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concert review

Lake Street Dive – Tuning Fork January 11, 2017

  It’s a new year and its been several weeks since an overseas act has visited Auckland, so it’s no surprise that the Tuning Fork was sold out on this Wednesday night. It might also have to do with the fact that Lake Street Dive have cultivated quite a following in this country, performing here […]

Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings – Civic Theatre January 28, 2016

Gillian & Dave. For many, this was the show they waited 12 years for. That’s how long it’s been since Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings performed in New Zealand. The vibe outside the Civic was similar to when Nick Cave performed his solo shows there a couple of years ago. Sure, the music was different, […]

Lou Barlow – The Kings Arms January 23, 2016

  Lou Barlow has been a fairly regular visitor to our shores over the past few years, as a member of Dinosaur Jr and Sebadoh, and as a solo performer. This overfamiliarity may explain the somewhat sparse crowd that turned out on a Saturday night at Auckland’s Kings Arms, which is a shame because Barlow […]

Adam Lambert – Auckland Town Hall January 22, 2016

Adam Lambert, talent-show runner-up and ersatz Freddie Mercury, managed a rather difficult task last night, shoehorning an arena show into a theatre-sized setting. The last time Lambert was in town, a year and a half ago as Queen’s latest jobbing frontman, he played the Vector Arena; his management, presumably, decided that he couldn’t quite fill […]

Viet Cong – The Kings Arms January 21, 2016

It seems January gigs at The Kings Arms hold a special kind of charm. Often the venue is hot, sweaty and jam-packed with fans anxious to start the new year off in a rock and roll frenzy. On this particular evening the weather wasn’t so hot, the room not so packed, but the band was […]

The 1975 – Auckland Town Hall January 15, 2016

There is little need for a review of The 1975’s concert at Auckland’s Town Hall last night — I’m not entirely sure an objective review is even possible. The audience — overwhelmingly female, predominantly aged between about 15 and 25 — were not there to engage with the show on any kind of objective, rational level; […]

Plum Green & Jennifer Kingwell – Wine Cellar, 15 January 2016

After orienting myself in a new wine cellar layout – having wondered if the inevitable current gentrification of the iconic St Kevin’s Arcade had spread like a tumour to the unique labyrinthine subterranean recesses of my favorite bar in NZ – I stumbled into a sauna-like space with a paucity of fire-escape options and a […]

Kurt Vile & The Violators St James Theatre January 12, 2016

  With a handful of solo shows in the cards for the rest of the country, Kurt Vile treated his Auckland fans to a show featuring his band, The Violators. Not surprisingly Kurt was at his best when he locked in with his three bandmates and cranked up the volume. As I entered the St […]

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