Full Moon Fiasco - Summer Eyes - Fantasy Fiction Records - FF 001 - 2017 - New Zealand (Vinyl)

So, this is the second review of the four first arrivals of 2018 and is the second album from this expat Kiwi band now resident in Germany. The brainchild of one Will Rattray, who recorded, mixed and produced this album as well as sharing writing credits with the rest of the band. Been a long wait between albums with their debut being possibly digital only release from 2010.

 Electronic tinged, off kilter psychedelic indie pop make up the contents of this record, pretty catchy in places and somewhat dreamy and shoegazy. Overall, a pleasant enough bunch of songs that I have enjoyed listening to but probably not a record that will end up on my best of lists. Still a worthwhile addition to my New Zealand Collection, with some quite interesting moments. Sounds better on the floor stand speakers than the headphones though, sounded a bit murky on the headphones. Rating 3/5.

https://www.discogs.com/Full-Moon-Fiasco-Summer-Eyes/release/11073322

https://fantasyfictionrecords.bandcamp.com/album/full-moon-fiasco-summer-eyes

Magic Factory - Working With Gold - 1:12 Records - LP 007 - 2017 - New Zealand (vinyl)

Apparently, sometime perhaps back in the early 70's, The Rolling Stones somehow discovered or got access to a time machine and came forward 45 odd years in time and ended up in New Zealand where they recorded an album for a small independent record label called 1:12 Records under the pseudonym The Magic Factory.
  All joking aside, yes this record certainly does have a very strong early 70's Rolling Stones sound perhaps with a hint of those other Rolling Stones copyists, The New York Dolls. This is not at all a bad thing, with some great songs and plenty of classic guitar sounds on what is a very accomplished and pretty cool record. I am enjoying it to the max, nothing wrong with old school rock. Rating 4.5/5.

https://www.discogs.com/Magic-Factory-Working-With-Gold/release/10982033

https://magicfactory.bandcamp.com/album/working-with-gold

Tom Cunliffe - Lyttelton Records - Christchurch - 6 January 2018

Tom Cunliffe is an Auckland resident of Irish descent who plays a lovely blend of folksy Americana, has a really good debut album out on Lyttelton Records out of Christchurch and another album due out in April. This short tour is in promotion of that new record.

  This was my first gig at the new Lyttelton Records Cafe/Bar/record shop/music venue. It is a pretty small venue with a capacity of only about 80 people and it was not full for this date. I found the setup a bit of a let down with the stage in the center of the long narrow venue and seating limited but also taking up a lot of the standing room in front  of the stage. The bar was off to the side of the sage with a brick wall separating but there was a window looking from the end of the bar into the stage area and a speaker to project the music into this area. It was at the far end of the bar I found a perch with my drink as I waited for the first act of the night. This was another Tom, although I did not get to hear his last name. This Tom played just solo guitar and some piano and did some really good tunes although lyrically a little on the dark side and the guitar playing was cool and slightly heavy in places. Who ever he was I enjoyed his set.

 After he finished. I snuck into a gap in the seating up against a wall where I got a much better view of the stage and waited for Tom Cunliffe to mount the stage.

  This Tom also played solo, mostly electric and later some acoustic guitar. I had a re listen to his first album earlier to reacquaint myself with his songs, but actually most of the show was at first all the new stuff, I believe, from his up coming album and so I didn't know any of it, but it sounded promising and sometimes whimsical, as apposed to the more melancholy stuff on the first record. Towards the end of his set a lady at the front asked if he would play Old Moon, a great song off the first album(which I just now discovered was not his first album, as he has an earlier one on Bandcamp), He duly obliged as she enthusiastically sung along to every word. He played two more songs off that record to which he got more reaction from the audience as they all knew the songs and all are great songs. It was a most enjoyable evening and Tom is a bloody great singer, an impressive lyricist and a strong entertainer. Great night, really glad I went.

Godsmack - Awake - Republic/Universal Records 159 688-2- USA 2000 (CD)

Really heavy alt rock with gruff but good vocals, this album really kicks arse, has great riffs is as heavy as fuck with out becoming outright metal and sells in truckloads( God Smack have world wide album sales in excess if 10 000 000 units) I really like this one, good sounds. Rating 4/5.

https://www.discogs.com/Godsmack-Awake/release/2176677

Various Artists - Hallelujah, Anyway- Remembering Tom Cora - Tzadik TZ7602 - USA 1999 (CD)

I knew Nothing of Tom Cora when i bought this album. I bought it as part of my collecting of the catalog of John Zorn's Tzadik Label.

 Released in 1999, soon after Tom's passing from cancer at the age of 44, this tribute to Tom consists of two 70 minute CDs of music from Tom and many of the bands Tom played in over his career as well as other musicians that Tom had played with and influenced, doing pieces that Tom wrote or that they recorded especially for this compilation.

 I could be here a month of Sundays trying to describe the music on this release and at over 140 minutes there is a hell of a lot to take in and this sort of stuff does not get pulled off the shelf very often.

 Tom played in many bands over the years as well as releasing solo stuff, like some of his solo cello improvisations, an impressive example of which graces this album, along with recordings he did with some familiar names, such as, John Zorn, Fred Frith, Leo Smith and Chris Cutler. There are also tracks from bands that Tom graced such as, Curlew, Oriental Fusion, Third Person, The Ex, Pidgen Combo, Nimal and I believe his most well known outfit, Skeleton Crew with Fred Frith and Zeena Parkins.

Oh what a roller coaster of a musical journey is this project but it is very well worth the ride. Some really mind bending and creative music resides on these two discs, from free improvisations, plenty of NYC Downtown madness, Brass Bands, electronic noise, off kilter pop and plenty of other almost indescribable weirdness, there is nothing I don't like and plenty that I really am enjoying very much. It would be worth tracking down some of the recordings Tom did with the various bands he played in that I mentioned above. A wonderful tribute to Tom and musically get a massive thumbs up from me.

 I highly recommend this album for those who like challenging music, go on, dive in I dare you. Rating 5/5.

https://www.discogs.com/Various-Hallelujah-Anyway-Remembering-Tom-Cora/release/523994

Mazzy Star - So Tonight That I May See - Capitol Records 0777 7 98253 2 5 - USA 1993 (CD)

Mazzy Star are another of those bands where I just have the one album, not because I didn't get into them at the time but usually because there are always so many other albums always begging for my attention and some times because an album is just so fucking good that one feels nothing else they could do would ever touch it and this is one of those. Not that Mazzy Star actually put out many albums anyhow.

 I know I didn't actually buy this album upon initial release, but much later on. I did finally buy a copy, of course, on the strength of "Fade Into You", the opening track and I sure most who know it will agree, a masterful classic of  slow dreamy atmospheric pop, A beautiful song.

 Although this album is not pure commercial pop, this music is much deeper than that, stunning alternative pop, with slow organ melodies, acoustic guitar and sometimes screeching electric guitar, nicely mixed in the background so not to overpower the rest of the music. This is such a well balanced mix, awesomely recorded but not super Hifi.

  Not only are the songs brilliant but some of the titles are really cool as well, "Mary of Silence", "Unreflected", "Into Dust", just all magnificent songs.

 I really can't gush enough about just how good this record is, it might be nigh on perfect. so I'll just conclude that this album is a very strong contender for a desert Island disc. Rating 5+/5.

https://www.discogs.com/Mazzy-Star-So-Tonight-That-I-Might-See/release/1006465

Sun Ra - Cosmo Earth Fantasy(Sub Underground Vol 1&2) (USA 1974/5) ( CD) Reissue 2012

This Art Yard release combines two ultra rare Ra Saturn LPs from 74'and 75', "Cosmo Earth Fantasy" and "What's New", although the recordings themselves are dated somewhat earlier, from 1962 Choreographers Workshop reheasrsal recordings to a live recording from 1975. Quite a mix of styles on offer here with the set kicking off with the mammoth 22 minute improvised title track which will challenge but reveals some quite interesting passages. It does get pretty noodly at times though. The rest is a bit more conventional sounding in a fashion(if you could ever call any of Sun Ra's muisc conventional) with some nice piano from Ra in places and reasonable remastering to give a fairly listenable release. A very worthwhile Sun Ra set and gets my rating of 4/5.

https://www.discogs.com/Sun-Ra-And-His-Astro-Infinity-Arkestra-Cosmo-Earth-Fantasy-Sub-Underground-Series-Vol-1-2/release/4085654

The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers - Rolling Stones Records - UK 1971 (CD) Reissue 1994

What more can I say about an album like this, bugger all really. I am not a really big Stones fan but I do have some of their best albums in my collection. Of course this kicks off with one of those unavoidable classics which you would have to be living in a cave in Mongolia for the last 40 years, not to be familiar with. This album also has an real Americana vibe through it with it's shades of country as well as the excellent delta blues of " We Gotta Move" Consistently brilliant across its whole 46 minutes, but it's the center piece of the album that really blows my mind. The seven minute "Can You Hear Me Knocking" could possibly be the best things the Stones ever recorded with the great riff and the awesome extended atmospheric sax and guitar breaks. Although "Sister Morphine" slightly disappoints after being so familiar with Marianne Faithful's sublime version for so long, it still won't stop me giving this album 5/5.


https://www.discogs.com/The-Rolling-Stones-Sticky-Fingers/release/9792158

The Cure - Disintergration - Fiction Records 839353-2 - UK 1989 (CD)

So this is apparently The Cure's biggest selling album, with over three million units sold worldwide. I never knew they got quite so big. I guess I still think of them as a sort of cult band from their early 80's output. This reissue on CD of this album ended up in my collection god knows when and really has received almost no attention since. This CD version has some additional tracks and clocks in over 72 minutes. As you would expect from The Cure, the music is dark and drony and a bit long winded and I do find these very long records difficult to stay with for their full length. I was slightly familiar with one or two songs on this, and good songs they are. There is a lot happening throughout the record, with some interesting string arrangements fleshing out the tracks I do actually find this to be a pretty strong set, although still way too long. Another of those albums that I couldn't really sit down with and listen to intently but I am really appreciating it as it plays loudly while doing other not too distracting jobs around the house. Rating 3/5.

https://www.discogs.com/master/view/31755

The Nudge - Big Nudge Pie - Self Released KEEN001 - New Zealand 2011 (CD)

Since my almost total immersion into New Zealand music over the last two and a half years and re immersion into the cult of vinyl, I made the decision that most of the NZ music I buy was going to be vinyl only, but that is not an absolute. I had picked up The Nudge - Dark Arts album earlier in the year and was most impressed with the result and didn't hesitate to catch them live back in September when they played here. The gig was excellent and they played a lot of songs from their more unfamiliar first album sand witched between a full live rendition of the Dark Arts album. I was totally blown away by their playing and their music and so had to get my hands on this CD, seeing as it didn't have a vinyl release.

 This whole album, all 60 odd minutes, is just wall to wall Blues/Psych rock with all killer and no filler. Stunning arrangements and brilliant guitar pyrotechnics, this record is an absolute New Zealand Classic, pure raw unadulterated bliss. Rating 5/5.

https://www.discogs.com/The-Nudge-Big-Nudge-Pie/release/4501335

https://nudge.bandcamp.com/album/big-nudge-pie

McCoy Tyner - Time for Tyner - Blue Note BST84307 - USA 1969 (LP) 75th Anniversary Reissue

The second Blue Note of the evening was this quartet session from 1968, lead by Tyner on the piano, it opens three of his own compositions and concludes with three musical pieces from Rogers and Hammerstein and A.J Learner. It was difficult for me not to make too many comparisons with the previous fantastic Grant Green album I had just listened to before this. The Idle Moments record was a wonderful sparce, clear and excellent all round record which just impressed me incredibly. On the headphones straight after, this album struck me as more dense and frenetic and maybe not quite as clear as a recording as the other record, I wasn't feeling it anywhere near as much. On next listen I didn't use the headphones, played through the Focals, and it definitely fitted much better like this. I found it to be one of those records I can appreciate more if I am not solely focused on intent listening and indeed this morning I am appreciating the excellent piano work of Tyner on this fast paced record. One that was highly rated in the Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings, it was included as one of their Core Recordings, but I don't find it quite as satisfying but am appreciating the playing much more than I did last night. It is a grower, rating 3.5/5

https://www.discogs.com/McCoy-Tyner-Time-For-Tyner/release/6991212

Grant Green - Idle Moments - Blue Note ST-84154 - USA 1964 (LP) 75th Anniversary Reissue.

Getting into my Blue Notes for a couple of records on a lazy New Years Day and first one I pulled off the rack is this fantastic record. A quintet session from late '62 lead by Green but with the two best compositions by the pianist, Duke Pearson. Pearson's Album title track is the center piece of the set, and extremely laid back slow number that sounds like it is going to stall at times but is chocked full of stunning solos from Henderson, Green and Pearsom. Jean De Fluer is a faster tempo with some wonderful playing from Green, who penned this number, it is a real toe tapper. Side two opens with the Modern Jazz Quartets Djando, a mid tempo affair to which the group does great justice, and lastly Pearson's second composition, Nomad signs off an excellent record. I usually prefer my jazz more up tempo and freer but this is such a Strong record wonderfully recorded and the 75th Anniversary vinyl reissue sounds great. A classic Blue Note. Rating 5/5.

https://www.discogs.com/Grant-Green-Idle-Moments/release/5743121

Band of Horses - Everything All The Time - Sub Pop SPCD 690 - USA 2006 (CD)

I just dragged this CD off the rack and blew off the dust and give it a spin  or two. This was a record that I brought on  the strength of the excellent "The Funeral" which I heard on one of the UNCUT Magazine's  Sampler CDs. Another of those bands that I only ever picked up the one Album from but never followed the rest of their career, not that they don't deserve more of my attention, but time, you know. I am not usually a great fan of jangly indi-pop, but these guys are at the top of the heap with this, their first album, a laid back, slightly acoustic affair with some lovely quiet moments like  "Augustine" and the banjo led "Monsters" and some great alternative pop with "Our Swords, "The Great Salt Lake " and of course the "Funeral". Not overly commercial, which I like, but in an ideal world they would get a lot more radio play than they properly do(not that I listen to the radio much nowadays). A strong album from start to finish. and at 36 minutes of seventies sensibility,another one that doesn't overstay its welcome. My Rating 4.5/5

https://www.discogs.com/Band-Of-Horses-Everything-All-The-Time/release/684600

https://bandofhorses.bandcamp.com/album/everything-all-the-time

Into Orbit - Caverns - Self Released IOR001 - New Zealand 2014 (Vinyl)

The first album from this duo of guitar and drums, playing what is termed "Post Rock". Rock based instrumental songs with most of them having a quiet almost atmospheric intro before kicking into heavy riffs and solos. Into Orbit hail from Wellington and are just one of many "Post Rock" type bands from around the country. Good musicians writing pretty strong material, I actually prefer the album more than when I saw them play live last year(I bought the LP from them at that gig). This album is definitely a grower as I get more familiar with the tunes and is a pretty good effort for what is probably only a semi pro band. I think they may be one of the more higher profile bands of this type in New Zealand and deservedly so. Rating 3.5/5

https://www.discogs.com/Into-Orbit-Caverns/release/8444825

https://intoorbit.bandcamp.com/album/caverns

3 Voices - 3 Voices - Unsung UN 1 - New Zealand 1983 (vinyl)

I thought it was time to start reviewing records again as I haven't done any for quite some time and I can't go tramping at the moment due to my disc prolapse in my back and also since I stopped reviewing on this blog I have jumped back on the vinyl bandwagon after 20 years of CDs and downloads. Also my main vinyl focus had been collecting New Zealand music both old and new after many years of only partially supporting the local music scene. My rediscovery of the local scene has unveiled to me a fantastic array of awesome New Zealand Music of which I had no idea of it's existence and also reminded me of how good a lot of the older stuff from my youth actually was. Also, of course I wish to continue supporting the live scene here as I have been, the scene is as healthy and as vibrant as ever, even though the audience is not big.

 Unsung Music was an apparently short lived record label out of Auckland from 1982 to 1983, according to what is listed on Discogs. 3 Voices was the first release on the label. This appears to be their only album and there are 10 members listed on the jacket, of which only one name is familiar to me. There is very little information on either 3 Voices or Unsung on the net and nothing at all on Audioculture, the preeminent NZ music web site.

 The record was a bit of a blind buy for me. I found it in the NZ music bins at my local second hand record shop, the price was pretty good and it looked interesting and I was buying up just about anything NZ that I could afford. As I will probably mention a lot in the future, these New Zealand vinyl pressings from when we still had a local pressing plant are very good and this 35 year old record sounds very impressive both vinyl wise and sonically for the music it's self. It was well looked after by it's previous owner(s).

 Musically, this record is a great addition to my NZ music collection and I am most impressed with the contents. The music is a complex amalgamation of pop, reggae and jazz and reminds me of a more commercial, poppy variant of the Braille music that was coming out of Wellington around the same time although it is not something you would likely hear in radio. There were other bands mining this style of music in NZ around the time also. The album is Strong throughout and reveals a lot of depth on careful listen. A most enjoyable record. Rating 3.5/5.

https://www.discogs.com/3-Voices-3-Voices/release/1629073

The Darkroom Holiday Special - The Darkroom - Christchurch - 23 December 2017.

25 Bands in one night, across two stages in a tiny venue. Didn't know about this till the last minute, almost, but there were several bands that I was quite keen to see and some of them I have records of their music. Others I had seen before and was quite impressed, so there was plenty of interest, the rest I had never heard of. I believe all were local bands.

  So things were suppose to kick off about 5:20pm, all the first 8 bands I had never heard of and it wasn't until Motte at 8pm that I was interested in seeing. I had had a very busy day in my garden and didn't leave home until just after 6pm.

Arriving at the venue about 7:30pm, I soon found that already they were just under an hour behind the schedule. I just caught the end of The Teasers, I think, a duo of acoustic guitar and drums and sounded not too bad from what I heard, although I didn't pay too much attention as I was getting a drink and checking out the set up of the venue. The north stage, is the usual stage they use most of the time, the south stage was set up in the back part of the venue. Each band had a 20 minute set while the next band set up on the other stage and there were almost no breaks between sets.

 Next I caught the full set of Butterflies Welcoming Spring, another duo with drums and electric guitar. This band was pretty ferocious with some quite impressive guitar pyrotechnics and the guitarist throwing himself about all over the place while he thrashed away at his axe. I liked it quite a bit. 

 Dave from Galaxy records turned up soon after this and opened his shop, so I really didn't see anything I can remember from the next two bands as I was browsing his shop and chatting with Dave.

 Motte was next and I was very keen to see her preform again. I first saw her at the start of the year supporting Jay Clarkson's Breathing Cage and then purchased her album later on which has been a highlight of the years releases.

 This time she had a dude on drums lightly improvising behind her as she set up her violin loops and played over the top of them. The first piece had quite a drone going which I didn't recognize, although I think the playing over the top sounded familiar, but the rest of the stuff she played sounded unfamiliar to me and also she didn't preform and vocals like she did on her album, so I was slightly disappointed but still enjoyed her set.

  Big  Beach I am a bit vague on but I think they were doing some quite enjoyable surf rock and the crowd was getting into them, but I was back in the record shop for some of their set.

 Dark Matter was the band I most wanted to see this night with Steve Cogle of the Terminals leading this project, I have their lone album which is really good and I really enjoy Steve's distinctive voice. Their music is not all that far removed from The Terminals but with slightly different instruments, one being this very cool electric string instrument that the player bowed, making a wonderful noise that slightly dominated the bands sound. Their set was excellent.

 No Broadcast I had seen before and they played a catchy almost commercial sounding heavy rock and I like their music. I found a seat and sat off to the side to ease the tension in my back from standing for so long. Their set was pretty good but they had it cranked way too loud, probably the loudest of the night.

  Jim Nothing/Wurld series were next and I had seen Wurld Series before and had really enjoyed their Flying Nun pop but this was a different set up with Motte on Violin supporting guitar and drums. Nice acoustic music and an enjoyable set.

 Salad Boys have a new record out soon and although I have their first LP, I haven't had it long and am not yet all that familiar with it. They played a great indie pop set with the bass lines of their songs particularly catchy, another highlight set of the night and I asked the singer/guitarist if all the songs were from their new album which he confirmed they were, so really looking forward to getting that.

 I think Piha Rescue played next instead of the listed band, who played later. They were another kinda surf rock band although I don't recall much about their set.

 Ruling Elite I sat out their set again to relieve my back but their set sounded quite interesting.

 Prodigies were up next and I had never heard of them but it turned out that Dave from Galaxy was playing guitar along with a second guitar, bass and drums backing the singer. They played a fantastic kinda 80's rock and I just loved their set, maybe the best of the night.

 The next band that I really focused on, and I had heard of them, was Opawa 45's. They also played a kinds surf/rockabilly/punk hybrid and had a really cool sound, great dirty bass, really enjoyed their set also.

 Log Horn Breed were the last band I was really interested in seeing this night and it was now well past midnight when they hit the stage. They also have a great record out that I have and had been wanting to see them live for a while. They played a dark industrial electronic noise with this the big bloke screaming into his treated mike, whichy made it pretty difficult to hear anything he sang.

 I was really getting into their noise when this bloke went right up into the singers face and started saying something to him, the singer, who already looked pretty antagonistic, was not impressed and told him to fuck off a couple of times, then not long after in the middle of the piece everything went dead, like the power was cut off and the band just started packing up. It was a pretty short set and I'm not sure if the abrupt termination was actually part of their act, quite probably.

 At 1am, I still had an hours drive to get home and did not know any of the last bands so I hit the road. It was a great night of music and I didn't hear anything all night that I didn't like.

Blazed and Confused - The Great Southern Doom Fest - New City Hotel - Christchurch - 9 December 2017

The title will inform most as to the sort of music presented on this night of noisy mayhem. I was most interested in seeing Triumphs again and hopefully picking up their latest slab of vinyl and Arc Of Ascent of whom I also have a couple of records and was keen to meet their leader, Craig, whom I kinda knew through a Facebook Group, Also Bloodnut was one I had heard a little via Bandcamp and liked enough to bee keen on seeing them live.
 The stage was split into two halves with a band playing on one half of the stage while the next band set up behind curtains on the other half of the stage. Each band played an approx 30 minute set.
 The first three sets were from Old Haven, Shetland and Yarnspinner. I knew nothing about any of them, enjoyed the first with just guitar and drums with some vocals and also enjoyed the second band with a larger line up. A week later as I right this, my memory of their sets is already fading, but I do remember liking what I heard. YarnSpinner seemed to be somewhat louder than the first two bands who I thought played at just the right volume but I was actually struggling with the loudness of Yarnspinner and so went out to get some ear plugs from my car for the rest of their set. I don't recall much about what they played.
 Triumphs were up next and unlike last time I saw them, I believe they played more material from the earlier album than the new one as I seemed to recognize more of the tunes, although I had listened to the new record on Bandcamp a couple of times. Their music is all instrumental, so no vocal melodies to help identify their tunes but I definitely knew all they played. Their set was blood excellent and I would have loved them to play longer. I had removed my earplugs for their set as I didn't enjoy the muffled sound with them in.
  The next two bands, Opium Eater and Enfire, I can't sat too much about as I got distracted by checking out the growing crowd, moving to the back of the room for a drink and a respite from the earsplitting volume and also got into a shot conversation with the guitarist from Triumphs as to what had happened to their new album, which I was intending to buy a copy of while at this gig. Unfortunately the album had been delayed from the pressing plant for an unknown time.
 Next up was Bloodnut and I was pretty close to the stage for this ferocious 3 piece who played some excellent bass lines, some great guitar  and thundering drums, I really enjoyed their high octane set although there was a fair bit of distortion that muddied the sound and I couldn't understand much of what the singer said or sang.
 Then Arc of Ascent hit the stage, their first gig in Christchurch for many years, and perhaps the band I was most looking forward to. I already had their first two records and picked up their latest from the merch table earlier in the night. I also sorta knew the band leader from Facebook so was keen to say hello at some stage. Anyhow their set was as good as I expected, the band was tight and the riffs awesome, with I think a majority coming off the latest record(which I think is their strongest). There was a tall, quite old looking gentleman with a beer in hand and conservatively dressed next ot me as they played their last track. He just stood there looking straight ahead and not moving as the wall of great noise hit us. as they finished, he turned to me, cracked a big and slightly drunken smile and said"that was fucking awesome! What are they called?"
  I managed to catch Craig's attention before he left the stage and introduced myself and he said he will catch me after he packed up. I caught some of the next band, Stonehurst, but spent the rest of their set in conversation with Craig. The last band was from Australia and called Hobo Magic, but it was already 12.30am and I had an hours drive home so I excused myself from Craig and left.

Aldous Harding - Issac Theater Royal - Chriatchurch - 30 November 2017

Regular readers(if indeed such persons exist) may recall me seeing Aldous back in early February, not long before she released the album for which this tour is supporting. The Album went on to get many positive reviews and much support in certain circles with one song even getting nominated for a Silver Scroll award here in New Zealand. In between times from the previous gig I attended, Aldous had been touring extensively The  USA and Europe and even had an appearance on Later with Jools Holland. The last gig at which I saw Aldous was preformed in an intimate small pub venue at which I have seen several great gigs over the course of the year and so after the year of touring and the fact that the Issac Theater Royal is a much larger venue than Blue Smoke, it was going to be interesting to see how she preformed in such a different venue.

 I had purchased the tickets for this concert way back in July and yet even that far back I was unable to secure seats down on the ground floor, so we had to settle for second row center on the second level of the theater. From what we could see, the gig was a near sell out in the 1300 seat venue, so a great testament to how far Aldous has come this year.
 Support was from Chills front man Martin Philips, who preformed some old and some new Chills songs, mentioning there was a new album out next year. He just played his electric guitar solo and it was nice to hear him doing Pink Frost and the other songs, the later ones I was not familiar with so much. I would prefer to see these preformed with the full Chills lineup, but it was still enjoyable and went down well with the crowd.
 There was a good 40+ minute wait before Aldous quietly took the stage in her white trousers and grey coat, seated herself on a stool center stage and with out a word started in on her first song of the night, singing something from her first LP I think(I should be more familiar with all her stuff by now). She did play a few other tracks from her first album, singing in that pixie/Irish voice she uses and which I think sound actually better on the record than live. Still not having spoken, but now with the rest of her band in support, the third song she did was my favourite, Horizon, from the Party Album, and although it was a good performance of a very good song, it failed to reach the heights of goosebump inducing jawdropping awe which was induced in me the previous time I saw her preform it. Also, I believe it is the sort of song to either open the show with a powerful statement or as the final number like at the previous show I attended.
 She finally spoke to the audience about half way into the show in response to some cat calls from the audience, but she was much more detached and less out spoken to us than the loquaciousness she displayed at the previous gig I mentioned. She played two new songs that she had recently written that were both impressive and aided in building excitement for the next album, bith songs she sung in the lower register voice she uses which recall Joni Mitchell to a drgree and that is not a bad thing.
 Overall, the show didn't have the same impact as the Blue Smoke gig, which didn't surprise me as I think her music and style of preformance suits more intimate venues, but still it was a great show and I love her music and it is great to see her doing so well.

Master Blaster - Darkroom - Christchurch 23 September 2017

As usual, I heard a great track from the new 7" EP on the "Counting The Beat" Podcast and liked what I heard, checked them out via Bandcamp and decided I needed to buy both their available records. Before I got the chance to do that, I found out they were actually playing a gig near me in support of the aforementioned 7" record, pictured above, and it was decided to go and check them out and pick up the records on the night(saving postage costs).

  It was election night as I arrived at the Darkroom just past the 9PM door opening time and so I settled down with a drink and my phone to check up on the vote counting while waiting for the first of the three punk bands to hit the stage.

 First band, Tyrannosaurus Wreck, a three piece, thrashing out their fast punky  songs, creating an enjoyable noise that begs the question where does it stop being punk and become Metal. It can be a fine line. I did enjoy their set.

  Nervous Jerk were next and this three piece was definitely firmly in the punk genre although the vocals were in that pop punk style, the music was a bit heavier. The Guitar in this band didn't really stand out much, so it becomes a bit of a wall of sound making it difficult to actually hear the tunes clearly. I enjoyed them the least of the night.

  Finally Master Blaster hit the stage, a four piece, with the vocalist being the non instrument playing member. Their set was full on punk energy, with the singer all over the place, knocking over mike stands and kicking over one of the monitor speakers before descending into the small audience, where he spent much of the rest of the gig screaming into his mic. They were bloody good and I enjoyed their set plenty but again the guitar was to low down in the mix and so didn't stand out above the thundering drums and bass so it was difficult to actually identify the songs I already knew because the whole was just a super fast wall of noise. It was a bit of a shame really because the guitarist has some great riffs as confirmed on the records. Here are a couple of vids of their recorded songs.

The Nudge - The Wunderbar - Lyttelton - 16 September 2017

I picked up The Nudge's second LP earlier this year and was immediately impressed with their wonderful music and so was very keen to catch them on this tour in support of the same record.

I had been playing Dark Arts in the lead up to the gig and also checked out their first album on Bandcamp, which is also an excellent album. They had supported Midnight Oil earlier in the week but I did not attend that show.

  I arrived at The Wunderbar around 9pm with the support supposed to start at 9:45pm. The place was filling up fast and was almost a sell out in this small venue. They opened the doors to the Backroom eventually and fortunately, as my back was hurting, I got in the room early enough to grab one of the stools and table along the walls of the room. The stool was very high, so I was actually able to sit on it and still see the bands playing on the stage.

  The support was a dude named Fraser Ross with band(The 04's). Never heard of him but his set was OK, enjoyable enough, a kinda folk and country tinged indie pop blend. One song they did had some impressive guitar lines and it was his standout number. Good to see the two women playing Drums and Bass, Kiwi chicks are very prevalent in the local music scene.Fraser wasn't a great singer but passable to my ears.

  The Nudge are a three piece with guitar/vocals supported by a drummer and keyboards. They kicked off the set with three tracks from their earlier record( I assume, not being familiar enough with that album yet) The tracks had a real blues feel with the guitarist really letting loose with some great lines, the keyboardist providing the bass lines, I was a little surprised by the bluseynest of it as the new album is much different.

  The next section of the show was them playing the new album in it's entirety. There are only three numbers on Dark Arts but two of them are rather long drawn out pieces. The first track is the shortest but with a catchy guitar riff and vocals, closest thing to a pop song on the record. The guitarist had swapped guitars and I noticed that the guitar was a bit quieter than it had been on the earlier songs but it sang out when required.This is noticeable on the record too so it is part of the design of the tracks. The highlight of the first of the long pieces was the sustained guitar frenzy towards the end of the piece and the other extended track had a fucking awesome drum solo, the drummer impressed no end.

  They continued playing older stuff after The Dark Arts set and just rocked out awesomely. What a fantastic live band and both records are really great. Another premium NZ act with the guitarist channeling the ghost of Hendrix at times.