New Zealand Music Month 2011 - Part II

This is part II of my New Zealand Music Month tribute, it will be dedicated to all the slightly lesser known bands that are currently out there being awesome. I limited my first post about NZMM to only four bands because they are my absolute favourite New Zealand bands, but there are so many more that the rest of the world needs to know about.



LISA CRAWLEY

She is a charming songstress from Auckland who plays a beautiful mix of indie pop music. She is backed by her band, The Conversations, who feature a wide variety of instruments including trombone. Lisa is an extremely talented songwriter and vocalist with mesmerizing skilled on the piano, guitar, glockenspiel and many other instruments. She currently has 2 EP's out called Shoot The Night and Hello, Goodbye and Everything In Between, and she has also opened for Jools Holland and John Mayer. Currently recording her first full length album.

Best Songs: Brother, Back To You, These Friends Of Mine, Birds

TAINTED

A death/thrash metal band from Christchurch, these guys are one of our most brutal and technically proficient exports. I first saw them open for Iron Maiden back in 2009 and since then they have opened for such legendary acts as Metallica, Trivium, Unearth, The Black Dahlia Murder, Chimaira and Arch Enemy. They have become one of the best live acts in New Zealand metal with their dynamic energy and brutal sound which landed them a place in the line up for Big Day Out 2010. With 2 outstanding albums under their belt (The Awakening and Carved and Created) they are still a strong force to be dealt with on the NZ metal scene, leaving most NZ cities bruised, battered and desperate for more.

Best Songs: Beneath The Veneer, Say What You Mean, Tyranny, Scars

CAIRO KNIFE FIGHT

The most dynamic and explosive two-piece to come out of New Zealand ever. They play a unique style of rock that has numerous twists and turns that develop and evolve as their songs unfurl. Their live performance can only be described as hectic and intense, with Nick Gaffaney on drums, keyboard bass and vocals simultaneously, while sometimes operating the loop pedal to keep things interesting. He is supported on stage by the charismatic Aaron Tokona, whose infectiously rhythmic guitar playing is electric and yet, somehow sexual. These two set up their equipment to face each other on the stage so that they can build off of each other as the songs develop and grow. Always starting a gig on a suspense filled note, with long droning sounds of feedback and building to a destructive climax of rock brilliance. With a fantastic eponymous EP out now, they have opened for legendary bands like Queens Of The Stone Age, Foo Fighters and Them Crooked Vultures.

Best Songs: Big Face, The Happy Couple, This Is Love, All I Ever Wanted

OTHER HONOURABLE MENTIONS:


BEASTWARS
The Mint Chicks
Die! Die! Die!
The Dauntless
Cobra Khan
Nathan King
Ladyhawke
Goldenhorse/Kirsten Morrell
Liam Finn
Antagonist AD
Oilbarrons
The Transistors

+

Flight of the Conchords
Shihad
Split Enz

Check out New Zealand Music Month - Part I

I can't stop staring in those evil eyes

The 'Big 3' of doodles at Massey University of Design in Auckland, New Zealand have been underachieving over the last few weeks but the world is slowly correcting itself and everything is getting back to normal. It is good to see Izak back in the game after the devil tried to possess his glands and incapacitate him indefinitely. Vanilla Fiction has been our stand out performer over this dark period with a consistent showing of exceptionally strong doodles. Now that we are starting to work on our final comics for Uni, there should hopefully be an increase of doodles appearing on this blog as well. It is all up to me now...but until then, I found the most amazing doodle blog on the Internet. A charity website featuring doodles drawn by celebrities including Dianna Agron (Glee), Yvette Nicole Brown (Community), Seth Green (Buffy The Vampire Slayer), Joshua Malina (The West Wing), Julianna Margulies (ER), Cory Monteith (Glee), Amanda Palmer (The Dresden Dolls) and Martin Sheen (The West Wing).

Now I want to take you back to March 14th 2010, the day Lady Gaga brought the Monster Ball Tour to New Zealand. I was never really a fan of Gaga when she first came on the scene with Pokerface, in fact it wasn't until her appearance on Ellen where she performed Bad Romance and Speechless that I realised how great she really was. I decided right then and there that I had to see her perform live one day, so I went online and discovered that she had just recently announced a show in New Zealand but it was already sold out! I was heartbroken, until she announced a second show and there was no way I was missing out on that. I made sure I got a ticket for her second show and I am so thankful that I did because it was one of the greatest spectacles I have seen in my life. Semi Precious Weapons really impressed me as an opening act and then Lady Gaga just exploded my reality with her performance. Amazing vocal display and such an elaborate stage show, which she brought all the way to New Zealand in its entirety (something most artists fail to do). I was most impressed with her fountain of blood for Alejandro and the giant Doctor Who-like tentacle monster that stalked her during Paparazzi. It truly was one of the best shows I have ever seen. Unfortunately I am not so impressed with her latest material, it all seems like it is trying to hard to shock and is just confusing. She no longer has any restrictions for her musical weirdness and I think she is just going too far and getting lost, she needs to take a step back and listen to the advice of Jack White in the song 'Little Room' off the 3rd studio album by The White Stripes called White Blood Cells. Long live The Fame Monster.

Lady Gaga. 14 March 2011. Vector Arena, Auckland, New Zealand.

Semi Precious Weapons - Justin Tranter

Lady Gaga - Monster Ball Tour 2010

Monster

So Happy I Could Die

Speechless

Lady Gaga - Paparazzi

This is the story of the birds and the bees

The month of May has not been kind to my creative inspiration. The weight of university has been pulling on my coattails for some time now and it is becoming quite a struggle to find the motivation for my own personal artwork. Hopefully in June when all of my assignments are handed in and I have a few weeks of personal time then I can really get back into updating this blog with my own drawings, paintings and other work. But until then, I think I will just use this baron period of artistic block to work through my backlog of concert photos and memorabilia. Live music has always been a passion and when there is a good concert to look forward to, it becomes the focus of all my obsessive quirks. I have seen a great number of amazing concerts over the last few years (all of which can be found on my Last.FM account), unfortunately there are not too many shows in the future that I can get excited about. I mean, I will be seeing Gary Numan in 4 days, but after that there is just a lot of empty space. I will just have to pray that some fucking amazing bands will announce in the near future, such as Alter Bridge, The Kills, The Black Dahlia Murder or Foo Fighters.

For now, I will just tell you about Katy Perry's California Dreams Tour. She played 2 shows in Auckland, New Zealand about a week and half ago and I was lucky enough to get pre-sale tickets (which was made especially easy due to the password being 'Firework') to the first show on Saturday night. The smell of candy floss was in the air and the stage had an extremely over-the-top candyland theme with a very well-dressed live band. The lights went dark and on the video screens began a tale of girl living in a world that repressed her happiness and freedom until something magical happened and just like in the Wizard of Oz, she was swept away to a whimsical world of candy with her cat, Kitty Purry. The band started to play and out came Katy in a dazzling costume, she opened with Teenage Dream and didn't look back from that point on. She played all of her hits and had a really solid set list, although I have never been a fan of California Gurls. Her numerous costume changes were always impressive, especially during Hot 'n' Cold, where she must have changed her out fit approximately 15 times. I think Katy's voice was really strong live, I loved hearing it free from any electronic altering or mixing. There was a part in the show where she slowed things down and it dragged on for quite a while, but the pyrotechnic display during Firework really made up for that. The only real problem I had with the show was that her audience (consisting mainly of tweenage girls) seemed to be more interested in staring at their phones, updating facebook and texting their friends than actually paying attention to the stage and Katy Perry's brilliant performance.

Katy Perry. 7 May 2011. Vector Arena, Auckland, New Zealand.

Katy Perry California Dreams Tour 2011

Katy Perry aka Kitty Purry

Not Like The Movies

Peacock

Teenage Dream

Katy Perry vs. The Bunny

Katy Perry - Teenage Dream

Smite the sheperd and the sheep will be scattered

This is a sheep, made with willow charcoal and water-colour paints. He lives humbly somewhere in the majesty of New Zealand and has no idea that he is being uploaded to the Internet so people in countries all over the world can observe him. For privacy reasons, I will not be releasing the name of this specific sheep but for the purposes of this post, we will just refer to him as Case Study #222.301. Now I am fairly certain that #222.301's is really into heavy metal, with one of his favourite bands ever being Lamb Of God. I can only assume that is why he chose that particular title for this blog post, it is taken from the first metal song he ever loved, Vigil from the album As The Palaces Burn. #222.301 really enjoys their relentless musical brutality and Blythe's face-melting vocals....or maybe he just really appreciates the reference to his kind in their name? What ever the case may be, LoG is truly one of the best bands in the genre and a defining band of our generation. I had quite the surprise last time I went to visit #222.301 because he had found something in his mouth for me, it turned out to be the set list from Lamb Of God's 2010 supporting tour with Metallica! I have been in debt to that humble creature ever since, it was possibly the best show I have ever seen in my life. And now I will share it with you.

Lamb Of God (supporting Metallica). 14/10/2010. Vector Arena, Auckland, New Zealand

Lamb Of God Set List 2010

Randy Blythe

Randy Blythe

Lamb Of God - Randy Blythe

Robert Trujillo

Lars Ulrich

Kirk Hammett

James Hetfield

Metallica: Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo, Lars Ulrich & James Hetfield

New Zealand Music Month 2011

This is a dedication to all the great New Zealand bands out there today in honour of New Zealand music month 2011. Even though the comedy gala has overshadowed kiwi music in the month of may in NZ, I still think NZMM should be properly appreciated, so here are 4 amazing bands that everyone in the world should know about...




STREET CHANT

These guys are a heavy pop trio from Auckland, New Zealand formed in 2007 that sound like bubble gum with the liquid centre, and getting punched in the face. The band consists of Emily Littler (vocals/guitar), Billie Rogers (bass/vocals) and Alex Brown (drums). Their debut album Means is the best record to come out of NZ in 2010 and they have played some amazing shows including Big Day Out '11 and the We Means Kudos tour with Surf City and The Transistors. I was first introduced to their music when they opened for The Dead Weather in March 2010 and have been addicted ever since. Their live show is a unique and energetic experience with elements of the grunge/punk 'fuck shit up' attitude, they are truly the best band around these days.

Best Songs: Scream Walk, Less Chat More Sewing, Blister, Yr Philosophy.

POPSTRANGERS

This band is the trigger that started my obsession with New Zealand music. An Auckland trio consisting of Joel Flyger (Vocals, Guitar), Adam Page (Bass) and Elliot Rawson (Drums), they exploded onto the scene in 2009 with their unique combination of grunge, punk and noise. Their debut self-titled EP was flawless with every track just as brilliant as the next. I first saw them when they opened for Peaches at the Transmission Room and then a day later at Big Day Out '10, with one of their most notable shows being opening for MGMT in 2011. After the success of their first EP, they began work on their next record with new drummer, Jimmy Mac and in 2010 they released Happy Accidents which was another fucking brilliant EP. These guys would be the second best band around these days.

Best songs: 1000, Take It To The Grave, Happy Accidents, Arrest Your Body

THE DRAB DOO-RIFFS

An Auckland-based bluesy, surf punk five piece fronted by Karl Steven (Lead Vocals/Harmonica and former member of Supergroove). They are a band that is just focused on being themselves and having fun, with other members including Caoimhe Macfehin (co-lead vocals and percussion), Marcus Joyce (Bass), Mikey Sperring (Drums) and Lucy Stewart (guitars). The true essence of this band can be found at their live shows where their spastic and crazy energy is on display. They are committed to making lots of music, choosing to release their music on EPs because they are small and fast and playing as many live gigs as possible, including opening for The Cult in 2010 and MGMT in 2011. The DD-R's are a band that wants to be Spock and releases music as fast as a mongoose – what more could you ask for?

Best Songs: Hot Tanya, Ill Equipped, Broke It Up, Gold Coin

LEECHES

An Auckland-based hardcore punk band featuring members from many other NZ bands including The Bleeders. Forming in 2010, they have been playing shows and gaining momentum with the release of their self-titled EP in 2011. The band is made up of Angelo Munro (Vocals), Sam Crocker (Bass/Vocals), Ian King (Guitar/Vocals), Dan Brenndorfer (Guitar/Vocals) and Rob O-Conner (Drums). As all the members have come from other successful NZ bands, there was no hesitation when they erupted on the scene and they found their rhythm very quickly. Some of their more notable shows included opening for Cancer Bats at The Kings Arms and playing No Sleep Til Auckland in 2010 along with 10 other legendary bands.

Best Songs: Damnation, Never Forget, Already Dead

Check Out New Zealand Music Month 2011 - Part II