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.

Some of us have missed out on Peaches tickets AND found ourselves too skint for Bill Bailey at the St James tonight.

Le Sigh.

Le Big Sigh.

Fortunately solace can be found at Mighty Mighty tonight in the arms of some sweet, sweet electro. NZ based producers, DJs and live performance will be on hand to pound away that pain. The main act is billed as CureMotel but in this girl's completely biased opinion Stress Cadet alone will be worth the five bucks on the door. Having seen their work as part of Auckland based bands Soft Shoe and the legendary Meatbix (taking a break, maybe they are all shagged out?), Josh Lynne and Damian Golfinopoulos are sure gonna bring the puntastic with plenty of visual and aural frights and delights.

Short Circuit: CureMotel and Stress Cadet
Venue: Mighty Mighty
Doors open: 9:30pm
Cost: $5

...

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.

For those of you more inclined towards UK roots reggae culture than euro-beats, there's a little something for you at the Film Archive this Thursday 7th.

The Archive, in collaboration with NiceUp - local reggae forum and dancehall specialists - present the premiere Australasian screening of Musically Mad, a doco that examines sound system culture and the UK roots reggae scene, interviewing some of the shining lights of the community, past and present, and providing an historical context for the Caribbean-influenced musical culture. The film is brand spanking new and Nice Up are keen to show it off to the local scene, so much so that they (and their sponsors) invite you to come down early, at 6pm, to the Archive - on the corner of Ghuznee and Taranaki Sts - for food, drink and socialising prior to the movie screening at 7pm. Read more here.

Tickets are on sale now from the NZ Film Archive for $8/$6 concession, as well as available on the night.

If you like your music multi-lingual then boy are you in for a treat or, indeed, un petit plaisir next week when Berlin-based duo Stereo Total hit town on Saturday 16th. I fell in love with the kooky electro-garage rock-à-billy popstars a few years ago when I discovered an album of theirs that sounded like the B52s mixed with Peaches with a couple of Sugarcubes stirred in. Their "homemade" ironic pop combines French chanson with German electronika, with a euro-linguistic twist, so that on one album you get a song that croons "j'aime l'amour à trois" then a few songs later the same track pops up declaring "I love love with the three of us"! You can listen to some of their new songs on their Myspace page and buy tickets for $30+bf at Slowboat (Cuba St) for next week's gig at the San Fran Bathhouse.

AND they're bringing JD Sampson, one-third of feminist nu-york-punk-icons Le Tigre with them, fresh from her MEN DJ/remix project and a visit to NZ for the Big Day Out '08 with Peaches and Herm.


ALLONS-Y!

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.

As the killer Wellington wind stalks the Wellingtonista towers by day we've been seeking solace in beautiful music, as you do. And since a copy of Cassette's brand new EP Cancer landed in my cold little hands I've been able to listen to very little else - other than the howling wind, natch. As their press release says, "If you like eagles, there's 3 on the cover". And if you like Cassette, you can catch them at Bodega next week to launch those very same eagles.

Details after the leap

Have you been to Aunt Daisy's Boathouse cafe yet?
Martha did and thought it "tres awesome" - her franglish, not mine.

If you haven't visited the charming 1950s-style tearooms in Titahi bay yet, perhaps you need a mid-winter weekend of music to tempt you? As if the sea views, Supreme Coffee and kids' playground weren't enough, Aunt Daisy is popping the mulled wine on to heat and putting some live music on the boil from 4pm this Fri/Sat/Sun. Kids get in free and grown-ups can fork over a mere $7 for sweet sounds the likes of Rosy Tin Teacaddy, Achilles Botes and Jess Chambers. Go here for more details.

The only sane answer to this insane windy weather, I think!

Finally Wellington gets its own MySpace Secret Show, and what a show it is - NZ's own world-class, world-famous, worldly-wise electro rappers, masters of the mellow-drama and hip hopera Coco Solid play for free at an as-yet-undisclosed Wellington venue (that's the secret, duh) next Wednesday (18th). They also have a psychedelic kaleidoscope of a new video on their MySpace page for their new single 'Electrik Love'; it's made by Aleks Sakowski who also made the overwhelmingly brilliant 'Crimefighters' vid - which I feel compelled to include here as it's my absolute fave and it wins people over like nothing else:


More Coco love, and details on how to get into the gig, after the jump:

Eva Dixons lives on in Miramar (133 Darlington Road - Google Map | Zoomin Map) - just up the road road from the newly visited Weta Cave which, as Richard Taylor said to me, "It's a bit different for Miramar eh?" ... such a shameless name dropper I am.

Back to Eva Dixons ... Not only is it a great place to eat (all day menu), drink and be merry but if you happen to pop in on any Thursday eve (menu) this month you'll be treated to free live music.

12th: Mojo Mama
Piano based boogie and blues with enough sass to light your fire.

19th: Sean & Amanda O'Connor
Inspirational folk/pop songwriters & harmonisers, singing their inner and outer journeys with guitar, flute, heart and soul!

26th: Eva Prowse Trio
Eva Prowse (vocals, violin, mandolin), Chris Prowse (guitar, bva), Dave Currie (bass, ukulele, bva) playing a variety of alt-country music. Suitable for old-timers and new-timers alike.

I read a great review of the new album by the Bravery , The Sun and the Moon, where the reviewer claimed that the band were the Stone Temple Pilots to The Killers' Pearl Jam. How great is that - grunge bands-as-metaphors! And a metaphor that I can certainly relate to (err, not that I'm the Weiland to anyone's Vedder, but y'know, I appreciate the analogy). And yeah, the Bravery are one of that bunch of Nu-Wave-New-York bands that seem too fashionable to be true, but unlike the Killers et al, they're actually really good - less fashion magazine, more FASHION (bop bop bop) a la Bowie.
Ok before I get into glam similes and really lose the plot, all I wanted to point out was: The Bravery are playing in Wellington this weekend - Saturday night at San Fran Bathhouse to be exact, with support from local synth-core darlings Heat Like Me. Get your party pants on and check them out, tickets are available from Ticketmaster or on the door from 7:30pm Sat 14th.
A wee heads up for Friday night too - Liam Finn plays Bodega, fresh from a US tour with ... Eddie Vedder!

For the last few weeks there's been an air of rockin' excitement passing around Capital City... and lots of flights being booked down here from that place up north that houses the Aucklandista. Reminiscing on social networking sites has reached a frenzied peak and the rumours have been proved true - the Hasselhoff Experiment are reforming for a once-only show this weekend in Wellington.
More after the jump....

Don't worry, I don't mean like proper grown-up investments, but instead I wanted to give you a list of things coming up in the social calendar that you might want to save that last $[insert amount here] bucks for. I've recently become only semi-hardly-employed (anyone need a freelance editor/writer's services?) and am slowly relearning the concept of selective socialising, for which advance warning is always good.
Read on for upcoming gigs, events and even some insider's rumours....

The Cosbys are Auckland's undisputed kings of Northern Soul -- a hypercharged R&B revue thundering through uptown, downtown, deep soul, dance and ballad sounds, and most importantly, doing it with impeccable style.

Apparently dissatisfied with the grooveless, undersexed state of modern rock'n'roll, The Cosbys found the answer by smashing together four-on-the-floor Motown rhythms with a two-fisted Stax-style horn section and a singer -- "Papa" Crawdaddy -- who is so damn good he made James Brown just give up and die.

So cut loose, ladies and gentlemen -- shake those hips, jive with the Hot Cosby Horns, be touched by "Papa". Do the jerk, watch them work, do the Mashed Potato, do the Alligator. And do it on Cosby Street, or even better - tonight (Friday 18th April) at Mighty Mighty.

10pm - $5 - good times

Website here