11 OCTOBER 2011 #006

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You claimed on Twitter “I ghost-wrote all The Naked and Famous songs but they didn’t even pay me” – how does it feel to miss out on that ‘Young Blood’ money?It actually feels fine, man. I didn’t write those songs for the money. I wrote those songs for the love. The Naked and Famous will probably deny my involvement and everything too, but that doesn’t bother me. It’s all about the music, you know? *cough*

What are the essential skills of a hype man? 1, piggyback rides; 2, awkward dancing; 3, finding me booze; 4, rap-singing; 5, remembering my lyrics when I forget them; 6, life advice; 7, spooning.

Is it time to declare the death of ‘swag’? I think the last nail in the coffin was when Diddy started saying it. Someone needs to come up with a new buzzword – something really stupid like “mittens!” or “falafel!”

You’re known for playing Camp A Low Hums and house parties before full-fledged hip hop shows – keen to drag rap outside its comfort zone? I do like the idea of putting rap somewhere that it makes some people uncomfortable. Hip hop is a big, varied genre, and the music that my friends and I make is maybe a little too leftfield for some – that’s totally fine with me though.

Tommy Ill plays the UCSA Tea Party on Friday 14 October (students only), ReFuel in Dunedin on Saturday 15 October, Cassette Number Nine in Auckland on Friday 28 October, and Mighty Mighty in Wellington on Saturday 29 October.

TOMMY ILL

BENJII JACKSON – PUBLICISTIt’s the responsibility of a publicist to make sure a gig or a show is publicised and out there to the general audience – talking to newspapers, radio stations, television networks – not only letting them know a show’s happening through a media release but also organising interviews and lining up coverage that will help sell the event. A good publicist is someone who’s outgoing, has a knack for annoying people at times but not to the point that people get aggravated – and you should have thick skin. Know your media so you can ring up and say, “I’ve got this event that’s of interest to you”. Do your research – is this an event that, say, the readers of VOLUME would be interested in?

Drum-roll please… on Monday 30 January St Jerome’s Laneway Festival will bring Feist, Anna Calvi, 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 and Transistors to the impressive surrounds of Silo Park in Auckland’s redeveloped Wynyard Quarter. VOLUME is proud as punch to present this small, perfectly-formed festival – tickets go on sale Wednesday 19 October from lanewayfestival.co.nz.

LANEWAY LINE-UP ANNOUNCED

SEND ME A POSTCARDThe Datsuns will be in Auckland to play Auckland’s Queens Wharf with Shihad and The Earlybirds before the RWC Bronze Final match on 21 Friday October – while they’re in town, they’ll be putting final touches on their new album at Roundhead Studios.

WHOEVER IT IS, they made a good point: “@Hugh_Sundae @NZMusicAwards i love how it’s “critic’s choice”. aren’t all the other awards (minus people’s choice) critic’s choice?”

Well, cynics sometimes suggest awards aren’t decided by people at all, but by algorithms. I’m more inclined to think they are often humans. Either way the judging of awards will always be as controversial as the Moon landing or the US Government’s supposed involvement in 9/11.

The Critics’ Choice Prize was launched as part of last year’s New Zealand Music Awards, widely thought of as an attempt to placate those who accuse the awards of being too commercially focused.

Last year The Naked and Famous were everywhere, this year too for that matter, and the general thinking was that the award was as good as theirs. In the time between entries closing and the night of the showcase, their profile had skyrocketed. Many assumed that was enough: isn’t the award to predict the next big thing?

Of course, Street Chant won (Home Brew was the other act that night). Does TNAF’s killer year mean these critics/algorithms got it wrong? I don’t think so. You have to give awards retrospectively rather than being someone capable of predicting the future.

It’s one hell of a grey area, though. What exactly are the instructions given to judges? Are they meant to award the best previous year or best year to come? Are the performances on the night meant to influence the judging? RIANZ head Chris Caddick told me that the performances were part of it – but it’s not meant to be a Battle of the Bands scenario. So why get the judges to vote after the bands all play their 30-minute sets?

These questions will answer themselves over time as the critics

have their two cents and evolve the award in whatever direction it goes. With Street Chant winning the inaugural year and Kimbra now (up against Popstrangers and The Unfaithful Ways), the award is already unpredictable.

In my heart I was hoping Popstrangers would get the prize – I’ve had a thing for them for a while. It’s not like they’re going to down instruments in protest though; methinks their future is a rosy one, prize or otherwise.

DANCING TO ARCHITECTURE…

MORE GRAVYAll this committing things to print is coming back to haunt me. I think I first mentioned having the latest Sundae Sessions online a couple of weeks back, but they’re definitely trickling up after the second session with Cairo Knife Fight and Beastwars a few weeks back.

The delay? Nick Gaffaney’s drumming. The man drums like a demon, and syncing up the sound and vision took days. He actually drums so fast it actually looks out of sync when it isn’t. I’m exaggerating of course, but you do need to see his drumming to believe it. Next up is Beastwars – first songs up this week – promise. You can also check out Milana Radojcic’s photos from the session, and Richard Robinson’s photos from soundcheck. Check all of it out at nzherald.co.nz/sundaesessions.

On that note there is some exciting news – I don’t want to give anything away just yet – but expect us to get a little more regular.Elsewhere on the site you can watch a replay of the entire Critics’ Choice Prize showcase stream at nzherald.co.nz/musicawards – and our album stream this week is the eighth long player from The Bats – Free All The Monsters.

I totally got tweeted at by Paul Holmes. I don’t think it’s the real Paul Holmes, given we used to work in the same office and he didn’t ever make eye contact, but I can tell Mum it is and she’ll be proud. She likes that sort of thing.

“The judging of awards will always be as controversial as the Moon landing or the US Government’s supposed involvement in 9/11.”

Kimbra

Last Thursday night Kimbra took the honours at the second Critics’ Choice Prize, before jetting to Los Angeles to begin work on the follow-up to her debut, Vows. She got together with 95bFM’s Charlotte Ryan for Talking Heads to talk vows of all stripes.Photography Milana Radojcic

CHARLOTTE RYAN: Last night I spent

heaps of time listening to your music and going

through your lyrics, and I was quite intrigued by the

title. Are you into marriage? Like, I know that’s a real cliché, but you sound like quite a romantic…KIMBRA: Definitely a romantic – a lot of songwriting for me is about being triggered by an emotion and putting yourself in the shoes of

what that would feel like – not necessarily channeling it directly

but relating to an experience and imagining what it would

be like to go through that. I’m really drawn to the idea of

commitment and this whole human tendency to make a promise and make a vow to someone – but it’s also really interesting how prone we are to breaking that

promise and destroying our vows. It’s not like I consciously set out to write an album about those things, it’s just that they seem to subconsciously come through in my lyrics.

Which fascinated me.Yeah, it kind of fascinates me as well. I’m not necessarily obsessed by the idea of getting married or any of that; it’s more just intrigued by that idea of making that commitment to someone for life. And vows, it’s not just romantic – the word ‘vow’, a monk makes a vow when he goes away to the monastery and a nun makes a vow to God. It can be spiritual things, I made a vow to complete this record – it just says a lot about who we are, the things that

“AND VOWS, It’s not just romantic – The word ‘vow’, a monk makes a vow when he goes away to the monastery and a nun makes a vow to God.” – KIMBRA

we attach ourselves to. Because I’m someone who gets very passionate about things, when I have to let go of something or detach myself from something it’s very hard, so ‘Withdraw’ on the album is about that. It’s not just about making those promises – it’s also about breaking them and letting go of them. It’s not just romantic – it’s bigger than that, eh.

Can I ask you – and please tell me if you’re not comfortable with it – do you like talking about your beliefs?It’s really hard to talk about because you try to articulate these things which are so personal and so deep – you need a good couple of hours to discuss religion and faith with someone, it’s so big. And so you try to sum it up in a couple of words for someone and it can get misconstrued. The faith that I have is all about love – non-judgment, full compassion and all of that – that’s what inspired me. I’m happy to talk about it because it’s part of my life, but I need good time to do it, and talking with people who have a five-minute interview – you just can’t do it justice.

Do you have time to go to church?Well, not really and that’s a hard thing, and maybe I could make more time for it but church is something that I’ve found hard to completely root myself in because I’m always moving around. But also because church is just such a… people sometimes find it hard to completely resonate with the

church’s ideals and match them up with the ideals of the Bible or even of Christianity – the two can get so confused sometimes. I download a lot of sermons from pastors I’ve found really interesting over in America and just thinkers – I read a lot of Tolstoy who has a really interesting perspective on faith, and Helen Keller – she’s a super clued-on spiritual person. They keep me fuelled so it’s still a part of your life if you’re someone who can’t be super-involved with the church.

To listen to the full audio of Kimbra and Charlotte Ryan in conversation, head to nzherald.co.nz/volume – live from 2pm Tuesday.

Kimbra’s debut album Vows is out now on Warner Music.

Charlotte Ryan hosts Morning Glory on 95bFM, weekdays from

9am–12pm.

Last year, Dean Wareham finally played in his birth town of Wellington. Now the 48-year-old returns to play songs from his first band, Galaxie 500. Text Gavin Bertram

“STARTING A BAND with your friends is like falling in love,” Dean Wareham wrote in his fascinating, candid memoir Black Postcards.

“You’re young and opinionated and cocky and very excited to be making something new together,” he elaborates. “That’s what drives the formation of new bands: you’ve got to think like you’re inventing the wheel.”

Of course the man who once fronted Galaxie 500 has long since fallen out of love with that notion, and with the other members of that band.

So while Wareham is visiting New Zealand to play their songs on the back of Galaxie 500’s three albums being re-released, all his communication with bassist Naomi Yang and drummer Damon Krukowski is via email.

“But that’s good – there’s no reason for us to talk on the phone,” he reflects. “And they’re more involved in [the reissues] than I am. Naomi does all the artwork, and Damon in a way functions as the manager. We make all the decisions together.”

The acrimony between the two camps began while Galaxie 500 was still together. Subsequently it was played out online by Yang and Krukowski, and by Wareham in Black Postcards, wherein he felt he had the right to respond.

But while he says they’ve never discussed these things, there’s at least been a dissipation of the animosity. And with a gradual shift in musical opinion over the last two decades, Galaxie 500’s legacy can finally take its rightful place.

While the trio, who formed at Harvard University in 1987, made some impact during their four-year existence, it’s only over time that their gentle, Velvet Underground-informed guitar pop has been fully appreciated. And that includes by Wareham himself, who has reassessed Today (1988), Aurora (1989) and This Is Our Music (1990) in light of their reissue on Domino Records.

The albums had already been reissued in 1997, and he’s not entirely sure why they’re garnering more interest this time around, but thinks it has something to do with Galaxie 500’s influence coming to bear in recent years.

“You look back and think all these records sound unique, although it’s obvious what our influences were,” Wareham considers. “I don’t think we were particularly ambitious; in 1988 you couldn’t be ambitious. But you had some strong opinions about what’s good and what isn’t

and you make a record. And if you put a record out there that’s good, it kind of gets around.”

As Wareham relates, pretty soon Galaxie 500 were gaining plaudits in the UK weekly music press and touring in Europe. Although they didn’t make huge waves at the time, it was enough of a shock that the internal pressure took its toll, ultimately leading to the band’s short lifespan.

Afterwards, Wareham formed New York quartet Luna, who recorded seven albums before disbanding in 2005. Since then he and wife Britta Phillips have been performing as Dean and Britta. It was in this guise Wareham finally played in his birth town of Wellington at the 2010 Festival of the Arts, performing 13 Most Beautiful: Songs For Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests.

That memorable show was at the magnificent Wellington Town Hall, but he’s looking forward to returning to play much smaller venues in Wellington and Auckland. He’ll be joined by bassist Phillips and drummer Anthony Lamarca for the sets of Galaxie 500 songs at Bodega and the Kings Arms.

“There’s always been a possibility,” Wareham says of resurrecting the band’s material. “I did it at first because we had an offer from a guy in Spain. It sounded really good, and when I got home I thought now would be a good time to do a bunch of these dates. It is 20 years later and these records have just been re-released. It’s just taken on a life of its own.”

Galaxie 500’s Today, Aurora and This Is Our Music deluxe edition reissues are available now on Domino.

Dean Wareham plays Galaxie 500 on Friday 14 October at Bodega, Wellington and Thursday 20 October at the Kings Arms, Auckland.

“That’s what drives the formation of new bands: you’ve got to think like you’re inventing the wheel.”

Dean Wareham 1989

THE WORLDIn honour of the first Sound of the Overground live show in two years (more details at the bottom of this piece) I thought it only fitting to take a look at the charts of the greatest pop consumers on the planet, the English. I guess if you believe that the pop charts are a mix of refraction of our times and escape from them – leaning heavily toward the latter – then it makes sense that the English are so monumentally obsessed with the singles charts. Simply put, they have the most to escape from.

Topping the chart is exactly the kind of continental one-hit-wonder they’ve been bumping to since they discovered Europe around 55 BC. Sak Noel (literally ‘Christmas testicles’, I presume) is a Spanish DJ/producer with one single to his name, this Jersey Shore-ish throbber, with a breathy female vocals and joyously inane lyrics.

Deeper in you’ll find the Goo Goo Dolls weepy ‘Iris’ reappearing via The X Factor (the Brits have been regurgitating prior hits via TV shows for fucking ever). The show also launched Latvian (!) Olly Murs’ career, and his ‘Heart Skips A Beat’ has a pretty sweet production, sort of slow fake reggae with a trebly break-beat.

That’s one thing you get from the UK every week – a diversity of inner-city sound unlike anywhere else in the charts. Which is why they’re the greatest.

THE LOCALSFun fact: The key source for New Zealand chart addicts is radioscope.co.nz, and for as long as I’ve been doing this column their website has been “down following an intrusion by hackers”.

Gotta love this country. So we’ll just do our regular singles chart, notable only for having no new entries to its top 10. That Gotye and Kimbra song is a very strange no 1 single.

THE ’NETA few years ago The Hype Machine felt like this secret club that turned you on to all the best new bands. That feeling swiftly evaporated in the face of infinite expansion of venues with exactly the same music playing. Now it’s basically a feels-more-legal alternative to Rapidshare, with a mix of old stuff by famous people (Florence, The Roots, Temper Trap) and iffy house remixes dominating their chart. I want a refund.

This Friday 14 October sees the (potentially) triumphant comeback of the party which gave this column its name. Sound of the Overground is happening live at Black & White Bar, 324 K Rd from 10pm. We will drink and dance to the greatest pop music of the past eight years.

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.

RIANZ TOP 10 NEW ZEALAND SINGLES CHART1 Gotye ft. Kimbra – ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’

2 Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris – ‘We Found Love’

3 Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera – ‘Moves Like Jagger’

4 Gym Class Heroes ft. Adam Levine – ‘Stereo Hearts’

5 Jessie J – ‘Domino’

6 Six60 – ‘Don’t Forget Your Roots’

7 Flo Rida – ‘Good Feeling’

8 David Guetta ft. Usher – ‘Without You’

9 Rihanna – ‘Cheers (Drink To That)’

10 Adele – ‘Set Fire to the Rain’

UK TOP 10 SINGLES CHART1 Sak Noel – ‘Loca People’

2 Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera – ‘Moves Like Jagger’

3 Goo Goo Dolls – ‘Iris’

4 Dappy – ‘No Regrets’

5 One Direction – ‘What Makes You Beautiful’

6 James Morrison – ‘I Won’t Let You Go’

7 Jason Derulo – ‘It Girl’

8 Olly Murs ft. Rizzle Kicks – ‘Heart Skips A Beat’

9 Pixie Lott – ‘All About Tonight’

10 Bad Meets Evil ft. Bruno Mars – ‘Lighters’

THE HYPE MACHINE MOST POPULAR SONGS1 Eric Prydz– ‘2Night (Original Mix)’

2 Zeds Dead (Big Sean vs Zeds Dead) – ‘Bullshittin On My Coffee Break’

3 The Temper Trap – ‘Sweet Disposition’ (Axwell and Dirty South Remix)

4 Expo Music – ‘Right Here With Me’

5 Florence + The Machine – ‘Swimming’

6 The Rapture – ‘How Deep Is Your Love’ (A-Trak Remix)

7 The Roots – ‘The Seed (2.0)’

8 Sunday Girl – ‘Love U More (RAC Mix)’

9 Peter And Kerry – ‘Knees’

10 Camo & Crooked – ‘Far Away’

Gotye

TOP FIVES

1: Savoy Tearooms, Waimate – perfect for a tour break from the van.2: Forget Me Nots Tearooms, South Dunedin. Opposite Zodiac Records.3: H&J Smiths Tearooms, Gore. Step back in time.4: Little Hut Cafe, Dunedin. Truly the Dunedin underground.5: Whitestone Cheese Factory, Oamaru. En Route to the Penguin Club.

DUNEDINMUSIC.COMSCOTT MUIR’S TOP FIVE CHEESE ROLL SPOTS

THE VINYL REISSUE is something of a victory lap for contemporary musicians – and if there’s any artist from the last 10 years who could claim to having ‘won’ at music, Ariel Pink’s a likely contender.

A reissue of a reissue (originally released in 2003), Worn Copy is an

unusual customer in that it’s an enduring classic which rolls around happily in the classic rock slop bucket – pre-digesting chunks of MTV/FM rock radio vocab and spitting them out again in fully-formed, cruddy, pop perfection.

On Worn Copy, Pink lets the limitations of his form work for him – cassette hiss, pause button edits, beatbox drums – to create otherworldly, one-step-beyond sonic environments to couch his snappily written, should-have-been pop hits. Killer songs like ‘Credit’, ‘Life In LA’ and ‘Immune To Emotion’ are catchy as hell and super-sharp, both musically and lyrically, sounding surprisingly fresh due to their out-of-kilter aesthetics.

Pink doesn’t just appropriate musical influences; he assimilates them Borg-style. A listening experience both hilarious and moving – 10-minute opener ‘Trepanated Earth’ is like a guided tour through the peaks and troughs of Pink’s interior world – Worn Copy is still staggering in its scale, ambition and pure entertainment value.

Review Chris Cudby

OBERHOFERo0Oo0O0o(Independent)Debut EP from Tacoma-to-New York bedsitter is

getting talked up in those shit, generic Stereogummy blogs, possibly because it’s so shit and generic. Tribal drumming plus “oohs” and a deliberately ‘offbeat’ vocal delivery on songs that are too formless and too long.

WAVVESLife Sux EP(Ghost Ramp)Speaking of worthless EPs you shouldn’t care

about – this guy has always been the worst. I’ll never forget seeing his pathetic brat performance at a Spanish fest in 2009, watching 18-year-olds get their hearts broken from the hype for the first time. The least you can do as a compassionate consumer is ignore him on the downslide.

NEON INDIANEra Extraña(Mom & Pop/Static Tongues)Never got the hype floating around

Alan Palomo the first time – he seemed to get credited with developing a rinky-dink arcade-gamey electro sound which I thought had already been around for ages. This is getting pegged

as a bit of a sophomore slump but he shows a lot more promise than before as he draws from a wider palette – dig the churning shoegaze of ‘The Blindside Kiss’ or the mantric ‘Suns Irrupt’.

BELLA KALOLOWithout The Paper(Bella Sounds Ltd)Wellington-based soul singer has

a velvety but dynamic voice – muscular, but not masculine by any means – that has done backing vox for the likes of Fat Freddy’s and Dave Dobbyn far too long without getting its own showcase. This is an auspicious start – the title track is a fine piece of modern, upbeat funk; ‘Get Ready’ is a sombre torch song that takes a stylistic gamble and relies on beatboxing alone for percussion. Bit too much ‘rawk’ guitar bits in places, though.

LISA CRAWLEYEverything That I Have Seen(Rhythmethod)This one’s simply a

well-executed singer-songwriter record. People who miss the way that a band like The Sundays made easy-listening deep cuts with sleight of hand (check out the excellent ‘Always’) or get peeved at the slack mid-fi of Auckland pop/rock albums should be drawn to Crawley’s

debut. If the lyrics get a bit unrelentingly lovelorn, the final track points to more visceral imagery – good marker for the future.

WHIRIMAKO BLACKThe Late Night Plays(Ode)The first non-Te Reo

Maori album by New Zealand’s greatest living female singer. If these covers, ranging from the almost predestined (‘Lover Man’) to the surprisingly modern (Erykah Badu’s ‘On And On’) aren’t as revelatory as hearing a song recast in a new language, this is still as good as a traditional jazz vocalist album can get in 2011.

REGURG-ITATORSuperhappy funtimesfriends(Valve Records)I liked your old

stuff better than your new stuff. SWAMP THINGBalladeer(Independent)Rotorua blues two-piece plays

high-paced, ultra-trad blues. This is a lot more awesome than it might sound, partly because both frontman/guitarist (Grant Haua) and the thundering drummer (Michael Barker) have a great pedigree. The title track is virtually

a winking origin story, the best and fastest thing on here. Other stuff is novel, especially the steel drums tinkering in ‘Never Be’ before its Zep-lite breakdown.

GLEN CAMPBELLGhost on the Canvas(Surfdog)The Rhinestone

Cowboy bows out of the biz the same way that Johnny Cash opted to – recognising his latter-day influence and going well and truly beyond the comfort zone of mainstream country. His recent Alzheimer’s diagnosis is elliptically hinted at in wry cover choices (Paul Westerberg’s petulant ‘Any Trouble’) and – holy shit – he even covers Guided by Voices!

SLOW CLUBParadise(Moshi Moshi)Hated these twee little babies last time around, but

from the abstract cover art to the downplaying of the ineptly fey male singer to an instrumentalist rather than a duelling partner, they’re clearly trying to be a different and more austere outfit. Interesting portrait of musicians in flux – opting for too much clutter (‘Two Cousins’), torpid martial rhythms (‘Beginners’) and sometimes hitting pay dirt here. Brave if flawed work.

Reviews Joe Nunweek

DUNCAN GREIVE’STOP FIVE SHORTLAND STREET VILLAINS – 2006–2011

1: Kieran Mitchell – zero per cent body fat, zero body hair; the most repellent creation of the show’s modern era.2: Ethan Pierce – dashing, emotionally-manipulative and ultimately doomed.3: Scott Spear – not a character but a lethal pharmaceutical company which makes Tan Chee look like Nature Baby. 4: Mona McKay – the wheedling, scheming, balding mother-in-law from hell.5: Don Lennox – neighbourhood mechanic and occasional whitetail hit man.

Worn Copy (2 x LP Reissue)(Paw Tracks)

Stormy, atmospheric, a velvet glove with barbs – and that’s

just the guitar. Why is Laneway 2012 visitor Anna Calvi

embarrassing men in what tends to be their six-string province?

Text Joe Nunweek

IT SNUCK UP. In each case it’s been unique, resisting category under some blog buzzword or iTunes tag. But it’s unmistakable in artists like Marnie Stern and Annie Clark (St. Vincent). There’s a new vocabulary emerging for the guitar as an instrument in rock, and the innovation seems to be coming from young women. Now we can add Anna Calvi to the list.

Arriving to critical bouquets at the start of this year (“PJ Harvey this! Patti Smith that!” the English press expel), she’s likely to gain some serious Australasian recognition when she brings her act to Auckland’s Laneway Festival next year. When she offhandedly describes that act as “quite basic – just harmonium, guitar, and drums, really” – things get interesting. You don’t walk into the Royal Albert Hall for a charity gig with those three things alone unless you’re on top of your game. Which, it appears, the otherwise softly-spoken Malvi indeed is.

How is someone capable of the skyscraping cries of her debut’s most chaotic moments? When pressed about that split, Calvi is almost meek over a phone and doesn’t offer much: “It could be just that process of making music – it’s so much easier to be strong and fearless in that situation.” Oh, and she only taught herself to sing eight years ago. For the record.

Matter-of-factly, Calvi appears to treat this crash course as sheer necessity. She assigned herself what should have been impossibly lofty targets – “Singers that I love, heroines, people like Edith Piaf and Nina Simone”. As a sporting analogy,

this is a bit like someone deciding to try to run as fast as Usain Bolt one day in their early 20s. She’s realistic about the process: “There’s definitely some great days along the line where you feel like you’ve achieved some progress, but it’s really a very slow process and it would be hard for me to pick out one huge moment. I mean, there’s been moments being on stage where I felt very much that I’m able to access a place that I couldn’t access previously.”

If she hasn’t quite matched her inspirations, she can be forgiven on the basis of her remarkable guitar

abilities. Tracks like ‘Rider to the Sea’ and ‘The Devil’ start with her playing alone – drizzles of flamenco plucking that blur into a hurricane at a moment’s notice. Unshowily, ‘I’ll Be Your Man’ runs interstices of fractured jazz through the marrow of deadly silent verses. The guitar is where Calvi is, in an odd way, puritanical. “I use reverb, and that’s it.”

No pedals? Everyone uses pedals. “I like to generate these sounds and effects through what I do with my hands rather than what I might do moving lots of pedals. It’s kind of an artistic choice for me to keep the pedals at a minimum.” Live, she attacks the strings with a circular movement – extracting every last tone from the strings themselves rather than transforming them via electronic signals.

Given Calvi’s musical pedigree – a degree in the stuff, her first song laid down when she was eight – it all feels a little less daunting when we get back to her influences. That first song was about wanting to be in David Bowie’s band. Simple ambition, really.

“The first album I ever bought was Aladdin Sane, and I just always loved his music and just remember being really obsessed with him as a kid, and it’s just something that’s continued. I love his music and I love how he’s very much an artist rather than just a pop singer – he’s applying concepts to his music, which I find very interesting.”

You can almost hear her blush when the question is posed of whether Bowie’s actually ever heard her music. But laying the facts bare – that his former collaborator Brian Eno appears on her debut doing backing vox, that she was tipped by Ray Davies to appear when he curated England’s Meltdown Festival – she’s starting to be recognised in these circles. Perhaps it’s only a matter of time.

Anna Calvi plays St Jerome’s Laneway Festival on Monday 30 January with 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 – tickets on sale Wednesday 19 October from lanewayfestival.co.nz.

“It could be just that process of making music – it’s so much easier to be strong and fearless in that situation.”

Fast and Furious fans may get a double dose of Walker and Diesel for the next instalment of the franchise as Universal readies to shoot numbers six and seven back-to-back in Europe. There are rumours that Jason Statham might join the cast.

Darren Aronofsky’s biblical epic Noah is finally getting the green light with Paramount and New Regency agreeing to back the project. John Logan (The Aviator) will be rewriting a script by Aronofsky and Ari Handel.

According to Kiefer Sutherland, the script for the long-rumoured 24 movie by Billy Ray is near completion. Ray has also been attached to a mystery movie with J.J. Abrams which Paramount has acquired.

ITS VAGUELY FUTURISTIC trappings notwithstanding, Real Steel is an old-fashioned underdog sports flick – Rocky with robots, if you will – formulaic to the core but unexpectedly ingratiating in its cheerful lack of irony. It’s a small surprise, since director Shawn Levy’s track record (A Night at the Museum,

Date Night) doesn’t quite fill one with enthusiasm for the film. And though he’s as far from a visionary director as you can get, he gets those sentimental ’80s Spielbergian goosebumps right here – and does it, dare I say, even more satisfyingly than J.J. Abram’s Super 8.

Based on Richard Matheson’s 1956 short story, the film’s silly premise imagines a future where robots, instead of humans, duke it out in the boxing ring. Hugh Jackman is a down-on-his-luck, debt-stricken former boxer trying to get ahead when his long-lost son Max (Dakota Goyo) drops back into his life. They spend a lot of time hating each other but the father/son spark is soon rekindled when they band together to use a ‘Gen 2’ sparring robot named Atom to contend in the World Robot Boxing League.

Admittedly, much of Real Steel’s overlong duration is stocked with corny moments and one-dimensional secondary characters but, heck, against all odds the film works. The ’bot punch-ups are exciting, the effects beautifully-executed, invisibly combining animatronics, motion capture and CG, and the finale so unabashedly tear-jerking it nearly broke down a hard-bitten cynic like myself.

Review Aaron Yap

SHORT REEL

REAL STEEL

WELLINGTON - FRI 11 NOV, BODEGA PALMERSTON NORTH - SAT 12 NOV, THE ROYAL*

NAPIER - THU 17 NOV, CABANA N. PLYMOUTH - FRI 18 NOV, BUTLERS REEF*

ROTORUA - SAT 19 NOV, THE SHED*HAMILTON - FRI 25 NOV, FLOW BAR

Volume Presents

T H E C H E C K SDEADLY SUMMER SLL WAY ALAA BUM TOUR

w Space Creeps and Local Guests

Buy the new album from all good music stores 11.11.11

All tickets at eventfinder.co.nz + venues with *except Auckland (ticketmaster.co.nz) and Real Groovy

& Wellington (1-night.co.nz)

www.thechecks.net

AUCKLAND - SAT 26 NOV, POWERSTATIONGISBORNE - THU 1 DEC , PBC TAURANGA - FRI 2 DEC, ILLUMINATI *ONEWHERO - SAT 3 DEC, RUGBY CLUB *RAGLAN - SAT 10 DEC, YOT CLUB *

Director Shawn LevyStarring Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly, Dakota Goyo

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IT PAINS AND befuddles me that Resistance is often overlooked when sci-fi shooters are up for debate. For while not as beautifully polished as Killzone 3, fun as Halo Reach or WWE as Gears of War 3 there is one thing Resistance has that these others do not, plenty of twitch; but more on that later.

With the lead protagonist dying at the end of Resistance 2, it makes a kind of fuzzy logic that his replacement was his executioner, and his inevitable dishonourable discharge from the army introduces a deft change of direction for the series.

Once the cut scenes introduce you to your situation, that of fighting for the survival of your family day-to-day, it’ll only take a minute of gameplay to realise that you’ve become complacent playing all the other shooters: that the luxury of regenerating health and a snap-to cover system are entirely absent, and ammunition – often the currency of an FPS – is sometimes scarce. Adjusting your mind-set to the twitch-style frenetic shooter will take but a moment and the weapons that await you are more than equal payment for your troubles.

Like all the other sequels mentioned at the top of this review, Resistance 3 is the best of the series with Insomniac, who are retiring from the series, going out with a bang – or more like an exquisite headshot after a Molotov cocktail to the groin.

THE SOUND OF THE OVERGROUND DJ ’SWITH AHH-LIA / DJ WAGGY STYLE / PHOON-TANG CLAN FRIDAY OCTOBER 14 / BLACK & WHITE / 324 K RD / 10PM/ FREE!! !

Insomnia Games (PS3)RESISTANCE 3

Long awaited by the most masochistic dedicated of gamers, Dark Souls, spiritual sequel to Demon Souls, is finally on the shelves. Everything has been tweaked to make the game more balanced but still rewards patience and persistence with death after death. Abandon all hope etc.

Silicon Knights has released X-Men Destiny, a game which manages to include all the best characters from the Marvel universe and then, with a shameless lack of balls, denies you from playing as them.

iPhone gamers can look forward to a new episode of Infinity Blade at Xmas. Good news for people who don’t like playing baby games but sadly you’ll need to buy a new iPhone as it will only work on the newly announced 4S.

EA announced Shank 2 for release early next year and although the beautifully hand-drawn motion looks even better than its predecessor, the real upgrade is to the fighting mechanics, which were a little basic in Shank.

G-NEWS

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BO DIDDLEY WAS the originator – without him there’d be no Beatles, Mick’n’Keef, no Pistols, no rap. Big call? Yes. Is it true? Absolutely.

When I heard he was touring Australia, I had to go – so I was off to the Prince of Wales, a tiny club that holds 500. Diddley, one of the pioneers and innovators of rock’n’roll, was getting on in years and I had a hunch this could be my last chance to see him. Unfortunately, in just over a year, the guy who singlehandedly invented the “Bo Diddley beat”, cool guitars and gave swagger to rock’n’roll would be dead.

New York Dolls and Pixies were playing the V Festival that night but I didn’t care. This was Bo Diddley, the original badass! Me and some mates were right up front, and Diddley seemed to really get a kick out of playing to some young guys. He was joking and laughing with us, and he even shook my hand. It was clear Bo was enjoying himself as much as we were.

He opened with ‘Who Do You Love?’, and even branched out into hip hop with the very funny ‘Old Folk’s Rap’ – and of course he did ‘I’m A Man’. The sounds he made with his guitar were primordial and beautifully raw.

It was strictly no photographs, but my mate was madly snapping away – the club owner was throwing bits of paper and other objects to get us to stop. It was really lucky we captured a few images of that great night.

Diddley suffered a severe stroke a month later. He managed to hold on

another year, but this would go down as one of his final shows.

I’ve seen a lot of the ‘greats’, but this one always stands out. Diddley gave this boy from New Zealand one of the greatest nights of his life. Thank you Bo – you’re still the man.

Daniel Phillips won the Super Deluxe edition of Nevermind for his Bo Diddley History Made.

“In just over a year, the guy who singlehandedly invented the ‘Bo Diddley beat’, cool guitars, and gave swagger to rock’n’roll would be dead.”

Daniel Phillips witnessed Bo Diddley play the Prince of Wales in Melbourne on 4 April 2007.

HISTORY MADE...

BO DIDDLEYPRINCE OF WALES, MELBOURNE WEDNESDAY 4 APRIL 2007

YOU KNEW THIS was going to be fun. With 60 per cent of the band in dinner jackets and the salty whiff of yacht rock in the air, Fabulous/Arabia are jovially enjoying a glass of bubbly on stage before kicking things off.

This new collaboration sees Mike Fabulous of the Black Seeds making the music, which is all smooth grooves and drawn-out instrumentals, while Lawrence Arabia’s James Milne sings. It’s an odd pairing alright, but it makes for a very playful take on funk. The disparity is more striking when the live band includes musicians who have played with TrinityRoots and Fat Freddy’s Drop, creating a deeply funky bed for Milne’s charmingly awkward lyrical come-ons and quivering voice. It usually starts out smooth and

suave before swiftly getting hot and heavy – pretty sure Fabulous on bass is already in a jazz trance as ‘The Ballad of State Highway 1’ heads to its brass-touched outro.

Their album Unlimited Buffet is great, but it doesn’t do their live set justice. Save its falsetto refrain (oh yeah, that’s why James Milne is awesome on this stuff), the sexed-up live rendition of ‘Give Me Love Tonight’ is unrecognisable from its tamer recorded version. They’re the same parts, but the groove is unstoppable as it extends and embellishes. Extended jam sections are the order of the day, but each song varies its approach enough that it very rarely grates; only the noisy guitar coda of ‘It (Will Kill You)’ seems half-baked, and that’s mostly because it doesn’t play to this band’s strengths.

Their kind of instrumental muscle wouldn’t normally come across as cool in an indie rock sense, but with the varying backgrounds of the line-up and Milne’s lyrical wit delivered via unabashed jazz school chops, any irony is instantly parried by equal parts sincerity.

While Fabulous/Arabia might not get fans rushing to check out the Wellington dub scene or vice versa, the feet don’t lie – we’re close to midnight on a Sunday and Aucklanders are dancing.

FABULOUS/ARABIA KINGS ARMS, AUCKLANDSUNDAY 9 OCTOBERReview Dan TrevarthenPhotography Jenna Todd

...AND IN THE MAKING

“It’s an odd pairing alright, but it makes for a very playful take on funk.”

AUCKLANDTUESDAY 11Auckland Jazz & Blues Club – Grant Chilcott – Pt Chevalier RSA, Pt Chevalier, 7:30pm, $5Pop Panic ft. Ricky Rile – Cassette Number Nine, Auckland CBD, 9pm, FreeJosh Leys – Sale St, Freemans Bay, 8pm, FreeDate Night with Ino Pio – Chapel Bar & Bistro, Ponsonby, 6pm, FreePink Floyd – Double Feature – Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, Royal Oak, 8pm, $35

WEDNESDAY 12Def Leppard and Heart – Vector Arena, Auckland CBD, 8pmNew Band Night – Reamfist and Guests – Kings Arms, Newton, 8pm, $5Teenage Kicks – Cassette Number Nine, Auckland CBD, 9pm, FreeWhite Rabbit Black Monkey, The NoWhere Effect & Vanity Fear – Khuja Lounge, Auckland CBD, 7:30pm, $5Auckland Blues Club’s Blues Jam – The Winchester, Newton, 8:30pm, $5Charley Boy At The Bluegrass Club – The Bunker, Devonport, 8pm, $5-$8Jason Eli – Sale St, Freemans Bay, 7:30pm, FreeHitch w/ DJ09 – Hitch, Auckland CBD, 8pm, FreeRewind – Ginger Minx, Mt Eden, 7pm, FreeCreative Jazz Club – Trudy Lile Quintet – 1885 Britomart, Auckland CBD, 8pm, $5-$10Joel Vinsen – Spencer on Byron Hotel, Takapuna, 6pm, FreeTyra Hammond & The Circling Sun Band – Ponsonby Social Club, Ponsonby, 9pm, FreeLive Latin and Brazilian Music – The Mexican Cafe, Auckland CBD, 8:30pm, FreeSalsa Night – The Kingslander, Kingsland, 8pm, FreePaul Voight & Petra Rijnbeek – Sugar Bar, Newmarket, 7pm, FreeWednesday R&B Jam Night – Flo Bar & Cafe, Newmarket, 9pm, FreeIn The Mix – Juice Bar at The Windsor Castle, Parnell, 7:30pm, Free

THURSDAY 13Cassette Allstars ft. Aza Pony, Dirty Uncool, MTron & More – Cassette Number Nine, Auckland CBD, 10pm, FreeNailed Shut With Guests – Kings Arms, Newton, 8pmIntrusion – Dubstep Night – The Carpark Bar, Auckland CBD, 10pm, FreeHitch w/ DJ09 – Hitch, Auckland CBD, 8pm, Free

Auckland Jazz Orchestra with Trudi Lile – Masonic Tavern, Devonport, 7:30pm, $10Chet O’Connell – SkyCity Hotel, Auckland CBD, 6pm, FreeIt’s Dole Day – Tourettes and The Raw Nerves – Whammy Bar, Newton, 9pm, $5D’Starlights – Papatoetoe RSA, Papatoetoe, 6:30pm, $2Dragon – Manurewa Cosmopolitan Club, Manurewa, 8pm, $20-$30god bows to math, High Society and Lost Rockets – Lucha Lounge, Newmarket, 9pmPeter Wood – One 2 One Cafe (121), Ponsonby, 8pm, FreeThe Revolution w/ Guests The Villains of Peace – The Crib, Ponsonby, 8:30pm, Free

FRIDAY 14Crafty – UFO Live Music Venue, New Lynn, 8:30pm, $10MUM Presents: Boyfriend and Meese – Cassette Number Nine, Auckland CBD, 10pmJamesRAy & the Geronimo Band – Silverdale RSA, Whangaparaoa Peninsula, 7pm, FreeStetson Club: Brendon Ham Band – Dairy Flat Community Hall, Dairy Flat, 8pm, $5-$10The Gunslingers Ball – Wine Cellar, Newton, 8pm, $10Dub – Drum & Bass / Drumstep Edition – Be Club, Auckland CBD, 10pm, $5Dead Fools Fiesta – Juice Bar at The Windsor Castle, Parnell, 9pm, FreeBulletproof Album Release: Jason Howson & More – InkCoherent, Newton, 10pm, $15Red Bull Thre3Style – Studio, Newton, 9pm, $5-$10BlackSandDiva & Andrea Lisa – Masonic Tavern, Devonport, 8pm, $10-$15Hitch w/ DJ09 – Hitch, Auckland CBD, 8pm, FreeBe Free Fridays – Be Club, Auckland CBD, 10pm, FreeBe Thursdays – Be Club, Auckland CBD, 10pm, FreeColours of the Cup – Festival Marquee, 2pm, $30Sam Hill, Wade Marriner & Guests – Trench Bar, Auckland CBD, 9pm, FreeAuckland Vintage Jazz Society – Nixon Park Community Hall, Howick, 7:30pm, $10-$15Jazz In The Basement – Roger Manins & Friends + MayaVanya – 1885 Basement, Auckland CBD, 8pm, FreeLlovisna – Auckland Fish Market, Auckland CBD, 5pm, FreeSandy Lynch – Spencer on Byron Hotel, Takapuna, 6pm, FreeDJ King Salsa – The Mexican Cafe, Auckland CBD, 11pm, Free

Friday Night Salsa – Latin Dance Studios Ltd (Latinissimo), Glenfield, 8:30pm, $5-$10Contagious – Cock & Bull, Newmarket, 9pm, FreeEddie Gaiger – Brooklyn Bar, Auckland CBD, 9:30pm, FreeBlack Rose Band – Glen Eden RSA, Glen Eden, 7:30pm, FreeLive at The Cloud – Ladi6 – Queens Wharf, Auckland CBD, 8:30pm, FreeUnknown Peace – Rising Sun, Auckland CBD, 11pm, $10Peter Wood – One 2 One Cafe (121), Ponsonby, 8pm, FreeThe Alibis – Grey Lynn Returned Services Club, Grey Lynn, 8pm, FreeGreg Churchill, Angela Fisken, Aaron Pony Club – InkCoherent, Newton, 10pm, $10

SATURDAY 15Peacock Sky Spring Fling – Sarah Spicer – Peacock Sky Vineyard, Waiheke Island, 12pm, $10Pumice – Pebbles LP Release Gig – Wine Cellar, Newton, 9pm, $10D’Starlights – Birkenhead RSA, Birkenhead, 7pm, FreeAlasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas – Somervell Presbyterian Church, Remuera, 2pm, $20Regrooved Block Party – The Basement, Auckland CBD, 10pm, $15-$20Hitch w/ DJ09 – Hitch, Auckland CBD, 8pm, FreePure Trench Bar – Trench Bar, Auckland CBD, 9pm, FreeVibrant Sessions – Ginger Minx, Mt Eden, 10pm, Free2Five9 Jazz Trio & Isaac Aesili – 1885 Basement, Auckland CBD, 8pm, FreeNeville Chamberlain – Spencer on Byron Hotel, Takapuna, 7pm, FreeLatin Carnival 2011 – Flo Bar & Cafe, Newmarket, 8pm, $15Contagious – Cock & Bull, Botany Downs, 9pm, $3The Cruise – DNA Bar, Auckland CBD, 4pm, FreeFou Nature (Live Band) – Black And White Bar, Newton, 10pmA Gig with Flare – Edinburgh Street, Pukekohe, 10pm, FreeHelen Riley – Papatoetoe RSA, Papatoetoe, 6:30pm, $2Jackal with TVW, Downfall of Humanity & Kulus – Shadows Bar, Auckland CBD, 8pm

SUNDAY 16JamesRAy’s Acoustic Country Sunday – Bar Africa, North Harbour, 12pm, FreeMarian Burns and The McSweeney Brothers – The Prospect of Howick, Howick, 4pm, FreeSandpaper Tango – Corellis Cafe, Devonport, 6pm, Free

Auckland Vintage Jazz Society – Takapuna Boating Club, Takapuna, 7:00pm, $10-$15Chicane – Bill Fish Cafe, St Marys Bay, 1pm, FreeNeville Chamberlain – Spencer on Byron Hotel, Takapuna, 7pm, FreeChico con Tumbao – Buenos Aires Restaurant, Herne Bay, 7pm, FreeThe Cruise – DNA Bar, Auckland CBD, 4pm, FreeSunday Sessions hosted by Club Groove – Flo Bar & Cafe, Newmarket, 4pm, Free

MONDAY 17Live at The Cloud – Little Bushman – Queens Wharf, Auckland CBD, 8:30pm, FreeTraditional Irish Music Session – The Clare Inn, Mt Eden, 7pm, FreeBen Fernandez – Spencer on Byron Hotel, Takapuna, 6pm, FreeMusician at Dinner – Uxbridge Creative Centre, Howick, 6:30pm, $24VIVA Jazz Quartet – The Windsor Castle, Parnell, 6pm, Free

NORTHLANDTUESDAY 11About Time Jazz Trio – Butter Factory Wine Bar, Whangarei, Free

WEDNESDAY 12Blackheart – Bishopswood Boutique Distillery, Kerikeri, 7:30pm, $20

FRIDAY 14Soul Breeze – Brauhause Frings Brewery, Whangarei, 6:30pm, FreeKurfew – Mangawhai Tavern, Mangawhai, 9pm, $0-$5

SATURDAY 15Soul Breeze – McMorrissey’s Irish Pub and Eatery, Whangarei, 9:30pm, Free

SUNDAY 16Soul Breeze – Alfresco’s Restaurant and Bar, Paihia, 3pm, FreeLazy Sundays – Wharepuke, Kerikeri, 12pm, Free

THE COROMANDELFRIDAY 14Split Second – Admirals Arms, Coromandel, 9pm

WAIKATOSATURDAY 15State of Mind – FLOW, Hamilton, 8:30pm, $15

HAWKE’S BAY / GISBORNESATURDAY 151814, Ethnic Roots, Jurn.E – Reynolds Hall, Tolaga Bay, 6:30pm, $48Shotgun Alley – The Cabana, Napier, 8pm, $20The Provincial Sessions – Dram and Cock Whiskey Bar, Napier, 9pm, $5

BAY OF PLENTYWEDNESDAY 12Swamp Thing ft. Michael Barker & Grant Haua – The Pheasant Plucker, Rotorua, 8:30pm, Free

THURSDAY 13Shotgun Alley – The Shed, Rotorua, 8pm, $20Bay Salsa – Buddha Lounge, Tauranga, 8pm, $2LSG Group – The Pheasant Plucker, Rotorua, 9pm, Free

FRIDAY 14Shotgun Alley – Brewers Bar, Mt Maunganui, 8pm, $20

SATURDAY 15Horusset NZ Tour – After Dark, Rotorua, 8pm, $10

MANAWATU / WHANGANUIFRIDAY 14god bows to math, High Society and Lost Rockets – The ARC Theatre, Whanganui, 9pm

WELLINGTON REGIONTUESDAY 11In Like Flynn with Ainslie Allen – D4 on Featherston, 7pm, FreeLive Music and Two for One Desserts – The Library, 5pm, FreeCarlos Navae – Latin Fusion – The Library, 8:30pm, Free

WEDNESDAY 12Six60 Plus Special Guests – The Hunter Lounge, 8pm, $40Chris Bryant – El Horno, 9:30pm, FreeKobosh, Mangle and Gruff and Everything Revs – Mighty Mighty, 9pm, $5Carlos Navae Sol Sessions – The Flying Burrito Brothers, 6:30pm, Free

THURSDAY 13Urbantramper – Mighty Mighty, 9pmRed Bull Thre3Style – San Francisco Bath House, 9pm, $5-$10Green Parrots – Hotel Bristol, 8:30pm, FreeIn Like Flynn – Molly Malones, 9pmHaiti Hospital Appeal Fundraiser – The Garden Club, 8pm, $10god bows to math, High Society and Lost Rockets – Happy, 9pm

FRIDAY 14Adam Page Live & Solo – Meow, 8:30pm, $15Dean Wareham plays Galaxie 500 – Bodega, 8:30pm, $45Hammocks and Honey (Aus), St Rupertsberg and Mount Pleasant – Mighty Mighty, 10pm, $5Plum Green Digital Download and Music Video Release – The Garden Club, 9pmLive Music Friday – Jason Wilcox Trio – Mojo Bond St, 6pm, FreeMtown – Horse & Hound Bar & Cafe, Lower Hutt, 9pm, FreeOperation 8 Gig – The Southern Cross Bar and Restaurant, 8:30pm, Free

SATURDAY 15Minuit – San Francisco Bath House, 9pm, $25

Chow Down – Chow Tory, 10pmThe Vietnam War & Dirtbags – Mighty Mighty, 10pm, $5In Like Flynn – Molly Malones, 9pmLive Acoustic Session – Mahara Gallery, Waikanae, 12pm, FreeSpring Tango and Salsa Ball – Parade Cafe, 3pm, $20-$30

SUNDAY 16Mel Parsons & the Rhythm Kings – Red Grey Blue Tour – San Francisco Bath House, 7:30pm, $25-$30Sunday Live Music – The Library, 8pm, FreeThe Boptet – The Lido Cafe, 7pm, FreeThe Sunday Jazz Club – Public Bar & Eatery, 7:30pm, Free

MONDAY 17In Like Flynn with Ainslie Allen – D4 on Featherston, 7pm, Free

NELSON / TASMANTHURSDAY 13Fabulous Arabia – Nelson Arts Festival – Founders Heritage Park, Nelson, 8:30pm, $26-$42Delgirl – Nelson Arts Festival – Mussel Inn, Golden Bay, 8pm

FRIDAY 14Sola Rosa – Nelson Arts Festival – Founders Heritage Park, Nelson, 8:30pm, $30-$38Delgirl – Nelson Arts Festival – Murchison Fire Station, Nelson Lakes, 7:30pmTom Rodwell – Nelson Arts Festival – The Granary, Nelson, 6:30pm, FreeGeorge Kingi and Next of Kin – Golden Bear Brewing Company, Waimea, 6pm, FreeGypsy Pickers – Tap Ale House & Restaurant, Waimea, 8:30pm, Free

SATURDAY 15Delgirl – Nelson Arts Festival – Neudorf Vineyards, Waimea, 2pm, $15-$33Half Wild – NZ Carnivalesque Tour ’11 – Elsewhere, Nelson, 10pm, Free

SUNDAY 16Delgirl – Nelson Arts Festival – Founders Heritage Park, Nelson, 7:30pm, $29-$33Certés – Nelson Arts Festival – The Granary, Nelson, 5pm, FreeSunday Jazz with Chris O’Connor and Greg Malcolm – The Granary, Nelson, 2:30pm, Free

MARLBOROUGHSATURDAY 15Mel Parsons & the Rhythm Kings – Red Grey Blue Tour – Marlborough Civic Theatre, Blenheim, 8pm, $30

WEST COASTTHURSDAY 13Mel Parsons & the Rhythm Kings – Red Grey Blue Tour – Frank’s, Greymouth, 7:30pm, $23-$30

FRIDAY 14Mel Parsons & the Rhythm Kings – Red Grey Blue Tour – NBS Theatre, Westport, 7:30pm, $23-$30

CANTERBURYWEDNESDAY 12Mel Parsons & the Rhythm Kings ‘Red Grey Blue’ Tour – The Kimbell Garage Gallery, Fairlie, 7pm, $23-$30

THURSDAY 13Black Velvet – Becks Southern Alehouse, 8pmBlack Velvet Band – Becks Southern Alehouse, 8pm, Free

FRIDAY 14Lloyd & Doublet – Alvarado’s Mexican Cantina/Bar, Christchurch, 7pm, FreeHalf Wild – NZ Carnivalesque Tour ’11 – Winnie Bagoes, 10pm, Free

SATURDAY 15Anika Moa & Barnaby Weir – The Acoustic Tour – Naval Point Yacht Club, Lyttelton, 7:30pm, $35Thomas Coffey and the Grinders – Pierside Cafe and Bar, 8:30pm, Free

SUNDAY 16Anika Moa & Barnaby Weir – The Acoustic Tour – Geraldine Cinema, Geraldine, 4pm, $30

OTAGOTHURSDAY 13Anika Moa & Barnaby Weir – The Acoustic Tour – Chicks Hotel, Dunedin, 7:30pm, $35

FRIDAY 14Six60 – Dunedin Town Hall, Dunedin, 8pm, $40Anika Moa & Barnaby Weir – The Acoustic Tour – Rippon Vineyard, Wanaka, 7:30pm, $35Friday Jazz Club – Les Alpes Restaurant, Queenstown, 7pm, Free

SATURDAY 15Tommy Ill – Birdbath Single Release Tour – ReFuel Bar, Dunedin, 8pm, $8-$10Maenad & Civilian Sol – Wolves at the Door Tour – Lounge Bar, Wanaka, 8:30pm, $10

SUNDAY 16Monkey Killer Records Third Birthday – 12 Below – XIIB, Dunedin, 3:30pm, $10-$15

MONDAY 17John Rowles – The Final Bow Farewell Tour – Regent Theatre, Dunedin, 7:30pm, $55-$65

SOUTHLANDTHURSDAY 13Six60 – Saints and Sinners, Invercargill, 8pm, $37.95

FRIDAY 14The Kposs Krackdown All Ages Show – Saints and Sinners, Invercargill, 7pm, $5The Kposs Krackdown Hip Hop Night – Saints and Sinners, Invercargill, 10pm, Free

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AUCKLAND Reunited Aussie punks The Tearaways are joining Frenzal Rhomb this month as well as playing some dates all of their own and supporting The Business here in Auckland – check out chicksthatscream.com for a listing of all their shows – tickets to Frenzal Rhomb and The Business shows are on sale now… The Drab Doo-Riffs, Mothers of Darkness and Tina Turntables have been added to 95bFM’s Zombie Prom line-up at The Powerstation on Saturday 29 October, joining 1995, Evil Twins, Mellow Grave and O’Lovely… Nevermind Punkfest – hair product companies sighed when Wellington’s annual Punkfest usually held over Labour weekend was cancelled this year. Never fear, Nevermind Punkfest gigs have popped up all over the country – check out punkas.com for details… Dick Dynamite and The Doppelgangers have a new EP coming out later this month. As well as scoring support for Gin Wigmore’s tour, there’ll be a whole lotta wiggling going on… Speaking of wiggling, seems Prowler is the hot new band to see – keep an eye out for shows… Who would you like to see support Explosions In the Sky at their December gigs? Flick info@mysterygirl.co.nz an email – you could score prizes!… Re: ‘Rewind’ – what’s brewing over at Picasso Core? picassocore.blogspot.com… Antagonist AD are back over the ditch playing over the next couple of weeks, sporting a very handsome new bassist – hats off to Milon Williams who’s helping out the band as well as preparing for the release of the new Cobra Khan record… Wellington/Auckland band Old Loaves are having a mini-tour in October – a really mini-tour – as in two shows. Joining them on the trek is Wellington five-piece Spook the Horses and Hamilton’s Viking Weed, playing Friday 14 October at Tabac in Auckland and Saturday 15 October at Void in Hamilton… The House of Capricorn’s new album In the Devil’s Days is released on 17 October and is already gathering kudos across the globe – catch their release show at Whammy Bar on 21 October… By the time you read this the line-up for Stonerfest 2011 should have been made… 1995 recently finished mixing with Nick Roughan… Dictaphone Blues recording at The Lab and reports say some recordings sounding very Nuggets–esque – Roughan has also remixed a track for the Golden Awesome… Elemeno P apparently ripped it up on the waterfront recently – expect another beach tour soon… Trashcan Duo finished their recordings in their mum’s garage straight to cassette… bFM’s In Session recordings sounding really good – particularly impressive is

Lucy from Las Tetas’ performance… The Checks’ Powerstation show on 25 November – earlybird tickets sold out pronto… Summer tours include Deerhoof, UMO, Beirut, Village People, Leo Sayer (and yes, we feel like dancing!) , Black Joe Lewis, Nick Lowe – and more… new vinyl-only store opening within spitting distance of The Powerstation… Heart Attack Alley recorded a live set at Lucha Lounge to a crowd of what sounded like hundreds – lots of exciting opportunities in store for them offshore next year including a possible deal with Voodoo Rhythm… Blam Blam Blam, The X-Features, Fetus Productions, Andrew Fagan, and the Soul Agents will perform at the Windsor Castle on 11/11/’11 to raise funds for the Starship Foundation – organised by Barfoot & Thompson, their target this year is $75,000 with which they’re aiming to buy two crucial pieces of brain-monitoring equipment… The Rackets’ new video in their Six Sick Singles series is out this week – expect more wrongness.

Some of the best local, national and international rock and metal acts will come together to celebrate New Year’s 2012 at New Zealand’s newest and heaviest festival – Beyond the Black at Trentham Racecourse, Upper Hutt. Tickets start from just $30 and are on sale now… Due to serious illness, stargazing Californian synth musician Baths has cancelled his Wellington performance… On 26 October, Good As Gold, Arcade and CHW DWN present Boweezy at Chow Tory, a DJ night entirely composed of songs by Lil Wayne and David Bowie… Rock chanteuse Plum Green is launching her digital download compilation EP in physical form at the Garden Club on 14 October – attendees will be able to pick up beautifully-presented envelopes containing a download code for her music – Porcelain Toy play support… Lennart Maschmeyer has spent the last few years documenting the Wellington music, arts and culture scenes in photographic form. On 20 October at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery, he launches his beautiful coffee-table book 10.98 Seconds of Wellington Arts, featuring shots of and words about the local arts scene – Fraser Ross and special guests will provide live entertainment… Soul rock band Mara and the Bushkas recorded a live album at Bats Theatre earlier in the year. On 20 October they’re throwing a launch party at San Francisco Bath House; limited edition physical copies will be available on the night. Expect a fleshed-out band with a string section and all the other bangs and whistles… Local shoegazers The Golden

Awesome’s debut album Autumn is now available for listening and pre-orders via mladysrecords.bandcamp.com – the first 200 copies are on tasty purple vinyl… Our very own soul’n’beats heroes Electric Wire Hustle are currently on their first Asian tour – head over to their Facebook page or Twitter account and give these quiet international achievers some well-deserved love… You want an old fashioned Polaroid-style photo booth at your next party, event or function? Check out theamazingtravellingphotobooth.co.nz… Shihad YouTube footage of the week – their 1989 performance at Blenheim Road in Christchurch – ‘Last Caress’, ‘N.I.B.’, ‘Born to Be Wild’ are delivered by four fiery and enthusiastic teenagers to a hungry audience – multi-camera shoot, and excellent sound… Sunken Seas – formerly Tiddabades but without the vocalist – are playing SFBH… The Phoenix Foundation will perform on Jools Holland later this month… Junica have put together a Wellington supergroup to be the opening act for the Auckland show from The Naked and Famous… Black City Lights have finished their debut EP – expect the release in a few weeks… Glass Vaults about to release their new EP as well… Timothy Blackman returns home following six months in Portland Oregon in time for his new album release Everyone Needs Something To Hold On To on 10/10/’10… New record store Evil Genius opens its doors in Wellington – on the opening day there were performances by Ryan Prebble, Iraia Whakamoe, Sage Kumara, Aaron Tokona and Riki Gooch.

Bruce Russell has been putting finishing touches to two Flying Nun retrospectives for The Pin Group and a collection of South Island Nun-related groups from the time of the label’s birth – expect to read more in these pages soon… Japanese garage rockers touching down in city in December – watch this space… Delaney Davidson, who recently received his first NZ On Air grant, will tour nationally in late November/early December… Sleeping Dogs play Hagley Park on Sunday 16

October… The Dux will play host to the Flying Nun shows in Christchurch.

Thundercub on short hiatus… End of year looms for rock degree music students – live performance assessments next week… Music books happening: The Other Dunedin Sound launched and Dunedin Soundings heading to the printers… Locals underwhelmed by Christchurch scene at Kreation gig.

PORTISHEAD Thursday 10 November – Vector Arena, Auckland

MULATU ASTATKE & THE BLACK JESUS EXPERIENCE Friday 25 November – The Powerstation, Auckland

TINY RUINS Wednesday 2 November – Hopetoun Alpha, AucklandFriday 4 November – Sawmill Cafe, LeighTuesday 8 November – Space Monster, Whanganui (entry by donation)Wednesday 9 November – Mighty Mighty, WellingtonThursday 10 November – The Playhouse Cafe, NelsonFriday 11 November – Archive, Christchurch (free show)Saturday 12 November – Chick’s Hotel, Dunedin

ST JEROME’S LANEWAY FESTIVAL 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 moreMonday 30 January – Silo Park, Wynyard Quarter, Auckland

BLACK JOE LEWIS AND THE HONEYBEARSWednesday 7 December at The Powerstation sees the first New Zealand appearance by Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears with their Austin soul revue which channels Elmore James, Howling Wolf and the wicked Wilson Pickett – a must-see – check out ‘Livin’ In The Jungle’ on YouTube.

DEERHOOF Some of our favourite San Francisco freaks, Deerhoof, return for two New Zealand shows. Saturday 7 January – Whammy Bar, Auckland Sunday 8 January – Bodega, Wellington

DEAN WAREHAM PLAYS GALAXIE 500 Friday 14 October – Bodega, WellingtonThursday 20 October – Kings Arms, Auckland

BACHELORETTEFriday 14 October – San Francisco Bath House, Wellington Sunday 16 October – Galatos, Auckland

FRENZAL RHOMB Friday 28 October – Bodega, WellingtonSaturday 29 October – Kings Arms, Auckland

BEAST WARS Friday 28 October – The Royal, Palmerston North Saturday 29 October – Space Monster, Whanganui Friday 4 November – Biddy Mulligan’s, Hamilton Saturday 5 November – 4:20, Auckland Saturday 12 November – Bodega, Wellington

THE CHECKSFriday 11 November – Zeal, Wellington Friday 11 November – Bodega, Wellington Saturday 12 November – The Royal, Palmerston North Thursday 17 November – Cabana, Napier Friday 18 November – Butlers Reef, New Plymouth Saturday 19 November – The Shed, Rotorua Friday 25 November – Flow Bar, Hamilton Saturday 26 November – Powerstation, Auckland Thursday 1 December – PBC, Gisborne Friday 2 December – Illuminati, TaurangaSaturday 3 December – Onewhero Rugby Club, OnewheroSaturday 10 December – Yot Club, Raglan

KURT VILE AND THE VIOLATORS W/ ALASTAIR GALBRAITHThursday 1 December – Kings Arms, 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

TUNEYARDS Thursday 12 January – Kings Arms, Auckland

BEIRUT Saturday 14 January – San Francisco Bath House, Wellington Monday 16 January – The Powerstation, Auckland

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

FLEET FOXES Friday 13 January – Hunter Lounge, WellingtonSaturday 14 January – Town Hall, Auckland

BIG DAY OUT 2012 Soundgarden, Kanye West, Odd Future, Kasabian, Royksopp, Mariachi el Bronx, Battles, Beastwars, Best Coast, My Chemical Romance and moreFriday 20 January – Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland

IT IS ON rare occasions like this that a quiet Auckland Wednesday night turns into an explosion of energetic noise. You can’t really smell the weekend then, so most patrons of the Kings Arms take their time to actually listen rather than jump to some of the most extreme electronic live stuff heard this year.

Local happy hardcore/suburban rap duo $norgazZzm gets to kick off. Both dudes rap but their performance styles are very different; one of them acts like he’s come straight outta

Compton, while his friend seems like he would have been more at ease behind the keys if there were any. A big up for their crystal-clear and intelligent electronic compositions, but it would have been good to see some vintage electronics on stage. Good on follow-ups Golden Axe for filling this gap – some of their gear seems to be held together with sticky tape. Their music isn’t any slower than $norgazZzm’s but more compelling and MDMA-drenched.

A few hours into the night and it’s time for headliner Black Dice. Over the last decade or so, the New York band has transformed from a four-piece post-punk/post-rock ensemble with live drums to the avant-garde noise-electronica trio they are today.

They start relatively friendly, with their aggressive beats accompanied by Sly Stone-like funkiness on the guitar. However, the shoegazing guitarist turns out to be a sheep in wolf ’s clothing as the remainder of the show is characterised by never-ending grooves pulsating in oceans of psychedelic noise.

While Black Dice never allows their crowd to have a break from their rhythmic barbarism, they do reduce the noise every once in a while. It is during these moments that you come to realise how great their “rhythm section” is: from mean electro bass to ethnic percussions, it’s all warm and on full strength – great stuff.

What lifts Black Dice above most of their fellow noise and breakcore

contemporaries is their ability to avoid rhythmic and melodic clichés; just when you think you’re hearing one, Black Dice changes direction.

With Animal Collective-associated Danny Perez’s mind-expanding videos on the background, Black Dice live deliver an awesome hour of psychedelic escapism, and that’s right up the alley of this night’s eager crowd.

BLACK DICE W/ $NORGAZZZMKINGS ARMS, AUCKLANDTHURSDAY 6 OCTOBERReview Christiaan de WitPhotography Katie Willmett

“Never-ending grooves pulsating in oceans of psychedelic noise.”

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BACHELORETTEW/ JOHN WHITE & JASMINA MASCHINAGLUE GALLERY, DUNEDINTHURSDAY 6 OCTOBERReview Sam Valentine Photography Roger Grauwmeijer

THIS PARTICULAR BACHELORETTE performance was always going to be weighted by sentimentality. Having impressed both national and international audiences since 2005 with her varied electronic output, ranging from the cute pop of ‘I Want to Be Your Girlfriend’ to the emotive textures of her 2011 farewell, Bachelorette’s show at Glue Gallery was to be her final Dunedin show.

A relatively new venue, Glue Gallery’s large main hall was a fantastic choice, the darkened, stark room hosting a supporting exhibition showcasing images of Annabel Alpers by local photographer Lou Clifton (who Alpers described as responsible for the “single-handed creation of the Bachelorette image”) before the performance began.

A restrained, humble and loveably-awkward performer, Alpers was charming and relaxed throughout, joking with her audience about her many “mistakes” during the evening.

Creating cosmic, emotive sounds accompanied by colour-saturated projections, her stunning voice showed why Bachelorette has been so treasured. Performing ‘Blanket’, her recent single and self-professed “best song”, Alpers masterfully controlled multiple digital loops while displaying pitch-perfect control of her reverb-laden voice; the sonic layering creating uplifting, deeply introspective pop music.

Compliments too must be given to John White and Germany’s Jasmina Maschina, who both deserve far more print space than I have afforded them.

While the Bachelorette moniker will be missed, its passing leaves Annabel Alpers free of expectation, an extremely exciting prospect.

“Alpers masterfully controlled multiple digital loops.”

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