Punk It Up Delayed by Covid-19, New Venue Announced

As several of the Punk It Up V bands with members living in Australia and overseas, who just cannot afford 14 days off for quarantine upon arriving to NZ, and in some cases, another 14 days when they get back, the PIU team have decided to push back the dates of the event again.

PIU had hoped the “Trans-Tasman Bubble” might be in place by October, but the past few week’s events with the NZ Border Quarantine situation, and the fact that COVID-19 is still very, very far away from being fully contained globally, the Punk It Up crew unfortunately cannot ensure any “bubbles” for travel will be formed by the NZ authorities before October, from any destination. We hope that once 2021 starts, things will have got a lot better, which will allow PIU V to go ahead.

All bands have indicated that they will be available for the new dates of Friday Feb 19 and Saturday Feb 20, 2021. All current tickets will be valid for the new dates, however, ticket refunds for those who cannot attend those dates will be available via Under The Radar. Current ticket holders should check their email inbox for instructions.

However, do not despair, as the team from Punk It Up are working on putting together a “Punk-o-ween” gig on Hella-ween, Sat Oct 31, at Galatos, just to give you a dose of punk rock’n’roll to tide you over until next year. More details on that to come, but we can reveal that it will include the official release of PIU-001, a five song, limited edition, 7″ vinyl record from Rebel Truce‘s “The Man Inside” sessions called “The Lost Tapes E.P.“, that will only be available at the Oct 31 gig. Watch this space for more details!

On top of the above shift in dates, even though it’s 2020, and you wouldn’t think it possible, but good intentioned, well behaved punks are still being “asked to leave the premises”. Due to some unclear reason, that Punk It Up still hasn’t actually been given by the original venue (at the home of Zwines), PIU are gonna move the whole 2 nights of entertainment at Punk It Up V to a venue that’s a bit more professional at doing business.

The venue from last year have not been as honest and proactive as they could have been, and have not replied when asked repeatedly for the official reason why PIU was getting the boot. Therefore, Punk It Up has decided “screw them”, and that they’ll take their patronage elsewhere.

Punk It Up are now extremely pleased to announce that PIU V will now be held, on the new dates, at Galatos, in the heart of Auckland’s party scene, the infamous K’ Rd strip. As capacity is always limited for Punk It Up, it’s slightly more limited now, so we expect to reach the “no tickets left” zone much faster than normal. Tickets are still available at Under The Radar. The extra advantages of Galatos, such as less draconian noise control issues meaning the bands have to finish early, the Paul Crowther MNZM managed sound system, as well as the multiple levels of the venue, make it a slam dunk as a choice for Punk It Up V

It’s no wonder that PIU V tickets will be the hottest commodity on the block, when you consider the band lineups, the plethora of DJs, and all the other band merchandise, punk vinyl records for sale, and the info booths, as well as, of course, the infamous After Party until bloody late.

Friday night, Feb 19, 2021, starts the two night extravaganza off with Instigators, especially reforming for PIU V, and they’re joined by yet another act getting their shit together to reform, The Plague (with members of Blam Blam Blam and Pop Mechanix, among others). Proud Scum get their third PIU attendance badge as well, plus there’s The Bludgers from Hamtown, new Auckland punk superstars Dick Move, and even The Barbs are getting in on the “reforming especially for PIU” scene as well. Rounding off the night is bankRobbers, the all-star punk covers band featuring Jed Town and Chris King from X-Features, Shamus O’Brien from The Bombers, and Andrew Boak of No Tag, with many extra special guests joining them on vocals

Saturday night, Feb 20, sees the return of them good ol’ cow pokes The Johnnys, No Tag doing their final show ever, more Hamtown punk from current scene leaders Contenders, noise with extra noise from The Bombers, Tigers – NZs first all Māori punk band from back in the day, the lads from Devils Got-9, and once again, ruining the whole night at the end, bankRobbers and guests, however there’s a small rumour that X-Features will drop a few tunes as well

In between the bands, top bFM DJs Miss Dom, Dubhead, and Phil Armstrong provide the punk soundtrack, whilst the After Party (’til bloody late) will add other DJs such as R.G. Bargy, Wastemaster, Johnny and The Dambusters, Chopper, Rich, Chuck, and more!

Get your tickets, before you can’t, at Under The Radar.

 UP THE PUNX!