The magnificent Petone Winter Carnival has been postponed until tomorrow night, which is lucky, since I forgot to mention it is on until today. It really is worth a visit, and great for kids. Unlike the Guy Fawkes display, the fireworks kick off at a very civilised hour, 7.30pm. Prior to that there are heaps of activities along the Esplanade to keep everyone in the family entertained. For those with a perverse desire to feel extremely uncomfortable, there is a polar plunge at 2.30pm, it is for a good cause (Wesley Community Action), so if this floats your boat, get nekkid! Actually, nekkid isn’t really part of the programme, but I’m all for initiating fun.

And while you’re out here, grab a bite to eat. There are masses of excellent establishments, my favourite at the moment is the magnificent Gusto, and if you go, I recommend the steak. Mmmm steak.

Check out the Party of the Universe the Mighty is putting on for Wellington NEXT WEEK!!!!!

(click image to see larger version of the poster)

For those of you who don’t know CW Stoneking – you should. He’s never played NZ before and he’s something. Check him out on myspace.

And for the other nights, the finest in NZ bands from around the country covering a pretty diverse range of genres. There’s the Americana night kicking things off, extreme neon for the Heavy Petting electro night, followed by a total mash up of rockabilly and electronics from Bang Bang Eche, and then a Wild Trash extravaganza of Wellington’s own to top things off.

There’ll be pole dancers, limbo competitions, a vodka slide and so much more. Chose your night. Bring your friends and come and party at the Castle that Cares!

Oh how we love ye.

Well, not necessarily all of ye, and maybe not especially these colourful little numbers as they methodically strip the buds from the flowering cherry tree. You, Rosella, made this Wellingtonista wish momentarily for the .410 he used to use as a kid. But that would be criminally irresponsible in a built-up area, as well as a serious digression from the subject matter of this posting.

Onward.

This week is Landcare Research’s Garden Bird Survey:

The basic format of the garden bird survey is that people spend 1 hour during a specified week in winter watching birds in their home gardens, public parks, or school grounds, and recording the largest number of each species they see at any one time. When repeated over a number of years this will provide valuable information on changes in distribution and population trends of birds in our urban environment.

This recent fine weather provides the perfect opportunity. It’s inevitable that you’ll probably not see the occasional spectacular visitor in the hour you choose, like that falcon that was hunting the Western Suburbs a few years back, but at least you’ll be doing your bit for science.

And what could be nicer than a quiet hour outside counting the birds?

I’m not usually a political fly, but I do like raking muck, so I couldn’t resist posting this image from a campaign poster. Thanks to the (deeply flawed, of course) Electoral Finance Act, now we know who’s really behind the National Party:

Any suggestion that they’re financed by C Untts would be vulgar sock-puppetry, so I won’t stoop to that. Oh, if you insist.

Last weekend’s Sunday Star Times Sunday magazine had a fun essay by Leah McFall lamenting how hard it is to meet-cute in Wellington – that is, have one of those lovely romantic-comedy style accidental meetings with the fellow of your dreams, usually involving something quirky like bagels or poodles. It’s impossible here because, as we all know, in Wellington everyone knows everyone.

The essay isn’t online (boo, Sunday magazine!) but I thought it was worth sharing this bit, where Leah comes up with a magnificent metaphor for Wellington’s dating scene:

It’s like when you step onto a 16-seat propellor plane. There’s the guy at the top of the steps who rips your ticket, stows your laptop and passes round the Minties. Then he puts down the lollies, tugs on an earpiece, strides to the cockpit and starts the ignition. That’s what you’re dealing with, in Wellington: the man who is everywhere. How can you meet-cute with that? You’ve met him before.

Being a recent arrival to these parts, there are still many social dots I’m yet to connect, but I’m already finding strange connections in places I’d least expect it.

But perhaps there’s an advantage to this small-village scene? After all, if everyone knows everyone, you’re soon going to hear what your pilot’s crash rate is like.

Sometimes, a bar is too pretentious even for me. Though by “pretentious”, I don’t mean what some people seem to mean by that: expensive, stylish, ambitious or glamorous. No, it’s bars that make a great show of aspiring to all those qualities, and yet end up being the same-old same-old Courtenay Place tack, that really set my mandibles on edge.

You know that most gig promoters live in Auckland, eh? And that Aucklanders don’t know we exist, right?

As a response to the Aucklocentricism (it’s a word, ok) of the touring scene, a bunch of local promoters have sprung up, banded together and generally defied the odds to bring some amazing internationals to intimate Wellington venues over the last few years. Which means we don’t have to travel to see our favourite band, and taking a punt on an unknown quantity is a lot easier and way less expensive than trekking up the island. Plus the likelihood of having a quiet beer next to the main act after a show is ramped up several notches when it’s at SFBH or Bodega.

Which brings me to I Heart Hiroshima. They came over from Australia in April to support Ratatat in Auckland, but they couldn’t make it down here. Ratatat, however, played to a sold-out crowd at Bodega and knocked our socks off. They told IHH about it, and the band begged indie Wellington promoter Palomino Agency to bring them down to see us. They’re playing at Bodega next week – Friday 18th – so do us all a favour and go see them! Their songs have been all over tv and radio recently, but if you haven’t heard them, and you liked Ratatat – or you like the fab local supports Thought Creature or Little Pictures – take a punt. Tickets are only $20+bf right now from Slowboat on Cuba St so why wouldn’t you?

Charlie Watts was once asked in an interview whether he ever tuned his drums. When Charlie replied in the negative the interviewer asked him “why not?”

“Because every time I hit ’em, they go out of tune.”

I am minded of this story every time I hear the Strike guys striking up for they give their gear a fearful walloping at times (as well as plenty of beautiful, subtle and fun moments, too).

“Elemental”, Strike’s new show is well in to it’s first week and audiences of all ages are loving it. Described by Simon Sweetman in the Dominion as “an amazing show” and Aaron Watson in the Capital Times as “endlessly inventive” and “not to be missed” this show is a smash hit.

There are seventeen percussion pieces in the show, including newly-commissioned compositions from Gareth Farr and composer-in-residence Takumi Motokawa, and the ensemble play hydrophones, pyrophones, dippophones, Bedford trucks, and even the occasional percussion instrument, as part of a tremendously theatrical concert experience.

The season continues at Downstage until 26 July and you can find more information here.

Full disclosure: I work for Downstage and you’ll often find me at the top of the Hannah Playhouse staircase, welcoming patrons to the venue.