Gig Review: Pitch Black, San Fran, Wellington, 16 March 2018

Last Friday night, local electro dub fiends Pitch Black checked into Wellington’s San Fran venue for the second leg of the duo’s three-date Sonic Portal tour. It was a long overdue return to the capital for Mike Hodgson and Paddy Free, after Wellington missed out on the late 2016/early 2017 - mostly festival - dates that passed for the Filtered Senses (album release) tour.

A Sandwiches (club) gig in the capital of roughly a decade ago is still spoken about in glowing terms by all who attended (yours truly included), so it was little surprise to discover the San Fran venue almost full upon my relatively early 9.30pm arrival. Wellington dubheads and dance music aficionados clearly have long memories … though, of course, the short-term stuff may be more of a challenge. Whatever the case, this one carried the secondary billing of being a 21st party, with Pitch Black celebrating 21 years of being at the cutting edge of the local dub and electronica scene, and a cursory glance around the venue confirmed that it would just as likely have been years, if not a decade or two, since the last occasion many of these early doors punters had attended any kind of 21st celebration (that of their own children notwithstanding).

Free & Hodgson, dub fiends ...

Pitch Black had been playing around half an hour before I arrived, easing the crowd into the night with what they called their “downbeat set”, which meant a lot of gentle swaying and head bobbing, as our dynamic duo filled the room with layer upon layer of ethereal texture and languid bass-driven technicolour soundscapes. That continued for another half hour or so before we had the pleasure of Wellington’s own DJ Ludus (aka Emma Bernard) for company while our party hosts took a well-earned refreshment break.

Ludus was a perfect fit for this gig, and a swelling of the dancefloor during her mostly minimal ambient set – is minimal ambient a thing in genre-speak? – suggests she bought her own rather large following with her. It would certainly account for the injection of a few younger faces into the crowd, many of whom would scarcely have been out of nappies when Pitch Black unleashed its debut album, Futureproof, on an unsuspecting world 20-odd years ago.

When Pitch Black returned an hour later, the bpm factor and energy levels were upped significantly as they launched into what they call their “pumping set” with all the vigour of men half their age. It was around this point I realised it was going to be virtually impossible to review this (or any other) Pitch Black gig in any orthodox kind of way. The duo’s modus operandi is to continually fuck with the heads of their audience by blending and mashing together various tracks from different albums all at the same time. At no one point can it be said “oh, this is ‘The Gatherer’ …” or “this is from Rude Mechanicals”, because at no one single point are we being exposed to one single track. It’s a method that serves them well at giant outdoor festivals across the globe, and it is one that served them equally well at San Fran last Friday night.

Suffice to say Messrs Hodgson and Free covered a fair portion of their illustrious back catalogue as the night progressed into the wee small hours and we zig-zagged back and forth between albums. And they did so with some gusto. If they bypassed Wellington last time around, they were clearly keen to make it up to us, something they achieved with ease, and more …

If I have a complaint, and it’s probably more of an observation given the limitations of the venue, it’s that the visual feast I’ve always associated Pitch Black gigs with in the past simply wasn’t there this time. There was a backdrop with a multitude of FX and far-out visuals etc, but the lighting was relatively ineffective and the whole thing (visually) just failed to hit the heights I’ve come to expect. Having said that, San Fran can’t be faulted for its sound, which was crisp and clear, and there was a moment during the second set when I swear that bass was travelling straight through my chest.

I can’t wait for the next one, just don’t make us wait so long next time, eh fellas?

Here’s something I wrote about Pitch Black for NZ Musician some 18 months ago …

http://nzmusician.co.nz/features/pitch-black-futures-knocking/

Gig Review: Tami Neilson, San Fran, Wellington, 11 March 2016

Tami Neilson is not an artist I'm all that familiar with, but thanks to the generosity of Neilson herself, and Simon over at the Off The Tracks blog, I was able to catch New Zealand's reigning Queen of Country right at the top of her game last Friday night at Wellington's San Fran. It wasn't a gig I'd initially earmarked as a "must attend", but I’d been curious about Neilson’s music for some time, and the complimentary double pass made it a no brainer.

 

I really didn't need too much convincing. I knew enough to know that Neilson's back story is quite remarkable by local standards: raised in Canada, growing up trekking around North America with her parents - as part of the Johnny Cash-supporting Neilson family band - then settling in NZ nearly a decade ago, before going on to establish herself as an immense solo talent. A chart-topping, silver scroll and multiple Tui award-winning solo talent, no less.

It's easy to see why she's been so successful - not only does she possess a great voice, her song-writing is top drawer, and her stagecraft is as thoroughly professional as her band is tight.

It doesn't feel quite right lumping her purely under the "country" banner however. Sure, the likes of Patsy (Cline) and Wanda (Jackson) provide for fairly accurate and well-worn reference points, but there's shades of others in there too, and Neilson's particular brand of honky tonk effortlessly crossed over into soul, rockabilly, and even some swampy blues rock at various points over the course of her set. And while the key to that versatility and the glue to her performance was surely her “Hot Rockin’ band of Rhythm”, Neilson remained the consummate star throughout the near 90-minute set of covers and originals.

The highlights included a couple of walk-on appearances; the first from local luminary Jeremy Taylor who helped out on ‘Lonely’, the popular duet Neilson recorded with (the absent rising star) Marlon Williams, while the second featured the thumb-picking or “flatpicker” guitar technique of onetime band member Mark Mazengarb, who joined her on stage, direct from the audience, for a couple of older tracks.
 
Saving the best until last, Neilson completed her well-received encore with a Big Mama Thornton-inspired take on ‘Hound Dog’, one that differs markedly from the more popular Elvis Presley version - a slower, brooding, dirty/bluesy interpretation. A take that was far more indebted to old style rhythm n blues than classic rock n roll.
 
I’m fairly certain this particular San Fran gig was not part of the greater Arts Festival currently gracing various Wellington venues - more part of a short national tour - yet it was quite noticeable that the audience for Tami Neilson was not a regular San Fran-type crowd. Or even a regular Friday night crowd. The demographic was generally older and somewhat more stylishly dressed. It felt like something of an occasion even - it was certainly a birthday celebration for one of the band members (singalong, cake, and all), so perhaps it was simply that? ... post-gig, a class act to the end, Neilson made herself available to those exiting the venue, standing at the top of the stairs, smiling, chatting, and signing items as the assembled throng made its way past, heading out into the warm autumnal Friday night air …

Head Like A Hole @ San Fran 2

Wellington hairdresser and photographer Tony Barrett was at San Fran last Thursday night to capture some classic shots of Head Like A Hole on and off stage. The photos below - all featuring frontman Booga Beazley - represent just a handful of the dozens Barrett took on the night. Thanks Tony for agreeing to share with everythingsgonegreen. (for the gig review, see previous post)

 

Gig Review: Head Like A Hole, San Fran, Wellington, 6 August 2015

Last Thursday night marked the Wellington leg of Head Like A Hole’s 2015 nationwide Narcocorrido tour, something of a homecoming gig for Aotearoa’s finest “stench rock” exponents ...

Support band 8 Foot Sativa kicked things off with a solid half hour (or so) set of tight energetic metal, and while they’re very good at what they do, the indecipherable vocals and an overwhelming sense of in-yer-face-ness render this band a bit beyond the comfort zone of your blogger’s delicate pop-loving ears. Which, I guess, is exactly the point. There’s no question 8 Foot Sativa’s set was well received and there’s a very good reason they’ve survived at the forefront the genre – in a local context at least – for as long as they have.

Head Like A Hole opened with a foreboding, tension-building take on 'The Great Wall', replicating the dramatic opening moments found on Narcocorrido, the band’s latest album. Booga Beazley immediately reminded the two-thirds-full venue – a relatively disappointing "hometown” turnout I’d have thought? – of why Head Like A Hole enjoy such a fierce live reputation, with the vocalist’s theatrical Rock God persona at its most pronounced (and grin-worthy) throughout the first couple of songs. It’s been far too long …

As the set progressed we got a perfect blend of past and present. Exactly what the vast majority of punters wanted. The best material, or personal highlights, from the recent Narcocorrido album included a great version of 'Rotten', the menacing dirty blues of 'Mexico', and what was perhaps a eureka moment in terms of pure dual/dueling guitar riffery, 'The Rise and Fall of the Sun'.

Then there was the older material; an early outing for 'Fish Across Face', sleazy mid-set workings of 'Comfortably Shagged' and 'Wet Rubber', with the show steadily building to the climactic peak of closing numbers ‘Cornbag’, and the much loved ‘Hootenanny’, after which the band downed tools and walked off …

And just when we thought it was safe, the band returned for a three-song encore – oldies ‘A Crying Shame’ and ‘I’m On Fire’, plus ‘Glory Glory’ off the 2011 “comeback” album Blood Will Out, to close.

It was very much one of those Increasingly Rare Hard Rock Occasions for yours truly (I’m getting soft in my dotage) and all the more enjoyable because of that. The gig served to reinforce what (I suspect) most of us in attendance already knew, that the years may be rolling on, the laughter lines may be more pronounced, and the numbers may be dwindling slightly these days, but Head Like A Hole refuse to compromise, and the band was as professionally chaotic and chaotically professional as it ever was.

It’s just a shame more locals let the gig slip by unnoticed … (though Lydia Lunch and Ahoribuzz playing elsewhere – separately – may have had something to do with that).

Roots Foundation: Rockers Sermon

It’s been well documented elsewhere but one of the great tragedies of the recent Kilbirnie self storage facility fire (in Wellington) was the loss some 8500 records owned by renowned Wellington DJ Danny ‘Lemon’ (of the Roots Foundation). A couple of other local DJs – Top Knot and Splash – also lost records and other personal effects in the fire, a couple of Academy Awards/Oscars were lost (which will be replaced), and I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that even a couple of classic cars were destroyed.

It was a terrible event for all concerned, made worse perhaps by the revelation that the fire turned out to be a case of arson, and the fact that in many cases the gear in storage was not insured. I’m fairly certain that Lemon was one of those not covered.

Lemon’s record collection was very special in that it was surely the largest of its kind in the country – being mostly long since deleted rare reggae, roots, rocksteady, and dub vinyl. Priceless and irreplaceable items, among other things. He estimated that only “five percent” of his lost collection would be available for purchase today if he attempted to replace it – a collection that was lovingly compiled over the course of 35 years, gone in an instant, up in smoke. My eyes start to water just thinking about it, and indeed Lemon described it as his “worst nightmare being realised”.

Anyway, I’m going over old ground, but context is important, and the reason for this post is twofold:

The first is to highlight the fundraiser (gig) taking place on Lemon’s behalf on 1 June at San Fran in Wellington. The line-up represents a virtual who’s who of local DJ talent with the most obvious draw being Lemon’s own collective, Roots Foundation Sound System.

But the night will also feature old school luminaries like Auckland’s Dubhead ... who I’m pretty sure I recall spinning vinyl as far back as 1990/1991 when I attended a ‘Unity’ (clothing shop) NYE “warehouse” party at the Auckland Town Hall – possibly the last time I saw him perform. (And quite why I was up in Auckland for that NYE remains a mystery!)

And then of course there’s someone like Koa, a Roots Foundation original, a softly-spoken humble guy who’s been on the Wellington scene forever. I can recall Koa being the resident DJ at a club called ‘Clares’ back in the Eighties, and he’s been everywhere that’s anywhere ever since.

Add the likes of DLT, Goosebump, Marty Vital, Riki Gooch ... local legends all, plus a few others, and it should be a cracking night – with a lot of reggae, a helluva lot of bass, and I’ll wager we’ll hear some old fashioned funk as well.

The second reason for this increasingly long-winded post (it was going to be a quick 100 words) is to draw your attention to an exceptional article by Lewis Tennant on the Audioculture site, which looks at the Roots Foundation story and more generally the evolution of Sound System culture here in New Zealand.

As you know, everythingsgonegreen is a big fan of grass roots history, and this is a superb example of a story that just had to be told, one that would have just as likely fallen through the cracks in the pre internet era. Have a read ... (click on the link below)

Audioculture on The Rise Of The Sound Systems In Aotearoa

New Year's Eve, SFBH, and all that ...

It’s been a quiet start to 2014 for everythingsgonegreen. I’m sure my reader will have noticed (note: Mum, just pick up the phone). From the highs of the festive period – and one or two extreme lows – right on through to that bastard we know as the mid January return to work, your blogger was hotly pursing that near mythical thing called rest and recreation. It’s apparently something people who live in the real world do at least a couple of times a year. Something normally reserved for “other people”.

I found a variation of it somewhere up in the far-flung north, but as much as I’d like to bore you with tales of wild dolphin trekking offshore in the sun-baked Bay of Plenty, this is a pop culture blog, dammit. Suffice to say the blog has been neglected while your blogger attempted to recover from such wanton pursuit of “rest”.

So before any of that, there was the small matter of a New Year’s Eve gig to attend – a party to say farewell to the iconic Wellington venue San Francisco Bath House, which officially closed its doors in the wee small hours of January 1 2014. I just couldn’t let the passing of the venue go undocumented on everythingsgonegreen – aside from Bar Bodega (old and new versions thereof), I’ve probably spent more post-millennium drinking hours at SFBH than I have at any other establishment. But I try not to think too hard about that, and neither should you (Mum). So I have to say my piece on its closure if only to sate some kind of weird need to do so purely for posterity purposes.

 

I’ve blogged about SFBH before and it seemed appropriate that the subject of that blog, DJ Bill E, was on hand to help give it a proper send off by way of his annual NYE bash ‘Hang The DJ’ – which combines the Eighties aesthetic of ‘Atomic’ with the more (or less) contemporary hue of ‘24 Hour Party People’. And it was equally fitting that the Phoenix Foundation, another iconic Wellington staple, opened proceedings … a band with plenty of “previous” at the venue.

I know New Year is a special night on the party calendar, but the first thing that struck me was just how crowded the venue was on the night. I’ve been to a lot of ‘Atomic’ nights up there over the years (less so the past two years), plus a fair few ‘24 Hour Party People’ nights, and plenty of other gigs as well, but it’s been a long time since I’ve seen it so busy up there. There’s no doubt the band brought its own following, and there were a lot of old faces I hadn’t seen for a while. It all made for a pretty special gig.

The Phoenix Foundation kicked things off early on, before 10pm. There were a few songs I couldn’t quite place in my vodka-induced haze, but the core of the set – the likes of ‘Walking In The Rain’, ‘Buffalo’, and ‘Sideways Glance’ – was well worth the price of admission alone. The band’s take on ‘Walking In The Rain’ is one of the most twisted Grace Jones live cover versions going, and the weird processed vocals give it a sleazier, even more decadent feel than that of the original … if that’s actually possible.

The brand new song, ‘Bob Lennon John Dylan’ was another attention grabber, before the set concluded amid a crescendo of squally guitar and other psychedelic nonsense, the band building to its all-hands-to-the-pump wig-out best on the closing couple of “songs”, most notably Fandango’s monster jam, ‘Friendly Society’.

A typically loose and infectious Phoenix Foundation set was the perfect way for SFBH to rock out on its final night, and a great way to see off another calendar year.

From there DJ Bill E and his ‘Hang The DJ’ time machine took us all the way into 2014 and beyond. I thought our man called it pretty shrewdly early on in his set, dropping a couple of Kiwi music classics with The Clean’s ‘Anything Could Happen’ and Coconut Rough’s irrepressible ‘Sierra Leone’ to help generate a second wind amongst the strong local muso contingent and older sections of the spillover crowd still dazed from the band’s onslaught.

 

The DJ remained meticulous in his selections well into the wee smalls, and the dancefloor was packed to overflowing for much of the night … or at the very least until sometime after 1.30am when your blogger and his dance partner said goodbye to a special venue one last time. Our cross-town post-gig scout around revealed a paucity of anything remotely close to the vibe of SFBH, as it so often has in the past, and Wellington nightlife will be very much poorer for its absence.  

One story I’ve heard is that a refurbished premises will return as a “jazz bar”, whatever that actually means, but I can’t account for the veracity of its source. That particular Cuba Street site has a long and illustrious history (read dubious) … it had links with the capital’s red light scene – various incarnations and uses – for many years in the Seventies through to the mid-Eighties. I first encountered the premises as a cave-like club around 1989, early 1990, as a venue known as The Sub Club, a short-lived yet hugely popular Thursday - or was it Sunday? - night scene catering to the first waves of Techno and Acid House. From there it underwent various states of refurbishment, re-emerging as a player on the live circuit in the Nineties as Indigo, before eventually evolving into SFBH roughly a decade ago.

In another development, it turns out that a second iconic Cuba Street venue is set to close, this coming May, with the owners of Mighty Mighty this week announcing that the bar has also run its course. The “four month closing party” commenced in earnest on Friday night (just gone) with a three-pronged gig featuring “bigger-in-Portland” local darkwave duo Black City Lights. I was lucky enough to make it down to Mighty Mighty for that – so I’ll do a quick review of that set for everythingsgonegreen at some point in the next week or so.

Oh, Make It Magnificent, Tonight …

When I learned recently of the uncertain future faced by popular Wellington venue/club San Francisco Bath House (safety and compliance issues, followed by a sale), I was immediately fearful that two of the most loved nights on Wellington’s social calendar – and indeed, my own social calendar – would be at serious risk of becoming extinct. I thought it timely then, to have a look at the SFBH’s ‘Atomic’ and ‘24-Hour Party People’ gigs, and the main man behind both bi-monthly affairs, DJ Bill E.

Atomic has, for the past decade or so, been the benchmark by which all other Alt-80s nostalgia nights are measured. And 24-Hour Party People, with its 90s/post-millennium bent, captures a 30s-something market simply not catered for by Courtenay Place’s trendy "clubs" and venues. The great music on offer comes with the added bonus that neither night attracts the younger or more feral hordes often associated with Wellington’s mainstream party strip.

Just like its offbeat Cuba Street location, the San Francisco Bath House is known for its sense of community, and there’s no question in my mind that the success of both nights has been greatly enhanced because of that. I think it’s fair to say that Atomic has earned the title of being Wellington’s longest ever running “club gig” (prove me wrong), and that kind of accolade doesn’t come about by accident.

Atomic was started off in 1996 at the original Bar Bodega on Willis Street. It was a pretty irregular gig to begin with, but after Bill E (or Bill Nothingelseon as he is better known) returned from a three-year sabbatical in England in 2000, it started becoming a regular fixture, firstly at the (relocated/new) Bar Bodega, before moving to Indigo, which in turn became the San Fran Bath House. By 2003, 24-Hour Party People had established itself as a genuine rival to its older sibling, and the rest, as they say, is a little slice of local history.

If I learned anything from reading ‘Last Night A DJ Saved My Life’ – Brewster & Broughton’s comprehensive tome on the history of the DJ – recently, it’s that the fine art of successfully moving the crowd can be loosely whittled down to three key elements; having exquisite taste, having the vinyl to back it up, and most importantly, possessing an inherent ability to read the crowd. If you combine all three, other more peripheral factors become less critical … though obviously, venue, sound, and technical aspects of the craft are all quite important too. DJ Bill E brings all three key elements to the stage (literally), in spades. It’s as simple as that.

 

I was lucky enough to catch up with Bill recently – and naturally enough, my offer to get him deliriously pissed next time I see him was sufficient for him to agree to fill in a few square box shaped blanks for everythingsgonegreen …

If a time machine could transport a 21-year-old Bill E to only one of the following centres of pop culture excellence, where would he choose? … Merseyside in the 60s, New York in the 70s, or Manchester in the 80s?

Tough choice! I'd probably have to plump for New York in the 70s - the combination of disco, punk/new wave, no wave and the beginnings of hip-hop seal it, really. Pretty grim times in all 3 places, none of them would have been much fun to live through, though musically all were incredibly vibrant times. Much as I would have loved to see The Smiths, let alone Joy Division, New Order through to The Stone Roses and a whole bunch of other bands, the variety of what was happening in New York takes it for me.

There's an awesome documentary on New York in 1977:

The Coolest Year in Hell

Clever bugger

Someone has to write a song to save your life: Morrissey, Costello, or Weller?

My heart says Morrissey, but my head would probably go for Costello - he's a clever bugger.

 

 The dancefloor’s dying, you dig into the crate and pull out something produced by Martin Hannett and something produced by Andy Weatherall … which guy do you opt for?

Depends on the night and the vibe I guess, whichever feels right at the time. There's a perfect fence sitting answer for you, though there's some interesting similarities between the two - their use of space, dub elements, a certain darkness. It could go either way and you probably wouldn't be disappointed. There's a fabulous interview with Andy Weatherall on the Guardian music blog a few weeks back which is well worth a listen. He's a totally top bloke.

Guardian interviews Top Bloke

How many individual pieces of vinyl/black magic plastic do you own? (roughly is fine!)

3,178 all up as of today. That's 7", 10", 12" & LPs. I spent the last couple of years on and off cataloguing it all on discogs.com, so you can check it out here if you're interested:

Bill Nothingelseon’s treasure trove of sumptuous treats

It was quite a labour intensive process but I'm glad it's done. It was nice to go through all my records one by one.

(I love Bill’s answer for that one. It makes me appear positively sane - Ed).

What are your most listened to albums so far this year?

1. Parquet Courts - Light Up Gold, 2. David Bowie - The Next Day, 3. Dexys - One Day I'm Going to Soar, 4. No Tag - Live at the Windsor Castle, 5. My Bloody Valentine - m.b.v., 6. Husker Du - New Day Rising, 7. Paul Kelly & The Messengers - Gossip, 8. Johnny Foreigner - Johnny Foreigner vs Everything, 9. Palma Violets - 180, 10. The Wedding Present - Tommy

 

"not guilty yer honour"

Guilty pleasure? (can be artist, album, or single track)

I'm at the stage now where I don't feel too guilty about anything. I'm more than partial to a bit of yacht rock or 70s singer songwriters, so I guess I've got to go with Taylor Swift, there's a little guilt attached to that :-)

Top 5 Kiwi desert island singles?

This is hard! Can I have a top 100? As of this very moment it's this (in no particular order):

Screaming Meemees - See Me Go, Car Crash Set - Fall From Grace, Danse Macabre - Between The Lines, Home Brew - Monday, The Scavengers - True Love

But ask me tomorrow and it'd probably be different.

New/current artist we can’t afford to miss?

Johnny Foreigner! From Birmingham, UK, they've been around since the mid 2000's. They tick all the right boxes for me: 3 piece (now 4), make a racket, male/female vocals, and they have tunes to spare.

Locally, The Eversons - loved their album from last year, and really looking forward to the next one.

What is your funeral song?

The cliched choice is probably Joy Division's Atmosphere, but it's pretty much unimpeachable, so, that. For something a little more upbeat, The Undertones' Teenage Kicks.

With the future of SFBH currently unresolved, worst case scenario, where does Bill E go from here?

I guess the worst case is that I have to find somewhere else to play records. Every year for about the last 5 years or so I've been saying that 'this year will be the last', but it's never quite worked out that way, I enjoy it too much. I have had one bar approach me to see if I'd be interested if things don't work out at San Fran, and there's a few venues around where it could work, so there are options. At the moment I have dates pencilled in for the rest of the year now, I just have to wait and see what happens about the sale and what the new owners want. I'll let you know :-)

The next Atomic is this coming Saturday night, 20 April 2013 …

Bill’s website can be found here

Here’s a taste of Atomic:

 

 

 And a slice of Johnny Foreigner!