Concert Review: Joan Baez – Aotea Centre, 20 October 2015
Another day, another 74-year old “legacy” artist is in Auckland to perform. This time it’s Joan Baez, who like Neil Diamond, who is also in town, has a wealth of material to draw from. Her performance at the Aotea Centre was a showcase for some of the finest songs ever written.
Neil Diamond – Vector Arena 19 October 2015
It was business as usual for Neil Diamond last night at Auckland’s Vector Arena, and that business is playing hits…lots and lots of them. With fifty years of chartbusters to draw from, Diamond had his fans singing and clapping along for well over two hours.
Dawes: Want To Be Your Favourite Band (Interview)
LA-based band Dawes will be performing at Auckland’s Tuning Fork this Thursday evening as part of their Americana Fest. The band released their fourth album, All Your Favorite Bands, earlier this year and have just produced a video of the title track featuring many of their fellow artist, friends and musicians including Conor Oberst and […]
Jamestown Revival – Tuning Fork October 18, 2015
I was expecting to see a couple of guys with acoustic guitars harmonizing about idyllic life in the mountains…sort of John Denver x 2. Instead Jamestown Revival showed up as a five-piece rockin’ band ready to show off their arsenal of Texas roadhouse tunes and, yes, some fine harmonies. This show is part of the […]
The Fall – The Powerstation (Concert Review)
They say you need to see The Fall at least once before you die. Well, I can tick that one off my bucket list. Was it worth it? Not really. Mark E Smith and his ever-changing crew may have been relevant at some point in their 30 + year career, but for this neophyte, I’m […]
Kiss – Vector Arena October 16, 2015
My how times change. Back in the mid-70s, when Kiss first emerged out of the rapidly-deteriorating New York City landscape, they represented, to certain factions, all that endangered good, upstanding family values. Now, 40 years later, that same band provides a night’s entertainment for not only rebellious teenagers, but mothers, fathers, toddlers and grandparents…its fun […]
Avalanche City – Mercury Theatre (Concert Review)
The billing of last night’s Avalanche City show wasn’t entirely fair. My ticket said “Avalanche City with Benny Tipene,” but asThe 13th Floor arrived at Auckland’s Mercury Theatre — the show had originally been booked for one of the Town Hall’s smaller chambers, but ticket sales had impressed the promoters so much that they moved […]
Russell Brand – Vector Arena (Review)
What Russell Brand would have you believe tonight’s show was about, and what it was actually about, are two very different things. Brand came onstage, a good half-hour later than scheduled, following a montage of aren’t-you-shocked photos of homeless people and Abu Ghraib prisoners and street protests and clips of Brand himself being interviewed on […]
Soulfest 2015 Cancelled (Press Release)
SoulFest International Australia advises that it has become necessary to cancel SoulFest 2015 and the subsequent sideshows, due to low ticket sales in Australia and New Zealand. SoulFest was scheduled to take place in Auckland Monday 26th October after the Australian dates. Full refunds will be made to all ticket purchasers. Click here to read […]
Jamestown Revival: Beauty & Simplicity (Interview)
Austin, Texas based band Jamestown Revival will make their live New Zealand debut this Sunday at Auckland’s Tuning Fork as part of this year’s Americana Fest. The act consists of two men, Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance, who have known each other since growing up together in small-town Texas. Their debut album, Utah. A Collection […]
Watch Patti Smith Read From Howl
On Wednesday, October 7th, Patti Smith appeared at the Barnes & Noble book store in Manhattan to read from and sign copies of her new memoir, M Train. She wrapped up her hour-long time there with a surprise reading from Allen Ginsberg’s Howl, which had been published 60 years ago to the day. The 13th […]
Skyscraper Stan – Tuning Fork October 10, 2015 (Concert Review)
Last time I saw Skyscraper Stan he was opening up for — and utterly outclassing, in the process — Holly Arroswmith. That night, also at the Tuning Fork, about a month ago, Stan shared the stage with just Oskar Herbig, his cousin and guitar player. Last night he was back with his band the Commission […]
SJD & Shayne P Carter – Mercury Theatre (Concert Review)
Beware all ye who enter here. Up these sweeping steps and between the crumbling pillars of the once-grand Mercury Theatre, a beautiful haze of existential angst awaits. Shayne Carter is preparing to unleash his one man blues explosion, and a string quartet is about to usher SJD’s latest album, Saint John Divine, up into the […]
Kurt Vile & The Violators – Webster Hall (Concert Review)
With his new, and arguably best, album, B’lieve I’m Goin’ Down, fresh out of the oven, Kurt Vile is touring the US with his band, The Violators. The 13th Floor’sMarty Duda caught the second of their two-night sold-out stand at New York City’s Webster Hall. Webster Hall is a somewhat historic New York venue, having […]
Win free passes to Queen & Country!
OK – we made that too hard! New Question – who directed Queen & Country? We’ve got 5 free double passes to the acclaimed Queen & Country for the first five people to tell us what which movie first featured lead character Bill Rohan? As post-war England struggles to regroup, Bill (Callum Turner) becomes fast […]
Win free passes to Queen & Country!
OK – we made that too hard! New Question – who directed Queen & Country? We’ve got 5 free double passes to the acclaimed Queen & Country for the first five people to tell us what which movie first featured lead character Bill Rohan? As post-war England struggles to regroup, Bill (Callum Turner) becomes fast […]
Kate Tempest to play NZ in January
Solid Entertainment is thrilled to announce that KATE TEMPEST will be coming to play in New Zealand for the very first time in January 2016. She’s an artist we rate as highly as any in the history of our touring company – one the world’s most exciting young performers and writers operating across several mediums, […]
Toxic Holocaust, Wednesday 7th October
So a few years ago it was announced that Toxic Holocaust would be hitting our shores, to great excitement. Then it was postponed. Then it just sorta dropped of the timetable, being indefinitely put on hold, then it was cancelled. People were pretty pissed, not just because they were hugely disappointed but because of the […]
John Grant Loves Being A Broad (Interview)
John Grant releases his new album, Grey Tickles, Black Pressure on Friday, October 9th. The American musician now calls Iceland his home, but travelled back to Texas to record with producer John Congleton. He also got a bit of help from Tracey Thorn, Amanda Palmer and former Siouxie & The Banshees drummer Budgie. Grant will […]
Delaney Davidson, Tami Neilson, Barry Saunders & Marlon Williams – Holy Trinity Cathedral (Concert Review)
Take salty sea dog Barry Saunders, pocket rocket Tami Neilson, wounded tom cat Delaney Davidson and mama’s sweetheart Marlon Williams, put them in a gothic cathedral chancel in front of a rose window, and pray. Over the next couple of hours you’ll meet the devil himself, hear the voices of angels and perhaps even bear […]