Newtown DIY darlings, zinesters and the tiniest music venue in town, Spacething, have launched their website. The site has photos, an events calendar, DIY and zine-y links and details of their retail, publishing and music distro business arms and of course the lending library. And pandas. And a free tetris game!
In a nice local segue, the picture to your right is taken at a Knife Fight single release held in Spacething’s teeny back room – with dancers in the alleyway – and the other item I have to bring to your attention is the Stabs playing at the Adelaide tonight. The Adelaide is, of course, across the road from Spacething; and tonight’s local support is none other than Knife Fight, playing their second-to-last show before they leave town. The Stabs recently played Australia’s inaugural All Tomorrow’s Parties (ATP) festivals, at the invitation of curators Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. The Melbournite Stabs have brought their cityside pals The Twerps with them to play tonight’s gig too – and some of you might recognise a Twerp as one of our own ex-pats, formerly a Batrider. Small world.
Spacething: 171 Adelaide Rd, Newtown : spacething.co.nz
The Stabs, The Twerps and Knife Fight: 9pm Thursday 5th at the Adelaide, 114 Adelaide Rd, Newtown
This weekend Aucklanders Los Hories visit Wellington (via tenacious teeny Wanganui venue the Eye of Night) to celebrate the release of their debut long-player What’s the Time!?
The title comes from drummer Kim‘s penchant for wandering out from behind the kit – often taking parts of it with him – to eyeball the crowd and demand the same question of them; the correct crowd response being, of course, "It’s Horie time!!".
They’re bringing Palmy’s tractor enthusiast and house party king Boss Christ, and are joined by tough-talking locals Knife Fight – 2/3rds of whom relocate to Melbourne in March, so catch them while you can.
Saturday 31st January
The Adelaide, Adelaide Rd, Newtown
Stink Magnetic Tapes, the doggedly independant record company that has released music by the likes of the Mysterious Tapeman, Voodoo Savage and His Savages, Delaney Davidson, The Chandeliers and the Damned Evangelist, celebrates ten whole years of existence this December. Recently relocated from Wellington to that op-shoppers paradise of Wanganui, Stink Magnetic is holding one heck of a knees up next Thursday, Friday and Saturday (11, 12 and 13 Dec) at the company HQ, cnr Drews Ave and Rutland St, Wanganui. At only ten bucks a night for some sweet bands (mostly of Wellington origins) – at least 5 bands a night – you’d be loco to miss it, campadres. Rumour has it there’s a special ‘Werewolf’ compilation LP on hot black vinyl coming out too.
[edit: This time with the flyer!]
“If there were only one person allowed to contribute further to the over-stocked pool of recorded music on this planet it should be Howe Gelb” – John Parish
… and if you like movies, then why not come along to Wednesday nights at the Film Archive and check out the season of films that the Wellingtonista fought over democratically chose from the Archive’s collection of NZ features – all 6 movies are roughly related to, shot or set in our fair city.
7pm Wednesdays from tonight until the 5th November, tickets are $8 on the door (or $6 concession), and if you’re over 18 you get a free glass of wine with your ticket purchase. Because we like wine with our movies. ‘Nuff said!
Tonight’s movie is I’ll Make You Happy… the rest of the season’s details are after the jump.
Their Myspace headline is “If someone says they play with us, they do!”, a reference to the list of thirty-odd musicians that take the stage and/or record at various times with the musical collective known as Willard Grant Conspiracy. The loose group revolves around songwriter Robert Fisher, who sounds a little like Nick Cave, a little like Johnny Cash singing Leonard Cohen, and a lot like a good time; with a strong folk vein running through the sometimes-rockin’, often-orchestral arrangements and accompaniment that bring to mind Cave-affiliated instrumentalists the Dirty Three (listen to Ghost of the Girl in the Well and you’ll see what I mean).
Fisher is gracing us with a visit as the solo incarnation of Willard Grant next Wednesday, October 1st, at the San Fran Bathhouse – and before that Island Bay crab comes out of his shell again to call vested interest, I declare my bias, my band The Wrongdoings are proud to come out of quasi-retirement to play support at this gig. We’re very excited!
Tickets from Slowboat Records on Cuba St, or online at Under The Radar. Check out promoter Galesburg’s list of upcoming gigs for a bit of sunshine too – I’ll be posting more about them soon.
MarineVille always do the cutest e-mailouts, so I’m leaving this in their words (and punctuation!)…
Yes! This September 11 Marineville and Holiday with Friends reclaim the day from such horrible tragedies as … the birth of Moby! He may think he’s a smartypants but he’s not as clever as these post art school hipster pop/rockers!!! Come see for yourself!!!
MarineVille / Holiday with Friends
Bar Bodega
Thursday Sept 11
$5, 9pm
PS: After the gig has ended we will be observing approximately 8 hours silence in memory of these Sept 11 events (after the jump):
Art No Made is a live audio-visual performance staged by Argentinean multimedia artists Niko and Ayelen Schiavi at the Film Archive this Friday and Saturday night.
The artists, who are currently resident in Wellington, marry 3D film created using Chromadepth – which transforms a 2D graphical interface into a striking 3D illusional space – with electronic soundtracks DJ’d live in the cinema. Tickets are available from the Archive, pre-sales and door sales alike are $8 or $6 concession, and on the night(s) 3D glasses will be provided for your enjoyment of and participation in this world premiere event.
Originally Niko and Ayelen designed the project for a party, but have since adapted the project for a lounge format, which “involves the spectator all the more since he/she is not losing energy and concentration in dancing”.
Friday 29th & Saturday 30th August at the Film Archive, cnr Taranaki & Ghuznee Sts
You can tell that summer is coming from the touring internationals headed our way, if not by the weather right now! September to December is always a frenzy of northern hemisphere bands escaping the cold to tour down under and to kick it off none other than Brian Jonestown Massacre are hitting (hopefully not literally) Wellington on Sept 4th.
Anyone who’s seen the fabulous doco that follows BJM and their friends-turned-bitter-enemies the Dandy Warhols, Dig, will be excited to see the volatile band in the flesh as well as thrilled to know that after a hiatus, tambourine player (yep, that’s his instrument) Joel is back in the band.
Supported on their Auckland and Wellington tour dates by Shayne Carter’s Dimmer and by Martin Phillipps’ ever-evolving Chills in Dunedin, the line-up is like a rock-slash-drama nerd’s dream! But to top it off, if you can’t make the Wellington show (tix selling fast, by the way – from Slowboat records on Cuba st or through Under the Radar) you should hightail it to Christchurch on the 3rd of September for the super-special support from the Hasselhoff Experiment! I kid you not! They reformed for a one-off reunion earlier this year and blew everyone’s socks off so if the deep south is calling you, now’s the time to visit. (I have a feeling this might be a secret support slot but, hello, don’t tell Wellington’s biggest gossip in that case… that’s me, by the way). See you at San Fran Bathhouse on the 4th – BYO tambourine.
September is the month for dance lovers – whether observational or more involved – with the Dance Your Socks Off festival running all month.
