29 2012 #0 3 APRIL
ENCE L U L F N I R THE ’S BLUES FUNERA E D N U PNC IS MARK LANEGAN NATHAN – E D A M HISTORY
D S BUSTE T E G S E HAI N
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Dropped the mixtape, that shit sounded like an album... Last Friday, PNC ran with the new music strategy that saw David Dallas release The Rose Tint for free – teaming with VOLUME and Crooks & Castles to get his fourth LP Under the Influence into the hands and hard drives of as many people as possible, with no cover charge to get in the way of having the album’s 12 Matt Millerproduced cuts heard. AS PNC TELLS Leilani Momoisea in this week’s cover story, “I’d make albums with 13 songs and people that you’d consider big fans, they still hadn’t checked the album. It was annoying me that I was making songs that I wanted people to hear but it was hard to get it to them. This was just the best way.” No issues with cutthrough this time ’round. Originally scheduled for a St Patrick’s Day drop to tie in with an Under the Influence theme, the release clocked 1000 downloads in a matter of hours on Friday morning, and as of Tuesday this was sitting at 5000-plus downloads. This week we go inside the making Under the Influence, meet upcoming producer Matt Miller who went jackin’ for beats on material from Adele, Gotye, Beyoncé, Boyz II Men and Justin Bieber to find the sound that grounds the album, plus we’ve got an Under the Influence review from Duncan Grieve and a Crooks & Castles giveaway up for grabs. And cop PNC’s Under the Influence from pncmusic. co.nz immediately – no cover charge required.
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EDITOR: Sam Wicks sam.wicks@volumemagazine.co.nz WEB EDITOR: Hugh Sundae hugh.sundae@nzherald.co.nz DEPARTMENT OF VOLUME SALES: John Baker john.baker@volumemagazine.co.nz DESIGN: Xanthe Williams WRITERS: Gavin Bertram, David Carroll, Duncan Greive, Nathan Haines, Jessica Hansell, Louie Knuxx, Leilani Momoisea, Joe Nunweek, Hugh Sundae, Andre Upston, Sam Valentine, Aaron Yap ILLUSTRATION: Lopeti Tu’itahi PHOTOGRAPHERS: Boofa, Roger Grauwmeijer, Dallas Pickering, Milana Radojcic AN APN PUBLICATION
WALLACE CHAPMAN – THE NEW OLD You’re on television screens this Friday in The New Old. How does it feel to be delving into “old and half-forgotten styles, pastimes and tastes” instead of herding politicians? At first it felt vaguely weird to be doing TV that’s not by the seat of its pants, but The New Old is beautifully crafted by its director, editors and makers. Instead of being up against Rodney Hide or Catherine Delahunty, this time it’s Sir James Wallace talking servants, or Rod Oram talking cycling. What’s your favourite discovery from the series? The original beer brewed by Captain Cook. It was made from molasses and rimu, and drunk to ward his men from scurvy – and brewer Paul Croucher brewed us up the same recipe Cook used in the late 1700s. The real discoveries, though, are the people I’ve met along the way, like a cooking guru in her early 80s called Tui Flower. She had an enormous influence on the trajectory of New Zealand cooking by introducing us to various new ideas. Like using garlic. What are some of the half-forgotten crafts the series looks at? Home baking is making a comeback among the cool kids. Similarly we look at gardening and craft beer brewing. We make a case that there is a growing trend in women who, in marriage, want to take the man’s surname and – shock horror – stay at home. Christianity is a fascinating one. I didn’t realise the extent of the huge parallel universe Christianity is among our youth in New Zealand. It’s all gold local social history. What pastime is still crying out to be brought back? With influences like Mad Men we’re seeing a rise in the “outer sartorial”. Next trend to come back will be what I call the “inner sartorial” or what others call good old-fashioned manners. Look out for the etiquette guides at the bookshop. The New Old launches this Friday at 9.30pm on TVNZ 7.
To celebrate the online release of PNC’s Under the Influence, we’ve got a pile of box-fresh Crooks & Castles loot plus a physical copy of the limited edition run of Under the Influence discs to give away. For a chance to win, email loot@volumemagazine.co.nz and let us know the name of the group PNC and Louie Knuxx formed back in 2005.
MATT MILLER – UNDER THE INFLUENCE PRODUCER I got into beatmaking in high school when I was mucking around on cheap DJ programmes – just looping up simple beats. From there I discovered FruityLoops, and it went from there. The first track that PNC rapped on was an old school funky beat. I had it on Soundcloud, and I said to one of my mates, “PNC would be mean on this”. PNC started following me on Soundcloud and he sent me a message saying he wanted to jump on the track, and after that I kept sending beats to him. Originally he planned on getting beats from me and 41, but he ended up using all my tracks so he had the same sound for the album. He’d send me songs from artists like Adele and
Gotye and say, “You should have a go at sampling this”, then I’d have a jam at it, send it back to him and see if he liked it. I’ve had a few people hit me up about beats, so now I’m just trying to stay busy. I want to keep putting out new material, and I think me and PNC are going to do some more stuff after Under the Influence as well.
SEND ME A POSTCARD Self-exiled rapper and tattoo enthusiast Louie Knuxx features on PNC’s new album Under the Influence. He is one-half of Grips & Tonic with JJ Peters.
APRIL 2012
LOVE POLICE TOURING & MUCH MORE MUSIC PRESENT
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I BELIEVE I CAN FLY…
I love airports. Like buses, I’ve been obsessed with them since I was old enough to be obsessive. Buses I’ll leave for another week – God knows I need a few ideas up my sleeve. Today, it’s airports.
It would have been nice to have those thoughts in the back of my mind on our recent sojourn to SXSW. As it turned out each check-in was so stressful I actually felt like one of those idiots getting caught out on Border Patrol with bags of snuff up their jacksies. The only thing I was trying to smuggle was a hard drive down my pants so my hand luggage wouldn’t tip the scales.
LOOKING AROUND THIS godawful domestic departure dive (JQ271 to Wellington), it’s hard to see what ever had me so excited. But I do know where it began. When I was a kid my Aunty Sandra was the equivalent of Uncle Travelling Matt from Fraggle Rock. We’d always be shooting out to pick her up or drop her off for one trip or another. In those days the Auckland International Airport terminal was rather small and you could see the tails of the planes sticking out over the top. Usually Qantas. Sometimes Continental. It’s quite a striking image for a boy from Torbay.
But it wasn’t just the glamour of large jets and international air travel that got me all obsessed. I even got my jollies watching the ground crews. Driving those dinky tractors about. Hiviz clothing etc. There was actually a day (late teens by this stage) when I took the day off work and spent an entire day parked underneath the flight path watching planes. I borrowed a friend’s scanner and listened to the tower directing the pilots. They were different days back then. There was a dirt track off the end of the runway and you could get so close that the planes would come in to land about 400 feet above you.
“I actually felt like one of those idiots getting caught out on Border Patrol with bags of snuff up their jacksies.” Use your bathroom scales, folks. There is nothing less classy than performing weight balance rituals crouched on the floor at the front of a long line of passengers, with piles of smalls all over the show. Actually, those pricks who tweet that they just got an upgrade, or witnessed something hilarious in the Koru lounge, or “check in” at LAX are way less classy, but I’ll save those skites for another week.
presents
SAM MYELE Electric Wire Hustle drummer Myele Manzanza has rhythm in his blood, a gift passed on by his Congolese father Sam Manzanza who crafted a career for himself as a percussionist when he made New Zealand his home. For Talking Heads, Sam and Myele talked about their shared musical genealogy. Photography Boofa MYELE MANZANZA: I’d be interested to know how you got into music – was it a family thing? SAM MANZANZA: How I got into music, the first thing to let you know is the day I was born I started to get the music – my tribe started to play the drum and sing. Our tribe, when twins are born, they sing for the twins. I was supposed to be a twin. I didn’t know that! I was supposed to be a twin with my young sister Bernadette, but something happened when we were in the tummy of my mother spiritually, according to your grandma and granddad – they say that we had an argument about who was going to come first. The one who is born first is the one who gets more power, so Bernadette wanted to come first, and then I say, ‘No, I’m going to come first’. So the tribe celebrated me as a twin – that way I started to hear the song and the drum. But, hang on – you weren’t actually a twin though, right? It’s just a story. Yeah, it’s a story because they believed I was supposed to be a twin. My mother was in a dance group and my father was a businessman and a musician at the same time, so I have music in me since I was born, and then my business talent comes from business school. You never told me that ever! Yeah, I did four years. How come I don’t know these things? You don’t know what I studied – I never put it on Facebook! Well, this is a revelation for VOLUME readers and for me. As far as I know eventually
down the line you start a bar and you’re playing music there and you meet my mum who’s come over as a translator from French to English for the American Embassy in the United Nations, and you guys get together and you eventually get married and get pregnant, and decide to have me in New Zealand. How did you find coming to New Zealand and trying to be a musician here at that time, 25 years ago or so? Wherever I travelled, I saved who I was back home – it meant that my inside was happy everywhere I went. You can change your country, but if you’re not happy in yourself you will not be happy. I was happy to come to New Zealand, and when I arrived here I started again because it was a different country and a different culture. At that time there wasn’t many Africans – everything was different. I started to adapt to New Zealand life and then I started to play music, and at that time it was easy for me because there wasn’t any competition – not many African musicians. I played solo for my first gig which was on New Year’s Eve and then I formed my first band for a Dunedin festival in 1988 just after you were born – it was an Afro-rock kind of a band. After you were born we moved to Wellington and I started to work in construction and I was playing music as well at the St George Hotel. As I started to get more popular in Wellington I stopped working in construction and went full-time in the music. What do you think about your music now as a Manzanza? What do you want to do in the future with your music? I’ve got a certain number of phases in music that I want to do. Part of me wants to be an incredible drummer – I would ideally like to be as good as some of the greatest virtuoso drummers, particularly in jazz – say drummers like
presents
MANZANZA Eric Harland or Elvin Jones. I could go on and on about a list of drummers who inspire me. Another part of me more recently has been getting into writing music, producing and beatmaking. I’m interested in making more danceorientated tracks – material a DJ like Theo Parrish or Benji B would be keen to play – and at the same time I’m really into hip hop and soul music and r’n’b, so I enjoy producing that stuff too, and I would love to one day produce a hip hop album. Do you want to be famous in music and make a lot of money and be a big star?
Well, if it comes organically, then yes – I wouldn’t turn it down, but that’s not why I do music. People have to know who you are to survive as a musician – you have to have a name that will bring people into a show. But at the same time I would want to be famous for the music that I’m making rather than being famous just for being famous. The actual craft is more important to me. For you, the thing that’s important is music itself – it’s something that you were born with and you’ve got it in your blood. It comes from your bloodlines from me, your grandfather and your grandmother, but if you become famous in the future, you become famous. But if it doesn’t work out that way, I accept that too – at the end of the day that’s not why I do music. I think you will be, because I can see the way you’re going. You’re shining – you’re going to be a star. The way I passed the drum to you was from the blood – when I looked after you when you were a baby, when I practised the drum at home you would fall asleep at home to the sound of a drum, so the sound of the drum got to you at that time. It was always just a part of life – you never made me sit down and practise. No, I never taught you how to play like this or go like that – you just watched and you did it.
What do you love about being a drummer? Is there a special connection to the drums to you or to percussion? For me it was a gift, something I could share with people, the gift to make people happy – that’s my job, to make people happy. What about you? What do you think about when you play music?
There’s definitely something innate or primal about it which can be really satisfying, the physical act of hitting a drum and generating rhythms. And like you were saying, making people happy – if you’re playing and people are dancing, it can be quite an amazing energy that goes between the audience and the musicians. I think as well the biggest part of my African heritage is music and drumming. If you were to hang out with me and we were talking about stuff, I’m not a very ‘African’ guy – I was born and raised in a fairly white area of Wellington – I wasn’t brought up in an African culture, so to speak. Like Obama! Yeah. But for me, the biggest way to identify with my African side is through music, and there’s an inescapable ‘African-ness’ in my drumming that’s always been there because of you. The analogy that I’ve been using lately is that African drumming and rhythm is to contemporary music what Latin is to Western languages – it’s the root. Myele Manzanza’s debut solo album ONE is out now on Every Waking Hour.
Beck’s has worked with local artists and up-and-coming designers to create special labe ls inspired by musicians, and the limited edition bottles available in bars and specially marked packs are the result of this project.
Mark Lanegan has long been one of the most magnetic and mercurial rock vocalists. Blues Funeral, his first solo album in eight years, could be his best work yet. Text Gavin Bertram ONE LISTEN TO Blues Funeral would be evidence enough to the casual listener that Mark Lanegan has learned his lessons hard. Although the ex-Screaming Trees vocalist’s seventh solo effort paints a richly detailed sonic world, it’s saturated with enough deeply felt gloom to drown several generations of blues aficionados. But there’s enough nuance and humanity involved to not have all-comers instantly reaching for the razorblade. In that respect Blues Funeral is like a conversation with Washington State native Lanegan: the granite exterior betrays a depth
and complexity that is ultimately disarming. “Some guys come fully formed and completely realised, and are great from the beginning,” he suggests. “And other people have to learn it. So in my case it definitely had to be learned. And I’m still learning; hopefully I’m learning until I’m done.” One thing the 47-year-old says he’s learned over a quarter-century of music is the art of letting go. In the past, with Seattle band the Screaming Trees, with solo albums like 1994’s Whisky for the Holy Ghost or 2004’s Bubblegum, and numerous collaborations, that’s been a problem.
“Part of the reason some of the records took me so long was because I had such trouble letting things go,” Lanegan confesses. “On top of that I was constantly creating more things to not let go. And before I knew it I would have a mountain of shit to wade through to come to a conclusion.”
way they work. It’s one of the best things about making music is actually recording records, in my opinion. Because it’s fun, it’s supposed to be fun. It isn’t always but in this case it was.” Blues Funeral includes sparse, sad songs like ‘Phantasmagoria Blues’ and ‘Deep Black Vanishing Train’ alongside less introverted rockers including ‘Quiver Syndrome’ and ‘Riot in My House’. But although the essentially blue heart of the album is communicated across various tempos, there’s a sonic character that glues the whole thing together. Thanks in part to Johannes, a textured electronic backdrop enhances Lanegan’s many tales of despair. It serves to render Blues Funeral among the most beguiling of recent rock albums. “The entire process for me is instinctual,” Lanegan notes. “Once I started making it, one song might tell you what the next one’s supposed to sound like. When I’m making a record I try to make it complete, have a beginning, middle and an end, and all the songs are like chapters. A few songs were actually written with the drum machine and synthesiser. I already liked the way they sounded so they were set in stone.”
“Before I knew it I would have a mountain of shit to wade through to come to a conclusion.”
That certainly hasn’t been a problem with Blues Funeral. In collaboration with genius producer and multi-instrumentalist Alain Johannes, Lanegan quickly crafted the album into a thing of beauty over the early months of 2011 in Los Angeles. He began the sessions with
absolutely nothing, but through an intensive songwriting regimen and the guiding hand of Johannes filling in the details, the 12 songs emerged. “I wouldn’t call it intense but it’s a lot of fun usually,” Lanegan says. “Trying stuff and throwing ideas off each other and seeing if we like the
Blues Funeral has had a polarising affect on reviewers, with some loving it unequivocally while others have found its prevailing melancholy too much to stomach. This critical division has been refreshing for Lanegan, who says negative feedback has rarely reached him in the past for whatever reason. Which is not to say his career in music has been without incident; in the past he’s been beset with drug and alcohol issues that have been resolved in recent years. Lanegan says regardless of his circumstances, he’s always derived enjoyment from the music. “There have been times when I’ve wanted to take a break from it and I have,” he says. “But I enjoy it. I don’t know why but I’ve always been driven to do it. But I enjoy it so much I wouldn’t want to stop.” Mark Lanegan Band plays The Powerstation in Auckland on Wednesday 18 April.
Each week Duncan Greive performs some low grade analysis on the week’s New Zealand Singles Chart and reviews a few new release pop singles. To submit or suggest a track for review email singles@volumemagazine.co.nz or tweet @duncangreive.
A NUMBER ONE SINGLE YOUR MOTHER WOULD UNDERSTAND So let’s come right out and say it: Carly Rae Jepsen’s ‘Call Me Maybe’ is the best number one single since ‘We Found Love’, and in some ways more exciting than that first ballot Hall of Famer, just because it got to number one without a 4/4 beat to help it along its Taylor Swift way. It’s a restless, besotted pop song, the kind which has been chart gold since, I dunno, The Ronettes at least. Which is to say it’s a song your parents could hear, and while they might not love it, they’d understand it. After a year which saw that festering turd Flo Rida dominating for weeks on end, this is a moment to be savoured. The big entry is Taylor Swift in at number six with ‘Eyes Wide Open’ from The Hunger Games soundtrack, which is looking like out-Twilighting Twilight at this point. I like the song, but if I’m honest I feel like this is her reaching for the intensity of the apocalyptic emotions conjured by the story, which is way out of her normal hormonal range. So good on her, but I’m never going to like it so much as the adolescent longing, you know? The only new entry is... Kanye West and Jay-Z’s ‘N****s in Paris’ at number 40. I have no idea how it’s taken this long for one of the greatest rap singles of all time to break local charts, but as a bookend to Carly Rae at the top it seems somehow apt. Maybe things are going to work out for us after all?
RIANZ TOP 10 NEW ZEALAND SINGLES CHART 1 Carly Rae Jepsen – ‘Call Me Maybe’ 2 Chris Rene – ‘Young Homie’ 3 Nicki Minaj – ‘Starships’ 4 Fun. ft. Janelle Monae – ‘We Are Young’ 5 Havana Brown – ‘We Run the Night’ 6 Taylor Swift – ‘Eyes Open’ 7 Train – ‘Drive By’ 8 Emeli Sande – ‘Next to Me’ 9 Hot Chelle Rae ft. New Boyz – ‘I Like It Like That’ 10 K’Naan ft. Nelly Furtado – ‘Is Anybody Out There’
SINGLE OF THE WEEK TREY SONGZ – ‘Heart Attack’ This comes off like an outtake from Confessions updated for 2012, which is to say that it’s one of the best r’n’b singles I’ve heard in a long time – better than Usher’s ‘Climax’, which means Trey is besting the master at his own game. The beat is stripped cold and bare, with whooshes and bleeps carrying you along, while Trey’s multi-tracked vocals soar and sob over the top. “I never knew love would hurt this fuckin’ bad/ Worst pain that I ever had,” he laments, and you’re right there with him. AZALEA BANKS – ‘Fuck Up the Fun’ Produced by Dutchman Master D in collaboration with Diplo, who seems to be back in something of a creative sweet spot right now, ‘Fuck Up the Fun’ is all drums and vocals. There’s literally nothing else, a forced limitation that places (duh) massive emphasis on the quality of each. Banks raps cool and sass-heavy, while the percussion plays like a 3D version of Destiny’s Child’s ‘Lose My Breath’ – it’s a nice combination, not as mind-blowing as Lil Mama’s ‘Lipgloss’, but that’s the general direction. FRANK OCEAN – ‘Thinking About You’ A seriously pretty AOR’n’b jam, the production is all hazy codeine synths, a spacier cousin to his track with Kanye and Jay-Z, ‘Made in America’, though it’s even slower and more cutely romantic. Next to the constant provocations of his Odd Future cohorts this sounds ridiculously innocent, but in its references to “my first time” it refracts their teenage exuberance through a knowing, nostalgic lens. When Ocean’s locked in he’s as good as anyone around right now, and this suggests we could be in for a pretty astounding second record. JUSTIN BIEBER – ‘Boyfriend’ One listen to this and you’re taken back to the summer of Justified, when a young, handsome pop star transcended his purported limitations and redefined chart music. Now this is not on that level – but it’s a leap from Bieber’s toytown beginnings akin to the one Timberlake made from late-period ’N Sync. The production is great, acoustic guitars, strange descending synths and a very spare snare-driven beat, with Bieber alternating intimate whisper-rapping and multi-tracked come-ons. If this became a hit, and surely it must, the world would be a far better place. And if the album has three or four more like it the world will think very differently about Bieber by the time this year’s out. WHEN PETS ATTACK! – ‘Snails IS People Too!’ The second instalment of “I will review anything that gets submitted for review”, at least until there’s some quantity coming through. C’mon, people – tweet @ me! Anyway, this was emailed through, maybe from Christchurch? Feels unsettling, like that town’s denizens can. It’s a super weird, shambling, jazzy oddity that wants to be The Fall (I think – hard to say for sure), and has a strong anti-vegetarian message, so as a vegetarian I admire their targeting. I found it super irritating to actually listen to, but intriguing on some level at the same time, so the grade shouldn’t be taken as the final word on this band by any means. And please SUBMIT SOME SONGS.
PNC’S TOP FIVE BOSTON CELTICS’ MOMENTS (BIG THREE ERA) 1: Celtics win championship vs Lakers in Game Six 2008 NBA Finals. “Anything is possible!” – Kevin Garnett.
Under the Influence (Frequency Media Group) FOR A RECORD with some real darkness running through it, Under the Influence – available for free from pncmusic.co.nz – starts off in ravishingly optimistic terms. The featherlight synthesiser instrumental which opens is straight from Jan Hammer or Vangelis’ playbook, the best start to a record since, oh, ‘Intro’, from PNC’s second CD, Bazooka Kid. That album is also the standard against which this must be judged, and while in no way superior it can certainly sit comfortably alongside that masterwork. So don’t let the price tag fool you – this is free because of the unclearable samples scattered throughout, from the likes of Gotye and Beyoncé, but quality-wise it stacks up against any recent rap record. Producer Matt Miller is a real find – melodic as hell while contorting his samples viciously in an ’80s dub mix style, with drum patterns never staying set for too long – an approach all his own that marries beautifully with PNC’s lyrics, which can turn from dazzling brags to curdled, morose venom in a heartbeat. PUMICE Puny (Soft Abuse) Folk songs as played by a chorus of disintegrating rude mechanicals; murmured conversations that enter one burst of static mundane and emerge from the other scatological – another grim, funny and captivating set from Stefan Neville’s project. Title aside, ‘Covered in Spiders’ might be the most melodic and sweet thing he’s made. SHERPA Lesser Flamingo (Little White) Auckland trio must only just be on the cusp of 20-ish but now they’ve got a pretty good debut album under their belts – though some of the songs become a blurty, noodly mishmash it has the sense to keep the energy levels well up, and on careening highlights like ‘Tree’ and the lovely, chiming ‘Chalk’ this pays off, like a hood rat XTC. DR JOHN Locked Down (Nonesuch) Produced by Dan Auerbach (the short, unctuous one from The Black Keys) this finds the acclaimed New Orleans gumbofusion-eer in alright form. Like, say,
2: The Comeback vs Lakers
in Game Four 2008 NBA Finals – the Cs were down 24 in this pivotal Finals game, and rallied to get the win and ultimately the championship.
3: Rajon Rondo’s triple double
Those immaculate words are soaked in Sam – reference points include mercurial NBA guard James Harden and Mee Goreng instant noodles – and while all the guests are excellent (particularly Pieter T, Louie Knuxx, and Midnight Youth’s Jeremy Redmore) nothing can detract from the creative synergy at its core. So despite a couple of tracks which feel a little rote (‘Fireworks’ particularly) the overwhelming impression is of a pair of artists completely untethered – knowing they couldn’t charge for the end product means they just had to please themselves. And in so doing they’ve made an album which might yet become the breakout PNC is long overdue. Review Duncan Greive
Tom Waits, a little wheeze and grit suits his voice as time goes on. Auerbach’s touch makes the whole thing punchy, clear and compact enough to work at an instinctual dad-rock level – ‘Ice Age’ is a great, slippery track. ALABAMA SHAKES Boys & Girls (Rough Trade) Music engineered for “Kings of Leon purists” – people who treated that band as some sort of unique and private discovery before they turned to U2 stadium-rock. With its half-strangulated and affected vocalist and cod Doobie Brothers twang, its sheer dire, loungey sameness and “oh Mama” signifiers, it fulfils that particular niche without breaking a sweat. MICHAEL KIWANUKA Home Again (Polydor) British-Ugandan performer’s debut is less Mark Ronson-spangled “R*E*T*R*O” than it is tasteful oak-panelled “retro”. Flourishes of woodwind on opener ‘Tell Me A Tale’ and the immaculately-muffled 3am shuffle of ‘Bones’ show Kiwanuka wants to be in the mould of any number of hard-to-classify cult soul figures from the ’60s and ’70s. Pretty easy-listening for sure, but also pretty engaging.
VARIOUS ARTISTS The Hunger Games OST (Universal Republic) At the time of writing there’s a hilarious kerfuffle on the ’net with all these racist idiots who are unhappy to discover that a number of the heroes in the film adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ young-adult novel are, in fact, black. Perhaps their expectations were unduly raised by this soundtrack, which features The Decemberists, Maroon 5, Kid Cudi and Birdy, and so is basically Stuff White People Like: The Ultimate Album. VARIOUS ARTISTS Anthems: R&B (Ministry of Sound) I’m not sure why MoS is releasing a threeCD compilation of the best chart r’n’b of the past 15-odd years but I’m not complaining. Only a couple of objective duds in the whole thing – perfect for replacing the innumerable 128kbps MP3s of TLC and Ashanti languishing on your computer, and you’ll never have this many good tracks at your immediate convenience in any other physical format. ANDREW BIRD Break It Yourself (Spunk) Violin-centric US musician had been plugging away at
vs Cavaliers in Game Four 2010 Eastern Conference Finals – this was the game that ended LeBron’s stint in Cleveland, and established Rondo as an elite NBA point guard.
4: Ray Allen’s eight three-
pointers vs Lakers in Game Two 2010 NBA Finals – Jesus Shuttlesworth is the best threepointer shooter of all time, and this was maybe his finest performance.
5: Glen Davis’ game-winner
vs Magic in Game Four 2009 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals – Celtics ultimately lost this series, but this moment was priceless.
the more cultured end of the indie spectrum for a while and benefited from the breakthrough success of Sufjan Stevens and Beirut. A few albums down the road, I’m feeling like he’ll just write cosy, blandish ditties like ‘Eyeoneye’ forever – but they always share space with something sparser and darker – here, it’s opener ‘Desperation Breeds’. ANGELIQUE KIDJO Spirit Rising: Live from Guest Street (Wrasse) Beninese chanteuse performs a live set “with friends” that include the likes of Josh Groban and the bro from Vampire Weekend, so of course this was originally a televised PBS special. The neutered production doesn’t hide her knack for fusing the restless tumble of West African pop music to more familiar staples. It’s a pleasant, consistent set. I SEE STARS Digital Renegade (Sumerian) Fascinating grandguignol car wreck – this is kind of where all those Attack Attack! bands are in the post-Skrillex universe – grunty riffing plus Autocastrati emo wail with the odd poorly-implemented drop. I could never say I liked this and keep a straight face, but what a snapshot artifact for the time capsule, right? Reviews Joe Nunweek
If albums provide a snapshot of a moment in time for an artist, then no title could be more apt in describing PNC’s current state of mind than Under the Influence. And on album number four, PNC’s chosen to release the Crooks & Castles and VOLUME-presented project for free. Text Leilani Momoisea Photography Ted Baghurst “I’m about the drink, drugs, girls, cash, love, hate, power, passion/ If I’m not the realest I don’t know who is, under the motherfucking influence.” THERE ARE MOMENTS of anger, sadness, nonchalance and reflection on PNC’s Under the Influence, but the album never quite feels like it covers off happiness. Because even in its most “up” moments of partying and revelry, the highs are artificial. “When I started making the album it was under the influence of drinking, drugs – I was quite down a lot of the time while making it. It has that sort of up-and-down nature. The first half
is quite melancholy and the second half is quite up.” Even with his signature party tracks, it is PNC’s darkest album to date. He’s covered off grittier subject matter in previous projects, but this is his most emotionally heavy, due in part to breaking up with his long-term partner. “I’ve separated from my girlfriend who I’d been with for seven years. I think a lot of times when you break up with people like that, you’re either down or you’re out partying – especially someone like me. It’s sort of extreme highs and lows. Which I think came through in the music.” There is only one song on the album that specifically addresses the breakdown of that relationship, and it isn’t the Gotye-sampling ‘Stranger Pt. 1 & 2’, as might be assumed.
It is that kind of chunky sample though that distinguishes Under the Influence. Beyoncé, Adele and Justin Bieber are fearlessly sampled on newcomer Matt Miller’s beats, tracks that would never have been considered had PNC set out to sell the album. With his fourth project, he’s following in the footsteps of label mate David Dallas and countless US artists like Drake, J. Cole, Wiz Khalifa and Frank Ocean by offering the album for free. “It was just originally thought of as a mixtape, you know, how rappers have done for the last 20 years, but then it started coming together – especially when I started working with Matt Miller – more like an album. That turned into, ‘How are we going
to put this out?’ because it’s quite strange how it sounds. Most of the time, Drake’s album or even David Dallas’ album, they’re mixtapes that sound like albums. But this is an album that sounds like a mixtape.” There’s a certain freedom, he explains, that comes with giving away music over the internet that couldn’t be achieved through the traditional distribution of an album. “I wanted to not worry about what samples we were gonna use and just do anything we wanted. I think you just have the freedom to be more creative and you’re not trying to make the single to appeal to a certain crowd, which I think creeps into your head no matter how hard you try not to.” The idea of a free album was also borne out of the frustration of simply not being able to get his music heard. “I’d make albums with 13 songs and people that you’d consider big fans, they still hadn’t checked the album. It was annoying me that I was making songs that I wanted people to hear but it was hard to get it to them. This was just the best way.”
Under the Influence, while under PNC’s name, equally belongs to the young Miller. Miller had commented so many times on the rapper’s Soundcloud page that PNC decided to check him out, and it was the ‘As I Fly’ beat that first piqued his interest.
“When I started making the album it was under the influence of drinking, drugs – I was quite down a lot of the time while making it.” “I recognised the sample straight away – it was a Boyz II Men sample of a Stevie Wonder cover, and a Justin Bieber sample as well. I’m interested how people can take something so commercial and make it sound completely different. He kept sending me stuff that I liked – I’d say, ‘I really like this Adele ‘Take It All’
song’ and then he sampled it. It just really quickly started working out.” PNC says Miller’s energy rejuvenated his own work. There was a kind of newness and naivety, a lack of self-consciousness, about the way Miller produced that excited him. “He’s very green, you know. He doesn’t know what the rules are in terms of, ‘Should I sample this? Should I be using these drums?’ He’s just all about the vibe of the track. When you’ve been doing something for a long time, you start questioning aspects of it, and over-thinking it. It does have a very raw sound, but I like that about it.” Raw is perhaps the best word to sum up the project, with PNC still managing to be poignant while he navigates himself from the party to the hangover, exposing wounds like never before and speaking with the kind of honesty you only expect to hear spill out after a few drinks. PNC’s Under the Influence is available for free download from pncmusic.co.nz.
RECIPE FOR HUNGER
• 3 tablespoons of Battle Royale (kids killing kids) • 1 ½ cups of The Running Man (fight-to-the-death game show)
THE HUNGER GAMES Director Gary Ross
Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrelson,
• A pinch of Lord of the Flies (kids fend for themselves) • 4 teaspoons of The Truman Show (reality TV voyeurism) • 250g of Logan’s Run (tacky dystopian society)
Josh Hutcherson, Stanley Tucci, Elizabeth Banks
21 JUMP STREET Director Phil Lord, Chris Miller Starring Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Brie Larson, James Franco LACKING IN VISIONARY flair and imagination that could’ve made it one for the ages, Gary Ross’ thoroughly workmanlike adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ dystopian kidult bestseller The Hunger Games simply gets the job done, setting up the first chapter of a tent pole franchise that’s pegged to be the next Harry Potter and Twilight. Winter’s Bone’s Jennifer Lawrence is an undeniably compelling screen presence, even if her 16-year-old heroine Katniss Everdeen, competing in an annual televised contest where teenagers from impoverished districts are forced to kill each other, doesn’t arouse much interest beyond her survivalist smarts. The ensuing action unfortunately feels neutered, though
Ross’ rote shaky-vérité-cam aesthetic tries to give the illusion of something that’s tougher than it actually is. Supporting cast, featuring the likes of Stanley Tucci and Elizabeth Banks tarted up in garish costuming, are largely one-note. In revamping 21 Jump Street, the ’80s undercover-cops-in-school TV show that’s best remembered as Johnny Depp’s rise to teen-heartthrob-dom, directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord make a terrific jump from animation to live-action, proving that the propulsive, go-for-broke, comic energy of their animated debut Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was no fluke. It takes a while to heat up, and too long to wind down, but as far as TV adaptations go, this one’s unexpectedly good, featuring winsome brotherly chemistry between Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum (in, shock, actually decent performance), a genuinely funny sense of selfawareness, and an astute dismantling of high school standards (the cool kid’s an eco-conscious drug dealer!). Review Aaron Yap
Fans of ’80s teen movies who’ve worn out their John Hughes VHS collection need to make a beeline to Tuff Turf (Vendetta Films) pronto. Young James Spader, in his first big feature role, is the rebellious new kid on the block who rubs slimy bully creep Paul Mones the wrong way and proceeds to woo his babe girlfriend Kim Richards. It’s a hilariously over-cooked, synth-throbbing West Side Story rehash, filled with high school/ gang drama clichés, campy musical interludes and synchronised dancing. Scene to watch: Spader performing an impromptu ballad while Richards watches adoringly perched on a grand piano.
Chloe Moretz (Let Me In) is in talks to star in a remake of Carrie, Brian DePalma’s 1976 horror classic based on Stephen King’s bestseller. Moretz said on Twitter she “could not be happier” about the offer from MGM. Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don’t Cry) will direct. Will Ferrell made a surprise appearance on Conan to announce that the sequel to Anchorman is finally on the way. Many fans of The Hunger Games were disappointed to discover that the character of Rue was played by a black actress (Amandla Stenberg) in the film, despite Suzanne Collins’ novel describing her as having “dark skin”. A collection of the racist, ignorant tweets are collected on hungergamestweets. tumblr.com.
SPECTATOR BAR, AUCKLAND OCTOBER 1991 The night before he relocated to New York City, a 19-yearold Nathan Haines nearly had his plans derailed by a close encounter with the boys in blue. IT WAS 1991 in what was known as Spectator Bar, way before Britomart was even a glimmer in a property
developer’s eye. It’s now called the Kiwi Tavern, but back then Tuesday nights were THE night to be out and about, especially for those in the hospitality industry. That’s the unmistakeable Peter Urlich singing in his early ’90s “jazz and suit” phase, Kevin Field on keyboards unbelievably standing up to play (!), myself at age 19 on sax, Tim Whitehead on drums and Greg Johnson on trumpet. This gig was the last from that lineup known as Peter Urlich and the Lawrence Quintet (I hadn’t graduated
to name-status as an act and was the house saxophonist), and what made it special was I had just won a coveted AGC Young Achiever’s Award to the tune of 20 grand and was off to New York City literally the next day. I had no idea how that initial first six months in NYC would completely change my life and music, and it’s amazing to think how naive I was when I landed at JFK with a suitcase, a saxophone and a beret perched on my head. Anyway, on that final night in October 1991 we decided in great gig
tradition to get stoned in the break. We jumped into my 1960s’ Citroën DS and went for a drive up to High St. For some reason Peter had an ounce on him and after rolling a skinny joint, stuffed the remainder into the glove box and we parked up, lit up and enjoyed that special moment when a band gets high together in a confined space. After five minutes of deep inhaling and talking while not letting any smoke escape the lungs, there was a loud knock on the glass. It was the police!
“We parked up, lit up and enjoyed that special moment when a band gets high together in a confined space.”
There were two of them and both motioned to roll down the window. I looked around at the guys in the back and Peter in the passenger seat, and all they could do was stare back in horror. I slowly wound the window down, and out rushed a whole joint’s worth into the face of one of the police
officers. “You boys been smoking then?” he sarcastically jeered. “Alright, all out!” he shouted, and in good cop/bad cop-style (or maybe just bad cop/bad cop) they split us up into groups and grilled us. They searched us all, emptying our pockets and frisking us down, then went looking around in the car between the seats, in the boot, and in the old classic stash spot – above the sun visor. I had an awful vision of being arrested, going to the cells, breaking the news to the AGC board that I now had a drug conviction, and of not being able to go to Australia, let alone New York! I almost passed out with the abject horror of it all, and being by this time very stoned made it even worse. Eventually I blurted out someone had given me the pot, and I was not really a smoker, but rather I was experimenting. Confessing to not having more on me, and with the cops not being able to find any more, they let us go. We cagily got back in the DS, me at the wheel, my head reeling with the various “what ifs” – like what if they had looked in the glove box, for God’s sake! We drove around the corner and once the cops were out of sight
we screamed with laughter until we couldn’t laugh any more, tears streaming down our faces. We got back to Spectator Bar, played another great set, and the next day I got on that flight to NYC and of course onto the rest of my life. To this day I shudder to think what could have been – or more precisely what could not have been. I’m not sure if someone was smiling down on me or the cops were just lazy that night, but thankfully that brush with the law was the closest I would get to being behind bars for another several years... but that’s another story. Nathan Haines’ new album The Poet’s Embrace is out now on Warner Music. Nathan Haines plays the Waiheke International Jazz Festival on Easter weekend – waihekejazzfestival.co.nz.
Alizarin Lizard
PINE HILL, DUNEDIN SATURDAY 31 MARCH Review Sam Valentine Photography Roger Grauwmeijer HELD IN A unique setting in the secluded and quiet suburb of Pine Hill, Dunedin’s Feastock sees a local flat transform a natural backyard amphitheatre into a beautiful tree-lined venue for an annual day of socialising, BYO and bands. Actually, calling Feastock “Dunedin’s” is probably a bit of a misnomer. Geography aside, Feastock has always felt like pure Invercargill; the audience equal part bogans in black T-shirts drinking Diesel, dreadlocked hippies and ageing punks, with a musical allegiance often characterised
by what I once described as “the Invercargill sound”: a grunge/dub fusion typified by festival organisers, and this year’s headliners Left or Right. Now in its fourth year, productionwise Feastock has continually upped its game. In tandem with the pro-quality sound and lighting rig and typical festival amenities (more Portaloos than at the whole of this year’s CALH), this year’s ticket came bundled with a CD sampler and complimentary entry and transport to the official after-party. Following last year’s muddy, wet affair, it was also distinctly pleasing to see perfect weather present throughout the day. Sadly, however, musical similarities of the past events seemed further exacerbated in 2012; the majority of acts reducible into a broad pastiche of impersonations encompassing either
Ink Mathematics
Made in China Osmium
Rhythmonyx
New Zealand roots or divergent takes on grungy metal, the diversity provided by TFF’s blasted noise, Knives at Noon’s synth-driven pop (both ’10), or the sonic complexity of Operation Rolling Thunder and Mountaineater (’11) sorely missing. Loop technician, Oleh, caught my attention with his technical mastery of numerous layers, beatboxing and Kaoss pads lining a heavy, danceable dub. Stylistically rooted in up-strum reggae, Oleh intelligently sidestepped the genre’s bland excesses, leaving only the deep sub-bass, laxed vibe and Pacifica harmony. Sadly, it’s more than can be said for both Soulsytem and Rhythmonyx, who copped the genre wholesale, relying on Six60 drum’n’bass, and clichéd repetitive progressions heard everywhere from Kora to Shapeshifter. Talented instrumentalists, but just not my deal.
Osmium, bearded to the hilt, delivered a dense taut-metal groove. Frontman Cameron Leslie’s footstomping stage antics and Layne
“Bogans in black T-shirts drinking Diesel, dreadlocked hippies and ageing punks.” Staley vocals, sat atop the precise riffs and technical rhythm changes you’d expect, without sounding too derivative. In a similar vein were Made in China who, while slightly more commercial, still echoed a similar Dirtera grunge rock chug. After a typically professional Left
or Right set, and the free party bus to the on-campus bar ReFuel, bass music DJ Organikismness, from memory the first electronic act to play Feastock, stood out sitting aside the more expected faux-swamp swagger of the Great Jail’s The Doors vs QOTSA shtick, and the heavy pop caricature of Cult Disney. All topped by a punishing, all-enveloping Beastwars set (who are currently on leave in Dunedin to record with Dale Cotton), the Wellingtonians delivered a clinic in tonality and power. While I’d still love to see some more musical diversity, I’m pretty sure I don’t fall in Feastock’s target market. If the residents of 3 Fea St continue to produce sellout crowds under their current modus operandi, I’ll be the last to criticise. Congrats on yet another successful year, boys.
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NORTHLAND FRIDAY 6
Far North Country Music Club 30th Birthday Celebrations – Far North (Kaitaia) RSA, Kaitaia, 7pm The Hewson Project – 35 Degrees South Aquarium Restaurant and Bar, Paihia, 6pm, Free
SATURDAY 7
Zionhill w/ Karaka Tree – Tikipunga Tavern, Whangarei, 8pm, $10 Easter Dub Hop – Dam Native, Weightshakerz & Super Villains – Mangawhai Tavern, Mangawhai, 8pm, $10 Sanders Aley Geiling – Old Library Building Arts Centre, Whangarei, 8pm, $15 Far North Country Music Club 30th Birthday Celebrations – Far North (Kaitaia) RSA, Kaitaia, 10am Damaged – Tangiteroria Tavern, Whangarei, 7:30pm, Free
SUNDAY 8
Magic Among the Vines – Midge Marsden w/ Chet O’Connell – Marsden Estate Winery, Kerikeri, 3:30pm, $20 Far North Country Music Club 30th Birthday Celebrations – Far North (Kaitaia) RSA, Kaitaia, 11am
AUCKLAND TUESDAY 3
Ak Jazz & Blues Club – Chris Mason-Battley Group – Pt Chevalier RSA, Pt Chevalier, 7:30pm, $5
WEDNESDAY 4
One Mouth Band (USA) & Mal Webb (AUS) – Wine Cellar, Newton, 8pm, $5 DJ Fresh & Messy MC (UK) – Studio, Newton, 9pm, $34.90-$44.90 A Musical Evening – Victoria Picture Palace and Theatre, Devonport, 7pm, $20-$25 Mike Jones Acoustic Sessions – My Bar, Auckland CBD, 7:30pm, Free Wednesdays at Flight lounge – Flight Lounge, Auckland CBD, 10pm, Free Chicane Duo – Sugar Bar, Newmarket, 7pm, Free Live Latin and Brazilian Music – The Mexican Cafe, Auckland CBD, 8:30pm, Free
THURSDAY 5
Thursday Night Live – Sons of Melody & Pikachunes – 1885 Britomart, Auckland CBD, 9pm, Free George Fm & Remix Magazine Britomart Easter Bash – The Nathan Club, Auckland CBD, 9pm, $19.95 Gerry Rooderkerk Alive & Acoustic – The Fiddler Irish Bar, Auckland CBD, 8pm, Free Kiwi Singer/Songwriter Showcase – Shadows Bar, Auckland CBD, 7pm, Free Al & the Wildkats – Rockabilly & Rock ‘n’ Roll – Cock & Bull, Botany Downs, 7:30pm, Free Brett Polley – Moretons Bar and Restaurant, St Heliers, 8pm, Free David Shanhun – GBS Bar & Restaurant @ The Prospect, Howick, 8:30pm, Free Francis Jakeman – De Post, Mt Eden, 8:30pm, Free The Hypnotics w/ The Valiant B.O.Y.S – Aotea Square, Auckland CBD, 5pm, Free Euphoria 6 ft Daniel Kandi (Denmark) – 4:20, Newton, 10pm, $24.90-$29.90 Greg Churchill, Angela Fisken, Soane, Phillipa & Dan Farley – InkCoherent, Newton, 10pm, $10 John McGough – Trumpeter/DJ – Warkworth RSA, Warkworth, 6pm, Free Live Piano and Double-bass Duo – Sugar Bar, Newmarket, 7pm, Free
Decortica, Cripple Mr Onion, Jackal and Fictional Response – Kings Arms, Newton, 7pm, $10 Petra Rijnbeek & Paul Voight – The Lumsden, Newmarket, 6:30pm, Free Greg Tell – Auckland Fish Market, Auckland CBD, 5pm, Free Oceania Storm – Te Atatu Tavern, Te Atatu Peninsula, 7:30pm, Free
FRIDAY 6
Trinity Roots – Sawmill Cafe, Leigh, 8pm, $45 Kieran Cooper – Yes, No, Sincerely Album Release Party – Khuja Lounge, Auckland CBD, 8:30pm, $10 Easter Weekender – Studio, Newton, 9pm, $29-$70 Brown Paper Bag – Rakinos, Auckland CBD, 12am Fridays at Trench Bar – Trench Bar, Auckland CBD, 10pm, Free Good Friday Groove ft. Annah Mac – Rangihoua Estate, Waiheke Island, 12pm, $39 Waiheke Jazz Festival – The Jews Brothers Band – The Dunes, Waiheke Island, 7pm, $39 Waiheke Jazz Festival – Nathan Haines Band – The Bay at Matiatia, Waiheke Island, 7pm, $39 Waiheke Jazz Festival – Paul Ubana Jones – Waiheke Island Resort, Waiheke Island, 7pm, $39 Waiheke Jazz Festival Supper Club – Waiheke Island Resort, Waiheke Island, 11pm, $25 SugarBang Band – The Flying Moa, Mt Wellington, 8:30pm, Free Tom Sharplin – Galatos, Newton, 8pm, $20
SATURDAY 7
Trinity Roots – Sawmill Cafe, Leigh, 8pm, $45 Crimson Vendetta Single Release – Kings Arms, Newton, 8pm Mojo – The Fiddler Irish Bar, Auckland CBD, 11pm, Free Mothra – The Thirsty Dog, Newton, 8pm The All Seeing Hand New Zealand Tour 2012 – Whammy Bar, Newton, 8pm 2’s A Crowd – Blacksalt Bar & Eatery, New Lynn, 8pm, Free Lee Gray – De Post, Mt Eden, 8:30pm, Free MusicBox – Rickshaw Eddy’s, Mission Bay, 9pm, Free John Egenes Solo Tour – One 2 One Cafe (121), Ponsonby, 8:30pm Hot Box – 4:20, Newton, 10pm, $20-$25 Sampology, Scratch22, Dan Farley, Chaos in the CBD + More – InkCoherent, Newton, 10pm, $20 Free Jazz in the Vines – Passage Rock Wines, Waiheke Island, 12:30pm, Free Waiheke Jazz Festival – BlackSandDiva & Guests – The Bay at Matiatia, Waiheke Island, 7pm, $39 Waiheke Jazz Festival – Jazzabout Daypass – Waiheke Island Resort, Waiheke Island, 12pm, $49 Waiheke Jazz Festival – Nairobi Trio & Nigel Gavin – The Dunes, Waiheke Island, 7pm, $39 Waiheke Jazz Festival – Pacific Curls and Five Mile Town – Waiheke Island Resort, Waiheke Island, 7pm, $39 Waiheke Jazz Festival Supper Club – Waiheke Island Resort, Waiheke Island, 11pm, $25 Contagious – Cock & Bull, Newmarket, 9:30pm, Free Mark Armstrong Acoustic – De Fontein, Mission Bay, 8:30pm, Free Oceania Storm – Bellbird Arms Tavern, Manurewa, 7:30pm, Free The Kavalliers – Avondale RSA, Avondale, 7pm, Free The Psychs, Bearhat, Frend & The
Monotonics – The Lucha Lounge, Newmarket, 8:30pm, $5 Tom Sharplin – Galatos, Newton, 8pm, $20
SUNDAY 8
Malcolm McNeill Sings Waiheke – The Estate, Waiheke Island, 5pm, $25 Shae Snell – The Fiddler Irish Bar, Auckland CBD, 6pm, Free Tom Rodwell & Storehouse – Grey Lynn Returned Services Club, Grey Lynn, 5pm, Free JamesRAy’s Acoustic Country Sunday – Bar Africa, North Harbour, 12pm, Free JamesRAy’s Encore Acoustic Country Sunday – Bar Africa, Highland Park, 5:30pm, Free Sandpaper Tango – Corelli’s Cafe, Devonport, 6pm, Free Kath Tait – The Bunker, Devonport, 8pm, $15 GrapeVinyl 2nd Anniversary/ Ascension Vineyard, Easter Sunday – Ascension Wine Estate, Matakana, 12pm, $15-$99 Chicane Duo – Bill Fish Cafe, St Marys Bay, 1pm Coopers Creek Summer Sunday Jazz – Coopers Creek Vineyard, Huapai, 1pm, Free The Alibis – The Bay at Matiatia, Waiheke Island, 1:30pm, $49 Waiheke Jazz Festival – Jazzabout Daypass – Waiheke Island Resort, Waiheke Island, 12pm, $49 Sunday Sessions – Slipp Inn Pub, Birkenhead, 1:00pm, Free Sunday Jazz, Rock, Reggae Session – Shooters Saloon, Kingsland, 2pm, Free The Night After Easter – Deluxe Club, Newton, 11:30pm, $8-$10 Shihad – The Meanest – Powerstation, Eden Terrace, 8pm Stimming (Dynamic-Germany) – The Bacco Room, Auckland CBD, 10pm, $25
MONDAY 9
Blues in The Boat House – Los Diablos – The Riverhead, Riverhead, 2pm, Free John Egenes w/ Special Guest Anji Sami – Bar Tabac, Auckland CBD, 9pm Traditional Irish Music Session – The Clare Inn, Mt Eden, 7pm, Free Coopers Creek Summer Sunday Jazz – Coopers Creek Vineyard, Huapai, 1pm, Free Free Jazz Waiheke Easter Monday – Artworks Courtyard, Waiheke Island, 12pm, Free Maria O’Flaherty & Ben Fernandez Quintet – Coopers Creek Vineyard, Huapai, 1pm Patti Austin – Bruce Mason Centre, Takapuna, 8:30pm
THE COROMANDEL FRIDAY 6
Andrew White & Gillian Boucher – Eggsentric Cafe And Restaurant, Cooks Beach, 8pm, $15-$40 Prana Presents Fusion – Prana Eco Retreat, Opoutere, 12pm, $145
SATURDAY 7
Andrew White & Gillian Boucher – Hauraki House Gallery, Coromandel, 8pm Prana Presents Fusion – Prana Eco Retreat, Opoutere, 7am, $145 Shihad – The Meanest – Coroglen Tavern, Coroglen, 7:30pm, $50
SUNDAY 8
Andrew White & Gillian Boucher – Kauaeranga Hall, Kauaeranga, 8pm Prana Presents Fusion – Prana Eco Retreat, Opoutere, 7am, $145
MONDAY 9
Prana Presents Fusion – Prana Eco Retreat, Opoutere, 7am, $145
HAWKE’S BAY / GISBORNE THURSDAY 5
Mission of Encouragement – Tour of New Zealand – Salvation Army Corps, Napier, 7pm, $5
SUNDAY 8
The Checks – Gunpowder and Rain Tour – The Cabana, Napier, 8pm, $22-$25
WAIKATO
THURSDAY 5
Hollie Smith Acoustic Tour – YOT Club, Raglan, 8pm, $20 Easterbeats – Spawnbreezie, Tyson Tyler, Ria, Sammie J – Ngaruawahia RSA, Ngaruawahia, 7pm, $25-$50 Shihad – The Meanest – Altitude Bar, Hamilton, 8pm
SATURDAY 7
Rocky Rhodes – Harbour View Hotel, Raglan, 9:30pm, Free
BAY OF PLENTY THURSDAY 5
National Jazz Festival: Tauranga All Stars – Baycourt Community and Arts Centre, Tauranga, 9:30pm, $25-$30 National Jazz Festival: The History of Jazz – The Concert – Baycourt Community and Arts Centre, Tauranga, 7:30pm, $45-$49
FRIDAY 6
National Jazz Festival: Hurricane Party – Baycourt Community and Arts Centre, Tauranga, 10pm, $49-$59 National Jazz Festival: 35th National Youth Jazz Competition – Baycourt Community and Arts Centre, Tauranga, 9am, 1pm, $15 National Jazz Festival: Adam Page – Baycourt Community and Arts Centre, Tauranga, 7pm, $25-$30 National Jazz Festival: Beat out the Boogie Jan Preston Trio – Baycourt Community and Arts Centre, Tauranga, 4pm, $25-$30 National Jazz Festival: Jazz Riverboat – The Sebel Trinity Wharf, Tauranga, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm, $65 National Jazz Festival: Kurt Elling – Holy Trinity Church, Tauranga, 8pm, $79 Shihad – The Meanest – Brewers Bar, Mt Maunganui, 8pm
SATURDAY 7
National Jazz Fest: Jazz Tui Award Night: NZ Music Awards – Baycourt Community and Arts Centre, Tauranga, 6:45pm, $30-$38 Hello Sailor – Waihi Beach Hotel, Waihi Beach, 8pm, $25 The Blues Buffet – Seismic Gastrobar, Rotorua, 8:30pm, Free National Jazz Festival: 35th National Youth Jazz Competition – Baycourt Community and Arts Centre, Tauranga, 9am, 1pm, $15 National Jazz Festival: Downtown Carnival Tauranga – No.1 The Strand, Tauranga, 12pm, Free National Jazz Festival: Jazz Riverboat – The Sebel Trinity Wharf, Tauranga, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm, $65 National Jazz Festival: Klaus Doldinger’s Passport – Baycourt Community and Arts Centre, Tauranga, 7pm, $54-$59 National Jazz Festival: Light My Fire – A Tribute to The Doo – Baycourt Community and Arts Centre, Tauranga, 9:30pm, $44-$49 Spawn Breezie – Kalah Bar, Rotorua, 6pm
SUNDAY 8
National Jazz Fest: Earth, Wind & Fire, Patti Austin, Keb Mo – Tauranga Domain, Tauranga, 5pm, $89-$159
National Jazz Festival: Downtown Carnival Tauranga – No.1 The Strand, Tauranga, 12pm, Free National Jazz Festival: Jazz Riverboat – The Sebel Trinity Wharf, Tauranga, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm, $65 National Jazz Festival: Jazz Village – Historic Village on 17th, Tauranga, 10am, $15 National Jazz Festival: Jubilation – Holy Trinity Church, Tauranga, 3pm, $39 National Jazz Festival: Then and Now – Tauranga Big Band – Baycourt Community and Arts Centre, Tauranga, 3pm, $45-$49
MONDAY 9
Jimmy & Perry – The Pheasant Plucker, Rotorua, 7pm, Free National Jazz Festival: Blame it on the Bossa Nova – Holy Trinity Church, Tauranga, 7pm, $54-$59 National Jazz Festival: Jazz Village – Historic Village on 17th, Tauranga, 10am, $15
MANAWATU / WHANGANUI TUESDAY 3
Kurt Elling & Eric Marienthal – Globe Theatre, Palmerston North, 8pm, $59
THURSDAY 5
The Checks – Gunpowder and Rain Tour – The Royal, Palmerston North, 8pm, $22-$25
SUNDAY 8
The All Seeing Hand New Zealand Tour 2012 – The ARC Theatre, Whanganui, 8pm
WELLINGTON REGION TUESDAY 3
Anna Pancaldi (UK) – San Francisco Bath House, 7pm, Free Live Music – The Library, 5pm, Free
WEDNESDAY 4
What Noisy Cats w/ Miles Calder & The Rumours – Mighty Mighty, 9pm, $5 Kroon for Your Kai ft. Ariana Tikao – The Southern Cross Bar and Restaurant, 7pm, Free Pleasure Point Sextet – The Realm Bar & Bistro, 7pm, Free Wellington Jazz Orchestra – Kurt Elling and Eric Marienthal – The Opera House, 8pm, $49-$79 Shock Futuro / Influence / Numbskull / Stendhal – San Francisco Bath House, 8pm, Free
THURSDAY 5
The Good Ol’ Juke Joint Boys – Hotel Bristol, 8:30pm, Free The Wanted Sessions w/ Mashtown County – Mighty Mighty, 9pm, Free Hot Club Sandwich & Friends – Old St Paul’s, 5:30pm, $20 Late Lounge: Nikita, The Spooky and A Circus of Men – The Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt, 7pm, Free
FRIDAY 6
Uncle Monkey – Dockside Restaurant & Bar, 8pm, Free State of Mind & MC Woody – Easter DNB Special – Sandwiches, 11:45pm, $20 Easter Weekender 2012 – Zombie Apocalypse – San Francisco Bath House, 8pm, $39
SATURDAY 7
Hollie Smith Acoustic Tour – The Thistle Inn, 7pm, $25 The Checks – Gunpowder and Rain Tour – San Francisco Bath House, 8pm, $22-$25 The Arvo Show ft. Fraser Ross and the Felt Tips – The Southern Cross Bar and Restaurant, 4pm, Free
Evil Mule w/ Tsunami House, DJ Jaz and Special Guests – Fast Eddie’s, 9pm, $5 Noir – The Lido Cafe, 8:30pm, Free
SUNDAY 8
The Boptet – The Lido Cafe, 7pm, Free The Sunday Jazz Club – Public Bar & Eatery, 7:30pm, Free Wellington Young Feminists’ Collective First Birthday – San Francisco Bath House, 8pm, $10
NELSON / TASMAN THURSDAY 5
Honest Jazz – The Honest Lawyer, Nelson, 7pm
MARLBOROUGH SATURDAY 7
Midge McCleary – Punga Cove Resort, Marlborough Sounds, 4:30pm, Free
CANTERBURY THURSDAY 5
Stomping Nick & Lupus Lunar – Wunderbar, Lyttelton, 9pm Dictaphone Blues – Beneath The Crystal Palace Album Tour – Dux Live, 8pm The Black Velvet Band – Becks Southern Alehouse, 8pm, Free DJ Fresh & Messy MC (UK) – The Bedford, 8pm, $10-$29.90 Salsa On Thursdays – Salsa Latina Dance Studio, 8:45pm, Free
FRIDAY 6
Canterbury Folk Festival – Waipara Riverside Park, Waipara, 8pm, $25-$80
SATURDAY 7
Canterbury Folk Festival – Waipara Riverside Park, Waipara, 8am, $25-$80 Troika w/ Weaponized and Shetland – Wunderbar, Lyttelton, 9pm
SUNDAY 8
Canterbury Folk Festival – Waipara Riverside Park, Waipara, 8am, $25-$80
MONDAY 9
Canterbury Folk Festival – Waipara Riverside Park, Waipara, 8am, $25-$80
OTAGO
SATURDAY 7
Dictaphone Blues – Beneath The Crystal Palace Album Tour – Chicks Hotel, Dunedin, 8pm Jo Little – Till the Blue Skies Come Tour w/ Jared Smith – Lake Hawea Hotel, Wanaka, 8pm, Free
POWERSTATION EASTER SUN 8 APRIL
SHIHAD
FRI 13 APRIL
SIX60
SIX60 SUN 15 APRIL SIX60 SAT 14 APRIL
2x SHOWS - ALL AGES 4PM / R18 8PM
WED 18 APRIL
MARK LANEGAN
THURS 10 MAY
KAISER CHIEFS
THURS 31 MAY
THE BLACK SEEDS
FRI 1 JUNE
THE BLACK SEEDS
SUNDAY 8
Jo Little – Till the Blue Skies Come Tour w/ Jared Smith – The Creek Cafe and Bar, Wanaka, 4pm, Free
SOUTHLAND FRIDAY 6
Paul Winders and the Goodness – Riverton Arts Centre, Riverton, 8pm, $20-$30 Osmium – Tillermans, Invercargill, 10pm, Free
SATURDAY 7
Just Blaze – Saints and Sinners, Invercargill, 10pm, Free has teamed with Eventfinder for gig listings. To get your gig considered, go to eventfinder.co.nz and submit your show for publication. Due to space constraints, we can’t guarantee that every show will be listed.
SOLD OUT
www.powerstation.net.nz
PNC’s Under the Influence clocked 1000-plus downloads in a matter of hours when it went live last Friday – cop it for free at pncmusic.co.nz… Kings Arms just had one of its most psychedelic weeks ever with Boris, Dead Meadow and Wooden Shjips all playing startling sets… Seems the sleuths at the Mysterex blog are picking up some subtle VOLUME clues… Sherpa support The Checks on their Gunpowder and Rain tour… Six60 have added a third Auckland show on Sunday 15 April… Much excitement with Alphabethead
PNC
playing with his band The All Seeing Hand at Tabac on 20 April… James Duncan’s alter ego Lawrence Arabia has a well-dressed release forthcoming – watch this space… Interesting plans afoot for the Home Brew album, which is set to drop next month – they ain’t released records this way before… Shihad played a South Auckland police station last week… Spotted – Arc of Ascent and Datura vinyl at the Dead Meadow show – if they sound as good as they look… International Record Store Day is Saturday 21 April… Rackets recording again… Doug Jerebine just got a video grant – is this the oldest song (and maturest) recipient of a video grant?… Missing Teeth ripped it up at the Kings Arms recently… Thee Rum Coves and Gina’s Revenge have been added to The Sonics’ bill. Gina’s Revenge about to do some recording with Alan from The Broadsides who by all accounts did a fantastic job opening for Alabama 3 recently… Jimmy Christmas will
open the Shihad shows performing solo with songs from his back catalogue and perhaps a few covers thrown in… We recently mentioned Dolf from The Datsuns’ Swedish band Imperial State Electric – they just did a show with The Hives and their new album is selling well in Sweden… And The Datsuns’ new album will be out later this year – mastering done, artwork to be taken care of. Continuing on from last week’s theme of urban renewal, the former People’s Coffee space on Garrett Street has been refreshed as an Illuminati/ triangle-themed takeaway coffee shop called August… Along the same lines, gallery/performance space 19 Tory Street is now open as well… Wellington icon King Homeboy’s trip to Berlin to compete in the 2012 World Beatbox Championship has been successfully funded via pledgeme.co.nz – look out for a documentary on Homeboy and his life later this year… Wellington reggae/ hip hop collective Newtown Sound have just finalised their first 12inch vinyl release, a six-track EP of music from New Zealand rap pioneers Dam Native, which features, among other songs, ‘The Horified One’ and ‘Sirens in the City’… Well-known German Tank Girl babe Jules, who has probably served you at Scopa, is heading back to Germany after making quite the impact on the capital – we’ll miss you, trouble!... Brostock 2012 hits San Francisco Bath House on Friday night with the New Zealand Easter Weekender Tour. Featuring TC, Skism, Wilkinson, Roksonix, Jenna G, Reeps One, Mobscene and MC Tali, it’s been billed as a massive display of dubstep, drum’n’bass and Moombahton talent from the UK… Henry Rollins returns to Wellington on Friday 13 April. Part of his The Long March Tour, Rollins will perform at the Opera House – should be some good ranting on the night… The next night, folk dude Xavier Rudd plays Bar Bodega… Local drone meets Gregorian chanting meets punk drumming trio The All Seeing Hand are headed off on a national tour, kicking off on Wednesday 18 April at San Francisco Bath House… Folk duo French for Rabbits are launching their new EP at The Moorings Ballroom on Sunday 8 April with support from Tui awardwinner Amiria Grenell and Fraser
Ross. The Moorings is an incredible location… Friday 13 April, well-loved Wellington beats club night EX.D returns to Sandwiches with Auckland tropical house DJs Chaos in the CBD headlining. Aldous Harding has recorded an album, Beasts and Birds, under the guidance of Anika Moa. She is currently touring the North Island with Hollie Smith. Harding was seen busking in Geraldine by Anika (story goes she was trying to raise some money to go to Anika’s show) who subsequently invited her to Auckland to record the album… CPIT Jazz School has reopened in their Madras St building, and lots of shows are being played in April by tutors, current and ex students at nearby Visions restaurant… Bring Change is a concert that is to play at Clearwater Resort on 28 April. Gold coin donation. The concert is to promote “no fracking and no deep sea drilling” and will feature Tiki Tane, Minuit, Jason Kerrison and many more… Six60 sold out the Bedford two days prior to the show… Flight of the Conchords have added an extra Christchurch show… Upcoming at the Dux – Henry Rollins and Justin Townes Earle… Transistors kicked off their US tour in Nashville last week, picking up two new titles from United Pressing Plant on seven-inch, including a tour of the factory, a visit and tour of Third Man. After the show in Chapel Hill guitarist James Harding had to have an earplug professionally removed after the show. Feastock was a huge success – check out Sam Valentine’s review in this week’s VOLUME... Beastwars recordings in Dunedin with Dale Cotton progressing well… For the Quail and Kilmore Girls launched Gyro Magazine at the Soundzzz party… The Altar Vendetta seeking new bass player… Kane Strange has a bunch of new recordings out on Bandcamp… The Great Jali running a poster design competition for upcoming show… Chicks Project full steam ahead and seeking 10-12 new high school bands to go through the workshop, mentoring and live gigs process. This runs pre-Rockquest and sees the local music community reaching out and helping the new upand-comers.
Got some news for More Volume? Email us at morevolume@volumemagazine.co.nz.
ATMOSPHERE Wednesday 2 May – San Francisco Bath House, Wellington Thursday 3 May – The Studio, Auckland
THE CHECKS GUN POWDER AND RAIN TOUR W/ SHERPA Thursday 5 April – The Royal, Palmerston North Saturday 7 April – San Francisco Bath House, Wellington Sunday 8 April – The Cabana, Napier
MARK LANEGAN BAND Wednesday 18 April – The Powerstation, Auckland
TRINITYROOTS Friday 6/Saturday 7 April – Sawmill Café, Leigh
LUCINDA WILLIAMS Tuesday 10 April – Town Hall, Auckland Wednesday 11 April – St James Theatre, Wellington
THE SONICS Wednesday 18 April – Kings Arms, Auckland
PETER HOOK & THE LIGHT PLAYING CLOSER – A JOY DIVISION CELEBRATION Wednesday 18/Thursday 19 April – Bodega, Wellington Friday 20 April – Studio, Auckland
JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE Thursday 19 April – Dux Live,
WAVVES Thursday 3 May – Kings Arms, Auckland
KAISER CHIEFS Thursday 10 May – The Powerstation, Auckland
LADY GAGA Thursday 7/Friday 8/Sunday 10 June – Vector Arena, Auckland
Christchurch Friday 20 April – Bar Bodega, Wellington Saturday 21 April – Kings Arms, Auckland Sunday 22 April – Sawmill Café, Leigh
THE SPECIALS Tuesday 10 April – Shed 10, Queens Wharf, Auckland
FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS Wednesday 13 June – Hawke’s Bay Opera
HENRY ROLLINS Wednesday 11 April – Clarence St Theatre, Hamilton Thursday 12 April – Dux Live, Christchurch Friday 13 April – The Opera House, Wellington Saturday 14 April – SkyCity Theatre, Auckland
STEVE EARLE Wednesday 11 April – Kings Arms, Auckland Thursday 12 April – Bodega, Wellington
KRS-ONE
Friday 20 April – Town Hall, Wellington Saturday 21 April – The Cloud, Auckland
CITY AND COLOUR Sunday 29 April – Town Hall, Auckland
House, Hastings Thursday 14 June – Founders Theatre, Hamilton Saturday 16 June – Town Hall, Auckland Sunday 17 June – TSB Showplace, New Plymouth Tuesday 19/Wednesday 20 June – Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington Saturday 23 June – Regent Theatre, Dunedin Sunday 24 June – Events Centre, Queenstown Tuesday 26 June – CBS Canterbury Arena, Christchurch Wednesday 27 June – Trafalgar Centre, Nelson Friday 29 June/Sunday 1 July – Vector Arena, Auckland
THE POWERSTATION, AUCKLAND Wednesday 28 March Review Andrew Upston Photography Milana Radojcic ELBOW’S GUY GARVEY: “At last we meet” [audience cheers]. “It’s not good form to apologise right at the beginning of a gig, but I must apologise that it’s taken us so long to come and see you” (more cheers from the instantly forgiving audience). It may have been 22 years in the making, but when Elbow visited New Zealand for the first time last week they took obvious joy in making sure it counted. Majestic then minimal, and every emotion in-between, Elbow don’t just write pop music, but gloriously meticulous pop music with a high IQ. The arguably singular success of Elbow on stage belongs to the ebullient
Guy Garvey. Charming, gracious and generous of spirit, his huge voice (somewhere between John Martyn and Leonard Cohen) frames the songs with observational, nostalgia-tinged lyrics that pack a powerful emotional wallop. He prowled around all edges of The Powerstation stage ensuring no darkened corner was without a few seconds of his spotlight. It was one of the few gigs I’ve been to where the love and goodwill from the stage seemed to literally embrace the crowd like a massive all-inclusive hug between long-lost friends. Because of Garvey’s sometimes rambling but always good-natured between-song banter, an Elbow show has a swaggering spontaneity about it. The songs, however, carry themselves with the emotionally intense baggage from a rollercoaster career full of treacherous seas, personal loss and many beginnings and endings. The nearly two-hour set – recorded by Radio New Zealand for broadcast later in the year – drew almost exclusively from Elbow’s two most recent albums, The Seldom Seen Kid and Build a Rocket Boys!. Highlights were a truly supercharged version of ‘Grounds for Divorce’ full of the bite and edge of some their earlier material, and the beautiful open-hearted honesty of
both ‘Puncture Repair’ and ‘Lippy Kids’, fine examples of Elbow’s skill at saying so much with so little. The set ended with their most successful song to-date, ‘One Day Like This’, with its feel-good refrain “So throw those curtains wide/ One day like this a year would see me right”, belted by the capacity crowd with all their collective might. “Listen to yourselves, Auckland,”
“He prowled around all edges of The Powerstation stage ensuring no darkened corner was without a few seconds of his spotlight.”
enthused the triumphant singer as the crowd roared. Well, Elbow certainly heard, and I know they will be back. So, a doff of the hat to the five gentlemen from a land afar and stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but hands down this was the gig of the year. Turn off all the lights, lock the doors, everyone else may as well go home, there’s just no contest.
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REAL GROOVY RECORDS PRESENTS
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THE MEANEST LIVE IN APRIL 2012 JIMMY CHRISTMAS (LUGER BOA/THE D4) TO OPEN THE SHOWS
SHOWS START THIS THURSDAY! THURS 5 HAMILTON ALTITUDE FRI 6 (GOOD FRIDAY) TAURANGA BREWERS SAT 7 COROGLEN COROGLEN TAVERN SUN 8 (EASTER SUNDAY) AUCKLAND POWERSTATION WEDS 11 GREYMOUTH RAILWAY HOTEL THURS 12 NELSON VICTORY ROOM AT THE TRAFALGAR CENTRE FRI 13 CHRISTCHURCH THE BEDFORD SAT 14 WELLINGTON (LOWER HUTT) STATION VILLAGE TICKETS FROM TICKETMASTER THE VENUES AND REGIONAL OUTLETS