Choice Kiwi Cuts 2019: Israel Starr & Troy Kingi - Let It Be

I’m cheating here, including this on a 2019 list, because so far as I know, Israel Starr and Troy Kingi’s collaborative effort, ‘Let It Be’, was released in December of 2018. But, well, you know. What’s a month or so between friends, right? It’s summer down here at the bottom of the world, and this one is a certified funky summer jam dripping with positivity. Which seems like a pretty festive thing to be. I believe the glittery production vibe is mostly Starr, and the soulful vocal is mostly Kingi. 2019 was a big year for Kingi in particular, with the release of his Holy Colony Burning Acres album. Which was a successful follow-up to his 2017 breakthrough release, Shake Your Skinny Ass All The Way To Zygertron, quite possibly the finest space-funk album we've ever seen in these parts.  

Random Five: Best Cinema Experiences of 2019

Just a quick run through the best of this year’s flicks as seen in a cinema or theatre. Just films or documentaries I had to make some effort to go out to see. Therefore, it does not include Netflix options, or any others viewed from the plush comfort of the everythingsgonegreen lounge. Or indeed, in the case of the excellent Chills documentary, any viewed from the cramped confines of an international flight.

Amazing Grace

I raved about this one here and it was truly exceptional. As close to a religious experience as I’ve ever had. Well, inside four walls anyway, without chemical assistance, but let’s not dwell on that point too much. 29-years-young Aretha Franklin is the star of this Sydney Pollack-directed documentary covering her two-day/night performance stint at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles in January of 1972. A performance that doubled as the recording session(s) for the best-selling gospel album of all-time. Not a biopic, but a grainy flaws-n-all film that captures a mere snapshot of a moment in time. But what a moment it is. Not only the best music-related film I viewed all year, one of the best I’ve seen over the past decade.

Wild Rose 

This was a pleasant surprise. I went to it without much knowledge of what I was about to see. A young solo Mum with a troubled past (Jessie Buckley as Rose-Lynn Harlan), dreams of becoming a country music star in Nashville. The only problem is she’s in Glasgow, fresh out of prison, and struggling to put her life back on track. Julie Walters plays Marion, a firm but generally supportive mother to Rose-Lynn, and the film is as much about family dynamics and responsibilities as it is about trying to make it in show business. But no spoilers here, suffice to say Buckley is outstanding in this Tom Harper-directed festival hit. 

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

I had built this one up in my mind as a “must see” long before it was released. And that’s never a good thing to do. Tarantino, DiCaprio, Pitt, plus any number of sneaky cameos … what could possibly go wrong? Quite a bit, as it turns out. First things first, the positives: the setting is late 60s Hollywood (clue in the title, huh) and Tarantino’s attention to period/location detail is sublime. Each of the leading men are outstanding. DiCaprio as a fading star, Pitt as his stunt guy and close buddy. Pacino’s cameo is also great. Now, the negatives: it was too long, meandering, and for all of the style, I felt it generally lacked real substance. I think if you’re going to pull actual events from history (Manson family killings) and incorporate them into your work of fiction, you may as well try to portray those events as accurately as possible. Quentin Tarantino didn’t do that. It was a bastardised account of what actually happened. I also felt the occasional narration was odd and seemingly a bit random. But I did enjoy it immensely for the style and the soundtrack, naturally, as it wouldn’t otherwise be on this list.

Jojo Rabbit

Taika Waititi is a special talent. Not only as a director but as an actor. Both extraordinary talents are showcased in Jojo Rabbit, Waititi’s quirky screen adaption of the previously little known Christine Leunens novel, Caging Skies (2008). It’s the story of Jojo, wonderfully played by Roman Griffin Davis, a young boy growing up in World War 2-era Nazi Germany. Jojo, notionally a Hitler Youth recruit, has an imaginary friend – a mostly amusing version of Adolf Hitler (played by Waititi) – and a mother (Scarlett Johansson) who is secretly hiding a young Jewish girl in the family’s attic. That’s the basic premise, and the launch pad for any number of dark and satirical sub-plots to be enjoyed on a reality-suspending superficial level. Just don’t scratch too far below that surface … while I did enjoy it for its comedy and escapism, I can also understand criticism the film received due to a perceived lack of empathy for the genuine horror of events like the holocaust.

Ride Like A Girl

Horse racing seems to be attracting a lot of negative feedback lately, but I’m just going to come out here and say it – I’m a big fan of the sport of kings. If you know me well, you’ll know I love nothing more than heading out to small country racecourses – the smaller and more isolated the better – on balmy summer days to take in a little bit of horse on horse action (ooooer!). Yes, yes, I hear the “woke” arguments around problems within the thoroughbred industry, and I could present you with a few counter arguments, but this is neither the time nor place. I went to Ride Like A Girl because I love horses, I love underdog stories, and I love a bit of regional history. Ride Like A Girl is the story of Michelle Payne (played by Teresa Palmer), who became the first woman jockey to ride a Melbourne Cup winner – aboard 100-1 New Zealand-bred outsider Prince of Penzance – in 2015. As such it is a true story about female empowerment, about overcoming prejudice, about role-modelling, and about breaking down long-entrenched barriers. Sam Neill excels as Paddy Payne, Michelle’s Dad. Directed by Rachel Griffiths, it was my “feelgood” movie of the year, and I may or may not have had a seriously annoying lump in my throat at its conclusion.

Choice Kiwi Cuts 2019: Miss June - Anomaly

Of all the gigs I attended in 2019, few captured the spirit of raw rock n roll quite like Miss June’s mid-year set at Wellington’s Meow. It may have been a midweek gig, I can’t recall, but I do know I wasn’t feeling particularly up for it. No problem: the band quickly won me over with its adrenalin-infused version of homegrown punk and obligatory wild stage antics. At one point, vocalist Annabel Liddell was swinging from the rafters, or more specifically, the ceiling-mounted lighting trusses, and it felt like everyone in the room was on the verge of rioting just for the sheer hell of it. Good times. The band's best known track is probably 'Best Girl', but I think footage from this clip for 'Anomaly' - an album cut from their Bad Luck Party debut - perhaps best captures the band's live energy.

Choice Kiwi Cuts 2019: Rory Storm - Greta Thunberg addresses the UN

I know very little about Wellington producer Rory Storm, but I thought his Greta Thunberg UN address edit/remix was something quite special. This tension-driven pulsing electronic track captured the sense of urgency and requisite feelings of angst Thunberg’s words demanded. And yes, high profile dude Fatboy Slim did something similar, which garnered way more social media attention, but don’t sleep on Storm’s effort, which flew well under the radar. There’s no YouTube clip for this one so I’ve included a Bandcamp link (name your price).

Introducing ... Secrets of the Sun

Joseph James is a friend of everythingsgonegreen, and a modest guy who blogs under the exquisite rock n roll handle, Will Not Fade (click here). Over the past few years his blog has introduced me to a good number of post-rock and psych-rock bands I otherwise wouldn’t have known much about, most notably, Ranges, and stuff from the label, A Thousand Arms. 

James is also the drummer for the Wellington-based band, Secrets of the Sun, who have just released a debut track on Bandcamp called ‘Suffer With The Moon’. As debut releases go, it's an impressive hybrid of dark-ish indie and psych-rock. Check it out below.

Secrets of the Sun play Wellington's Valhalla this coming Thursday, November 28.

Choice Kiwi Cuts 2019: Beat Rhythm Fashion - Hard As Hell

If there was an annual gong for the least expected local comeback of the year, you’d be hard pressed to look beyond Beat Rhythm Fashion. Sure, Blam Blam Blam’s barely anticipated late-winter national tour attracted a lot of plaudits, and rightly so, but BRF had already taken things one step further, not only touring in the autumn, but actually releasing an album containing a whole bunch of new material. ‘Hard As Hell’ was the first single culled from the album, Tenterhook, and it became a firm favourite for anyone who witnessed Nino Birch, Rob Mayes, and Caroline Easther play those precious and heartfelt live shows …  

Gig Review: Gang of Four, San Fran, Wellington, 13 November 2019

I broke a golden rule. A personal rule. The one which dictates that I don’t go to see reformed bands from the 80s unless something close to an original line-up remains intact. 

At the Gang of Four gig at San Fran last Wednesday night, the only original band member still in place was guitarist Andy Gill, who represents just one quarter of the band’s famed foursome of Allen, Burnham, King, and Gill. That’s the Gang of Four who made the band’s most feted album, Entertainment!, back in 1979. The album we were all there to celebrate the 40th anniversary of, all these years on.

The venue was nonetheless packed. A sell out, some nine months on from when the gig was initially scheduled (and postponed due to Gill’s illness). A planned second Wellington gig on the Thursday was also in the process of selling out (and may well have done so).

As it turned out, my “rule” was exposed for the nonsense it probably is. Gang of Four were super impressive on the night, and the “new” band members - Thomas McNeice (bass), John Sterry (vocals/melodica), and Tobias Humble (drums) - all added a lot of life, energy, and love to a set of tunes that have stood the test of time.

The fractured funk rhythms of ‘Anthrax’ kicked things off in no uncertain terms, offering an early taste of the pulverising basslines that tend to dominate the band’s best work.

We then got a procession of the politically-motivated tunes that have always best represented the beating heart of Entertainment!, with stand-outs (for me) including ‘Not Great Men’, ‘At Home He’s A Tourist’, ‘Guns Before Butter’, and ‘Damaged Goods’, before a raucous take on ‘I Found That Essence Rare’ took things to a mid-set peak and a curious (yet brief) interlude.

After the short break, the band then set about ticking the promised “other hits” box, a pick and mix assortment which basically amounted to a “best of the rest” of non-Entertainment! cuts. Highlights included ‘I Love A Man In Uniform’ (off Songs of the Free), and the closing track ‘What We All Want’ (off Solid Gold).

This segment also included energetic vocalist Sterry taking to a strategically placed on-stage microwave with a rather large piece of wood, something which might be considered a bizarre turn of events were it not completely aligned with the band’s well documented anti-consumerism stance. In this instance it seems a poor microwave was deemed the night’s symbol of capitalist repression.

Shortly before 11pm, after something close to 90 minutes (all told) the gig was done, and Gang of Four exited the stage without an encore – or even any requests for an encore. It’s odd perhaps, but that seemed about right for this gig; surely nobody would have felt short-changed by what they'd just witnessed, and Gang of Four have always been about breaking those time-honoured pesky rules. 

No regrets from me either that I’d broken one of my own rules in order to attend. There are certain bands and albums that transcend any level of ridiculous rock-snobbery. I’ve been regularly listening to Entertainment! for roughly 35 years, so original band or not, I wasn’t going to pass up the rare chance to see it performed live.

And maybe it’s a rule that I’ll need to be more flexible with in future? 

(Support had been provided by veteran local post-punkers the Uncools, but I caught only the tail end of that set, walking in to hear the closer (and Snapper cover), ‘Buddy’, which immediately had me questioning my tardy arrival time and wondering what else I may have missed.)

Choice Kiwi Cuts 2019: Pitch Black - One Ton Skank

Pitch Black are firm local favourites of this blog. 2019 saw the dynamic techno-dub duo return with yet another extraordinary album, Third Light, and while I could probably lift any track from that set to feature here, ‘One Ton Skank’ perhaps best represents everything that makes Pitch Black so special. These guys continue to stay one step ahead of the chasing pack ...

Choice Kiwi Cuts 2019: Aldous Harding - The Barrel

As we approach the end of every year and our lives are propelled into the chaos that tends to align itself with the festive season, everythingsgonegreen likes to reflect on the year that was. Before things get too mad and overwhelming to the extent that blogging becomes a mere afterthought. For a few years there was a countdown of the tracks which enjoyed the most pod-time on your blogger’s device, regardless of origin or genre, but last year I narrowed the scope to include only clips or tracks from artists based in New Zealand or those at least, who identified as “Kiwi” artists. That seemed to work quite well, so I’ll stick with that for 2019’s countdown. I’ll try to post ten favourites between now and the end of the year. 

Therefore, it makes absolute sense to start this year’s set with the tune that won the 2019 APRA Silver Scroll award; Aldous Harding’s weird and wonderful ‘The Barrel’, one of those tunes that tended to grow in stature the more I listened to it. A bit of a creeper, if you like ...

Gig Review: The Beths, San Fran, Wellington, 8 November 2019

Sometimes you just know when you’re in the company of a band right at the top of its game. I got a sense of that earlier this year at a wild midweek Miss June set at Meow, and there was a distinct whiff of it last Friday night at San Fran with The Beths.

Tiny Ruins guy A.C. Freazy (and full band) offered a pretty decent synth-poppy opening set which culminated with The Beths surprising the packed venue by appearing on stage to assist with a closing cover of Sheryl Crow’s ‘If It Makes You Happy’ ... something that resulted in a fairly lively crowd singalong.

That rousing support finale put pressure on The Beths to hit the ground running immediately, and the band didn’t disappoint, opening their set proper with a tight, driving take on ‘You Wouldn’t Like Me’, the first of many cuts from the band’s popular debut album of 2018. 

Those tunes included long-time favourites like ‘Whatever’ and that album’s title track, ‘Future Me Hates Me’, but it’s clear that a follow-up album can’t be too far away, with the set also serving as an introduction to a good number of new songs, all of which sound great in a live setting. 

We also got an unexpected cover of Crowded House’s ‘Fall At Your Feet’, a rare quieter moment, but an equally well received one as the gig then built to a stirring crescendo, and the band closed an hour-plus set rather fittingly with ‘Little Death’, one of my own favourites from Future Me Hates Me.

While I’ve seen The Beths before, I haven’t seen them in this sort of form before, at a peak level where the band has clearly benefitted from the busy touring schedule undertaken over the past year or so – both at home and overseas.

There’s a sense that they’ve improved markedly during those sojourns and there was a tightness and an air of confidence about this San Fran gig – the first of two successive nights at the venue – something that wasn’t always evident the last time I saw The Beths at Meow in September last year.

A triumphant return.