Click Local

North of Wellington is a sunny paradise, known as Petone. Petone and its surrounding suburbs now have their own website created by local webby types, Brent Dickens and Michael Haymes. Click Local sets out to give local people, groups, businesses, artists and organisers a place to promote their ideas and events. Its evolution will depend very much on the people who contribute, so it would be great to see heaps of people get involved.

If you’re keen, contact Brent Dickens: brent@clicklocal.org.nz

 

Botanic infamy

OMG. The Wellington Botanic Gardens, currently teeming with life and colour and general springtime joy, gets a mention on an upcoming episode of The Simpsons, the first of the new series.

The episode guest stars local boys made good Bret and Jemaine Conchords, and the pair use the Botanic Gardens good name for great lolz:

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJkdPbpoc5s]

And remember the annual Spring Festival is currently happening at the Botanic Gardens, so why not take the opportunity to frollick in the spring blooms and say you were down with the gardens before they were famous.

Grouper (US) with Pumice and Glass Vaults tomorrow night.

For those who caught Grouper during her last trip to NZ, she will need no introduction. For those who missed her – don’t repeat your mistake! We are lucky to have a return visit from this Portland native, playing once again with Auckland’s Pumice with newcomers Glass Vaults at Happy tomorrow night (Tuesday September 28th). Presales are $15 from undertheradar.co.nz. More on the door.

Liz Harris’ GROUPER evokes the ghosts of songs, using minor-key, folk-derived melodies swathed in sheets of delay to carry her fragile vocals. Over albums such as Wide (2006) and Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill (2008), Harris has expanded upon her deceptively simple form, moving from all encompassing ambiance, cocooned in oceans of reverb, to a more stark, yet no less absorbing form, vulnerable imagery emerging from the music like half-remembered dreams.

Auckland’s Stefan Neville a.k.a. PUMICE is in no need of an introduction for discerning NZ listeners. A ramshackle one-man band, playing guitar, vocals, tape loops and drums simultaneously, he bridges the void between all-out improvisation and tightly executed song craft. It’s noise, it’s lo-fi, it’s drone, it’s pop – often all at once – Pumice defies all expectations with his live show. Neville’s discography is beyond extensive, having been consistently pumping out releases since 1994.

Having already brought her arresting and beautiful show to NZ in 2009, Grouper’s return is a welcome chance for those who missed out first time around to see Harris’ aching and moving music in the flesh.

WOW winners

I’ve just got back from the WOW Awards Show, so here’s a quickie post with the winner and runner up.

The winner of the 2010 Montana Supreme World of WearableArt Award was Loops by Yogesh Chaudhary and Manas Barve, both design young students from India. Loops is a seamless piece made from felted Australian merino:

The runner up to the Supreme WOW Award was Horridus Lynn Christiansen of the USA. Inspired by the thorny devil lizard (Moloch horridus), it’s made of copper and had a distinct clatter as the model moved in it:

A full report on the WOW experience will come soon, including the bit where Jo forced me to touch Te Radar’s lovely soft curly hair.

Viva Mexico, viva Zapata, in fact viva my lunch

I was out with my Dad and my daughter today and needed to find lunch for three generations of Judds in the Cuba St area. I thought we’d wander down the Left Bank to get some empanadas from Buenos Aires. Despite the window saying that they are open 12-2 on Fridays, Buenos Aires was decidedly shut. So we went next door to Viva Mexico instead.

 

It was a surprise when we walked in to see that the place was completely redecorated. It’s now a revolucion-themed taqueria. I talked to the new owner and he’s a solid Zapatista — that stuff’s not just hip branding.

 

We were quickly seated and given menus. The choices are pretty basic: enchiladas, tacos, or eggs with a variety of fillings and sauces. I watched other tables’ food go out and it looked good. Like other cuisines that prize homogenous textures and complex mixtures, Mexican food can be danger of looking like cafeteria slop, so it was good to have nice plating.

 

I had not even begun to wonder where our order was when the proprietor apologised for the wait and gave us a little dish of fried cheese-stuffed jalapeños to keep us going. They were good enough that I would have been happy to be kept waiting longer as long as the apology food kept coming. Our orders came out shortly afterwards and they were damned tasty. Of note was my huevos machaca, eggs scrambled with shredded beef and a good dose of hot peppers.

 

The food, the politics and the price are all more than good enough for a humble taqueria and we left well satisfied. I know many people liked the old regime at Viva Mexico — I am happy to report that the new regime is more than up to the job ¡Viva Viva Mexico!

 

Follow-up question: where do readers rate for Mexican food in this town?