#014 ER 2011
B 6 DECEM
S T E K C RA – GIVE ’EM ENOUGH
ROPE BIC RUNGA AND KODY NIELS ON – LOVE AND OTHER
BLOODY HELL,
IT’S FUCKED UP !
CATASTROPH
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POWERSTATION WEDS BLACK JOE LEWIS 7 DEC AND THE HONEYBEARS FRI 16 DEC MON SOLD OUT 16 JAN THURS 19 JAN WED 25 JAN FRI 27 JAN TUES 31 JAN WEDS 22 FEB THURS 23 FEB TUE 28 FEB THURS 1 MARCH TUE 6 MARCH WED 7 MARCH
WED 14 MARCH SAT 31 MARCH
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ROKY ERICKSON
THE DIRTY THREE
NICK LOWE
www.powerstat�on.net.nz
A Steiner candle, spotting knives, confetti, stacks of unwashed dishes, empty beer bottles, a rubber chicken, unspeakable pornography, a bucket bong, spent prophylactics and a rock’n’roll band in drag. That was the scene that greeted us at the home of Oscar Davies-Kay, the Steiner-schooled frontman of Ellerslie’s seediest, Rackets, the band sprawled across this week’s issue. Don’t let the bombsite of a band HQ fool you. With their Six Sick Singles series, Rackets have squeezed in more in a 12-week period than what others achieve in a lifetime. And if you’ve been brave enough to watch any of the disturbed videos this inelegantly wasted outfit has been assaulting the internet with over the past couple of months, you’d know the treatment for the cover shoot came fully-formed in their ‘Karma is a Drag’ clip. Have a read of the Rackets cover story and then expose your eyeballs to the terrifying series of Levi Beamish-directed videos over at rackets.co.nz. Caution: Seriously not safe for work.
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: Stephen Czerwonka WRITERS: Chris Cudby, Marty Duda, Duncan Greive, Jessica Hansell, Kriss Knights, Joe Nunweek, Charlotte Red, Hugh Sundae, Dan Trevarthen, Guitar Wolf, Aaron Yap ILLUSTRATION: Hej Ganias PHOTOGRAPHERS: Ted Baghurst, Jordan Dobson, Amy Elgar, Nick Kingstone, Lynn Knights, Milana Radojcic, Xanthe Williams AN APN PUBLICATION
MILON WILLIAMS – COBRA KHAN Cobra Khan’s new album Adversities was a longtime coming. How does it feel having it in the can? Songs written late 2009, drums tracked May 2010 – *twiddle our thumbs* – guitars and bass tracked February 2011, vocals and keys tracked February and March 2011, released November 2011. I wanna go play in the park now! You recorded your vocals in your flatmate’s home studio, usually used for voiceover work. How did that work out for you? The hardest part about that whole scenario was being left to my own devices, relying on my own judgement, and nobody around to tell me that I could do it better. By the third song I was over it and basically kept the first two takes and went from there, which totally eliminated the feeling of second guessing yourself the whole time. Like the common goldfish. Craig Radford from Sticky Filth lent his voice to ‘Borderlands’. What inspired the collaboration? The way Craig speaks about music, life, or a piece of toast is always heartfelt and sincere. It was his chanting, conviction and vocal timbre that was needed on the second verse of the track to make it that much more evil. Cobra Khan played Auckland’s Stonerfest last week and you’re playing the Christchurch one on Saturday. Does the band partake in the Golden Bay hay? No, but do you remember Roly Hei Hei? Cobra’s Khan’s new album Adversities is out now on ElevenfiftySeven.
Punk journeyman Henry Rollins returns to New Zealand in the New Year with The Long March tour, bringing his bareknuckled opinions and acerbic wit to Hamilton, Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland. VOLUME has two doublepasses to see the former Black Flag frontman serve up his no-holds-barred spoken word performance – for your chance to win tickets to a show of your choice, email loot@ volumemagazine.co.nz and let us know the local venue Rollins Band played back in May 1993. HENRY ROLLINS THE LONG MARCH NEW ZEALAND TOUR 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
MORE FOLDBACK
LEVI BEAMISH – RACKETS VIDEO MAKER I moved to upper Queen St next door to a place $noregazZzm were living, and then I met Rackets and started documenting what they got up to. I’ve got a year’s worth of really intense footage I could cut into a documentary – I am way too comfortable seeing all the guys half-naked now. I’m currently working at an advertising agency so I can make videos like the Six Sick Singles ones in my spare time. We were always going to do it on the cheap, and there’s something exciting about that because working within guidelines and restrictions and still pushing the ideas we had as far as we could was fun. I think when we found out we had NZ On Air funding for one of the videos, it was actually harder because then we had to work out how to make it look like it was funded. Levi Beamish directed the videos for Rackets’ Six Six Singles – watch at your peril at rackets.co.nz.
SEND ME A POSTCARD Japan’s greatest “Jet” rock’n’roll band, Guitar Wolf, plays five New Zealand dates in December – check White Line Fever on page 27 for details.
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SOMETHING COOKING IN THE KITCHEN TONIGHT… Even as I write this, another foodrelated status update appears in my feed. Musician and producer Ben King has produced again. This time it’s cold-smoked wild boar: “It is about 40 per cent fat, and I can’t wait to taste it!” ME TOO. AFTER being relatively sheltered food-wise, I’ll try most things these days. Apart from fruit, obviously. A few weeks back, after tasting Aussie chef Sean Connolly’s canapés, I drunkenly tweeted something about how I would taste horse if Sean Donnelly had cooked it. Somewhere SJD fans were confused.
Last week the second most watched video on nzherald.co.nz/ entertainment was ‘Kiss Da Cook Episode 3’ – Fat Freddy’s Drop’s Iain Gordon’s musical tutorial around the full process of making his signature paua wonton, “from the ocean to the plate”. It was watched by seven times as many people as “Hugh Grant furious at phone hacking tabloid”.
“Crazy shit is happening. Everyone has gone food bonkers.”
Back to Ben. He didn’t buy his boar readysmoked. He built a smoker. Crazy shit is happening. Everyone has gone food bonkers. I read a weekend supplement that said dinner parties are so popular these days that crafty buggers have started charging friends to attend.
I’m hardly pointing out anything new, of course. According to aspirational magazines, also supplements, cooking has been the new rock’n’roll for quite some time. Maybe it’s cyclical. The last thing I want this column to be is “observations of a man, older” but, having said that, am I just getting older? Aren’t you, too? Like Ben King (whose blog, Never Too Full to Eat, actually is aspirational – just don’t expect recipes) I have an obsession with restoring old kitchen implements. I searched YouTube for tutorials about making homemade barbeques out of 40-gallon drums. I have an old rusty cast-iron pan in my garage and I’ve downloaded instructions from the Curious Kai blog about how to bring it back. One of these days I won’t get around to doing that, too. Today’s food love-in started while we were setting up for the Pajama Club live video chat. Drummer Alana Skyring was preparing a chilli that was rumoured to contain stout, cocoa powder and coffee. Cooking, everyone is at it! Even Flip Grater has put out a cookbook. If they ever do a Celebrity MasterChef in New Zealand, it will be half-full with local rock stars. Sweet Jesus, I’m hungry. Good thing there is a frozen shop-bought apple crumble in the oven. Eleven minutes left. To borrow a quote from media commentator Jose Barbossa, “I’m going to eat the shit out of it”.
MORE GRAVY We have a new TV blog online, Bitchin’ Channels, by Paul Casserly, the man behind Eating Media Lunch, The Unauthorised History of New Zealand, and the early episodes of Havoc – nzherald. co.nz/ television. For Make My Movie, this Thursday is one of the biggest dates yet. We reveal the final two teams, who will then have till 20 January to submit a full feature script. Just in time to head along to the Big Day Out.
KODY NIELSON Kody Nielson and Bic Runga have brought their equally impeccable pop sensibilities to Runga’s new album, Belle, the first of her records with co-writing credits and an outside producer, in the form of Nielson. The partners in love and music talked about collaboration, musical obsession and Nielson’s new outfit, Opossom, for Talking Heads. Photography Ted Baghurst BIC RUNGA: I want to know what it’s like going out with a musician. KODY NIELSON: Well, you already know, don’t you? I think it’s painful. Oh, thanks. Well, you know – it is, though. It’s kind of like being… oh, music’s hard. It’s not like we come home from the office. What’s the best profession for a boyfriend, do you think? Well, I don’t know – probably unemployed. You’d be spewing if I was on the dole. I haven’t had many boyfriends who have had jobs, to be honest. And they all worked out real well. Well, the only problem with going out with musicians, I suppose, is that you don’t finish work at a particular time. It’s just always 24-7, pretty much. What do you want to talk about? Your new band? Of course! It’s not like we’ve really done anything yet.
Do you get annoyed that you’ll always be compared to your brother [Ruban Nielson, Unknown Mortal Orchestra] and your past bands? Is it annoying? Well, I suppose it will always be compared to something or another – there’s nothing I can do about that really. So, what’s it like having a new album out? Is it satisfying? It’s been 14 years, apparently, since you first began.
“[Mint Chicks] was a dialogue and my music’s always been a monologue.” Yeah, it’s okay. I just did Breakfast TV this morning, and that is like when you go to the dairy in the middle of the night and there’s lots of fluorescent lights. It’s that sort of cold shock. Were you getting a head-spin? Yeah, I mean, I’ve been at home for five years really just being introspective. So, yeah, Breakfast TV was unnerving. But it’s alright being back on that “thing”. But, more specifically though, the record. Is it good to have a record out? Not the media side of it.
&bic runga What else is there after you’ve put a record out? Well, just having it out there to have people to listen to and enjoy it. That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?
Yeah, I suppose, but I don’t really experience that first-hand. I mean, I’m looking forward to being on the road, for sure. So you’ve had a son, the love of your life. How did that change you? Nah, just kidding. Anyway, my new band’s called Opossom, just for the record! We haven’t got too deep into Opossum yet. I’ve just recorded a record and I need to start playing and start evolving like that. I suppose we’re always talking about music. Bic doesn’t really like talking about music, but I’m obsessed with it. I keep going on about it all night. I can talk about music for maybe 18 hours a day, but then I need to go to sleep. [Kody] would just be talking in his sleep about music if he could. I don’t know anyone else as obsessed with music. I thought I was, but clearly not. I’m used to discussing it by myself and he’s probably used to having his brother to bounce things off. [Mint Chicks]
was a dialogue and my music’s always been a monologue. But I like how single-minded you are. I do get tired of talking about music because – what’s that quote about “talking about music is like dancing to architecture”? Who said that? It was Frank Zappa – that’s your hero. Yeah, but that’s bollocks – he used to talk about music non-stop. He was making it at the time but, you know, when you’re making it you’re discussing it. You’re sort of working it out.
I love talking about music when I’m making it. You just work out problems, eh – like visualising it, I reckon, because you’re going through the motions in a way. You work out problems that, if you hadn’t spent so much time concentrating on, you’d still be at square-one. I get quite obsessed with what needs to be done because I write the music, play it, record it and produce it and mix it, so I get pretty in-depth about real specific things, like turn down the treble on the high-hat in bar 18 or whatever – shit like that. If you’re not always thinking about it like that or listening to it a lot, then you don’t really get to those problems.
To listen to the full audio of Kody Nielson and Bic Runga in conversation, head to nzherald.co.nz/volume – live from 2pm Tuesday. Bic Runga’s Belle is out now on Sony Music. ‘Cola Elixer’, the first song from Kody Nielson’s new outfit Opossom, is online at opossom.bandcamp.com. Opossom support Unknown Mortal Orchestra on Friday 16 December at San Francisco Bath House in Wellington and Saturday 17 December at Kings Arms in Auckland. BIC RUNGA’S ACOUSTIC CHURCH TOUR Tuesday 6 December/Wednesday 7 December – Knox Church, Dunedin Thursday 8 December – First Presbyterian Church, Invercargill
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A column in which Duncan Greive scours the world’s charts in the hope of finding, if not the perfect beat, then something worth whistling at least. THE ‘net
Juno might well be the world’s biggest dance music store, with 15 years building to total ubiquity. If you’re not deeply engaged in the culture (like, say, me) it’s a disconcerting place to be exposed to – a closed system by and for pop-immune purists with its own big players, genres and rhythms. And you haven’t heard of anyone. After ploughing through the top 10, I’m not convinced I’m missing too much. Pimpsoul (rubbish name alert) are the current digital champs with some semi-erect dancehall rap hybrid – if you’d told me this was a big beat single from 1997, I’d have nodded sagely. It’d go off at the Turnaround, I’m sure, but I have zero affection for that culture, so I’m mystified about this track’s dominance. Next up come JKRIV with some house-y electro with a baseline borrowed from Kraftwerk c. ‘Numbers’. It’s nice, but nothing extraordinary. Jacques Renault peddles heavy disco, really lush and emotional, while CMC have an up-tempo break-assisted take on ‘Papa Was a Rolling Stone’. The common thread is that Juno’s big-sellers seem to have lost that futuristic thrust that used to be at the core of electronic music – superbly executed, but weirdly ‘safe’. *shrugs*
THE WORLD
Ireland is the ‘I’ from the European PIGS who are keeping our recession rolling, but has recently started to look like it might be through the worst of it. Their chart tells a different story, as nestled amongst the ubiquitous (Maroon 5/LMFAO/Rihanna) and among a smattering of nominally ‘credible’ stuff (Florence/Lana/ Professor Green) is a single which has dominated their chart for six months. ‘Jar of Hearts’ is also the most maudlin song I think I’ve ever heard. If that’s what they’re banging on the radio, I’d be extremely sceptical about their ability to do anything more strenuous than make it out of bed.
THE LOCALS
After music DVDs, compilations must be the least glamorous chart of them all – but these old warhorses used to be the way kids get into music, and are full of singles, so deserve the occasional bout of attention. This one is pretty chilling through the middle – Ten Guitars 3, You Must Remember This and a sequel to a Christmas album – but is bookended by the indefatigable wonder of the Now series and Flying Nun’s Tally Ho!. The latter should really have done far better, so hopefully its debut at 10 is just a bleary, hungover start to a long run.
JUNO MP3 STORE TOP 10 1 Pimpsoul & Neon Steve – ‘Right About Now’ 2 JKRIV & Lou Teti – ‘Elisco’ 3 Jacques Renault – ‘Main Line’ 4 Basement Freaks – ‘BootyFunk’ 5 FCL vs VFB – ‘Love Prescription’ 6 Tonic – ‘Smack!’ 7 Ejeca – ‘Was I Here’ 8 Storm Queen – ‘It Goes On’ 9 CMC & Silenta – ‘Rock Da Riddem’ 10 Kon & The Gang – ‘Sunlight’
IRISH TOP 10 1 Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris – ‘We Found Love’ 2 LMFAO – ‘Sexy and I Know It’ 3 Flo Rida – ‘Good Feeling’ 4 Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson – ‘Winter Song’ 5 Professor Green ft. Emeli Sande – ‘Read All About It’ 6 Ed Sheeran – ‘Lego House’ 7 Christiana Perri – ‘A Thousand Years’ 8 Lana Del Ray – ‘Video Games’ 9 LMFAO – ‘Sexy and I Know It’ 10 Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera – ‘Moves Like Jagger’
NEW ZEALAND MUSIC CHART – COMPILATIONS 1 Various Artists – Now That’s What I Call Music 37 2 Various Artists – Ten Guitars 3 3 Various Artists – Ministry of Sound Annual 2012 4 Various Artists – Ministry of Sound: Maximum Bass Platinum 5 Various Artists – The Great Australian Songbook 6 Various Artists – Hits for Kids 3 7 Various Artists – Rocked 11 8 Various Artists – You Must Remeber This 9 Various Artists – Still the Best Christmas Album in the World... Ever! 10 Various Artists – Tally Ho! Flying Nun’s Greatest Bits
GOLDEN AXE CHRIS CUDBY’S TOP FIVE CARTOONISTS
Belle (Sony) IT’S BEEN SIX years since Bic’s previous studio album, 2005’s Birds. Since then she’s become a mother and taken up a personal and musical relationship with former Mint Chick, Kody Nielson. Nielson’s presence is all over Belle – he sings, plays drums, bass and keyboards, and wrote or co-wrote three of the 10 songs. Plus he produced the album. But this doesn’t sound like Bic Runga fronting Mint Chicks. The first two songs, ‘Tiny Little Piece of My Heart’ and ‘Hello Hello’, sound like classic Runga –memorable melodies and an endearing vocal performance. But things get complicated after that. Nielson adds some neo-psychedelia to Runga’s songs, but in the process he obscures her best assets – her voice and her melodies. By track nine, ‘Darkness All Around Us’, Runga can hardly be heard at all, with Nielson taking on the vocals and ASAP ROCKY LiveLoveASAP (Polo Grounds) Like tourmate Drake, this Harlem rapper has built his reputation on masses of Internet hype, draws from the most interesting contemporary pop and electronic music, and has signed the sort of major label deal that’s rare these days. Unlike Drake, this mixtape is occasionally thorny, consistently intoxicating and witty without breaking a sweat – in other words, everything hip-hop should be. LOS CAMPESINOS! Hello Sadness (Arts and Crafts) Oh my god – I despised this band with the fire of a thousand suns in 2008 and it’s surprisingly sweet to find they’ve matured into a pretty okay indie rock band (think early Modest Mouse plus Art Brut). “Songs About Your Girlfriend” and “Life Is A Long Time” are killers. If you didn’t like them before, this is worth investigating. MOTËM The Forthcoming Mixtape (Gebbz Steelo Boutique) Bizarre, totally
most of the instrumental work. Having the two put their creative minds together is an interesting proposition, but Runga needs to remember this is her album and there is no need to hide her best qualities behind her partner’s musical adventurism. Review Marty Duda
amazing skweee curio from Canada. Motëm’s free mixtape constantly refers to its state of forthcomingness with meta-pathological insistence, matches the most rudimentary bedroom synth leads to his idiot savant ramblings, and features the most laugh-out-loud cover of Seal’s “Kiss Like A Rose” I’ve ever heard. The Karl Pilkington of electronica. A must. IPSWICH Living In A Stranger’s Home EP (Independent) A tough little quarter-hour that’s as lurching and unsettling as the experience indicated in the title (the Christchurch trio had their lives and plans disrupted by this year’s quake). As gnarled as Auckland’s God Bows To Math with some of Slint’s more glacial and spooky moments in the mix. THE ETTES Wicked Will (Varèse Sarabande) Nashville co-ed garage rock band record a par-for-thecourse mature effort. Songs like ‘Teeth’ and ‘Don’t Bring Me Down’ have a spooky, sexy allure and the whole thing slinks along appealingly with a bubblegum toughness, even if it’s not exactly exhilarating.
1 Gary Panter – The original LA punk cartoonist, also a revered painter. His Jimbo comic books that should be prescribed text for anyone hoping to make anything cool ever. 2 Ben Jones – Stoner sci-fi hippy slacker comics with a deadly critical eye – Jones hits the mark every time. 3 Yuichi Yokoyama – Created startlingly original and emotionally distant worlds in books like New Engineering and Garden. 4 Junji Ito – Junji Ito makes horror comics far in excess of what’s ever appeared on the big screen, filtered through a wonderful “romance comic” drawing style. His hypnotic, disturbing and sometimes ridiculous work includes Uzumaki and Tomie. 5 E.C. Segar – The guy who created Popeye was like the Groucho Marx of early 20th Century cartoonists. Effortlessly funny, slyly inventive and a master craftsman, his burger-loving character Wimpy is still comedy gold.
Golden Axe release their new album Liquid Bacon on Friday with a release party/art installation at Auckland’s Audio Foundation HQ – 6pm start, koha entry.
CHUCK RAGAN Covering Ground (Side One Dummy Records) Ragan (ex-out of punk band Hot Water Music) has his shot at the throaty Bruce Springsteen rootsrock solo effort thing. Lots of pondering “reaching for the bottle” and strumming. Weirdly, he often sounds like Dave Dobbyn. Beyond that uncanny valley, there’s nothing to see here. DJ Shadow The Less You Know, The Better (Island) Josh Davis’s extraordinary career was all about building up to Entroducing – the absolute apex of his craft and turntablism’s only Desert Island Disc. If you never ventured beyond that crucial record, this is the most-aptly named album ever – a place where stale sampling mingles with fumbled hard rock and circa-2005 Bravery indie. SOULWARE Return to the Source (Optimus Gryme Recordings) Live Kiwi dubstep group’s debut album is mercifully low on ‘wub’ and finds plenty of eerie atmospheric corners
– haunting instrumentals jostle with the likes of “Te Ao Marama”, a stirring piece of percussion-driven R’nB. Almost fatally long (entire length of a compact disc) but nevertheless a fine studio artifact for their fans to treasure. NADIA REID Letters I Wrote and Never Sent (Gold Sounds) If I don’t have anything nice to say about plucky teenage songwriters I’ll generally aim not to say anything at all. Reid is different – if the songs on her EP are sometimes lovelorn and melodramatic, they’re also these ragged, intricate, involving things. Reid has a deeper and richer voice than her peers which suits standouts like “No Good Man”. THE BROADSIDES Bring Me Love! (Independent) The carnivalesque presentation is a ripper and these songs – a comfort stew of 50s rockabilly and early country ‘n western – clip along with a exacting economy. It’s a little hard to buy it all, though, po-faced as it is. An okay souvenir to what’s meant to be a great live show. Reviews Joe Nunweek
fullyy To say Auckland trio Rackets hit the ground running would be an understatement – the scruffy punk-pop outfit have compressed an incredible amount of activity into its twoyear lifespan with no sign of relenting. Text Chris Cudby Photography Ted Baghurst
BY THE TIME you read this, Rackets will have just wrapped up their latest project, a collaboration with Chrysalis Films named Six Sick Singles, six music videos for six new songs released bi-weekly over a 12-week period (plus B-sides!) to be compiled as an album collection just before Xmas. Frequently hilarious, grotesque, heartbreaking and totally wrong, these videos are an excellent snapshot of a band on top of its game, churning out new ideas at a lightning fast pace and doing whatever it takes to reach new audiences. Visiting the Chrysalis Films HQ on the eve of their fifth video release, it’s apparent that the extended family of
musicians and filmmakers has an intense commitment to the project matched only by their adept pot-smoking skills. Rackets’ singer Oscar Davies says that the Six Sick Singles idea emerged a year ago when the band was holed up in Dunedin recording new material, immediately prior to the group’s epic two-month tour of New Zealand towns small and large. “We went to live in Chicks Hotel in Port Chalmers and wrote the songs and toured them at 42 shows all the way back up to Auckland and recorded them,” he enthuses. “We thought they’d been well tested by then. We played all the single songs and the B-sides 42 times.” With 12 solid songs in the bag and a backlog of material under their belt, the band had just released their double albums Friends/High Places and had the Down With the Kids EP ready to go Davies was free to consider a new approach. “It just happened; it hit me and I wrote it all down and then I told as many people as I could. I came to Levi [Beamish, Chrysalis Films] and I told him the idea, and he was like, ‘I’ll do it as long as I can do all of them’,” Davies explains. “I thought it would be a different spin on how to release an album and get your music out there”. When the Six Sick Singles are viewed back-to-back, a story unfolds around the band involving misbegotten romance, band rivalries, rampant drug-taking and rock star ambitions being elevated and crushed, with special guests like Leigh Hart and David Farrier popping up and genuinely funny moments throughout. Director Levi Beamish explains that, while the videos can seem improvisatory, a story arc was firmly in place.
JIG
Director Sue Bourne
KNOWING VERY WELL that Irish stepdancing is a bit of a hard sell to the masses, Sue Bourne’s watchable but thoroughly flimsy Jig works overtime to pull us into this incredibly niche world, though our familiarity with its narrative formula – likened to a cross between Mad Hot Ballroom and Spellbound – helps.
Featuring nine contestants toiling to compete in the 40th Irish Dancing World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, the documentary is quick to establish that stepdancing transcends geography. It opens with well-spoken 10-year-old Brogan McCay from Northern Ireland, but soon shifts countries and continents. There’s John Whitehurst from Birmingham, Julia O’Rourke from New York, a group of 20something girls from Moscow and, as if to trump ethnic and gender stereotyping in this “white girl’s sport” in one fell swoop, a Sri Lankan boy from Holland. The personal stories that dominate the first-half of the doco are most telling, if also nothing we haven’t already heard before: children under pressure to perform, parents making big sacrifices, the physical strain of the sport, the drive to win not for money but for the title. But Jig eventually suffers from lack of context – I’m none the wiser of its history (why those crazy wigs?) – and too many characters. The latter is particularly glaring in the final third when the doco clumsily piles on multiple climaxes alternating between joy and disappointment for all the contestants, the repetition effectively rendering any emotional impact lost. Review Aaron Yap
At 31, British actor Ben Wishaw (Perfume) has been cast as the new Q in the new Bond movie Skyfall. He will be the youngest actor to ever play the role of the gadgets expert. Colin Firth confirms he’s been asked to play the villain in Spike Lee’s remake of Korean thriller Oldboy, and according to MTV he’s “thinking about it”. There’s serious talk of the Lord of the Rings trilogy being post-converted to 3D, says Elijah Wood, who’s currently reprising his role as Frodo Baggins in The Hobbit. Martin Scorsese will be returning to the crime genre with an adaptation of the Norwegian serial killer novel The Snowman.
SUPER
8
Abrams Director J.J. Starring Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler, Ron Eldard, Riley Griffiths
ALE
TUCKER & D VS EVIL Craig Director Eli Starring Alan Tudyk, Tyler Labine, Katrina Bowden, Jesse Moss, Chelan Simmons
This week we look at two films, just released on DVD, that have their way with the horror genre. Super 8 is the blockbuster directed by
J.J. Abrams (Lost, Fringe, Star Trek, Cloverfield). Essentially a tribute to Spielberg classics like E.T. the ExtraTerrestrial and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Super 8 takes place in smalltown USA in 1979 where a group of teens, armed with a Super 8 movie camera, are filming a vampire film for a school filmmaking contest. While shooting, they inadvertently capture footage of a colossal train crash. The crash draws the attention of the Air Force, who begin investigating. At the same time, strange things begin happening around town.
Abrams does a great job of recreating the era. He should – he had Steve Spielberg looking over his shoulder as producer – and his love for Super 8 filmmaking comes through. The unknown cast of young teens deliver the goods, and the visual effects are first-rate. Imagine this as a cross between E.T. and War of the Worlds. The DVD is loaded with two hours of behind-the-scenes features. Produced with a much lower budget (and expectations) is Tucker & Dale vs Evil. This horror/comedy turns the teen/slasher film on its head. Tucker and Dale are two West Virginia hillbillies. When a carload of holidaying university students meet up with them, the students are convinced that they are homicidal maniacs – well, one of them is brandishing a chainsaw. The fun begins when Allison, the hot chick in the group, is rescued by the hillbillies. The remaining students misread the situation and the blood starts flowing. Perfect for an evening of good, dumb fun. Review Marty Duda
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HISTORY MADE...
Sa vage’s mum, Pri me Minister Tuilaepa Malielega io, Frisko and Brotha D
Brotha D and Dawn Raid Entertainment travelled to Samoa in April 2009 to film a video for Savage’s ‘I Love the Islands’, five months before a deadly tsunami hit. Photography Jordan Dobson SAVAGE CAME BACK from America with a song called ‘I Love the Islands’ that was all about where he’s from and the island lifestyle, and we wanted to capture the spirit of that song for a video. We got hold of director Chris Graham, and he came back with the idea of documenting Savage returning back to his family and his village in Samoa. Savage’s village Lalomanu has one of the most beautiful coastlines in Samoa – it’s got the white sand beaches and everything you’d see on postcards from the islands. Sav wanted to get back there and show where he’s from. He spent a few years in Samoa when he went to school so he wanted to show the life that he had. We had a chance to meet the Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Malielegaio, and that was a big thing because he’s the Father of the Nation. He wanted to meet us because of Sav’s success, and we presented him with a plaque for
the sales of ‘Swing’ in America. It’s not that often that we get an opportunity like that and it was a huge honour for us. The concert that we played was a big one because it was a sell-out show in Apia and we were also filming the video. The kids loved it – it was a massive event – and there was a huge amount of local pride in the room that
“We had a chance to meet the Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Malielegaio, and that was a big thing because he’s the Father of the Nation.” night. It was something for me to tick off in my life – being back home and paying tribute to the platform that was laid down by my parents to give me the opportunity to come to school in New Zealand, get an education and start a business, and be able to help another young Samoan, return to Samoa together, and present ourselves to our people. In September, everyone knows
a tsunami hit Samoa, and that meant that we had captured the final footage of Lalomanu, which was on the side of the island that was hit the worst. That was an incredible feeling for us – you can’t explain what it’s like to see video footage come through of the disaster, and yet we were filming there a few months before. The devastation on that one village was incredible, the lives that were lost – Sav’s family and Scribe’s family were both affected. It’s hard to explain what it’s like to watch the video for ‘I Love the Islands’ now, because so many of the locations we used got torn up – it’s almost like we were the last ones there. So many of those beautiful areas that we captured on film were wiped out.
...AND IN THE MAKING
KURT VILE W/ EMILY EDROSA KINGS ARMS, AUCKLAND THURSDAY 1 DECEMBER Review Charlotte Red Photography Jenna Todd I BET KURT Vile is not actually vile. I bet he makes crude, vulgar sex jokes when he’s around his friends, but generally girls think he’s a nice guy. He wasn’t going for witty banter in between songs or extended jams instead of ending a song – instead he seemed like he genuinely wanted to make a good go at being in New Zealand for the first time. And the audience, a surprisingly large number of people coming out of the woodworks to pack out Kings Arms (the first time I’ve ever had to wait in line outside in the carpark to get in), were all just grateful that he came. I turned up near the end of Emily Edrosa’s second-ever solo set, which reinforced for me the utter dedication and hard work that goes into her music. She tuned her guitar to sound like a banjo, and then added an off-beat drum machine to her low, flat voice, which had the result of something weirdly magical. Alastair Galbraith crept onstage like the neighbour who fixes your rooftop TV aerial after a stormy night, and sat with his guitar and Walkman
to play 45-second capsules of straight-talking and sadness. He would pretend to look down at a setlist at the end of each song, and would rub his hands down the neck of the guitar to kill it quickly. He
“If we expected snotty, bratty future-grunge star behaviour from Kurt Vile, what we got instead was a high-quality performance of Matador’s bestkept secret.” was avoiding us, bummed out by the clapping, happy that we were all okay with what he was doing. Basically, he was Laroche making a dial tone with Meryl Streep, uneven sounds out of an uneven snarl.
If we expected snotty, bratty future-grunge star behaviour from Kurt Vile, what we got instead was a high-quality performance of Matador’s bestkept secret. Driven by ’80s powerdrumming and the drone of a nasal tone, The Violators were captivating in the tightness of their performance. Having Sonic Youth as your biggest fans might induce headswelling in other musicians, but Kurt Vile seemed like a really pleasant dude, calling his t-shirt-wearing band “bros” and switching between solo songs with his battered and mangled acoustic guitar and the bigger fullband tracks like an excitable kid desperate to show you all the presents he got at his birthday party. Maybe his name is intended to deceive or make people underestimate him. Or Kurt Nice is just a far less cool name.
AUCKLAND
Vinyl Appreciation Society – The Lucha Lounge, Newmarket, 7pm The Crimson Vendetta, Bury Me Low, The Altered States & More – Khuja Lounge, Auckland CBD, 8pm, $5 Liquid Thursdays – Sponge Bar, Ponsonby, 7pm, Free Woody and Truda – CAC Bar & Eatery, Mt Eden, 6:30pm, Free Secrets w/ Quarks and Golden Axe DJs – Golden Dawn, Ponsonby, 9pm, $5 How To Dress Well (USA) – The Third and Social, Auckland CBD, 9pm, $20 The Crimson Vendetta, Bury Me Low, The Altered States and Ki – Khuja Lounge, Auckland CBD, 8pm, $5
TUESDAY 6
T Party presents: Fritterhead – Wine Cellar, Newton, 8:30pm, $5 Garage Daze – CrossRoads Bar & de Ville Cajun Restaurant, Ponsonby, 8pm, Free Pop Panic ft. Ricky Rile – Cassette Number Nine, Auckland CBD, 9pm, Free
WEDNESDAY 7
Flip Grater – Bar Tabac, Auckland CBD, 7:30pm, $15 Ashley Noel Hinton, Rose and the Wooden Hearts, Ulysses Wulf – Wine Cellar, Newton, 8pm Axemen, Fetals & I.C.U. – Whammy Bar, Newton, 9pm Dusty Doves EP Release w/ Shadow Feet and Joseph – Khuja Lounge, Auckland CBD, 8pm, $5 Jesse Sheehan – Cassette Number Nine, Auckland CBD, 9pm, Free Sugarcraft. and Chung Lao – Kings Arms, Newton, 8pm Teenage Kicks – Cassette Number Nine, Auckland CBD, 9pm, Free GC Band Night – Grand Central, Ponsonby, 9pm, Free Creative Jazz Club – Miho Wada Jazz Orchestra – 1885 Britomart, Auckland CBD, 8pm, $5–$10 The Circling Sun Band – Ponsonby Social Club, Ponsonby, 10pm, Free Live Latin and Brazilian Music – The Mexican Cafe, Auckland CBD, 8:30pm, Free Paul Voight – Sugar Bar, Newmarket, 7pm, Free Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears – Powerstation, Eden Terrace, 8pm Wednesday R&B Jam Night – Flo Bar & Cafe, Newmarket, 9pm, Free
THURSDAY 8
FRIDAY 9
Cassette’s 3rd Birthday Masquerade Ball – Cassette Number Nine, Auckland CBD, 6pm, $0–$5 Cassette Allstars – Cassette Number Nine, Auckland CBD, 10pm, Free Dreams Of The Dead – Kings Arms, Newton, 6pm Mark Cunningham – Union Post Brewbar, Ellerslie, 9pm, Free Sports, Faults & The Kingsland
Golden Axe – Liquid Bacon Album Release w/ Secrets – Audio Foundation, Auckland CBD, 6pm MUM presents The Jezabels (Aus) with Lion Eyes – Cassette Number Nine, Auckland CBD, 10pm, $5 Surf City & Princess Chelsea – Kings Arms, Newton, 8pm, $10 Stomping Nick and Heart Attack Alley – Wine Cellar, Newton, 9pm The Uptown Soul Revue – Khuja Lounge, Auckland CBD, 9pm Be Free Fridays – Be Club, Auckland CBD, 10pm, Free Sam Hill, Wade Marriner & Guests – Trench Bar, Auckland CBD, 9pm, Free Chico con Tumbao – Besos Latinos Restaurant, Auckland CBD, 7:30pm, Free Friday Night Salsa – Latin Dance Studios Ltd (Latinissimo), Glenfield, 8:30pm, $5–$10 Habana Noches presents Cuban Accent – CrossRoads Bar & de Ville Cajun Restaurant, Ponsonby, 8pm, Free Eddie Gaiger – Brooklyn Bar, Auckland CBD, 9:30pm, Free Lisa Crawley Album Release Tour – Sawmill Cafe, Leigh, 9:30pm, $18–$20 Dancehall Again – Black And White Bar, Newton, 10pm In The Pink – Pink Floyd Tribute Show – Beachlands Chartered Club, Beachlands, 8:30pm, $20
Mothra, Rule of Thieves, Big Punch, and Slipstream – Masonic Tavern, Devonport, 8pm, $10
Sunday Sessions hosted by Club Groove – Flo Bar & Cafe, Newmarket, 4pm, Free
SATURDAY 10
MONDAY 12
Urbanation 2011 – 4:20, Newton, 8:30pm, $15–$20 Base FM Xmas Party – Kings Arms, Newton, 9pm, $15–$20 Moonfest – Full Moon Fire, Dance and Drum Circle – Tahaki Reserve, Mt Eden, 7:30pm, Free Jason Skelton Duo – Brew On Quay, Auckland CBD, 9:30pm, Free Ritual 002 – Dutty Ranks and Kursk (Chch) – Rising Sun, Auckland CBD, 10pm, $10 The Nukes Christmas Concert – Artworks Community Theatre, Waiheke Island, 8pm, $15–$20 Chicago Disco w DJs Philippa, Matt Drake, Made of Horror – InkCoherent, Newton, 11:45pm, $10 Pure Trench Bar – Trench Bar, Auckland CBD, 9pm, Free Viva Latino’s Annual Celebration Party – Viva Latino Studio, Newton, 8pm, $25–$30 Flip Grater – Sawmill Cafe, Leigh, 8:30pm, $15 Split Second – The Crib, Ponsonby, 10:00pm, Free Gripper and Vicious Rumour Record Release Party – The Thirsty Dog, Newton, 8:30pm, $10 John Blackburn & Guests – The Clare Inn, Mt Eden, 9:00pm, Free Euphoria 5 ft. Bryan Kearney (IRE) – 4:20, Newton, 10pm, $19.90–$30
SUNDAY 11
Alex and BB – The Bunker, Devonport, 8pm Blues in the Boat House – Riverhead Tavern, Riverhead, 2pm, Free Alex & BB Play Banjo – The Bunker, Devonport, 8pm, $15 Jordie Lane (Aus), Matt Langley, Katie Scott & Miss Ts – Bar Tabac, Auckland CBD, 8pm, $15–$20 The Nukes Kids’ Christmas Concert – Artworks Community Theatre, Waiheke Island, 1:30pm, $10–$20 Chicane – Bill Fish Cafe, St Marys Bay, 1pm, Free Sunday Jazz, Rock, Reggae Session – Shooters Saloon, Kingsland, 2pm, Free
VIVA Jazz Quartet – The Windsor Castle, Parnell, 6pm, Free
NORTHLAND FRIDAY 9
Soul Breeze – Brauhause Frings Brewery, Whangarei, 6:30pm, Free Nek Minute Bass – Homestead Tavern, Kerikeri, 9pm, $5 Nat King Cole & Billie Holliday Tribute – Turner Centre, Kerikeri, 7:30pm, $25
SATURDAY 10
Dire Straits Rocky Road Tribute Tour – Kamo Club, Whangarei, 8pm, $15–$20 Hipstamatics – Mangawhai Tavern, Mangawhai, 9pm, $10
SUNDAY 11
About Time Jazz Trio – Alfresco’s Restaurant and Bar, Paihia, 3pm, Free Lazy Sundays – Art at Wharepuke, Kerikeri, 12pm, Free
THE COROMANDEL SATURDAY 10
Jordie Lane (Aus) w Matt Langley & Mel Parsons – Eggsentric Cafe And Restaurant, Cooks Beach, 8:30pm, $15
SUNDAY 11
Soul Sax Plus – Tairua Landing, Tairua, 12pm, Free
WAIKATO
THURSDAY 8
Flip Grater – YOT Club, Raglan, 7:30pm, $15
FRIDAY 9
darky roots + One Dread + Native Sons and Kindreadz – Altitude Bar, Hamilton, 7:30pm, $20 Positive Vibrations Round 3 – The Gables Tavern, Hamilton, 8:30pm, $15–$20
SATURDAY 10
The Checks Deadly Summer Sway Album Tour 2011 – YOT Club, Raglan, 8pm, $20–$25
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powered by eventfinder.co.nz SUNDAY 11
Jazz On a Sunday Evening – Party Night – Te Rapa Racecourse, Hamilton, 5:30pm, $0–$15
HAWKE’S BAY / GISBORNE SATURDAY 10
The Provincial Sessions – Dram and Cock Whiskey Bar, Napier, 9pm, $5
BAY OF PLENTY WEDNESDAY 7
BOP Blues Club Jam Night – The Belgian Bar, Rotorua, 7:30pm, $0–$5 Swamp Thing ft. Michael Barker & Grant Haua – The Pheasant Plucker, Rotorua, 8:30pm, Free
THURSDAY 8
Bay Salsa – Buddha Lounge, Tauranga, 8pm, $2 LSG Group – The Pheasant Plucker, Rotorua, 9pm, Free Waihi Beach Pub Battle of the Bands – Heat Four – Waihi Beach Hotel, Waihi Beach, 7:30pm, $5
FRIDAY 9
Heavy Weight – Drum n Bass and Dubstep Night – TEAZAR Lounge Bar & Night Club, Rotorua, 9pm, $5–$10 Out of Time – The Shed, Rotorua, 9pm, $10
SATURDAY 10
darky roots + One Dread + Zionhill + Kindreadz – Brewers Bar, Mt Maunganui, 7pm, $20 Summer Jam 2011 (Balcony Breakdown 2) – Legion of Frontiersmen Hall, Tauranga, 5:30pm, $5–$7
MONDAY 12
Jimmy & Perry – The Pheasant Plucker, Rotorua, 7pm, Free
TARANAKI
SATURDAY 10
In The Pink: Pink Floyd Tribute Show – Bikers Gear, New Plymouth, 7pm, $25
MANAWATU / WHANGANUI FRIDAY 9
Upper Hutt Posse ‘Declaration of Resistance’ Tour – Old Skool Bar, Palmerston North, 9pm, $15 Katchafire – The Owhango Hotel, Taumarunui, 8pm, $25
SATURDAY 10
Gold Medal Famous, Nick Raven & Black Pudding – Space Monster, Whanganui, 9pm, $10 Manawatu Musician Makers Performance Showcase – Regent on Broadway, Palmerston North, 6pm, $6–$15
SUNDAY 11
Manawatu Jazz Club – Palmerston North RSA, Palmerston North, 6pm, $5–$10
WELLINGTON REGION TUESDAY 6
Live Music and Two for One
Desserts – The Library, 5pm, Free
WEDNESDAY 7
The Session – Matterhorn, 10pm, Free Enemy Empire with A Crowley Murder and Thieves at Dawn – Mighty Mighty, 8pm, $5 Type II – Bar Medusa, 9pm, Free
THURSDAY 8
The Unfaithful Ways – Mighty Mighty, 9pm The Brew – Hotel Bristol, 8:30pm, Free
FRIDAY 9
Cornerstone Roots with Ria Hall + Tui SoundSystem – San Francisco Bath House, 9pm, $25 Nick Raven, Cliche Guevara & Gold Medal Famous – Pit Bar, 10pm, Free Delaney Davidson and The Tiny Lies – Mighty Mighty, 10pm Jordie Lane, Matt Langley, Mel Parsons & The Unfaithful Ways – St Peters Hall, Paekakariki, 8pm, $15–$20 Live Music Friday – Elaine Abras Trio – Mojo Bond St, 6pm, Free
SATURDAY 10
The Jezabels (AUS) – Bodega, 8pm, $15 Chow Dwn – Chow Tory, 10pm Golden Axe – Liquid Bacon release w/ Secrets & Dr. DJ Radio – Mighty Mighty, 10pm Roy G and the Bivinators – The Southern Cross Bar and Restaurant, 10pm, Free The Arvo Show with Johanna Mystery – The Southern Cross Bar and Restaurant, 4pm, Free Upper Hutt Posse – Declaration Of Resistance Tour – St Peters Hall, Paekakariki, 7pm, $10–$15 The X–Ray Catz – The Lido Cafe, 8:30pm, Free
SUNDAY 11
Recovery Sessions with Nikita Tu–Bryant – The Southern Cross Bar and Restaurant, 3pm, Free The Boptet – The Lido Cafe, 7pm, Free The Sunday Jazz Club – Public Bar & Eatery, 7:30pm, Free
NELSON / TASMAN WEDNESDAY 7
Langley & Mel Parsons – The Brewery, 9:30pm, Free Toni Childs – Unplugged and Intimate – Theatre Royal, Timaru, 7pm, $67
FRIDAY 9
Permanence, Mmdelai, Primary, Villain & Hairdresser On Fire – Dux Live, 9pm, Free The Golden Awesome, T54, The Blueness – Darkroom, 9pm Fleetwood Mac Tribute – Woolston Club, 8pm, $20 D’sendantz – Becks Southern Alehouse, 9pm, Free
SATURDAY 10
Mandeville Music Festival – Mandeville Sports Centre, Swannanoa, 2pm, $25–$950 House of Shem Keep Rising Thru the Rubble – Woodend Hotel, 5pm, $35 Anthesiac, Idiot Prayer & Ipswich – Darkroom, 9pm, Free Heavyweights of Bass DJ Comp Featuring The Upbeats – Three Six Three Cafe & Bar, 7:30pm, $20 Stonerfest 2011: Eyes of the South – The Venue–Musicbar, 8pm, $15–$20
SUNDAY 11
Musica Balkanica Presents Christmas in the Balkans – St Mark’s Avonhead, 7pm, Free
MONDAY 12
Toni Childs – Unplugged and Intimate – North Hagley Park Events Village, 7pm, $67
OTAGO
TUESDAY 6
The 2011 Classic Hits Acoustic Church Tour with Bic Runga – Knox Church, Dunedin, 7pm, $65 Jordie Lane (Aus) w Matt Langley & Mel Parsons – The Church, Dunedin, 8pm, $15–$20
WEDNESDAY 7
The 2011 Classic Hits Acoustic Church Tour with Bic Runga – Knox Church, Dunedin, 7pm, $65
FRIDAY 9
Toni Childs – Unplugged and Intimate – Westpac Mayfair Theatre, Dunedin, 7pm, $67
Toni Childs – Unplugged and Intimate – Suter Theatre, Nelson, 7pm, $130
SATURDAY 10
FRIDAY 9
SOUTHLAND
Katrina Kahlil and Co – Golden Bear Brewing Company, Waimea, 6pm, Free La Petite Manouche – The Boathouse, Nelson, 8pm, $15
SATURDAY 10
Andrew White – The Free House, Nelson, 8pm, $20
WEST COAST TUESDAY 6
Toni Childs – Regent Theatre, Greymouth, 7:30pm, $65
CANTERBURY WEDNESDAY 7
Jordie Lane (Aus) w Matt Langley & Mel Parsons – Arthur St Cafe, Timaru, 7:30pm, $25–$30
THURSDAY 8
The Black Velvet Band – Becks Southern Alehouse, 8pm, Free Jordie Lane (Aus) w Matt
The Golden Awesome & Heka – Chicks Hotel, Dunedin, 9pm
THURSDAY 8
The 2011 Classic Hits Acoustic Church Tour with Bic Runga – First Presbyterian Church, Invercargill, 7pm, $65
FRIDAY 9
Alcohol and Drug Free All Ages Shows – Saints and Sinners, Invercargill, 7pm, $5 The Rejected Rise Up and Fight The System – Appleby Tavern, Invercargill, 8pm
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.
Mulatu A statke
perform their final show again at Kings Arms on 15 December... Acts galore being announced for this summer, pole posters are starting to flood the inner city – we love it!... Yes (the prog rockers) announced for Vector... The Checks’ recent Powerstation show was rammed, the night before Mulatu Atastske attracted a number of his countrymen and women to his packed show.
Coco Solid
Renaissance woman Coco Solid has been accepted into Victoria University’s MA in Creative Writing – the portfolio she submitted included VOLUME’s very own Hook Ups. Coco flies to Europe on Saturday for a seven-week touring stint, and then makes the move to Wellington. We’re proud of ya, Jess!... Rackets new and final video in the Six Sick Singles series is out Wednesday, with Rackets album release just before Xmas... Excitement in the Heart Attack Alley camp with a Voodoo Rhythm album being discussed, European tour and more... Beach Pigs recently scored an NZ On Air Grant for ‘Catch Up In the Sun’. Other recipients and faves around the VOLUME office included Badd Energy, Cairo Knife Fight, The Datsuns and Golden Axe… Frequency Media folk gearing up for the Sione’s Wedding 2 soundtrack release ahead of the January release of the film... Much anticipation for the Unknown Mortal Orchestra show in Auckland... Kurt Vile show was a knockout, as was Delaney Davidson’s on same night... Graphic designer Barny Bewick celebrated his 40th in metal style with a band fronted by Riccardo Ball from The Rock performing a number of his fave metal tunes... Salvation Kitchen in Avondale – home to tasty treats and quenching beverages – has been hosting Saturday shows... And one of Avondale’s favourite sons, Tom Scott, is back from his Tour of Duty in South East Asia – expect new Home Brew material soon... Benka Boradovsky Bordello Band
Who is Emily Fairlight? Emilyfairlight. bandcamp.com – VOLUME knows… Weekly live music/DJ club night The Nark has wrapped up for the year. Expect more shows next year… Delaney Davidson is making an in-store appearance at Evil Genius Records in Berhampore on Friday afternoon, kicking off sometime around 4pm. Later on that night you can see him and The Tiny Lies at Mighty Mighty… San Francisco Bath House is doing some great happy-hour drink specials on Tuesdays at the moment, top shelf deals even!… Australian folk dude Jordie Lane, Mel Parsons and Matt Langley play St Peters Hall in Paekakariki on Friday night. Great talent and an amazing venue. Make the trip if you can… Bodega is throwing its Xmas bash on Saturday night with entertainment from The Jezabels… New hip hop material from Footsouljahs’ Flowz is currently circulating the DJ circuit; look out for some downloads soon… Finally! Unknown Mortal Orchestra is coming to Wellington, playing the Bath House on Friday 16 December... Carri Bean Cafe on Cuba is now open evenings on Friday and Saturday nights. Who’s for jerk chicken with rice and peas?... The Windy City finally gets a Kitty, Daisy & Lewis show. On their third New Zealand visit, the Durham siblings will play Bodega on 1 February… A special shout-out to Plum Cafe owner David Fenwick for thinking on his feet and using his fire extinguisher on the burning car recently lit up in Cuba Mall. Good on ya, Fenwick!
Delaney Davidson will talk to Kim Hill on Saturday... The new Dux Live is turning into a nightmare for one and all. Still no opening and lots of gigs either cancelling or desperately looking for an alternative venue. Guitar Wolf show may become a house party. While
there are plans afoot for new venues to open, it will be some months before this happens... Amiria Grenell’s album up for Folk Album of 2012?... Amanda Palmer returns with The Dresden Dolls to play the Aurora Centre on 25 January... The Colombo is due to open again. Big-ups to Wendy Alfeld for her determination to give Cantabrians the big events. Look for Roots Manuva on 2 March... Jeff Fulton has announced he will be leaving CHART in the middle of next year. Jeff has been outstanding in his efforts to get the Christchurch music scene happening and he is going to be missed big-time... Transistors gearing up for touring, with Guitar Wolf dates, Dum Dum Girls, Laneways and Black Lips on their schedule so far.
Hamish Kilgour
The Clean and Subliminals blew the crowd away at Sammy’s. Hamish Kilgour created much mirth and anarchy by inviting the audience onstage – several times. The Kilgour brothers’ support of the Occupy Dunedin folks was nothing short of inspired, and the whole show had many generations of Dunedin-ites in attendance…. Ash and the Matadors’ last gig coming up at Sammy’s… Guitar Wolf ready to howl at the moon at None – Dunedin punks rabid at the thought... The Chicks Project has received more endorsement and substantial funding for 2012… Uber-sound man Dale Cotton now has a new in-house recording space, recently christened by Mountaineater… Not content with just a parody album, Sunley appears ready to release more music very soon – the man’s a machine!�
Got some news for More Volume? Email us at morevolume@volumemagazine.co.nz.
THE CHECKS
TUNEYARDS
Saturday 10 December – Yot Club, Raglan
Thursday 12 January – Kings Arms, Auckland
BLACK JOE LEWIS AND THE HONEYBEARS
REGURGITATOR
GUITAR WOLF
FLEET FOXES
Wednesday 7 December – The Powerstation, Auckland
Monday 12 December – The Dux, Christchurch (free) Tuesday 13 December – None, Dunedin Wednesday 14 December – Bodega, Wellington Thursday 15 December – Static, Hamilton Friday 16 December – Cassette Number Nine, Auckland
EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY
Thursday 15 December – San Francisco Bath House, Wellington Friday 16 December – Kings Arms, Auckland
UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA Friday 16 December – San Francisco Bath House, Wellington Saturday 17 December – Kings Arms, Auckland
ADRIAN SHERWOOD Friday 16 December – The Powerstation, Auckland
Wednesday 18 January – San Francisco Bath House, Wellington
Friday 13 January – Town Hall, Wellington Saturday 14 January – Town Hall, Auckland
SPLORE 2012
Erykah Badu, Hudson Mohawke, DJ Qbert and Reeps One, Soul II Soul, Africa Hitech, Gappy Ranks, Shortee Blitz, The Yoots, @Peace, Scratch 22, Disasteradio, Alphabethead, Earl Gateshead, The Nudge, AHoriBuzz, The SmokeEaters, Hermitude and more 17-19 February – Tapapakanga Regional Park, Auckland
THE SISTERS OF MERCY Wednesday 22 February – The Powerstation, Auckland
BEIRUT
THE BLACK LIPS
BIG DAY OUT 2012
URGE OVERKILL
Saturday 14 January – San Francisco Bath House, Wellington Monday 16 January – The Powerstation, Auckland
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Das Racist, Parkway Drive, Regurgitator, Cavalero Conspiracy, The Vaccines, Nero, Soundgarden, Kasabian, Royksopp, Mariachi el Bronx, Battles, Beastwars, Best Coast, My Chemical Romance and more Friday 20 January – Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland
Tuesday 28 February – The Powerstation, Auckland
Tuesday 6 March – The Powerstation
RYAN ADAMS
Tuesday 6 March – The Regent Theatre, Dunedin Thursday 8 March – The Civic Theatre, Auckland
THE DAMNED Wednesday 25 January – The
ROKY ERICKSON
Powerstation, Auckland
Wednesday 7 March – The Powerstation, Auckland
THE DRESDEN DOLLS
ARIEL PINK’S HANUTED GRAFITTI
FAT FREDDY’S DROP’S ONE DROP
KITTY, DAISY & LEWIS
DIRTY THREE
DUM DUM GIRLS
ST JEROME’S LANEWAY FESTIVAL
JOE SATRIANI, STEVE VAI AND STEVE LUKATHER – G3 Sunday 25 March – Logan Campbell
HORACE ANDY & SHAPESHIFTER
Thursday 29 December – Ascension Vineyard, Matakana Monday 2 January – Riwaka Hotel, Riwaka Friday 6 January – Brewers Field, Mt Maunganui Saturday 7 January – Waihi Beach Hotel, Waihi Beach
Monday 2 January – Ascension Wine Estate, Matakana w/ TrinityRoots & Cornerstone Roots Saturday 7 January – Black Barn, Havelock North w/ The Nudge
Friday 6 January – Kings Arms, Auckland
DEERHOOF
Saturday 7 January – Whammy Bar, Auckland Sunday 8 January – Bodega, Wellington
Friday 27 January – The Powerstation, Auckland Saturday 28 January – Opera House, Wellington
Tuesday 31 January – The Powerstation, Auckland Wednesday 1 February – Bodega, Auckland
Anna Calvi, Feist, The Horrors, Gotye, Laura Marling, Pajama Club, SBTRKT Live, Shayne P. Carter, Washed Out, Twin Shadow, M83, Cults, Girls, EMA, Yuck, Toro Y Moi, Wu Lyf, Glasser, Opossom, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Austra, Transistors and more Monday 30 January – Silo Park, Wynyard Quarter, Auckland
Tuesday 13 March – Kings Arms, Auckland Wednesday 14 March – Bodega, Wellington
Wednesday 14 March – The Powerstation, Auckland
Centre, Auckland Monday 26 March – Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington
NICK LOWE 31 March – The Powerstation, Auckland
DELANEY DAVIDSON w/ HEART ATTACK ALLEY LUCHA LOUNGE, AUCKLAND THURSDAY 1 DECEMBER Review Kriss Knights Photography Lynn Knights JESUS H CHRIST on a dancing donkey – is Auckland always this cool? Forgive me for asking but I’m new in town; wife and I left London in June looking for inspiration and stuff. We have been through New York, New Orleans, Memphis, Chicago, San Jose, Santiago, Buenos Aires and Sydney. And our best musical night is in a back street bar in Newmarket? The Lucha Lounge is sweet as (see how quickly we learn your language); we have been here a week and already head there whenever we can. Friendly vibe, utterly unpretentious and some sort of anarcho-pixie behind the bar dancing to the music. Heart Attack Alley are two gals in slinky dresses and laddered hosiery; one wrings wicked blues riffs out of her guitar and the other bashes a tambourine and has a voice that sounds like cigarettes and strong alcohol. They
PAJAMA CLUB
are accompanied by a demon in an antique suit, bent over a harmonica that is spinning a web of woe and defiance. They are utterly mesmerising. Delaney Davidson. He’s revered as some kind of God here, right? Seriously, that lone lorn dusty troubadour look, black suit black tie, with a voice that somehow welds growling necromancy with a heartbreaking croon. There’s a back story here about deals at crossroads with a gentleman with fire where his eyes should be. I’m sure of it. The audience are invited to waltz. Amazingly they respond, and thanks to the wonders of modern technology Mr Davidson is among us gracefully twirling partners as the bewitching melody continues from the tiny stage. So are you guys keeping all this stuff secret so you can have it all for yourselves?
KINGS ARMS, AUCKLAND SUNDAY 4 DECEMBER Photography Nick Kingstone
Delaney D a vidson
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WER THE PAO ND AUCKL
ASTER
OM TICKETM
TICKETS FR
IC.CO.NZ
CHMOREMUS OM // WWW.MU
ELEWIS.C WWW.BLACKJO
95bFM PRESENTS
ADRIAN SHERWOOD TOGETHER WITH
STINKY JIM & MC SLAVE’S LOGG CABIN
Kitty, Daisy & Lewis
POWERSTATION
Powerstation Tuesday 31st January Tickets from Ticketmaster
TICKETS FROM TICKETMASTER
with Delaney Davidson
FRI 16 DECEMBER www.powerstation.co.nz • www.muchmoremusic.co.nz
LADYHAWKE
HOMEBAKE 2011 SATURDAY 3 december – THE DOMAIN, SYDNEY Photography Xanthe Williams/Amy Elgar
1'
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