Social Barfly
The Masked Barfly has been busy in the last little while soaking up the scene and hanging around the hors d’oeuvres in our buzzy little town. As could be expected the Masked Barfly favours fecund environs where one can imbibe a good compost of booze, blood and guts, gossip and culture.
Some bullets of buzz after the jump:
Cellos, Trumpets, Fancy Ladies and Divas
This week in Wellington you could be geeking out, smelling the flowers or listening to some sweet, sweet music to celebrate the start of Spring. We have two girlie gigs to tempt you with this week featuring three sets of ladies that are definitely in bloom.
Claire Terry of Madame Fancy Pants fame is performing with City Oh Sigh at Mighty Mighty from 8.30pm this Wednesday. This lady has been steadily adding strings to her bow and treasures to her jewellery box, not to mention growing a young’ in with her spare time.
She will be there with her pipes, her guitar and her charms.
Always a pleasure.
City Oh Sigh features the lovely Kate (cello, vocals) Sarah (keys) and Catherine (trumpet, guitar, vocals) bringing the musicality and the sweet, sweet harmonies. These ladies are tight and truly committed to the musical arts. You can see them hot on Claire’s heels from 9.30pm.
Details on the invite here. ($5 on the door).
Lisa Tomlins is doing it for herself on Sunday, front and centre as part of the Soundstage season at Downstage with backing from Twinset. These Soundstage events are one-offs that allow you to go to the gig and focus on the music in a theatre environment, a real treat for the performer and the audience. Lisa is a generous artist who is coming into her divalicious own after lending her talents to others and putting in the hard yards learning her craft. Worth. Every. Damn. Cent.
Department of Linky Love: WCC Watch
WCC Watch is a local website that does what it says on the tin.
They drew our attention with some kind words a few days ago.
If you haven’t voted yet, they seem like an ideal source for additional reading to inform your decision. Their recent archives have a lot of good material on the candidates.
If you have voted, we expect they’ll be doing a good job post-election in monitoring what those naughty councillors get up to.
Nerd Alert – Week of Geek
It is reassuring to know that the salon did not die in 18th century France, gathering together in RL to converse, spar, eat, connect and display our intellectual charms has not gone out of style. Recently we have had Pecha Kucha, Ignite and more BarCamps than you could throw a pack of PostIt notes at. Today the open source inclined have been playing with their toys at Software Freedom Day and this week is full of occasions to be witty and pretty and geek (slash nerd).
This week brings Nerdnite#2, another Tuesday night dinner and Webstock will be bring us mini-marvels and the big unveil of the speakers for 2011.
All of these events are non-geek friendly (plenty of room for fraghags), all you need is an eclectic mental diet and a love of creativity and innovation, so don’t be shy. Nerdnite looks to be taking eclectic to a whole new level with geoengineering, stories, witchcraft, and food on the menu at Bettys Bar this Monday. It seems the case that people self-identify as geek but get twitchy when refered to as "nerds", well perhaps this word is going to be reclaimed as well if this Nerdnite thing catches on.
Besides, geek appears to be contested term, this week we have had @BR3NDA tooting about privilege and computers:
Kris Price answers our questions
We offered to publish the answers from any candidates in the local body elections and Kris Price who is standing in the Lambton Ward stepped up for his "15 page views of fame".
1. You have 30 seconds to convince someone to come to Wellington. What’s your pitch?
Show them a photo of our beautiful Wellington at its best on a sunny day. (Then tell them not to come during winter.)
2. How do you think traffic flow to the hospital and airport could be improved?
Two words: Light Rail.
3. Where do you stand on the issue of opening up government data?
Mmm sweet data. I’m seriously anal retentive about data. Let’s open it all up.
4. What plans have do you have to improve recycling/composting facilities?
I want to see our boring ovoid black trash cans replaced with colourful trash cans that separate glass, plastic, paper, and general trash.
5. What is your policy on street alcoholics?
I support a wet house and getting the DHB involved in treatment.
6. Do you support pedestrianisation of the Golden Mile? Why/Why not?
Yes. Pedestrians are equal users of our streetscape. It beautifies, increases values, gives recreation, and goes hand-in-hand with PT route, which must happen.
7. What’s the last local market you went to? What did you buy?
Uh-oh. I’m guessing New World isn’t the answer you’re looking for. Hilo farmers market about a month back count? ‘Spose that’s hardly local.
The Good Word on The Good Words
Tonight at the Burgundy Room at Bodega you can witness the third live outing of a new band fresh from recording their demo. Be there so you can brag to your friends that you were into them before they hit the big time. Simon Sweetman doesn’t hate them, so that is some kind of endorsement 😉
The Good Words is made up of:
- Nik Jarvie-Waldrom – Vocals
- Takumi Motokawa – Keyboard (composition prize winner)
- Mike Duffy – Bass
- Nick Hensman – Drums
These guys are all kinds of awesome, they kick off at 9.00pm with support from Old Time Enemies $10 on the door. All the dets are on the invite here.
Their bio says it as well as I can:
Take one soul-jazz template, elongate it, daub in bits of funk, traces of pop and the energy of a rock band to create 21st-century Diva blues. Proudly Kiwi, defiantly original and with enough quirk to keep them far from the labels of any particular ‘scene’, The Good Words live in the moments within songs, sidestepping the obvious comparisons by offering just enough spontaneity in the performance, enhancing the crafted tunes. Hooking the audience from start to finish.
[Disclaimer: The author lives with super talented Takumi Motokawa but it ain’t just her that thinks they are shit hot, the demo is getting plenty of play in the office.)
And the rest of the election
Some people have asked why we only sent out questions to the mayoral candidates, not councillor-wannabes or people running for community and health boards. That’s a valid question. To be honest, it was partly because mayors tend to be the ones that attract the headlines, but also because there are a metric buttload of candidates from all over the city and I just did not have the time to deal with all of them. However, since I’ve now discovered that one of my favourite tutors from uni is running (he had such a hard-on for the NZ electoral system, it was adorable), I’ve thought a little bit more about the whole thing. So, let’s see if the candidates are at where you are at. If anyone running for any position is reading this (I won’t be approaching anyone), please feel free to answer the questions that we asked the mayoral candidates, answer according to the rules, and send them to me – joanna@wellingtonista.com, and you’ll get your moment in the sun here on the Wellingtonista.
It’s Spring!
That’s what the calendar is telling us. As is the wind howling through the trees, and shortly, a string of cold south-westerly thunderstorms and gales. Stay classy, Welly Weather God!
Leaving that aside, the our eternal optimism finds expression in the celebration of growing things that is the Spring Festival, to start at the weekend (through to 3 October).
The first event is the annual Otari-Wilton’s Bush Open Day & Plant Sale, which any aspiring suburbanite should be advised to attend early if they want to pick up the really good stuff. Early bird catches the hard-to-find horoeka variant and all that. But even if you’re not a gardener, the ‘Bush is a very nice place for a stroll, especially on Open Days when afterwards you can reward yourself at the sausage sizzle (and the last couple of years there’s been a coffee cart there too).
(B)eating the trend
The recession may be grinding on, but it seems there are plenty of hospitality operators willing to take a bet on a new venture. In recent weeks, we’ve heard of the following (re-)openings and upcoming rumours:
- Keenan’s (formerly New Orleans)
- Wasabi Sushi (formerly Beaujolais)
- Capri (formerly Koi)
- Victorian Ale House (formerly Stanley Rd)
- Ancestral (formerly United Video in Courtenay Pl)
- Ozeki (brand new, on the corner of Tory St and Francis Pl)
The first three have already opened, with mixed results. Capri has had at least one very good review; Wasabi is part of the respected Kazu empire; and Keenan’s … not so much. If any of you have experiences to share about those, or juicy gossip to share about the others, let us know!
Xiu Xiu
So many good things on this weekend. Maybe Wellington’s about to put its head up out of the winter slump….?
One highlight is art-poppers Xiu Xiu who are playing SFBH with Siamese (Grayson Gilmour) and talented duo Glass Vaults. Phew.
And here’s a girl in an apple. Tickets$26