Fat Freddy’s Drop Album Release Party
The first perfect summer day – sitting outside with an ice beer, barbecue sizzling, chilling to some great new tunes. Fat Freddy’s Drop celebrated the release of their 4th album, Bays, with the release of their own… beer? That’s right – and a good drop it was, sitting in the back garden of Ponsonby’s Kuki’s […]
Laura Marling – The Powerstation
When Laura Marling first performed in Auckland, as part of the January 2012 Laneway Festival, she looked and sounded like a classic English folk singer, dressed in jeans and a red jumper, strumming an acoustic guitar sporting long blonde hair and backed by a band featuring banjo, mandolin and cello. For her first “proper” Auckland […]
Dawes – Tuning Fork: October 22, 2015 (13th Floor Concert Review)
In a different time and a different place Dawes would have been an arena-filling act with their songs saturating FM radio stations alongside the likes of Springsteen, Browne, Young and Clapton. But pop music is a fickle and impatient beast, and here in Auckland in 2015, Dawes are about the best bar band you’re gonna […]
Winners To See The Walk
Congratulations to our 10 winners who have snagged double passes to see The Walk, and thanks to all who entered our contest. The answer to the question, “What is the title of the 2008 documentary film that also featured Philippe Petit’s famous walk as its subject matter?” is: Man On Wire. Our winners are: Ed […]