You can’t trust the new real-time bus system; don’t

Earlier this month Alan heralded the beginning of the roll-out of the Regional Council’s new Real Time Passenger Information project. So far, though, I’m not happy. Just as numerous pieces of publicity in local and community newspapers have failed to alleviate my suspicion that the system is not all it is cracked up to be, […]

Narrative Playgrounds group show at Pixel Ink Gallery

Narrative Playgrounds is a group exhibition at Pixel Ink Gallery of visual works by emerging and established New Zealand artists. The common theme of the show is that the work is inspired by stories and the imagination. Gallery director, Rosalind Clark, said the exhibition is all about translating the imagination onto a blank canvas. The artist’s brief was to […]

Letting Space on the Terrace

From the public art programme which brought you Kim Paton’s Free Store and Tao Wells’ The Beneficiary’s Office (which both caused significant national media interest and debate) I’d like to present to you: Colin Hodson’s The Market Testament. An entire office building on Wellington City’s The Terrace is to be turned into a work of […]

Parkour update

In November 2007 I posted an article about the exciting pursuit of parkour in Wellington, and it’s been one of our most enduringly popular articles, generating a steady stream of traffic and comments. In the meantime, the New Zealand Parkour Association has been established. They have a strong presence in Wellington and recently got in touch to update […]

Wishbone blows, harder

In case kinda nasty and over-priced food, and rumoured worker exploitation weren’t reason enough to dislike the (surprisingly-successful) Wishbone, how about this for some odious sentiment:

JUST GOOD STUFF is back for 2010

Craft madness!  Creative creations!  6 days to solve all your Christmas shopping needs, while supporting local creatives – it’s practically guilt-free! Featuring JUST GOOD STUFF from: Genevieve Packer, Gabby O’Connor, Lucy Adams, Phillipa Cowdrey, Alanah Gibson, Wendy Neale, Ngaere MacKinnon, Flora Waycott, Isel Greta Jane, Hermon & son, Flora Gray, Tess & Gab, Mary Adams, […]

Jewels of Whitireia

On Thursday night the Annual 2010 Whitireia Student Contemporary Jewellery Auction will be held at Mighty Mighty with National Radio presenter Kim Hill controlling the hammer as auctioneer. Donated contemporary jewellery is being sent from all over New Zealand for the event including pieces from contemporary jewellery practitioners Peter Deckers, Matthew McIntyre Wilson and Owen […]

Doug Jerebine (AKA Jesse Harper) in town this weekend

Legendary (and non-mythical) NZ guitarist brings his Eastern influenced Blue Cheer-Hendrix-Atomic Rooster meets Sonic Youth skwall to Wellignton at Happy on Saturday 8th May.

[video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OOG-As652k]

We can’t pinpoint when Doug was last in Wellington, but he was there in August 1965 when The Pretty Things swung through town, playing in Mike Perjanik’s group*.  Doug left for the UK in 1968 searching for more open minds. The next year he recorded an albums worth of Hendrix influenced material under the name Jesse Harper. Acetates and tapes filtered back to NZ and the Human Instinct appropriated the best songs for their first two albums. Giving away music in 1971, Doug moved to India where he stayed for 35+ years.

Currently based in NZ – Doug Jerebine will be bringing his searing musical message to Dunedin, and taking no prisoners. This will be a unique performance. Accompanying Doug will be Miles Gillett (drums), son of Bob Gillett – Doug’s musical inspiration and fellow member of Dougs late 60s group The Brew, and Chris Orange on bass. Opening the show will be the EXCELLENT MANTARAYS!

For more info on Doug, check out Keith Newmans excellent Doug Jerebine story.

Doors at 8pm – DOUG ON STAGE AT 10pm

ADMISSION $15

* Google him – fascinating career – and you probably know one of his most famous compostions if you watch Australian soaps!

Lightning Bolt are here! Tomorrow night!

Somebody just asked me what Lightening Bolt are like.

I said: take the White Stripes and feed them, force them through the eye of a needle which is made frmo something which looks like Cream’s farewell live gig Albert Hall 1969, push them all the way through to the other side in a place where everything’s in the red and the sound becomes an enveloping 4-dimensional bear hug choke-hold strangle deadly embrace, where the stone inveades yr bone and

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[video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Hcw1C1AzQI]

Wednesday 25th November in the middle of the floor at San Francisco Bathhouse… tickets available from Slow Boat Records and Under The Radar… updates and more info from Galesburg.

Oh, Adelaide, Adelaide, I want you tonight

The first we heard of The Adelaide when it popped up on Adelaide Rd in 2006 was when Tom gave it the Mystery Bar treatment on WellUrban.

This week’s mystery bar used to be notorious for many reasons, and there would have been times when only the staunchest and/or dodgiest punters would have ventured inside. These days it seems a bit tamer, though it’s still not the sort of place that you’d take someone you were trying to impress. Unless they really, really liked cheap beer. Having said that, it was comfortable enough on a quiet Saturday afternoon, and there were no scary patrons in sight. Actually, there were almost no patrons at all, though the general is that it would get very busy at times, and I imagine it gets hard to move when there’s a rugby match on or a band playing.

… and he couldn’t have been more right!  Many a wasted night has been spent in its confines, and the subsequent wasted day was always well worth it.

Unfortunately The Adelaide shuts it’s doors this Saturday after more than three years of gigs and good times. So you’ve got one last week to come down and enjoy a band, bingo and beer. We’ll be capping it all off with a massive day of music for Halloween

Weds – The Final Spin for the original BINGO event in town

Thurs – Bad Statistics, Detrytus & guests

Fri – Sniper Alley ACDC tribute

Sat – Matinee show; Streetlight Requiem, The Proxies

Sat Evening; Fosset & Badger, Cougar Cougar Cougar, The Cold Shivers

Apparently there is nothing planned for the site at this stage, but apparently alsa "the vultures are circling" and we’re sure it won’t take long for someone to move in.