When it is bad . . .
The worst music in the history of the world gets an airing at the Fortune Theatre next week.
Australian comedian Fiona Scott-Norman has dug into her personal music collection in The Needle and the Damage Done, which also includes stand-up comedy. May12-May 17.
Eastern promise
An exhibition of Chinese artworks gathered over 20 years by former University of Otago Chinese language lecturer Tang Dee opens tomorrow at the Sew Hoy Gallery, Stafford St, including ceramics, bronzes, lacquerware, marble sculptures and giant vases.
Poems and skits
Trinity College, Dublin, associate professor of physics and poet Iggy McGovern will be reading some of his poems at the University of Otago's Archway 2 Lecture Theatre on Monday, May 11 at 5.10pm.
Also at the university this week is the capping show Ghostbusters (see listing below).
Gigs
Alibi, the Octagon. Fridays, 7pm-11pm: Mbryo, lounge jazz.
Bath St. Tonight, 9pm: P Money with support from James Ashwin (Ak), Midnight Mischief (Ak), Jash, Matt McNeil-Abstrack, and Fishy G.
Tomorrow, 9pm: Klute (UK D'n'b) with Emma G and Jess H (Liquid Recreation, Ak) and Undertow.
Saturday, 9pm: Liquid Recreation - The Bath Street Edition with Emma G B2b, Jess Hartley, Woosh, Mohanz & Gus.
Clarendon Hotel, 28 MacLaggan St. Sunday: "Big Belly Woman" - Pacific groove.
Chicks Hotel, Port Chalmers. Saturday, 8.30pm: John Egenes.
Circadian Rhythm Cafe, 72 St Andrew St. Fridays, 5.30pm: Philtre Jazz Trio.
Dunedin Musicians Club, 12 Manse St. Thursdays, 5pm: Open mike night.
Ironic Cafe, 9 Anzac Ave. Tonight, 7pm: The Bobby Vinson Combo.
Isis Lounge, 68 Princes St. Every Thursday: Oxo Cubans, jam night, 8.30pm.
Friday, 9pm: The Hands Of Every Man and Amanda Goodwin and band.
Pequeno, the Savoy. Thursdays: Mojaz, lounge music from 8pm.
Ra Cafe and Bar, 21 the Octagon. Tonight, 10pm: Jordan Higham and Ali Romanos.
Tomorrow, 6pm: Ben Wood.
Tomorrow and Saturday, 10pm: DJ Dal.
Refuel, Otago University. Tonight, 9pm: Double Trouble - your scarfie sound system.
Tomorrow, 9pm: Human with guests.
May 12, 8pm: Jazz in the Pocket.
May 13, 9pm: Sonic Smith.
Robbie Burns Pub, 374 George St. Thursdays: Calder Prescott Jazz Quartet, 8.30pm.
Rosie's Bar, Victoria Hotel. Thursdays, 9pm: Open mike night. Gear provided.
Sammy's, 65 Crawford St. Thursday, 8pm: open mike night.
Saturday, 9pm: The Nice Up. Reggae music with DJ selectors Jah Red, Jungle Fari, Hennez, Laafta, turntablist Endo, and a live performance by Diwata.
Terrace Bar, the Octagon. Friday and Saturday nights: Livewire.
Family fun
Knox Church, 449 George St. Friday, 1.30pm-2.30pm: Preschool music for children 0-5 and carers. Mosgiel Library, Hartstonge Ave, Mosgiel: preschool story time, every Tuesday, 11am, free.
Otago Museum, 419 Great King St. Explorer backpacks for 7-to-12-year-olds (free).
Guided tours daily at 11.30am and 3.30pm. Meet at the information desk.
Weekends, 10.30am and 2pm, Atrium level 1: Children's creative activities.
Weekends during May, 2.30pm: "Nature's Bounty", learn about hunter-gathering and wild food safety. Search centre, free.
Every Saturday and Sunday during May, Nature Galleries, 12.30pm & 3.30pm: Interactive Trolley: Treasures of the Sea.
Sunday, all day, atrium level 1: Mother's Day - Create a gift for Mum. Free.
Otago Settlers Museum, 31 Queens Gardens. "Women of Dunedin", walking tour led by Dr Dorothy Page. Meet at the museum. Booking essential: ph 474-2728
Port Chalmers Library, preschool story time, every Wednesday, 10.30am, excludes school holidays, free.
Visitor Information Centre, Octagon. Daily, 11am: Walk Dunedin, inner-city walking tours. Meet at the Visitor Centre.
Music and performance Academy Cinema Dundas St. May 13, 7.30pm: Comedy night.
Alexandra Memorial Hall , Friday, 7.30pm: Roxburgh Pioneer Generation Brass Band and Central Otago Regional Training Orchestra.
Dunedin City Library, 230 Moray Pl. Tomorrow: 4pm, Teen Space, Peter Lewis; 6pm, Kristin Macdonald.
Saturday, 1.30pm, 1st floor: Jae Bedford & Miriam Craig.
Sunday, 1,30pm, 1st floor: Emergency + Phone and Aaron Sharma.
Knox Church, 449 George St, today 12.15pm: "Journey to the Sky" - Spirituals and other choral music presented by the Otago Girls High School & Otago Boys High School Choirs. Sandra Crawshaw, piano; Karen Knudson, conductor.
Knox College, Ross Chapel. Tomorrow, 8pm: Robin Wilson and Kemp English.
Mosgiel Library, tomorrow 2pm: Beverley Kay.
Marama Hall, Otago University. Wednesday, 1pm: Department of music lunchtime concert: Senior performance students present a recital of vocal and instrumental works.
Port Chalmers Library, tonight, 7pm: Robert Scott.
Regent Theatre, The Octagon, tonight: Kevin Bloody Wilson.
Otago Museum, 419 Great King St. Lunchtime music, Fridays and Saturdays. This week: Sandra Crawshaw and Charlotte Francis/James Yoo. Sunday, Atrium level 1, 1pm: "Native".
Plays
Allen Hall Theatre , corner Union and Leith streets. Today and tomorrow, 1pm: The Proposal, by Anton Chekhov, translated by Stuart Young and directed by Cindy Diver.
Fortune Theatre, corner Moray Pl and Stuart St. Until May 10: Emma, directed by Lisa Warrington.
May 9, 3pm: Play reading: Peninsula by Gary Henderson.
May 12-17, 8pm: Fiona Scott-Norman's The Needle and The Damage Done. A top 10 of the worst records ever released.
Capping Show: Ghostbusters, May 13-16 and May 18-23 at the University of Otago College of Education auditorium, 7.30pm.
Talks and films
Dunedin Film Society, Red Lecture Theatre, Great King St. May 13, 7.30pm: Gus Van Sant's Mala Noche.
Hocken Collections, Otago University. Today, 1pm: Curator's exhibition floor talk: Heather Straka, "The Sleeping Room"Hocken Library Seminar Room,, Otago University.
Until May 8, 12.10pm-1pm: "Epistolatory Perspectives".
Lunchtime seminar serieson personal letters as archives and what they can tell about people's lives.
May 7: Dr Donald Kerr: "Publishing Contributions: Dr Hocken's First Literary Venture".
Prof Tom Brooking: "Avenues of Influence: From Advocates to Uncrowned Kings".
Dunedin Public Art Gallery, the Octagon. Saturday, 3pm: James Belich's The New Zealand Wars.
Episodes 3 and 4, The Invasion of Waikato (50min G) and Taranaki Prophets (50min G).
Sunday, 3pm: Curators of "Te Huringa/Turning Points" Dr Jo Diamond (lecturer in Maori art history, University of Canterbury) and Peter Shaw (curator, Fletcher Trust collection), give a floor talk.
Guided Tours: 12.30pm Wednesday and 1.30pm Sunday throughout May: "Frances Hodgkins: femme du monde". Free.
Otago Museum, 419 Great King St. Free daily talks, 2pm. Topics in May: Mondays: "Queen Liliuokalani". Learn about the last queen of Hawaii and her cape.
Tuesdays: "Totem Pole". Wednesdays: "The Clyde Dam".
Thursdays: "The Rat King". The origins of Otago Museum's rat king.
Fridays: "The Wedding Gown". Throughout history, women have tried to make their wedding dress special to suit the occasion.
Saturdays: "Earnscleugh Cave". This archive of prehistoric Otago wildlife is in Conroy's Gully near Alexandra.
Sundays: "Haast's Eagle". The extinct Haast eagle was the largest bird of prey the world has seen.
Special exhibition gallery talks, daily during May, 4.30pm: Andris Apse.
Tomorrow, 7pm: An Evening with Andris Apse - join Andris as he shares his experiences of the Antarctic. Saturday, Hutton Theatre, 2pm: Photography workshop with Andris Apse.
University of Otago, poetry reading by Trinity College, Dublin, associate professor of physics and poet Iggy McGovern, Archway 2 Lecture Theatre, Monday May 11, 5.10pm.
Exhibitions
Aigantighe Art Gallery, 49 Wai-iti Rd, Timaru. Until May 17: Dennis de Visser: "The Waste Land" and aXs: "The Miners and the Sheiks".
Anchorage Gallery, 19 George St, Port Chalmers. "Connections", new works by Elizabeth Marshall and Kirsten Wenborn.
Archives New Zealand, Dunedin Regional Office, 556 George St. Until May 29: "City of Letters".
Exhibition of personal letters and archives.
Art Upstairs, corner Ardmore and Helwick streets, Wanaka. "Vive le Coq", sculpture by Chris Meder.
Bellamys Gallery, Macandrew Bay, Until May 23: "Wildflowers" by Pauline Bellamy. Open Wed-Fri 11am-5pm, Sat-Sun noon-5pm.
Blue Oyster Gallery, basement, Moray Chambers, 30 Moray Pl. Until May 16: "Instructional Models", a collective exhibition featuring artists from Melbourne and Dunedin.
Brett McDowell Gallery, 5 Dowling St. "The Untitled" by Jeffrey Harris.
Central Stories Museum and Art Gallery, 21 Centennial Ave, Alexandra. Until May 31: "Toiling In Oils", by Alastair Begg. Open 10am-4pm.
Dunedin Community Gallery, Princes St. Until May 16: Dunedin Photographic Society, Members Autumn Print Exhibition.
Dunedin City Library, 230 Moray Pl, Reed Gallery, 3rd floor. Until July 26: "O for a Thousand Tongues": Hymns from the Colin Gibson Collection.
Dunedin Public Art Gallery, the Octagon. Until June 21: Michael Morley: "You Say You Don't Love Me".
Until May 24: "Catharine Hodson: Touching the Unthinkable". Catharine Hodson's successful treatment for breast cancer three years ago was the starting point for this installation.
Until May 17: "Di ffrench: Activating Ideas".
Until June 17: "Te Huringa/Turning Points": includes work by Francis Dillon Bell, Shane Cotton, Augustus Earle, Robert Ellis, Charles Goldie, Michael Hight, Robyn Kahukiwa, Colin McCahon, Selwyn Muru, Buck Nin, Peter Robinson, and Gordon Walters.
Ongoing: "Hail Falls Noisily on Bamboo Leaves: Japanese Prints from the Dunedin Public Art Gallery Collection".
Ongoing: "The Grand Tour: Works from the Dunedin Public Art Gallery Collection".
Until July 19: Ben Buchanan: "Sleeping".
Until July 26: "Francis Hodgkins: femme du monde".
Eastern Southland Gallery, Gore. Until May 10: Melvin Day: "Stabat Mater".
Forrester Gallery, 9 Thames St, Oamaru. Until June 7: "Brigid", Robin White. Works from the gallery collection.
Until June 14: "45 Minutes on the Somme" Michael Shepherd. Drawings created in 1986 relating to an attack on September 15, 1916.
Until June 7: "Been There (still here!) Done That" - works from the collection selected by former and current staff to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Forrester.
Gallery De Novo, 101 Stuart St, Dunedin. New work by Mahiriki Tangaroa, Geoffrey Robinson and Mark McLeod.
Gateway Gallery, 27 Ross Pl, Lawrence.
Perpetual Collective: Ron Esplin, Bob Wyber (jewellery), James Stewart (chair-maker), Pamela Brown, Gay Webb (masks and torsos), Ray Ansin (glass), Ben Woollcombe, Margaret Palmer-McKenzie, Blue Hall (wood), Murray Ayson, Gilbert van Reenen, and others. Open Thursday-Monday.
Harris Smith Art, 86-88 Bond St. Paintings by Jeffrey Harris, sculptures by Nicole Page-Smith.
Open Monday-Saturday, 1pm-2pm, or by appointment.
Hocken Gallery, corner Anzac Ave and Parry St. Until May 23: Heather Straka, "The Sleeping Room".
Inge Doesburg Studio and Gallery, 6 Castle St. Open Thu-Sat, noon-2pm and by appointment.
Lakes District Museum, Arrowtown. Until May 17: Arrowtown Autumn Festival Art Exhibition.
Milford Galleries, Dunedin, 18 Dowling St. From Saturday: New works by Gary Waldrom.
Milford Galleries, Queenstown, 9a Earl St. Until May 14: "Zeigen", Lorraine Rastorfer.
Moray Gallery, 55 Princes St. Until May 23: "We're All Dancing on the Same Floor", works by Eion Shanks.
Otago Museum, 419 Great King St. "Charles Darwin: Evolutionary Thinking", Nature Galleries, level 3, free.
Until October 4: "Charles Brasch - A Great Good Man", People of the World Gallery, Free.
Until June 21: "Focus on a Frozen Land", photographer Andris Apse explores the Antarctic.
Until June 1: 100+ Southern Architecture: Then, now and next.
Otago Settlers Museum, 31 Queens Gardens. Until October 11: "Paint-box Pioneers: Visions of the Past from the Otago Settlers Museum Art Collection".
Until June: "Chinese Treasures", the history and interests of the Chinese community of Dunedin.
Ongoing: "Across the Ocean Waves", Otago immigration in the age of sail.
Until May 24: "We Will Remember Them".
Renaissance Gallery and Sculpture Garden, corner Junction Rd and Matai St, Ravensbourne.
Until May 18: "Take 5" - paintings by Jacqueline, Anya and Bella Sinclair, and Rachel Elder, haiku by Cameron Sinclair.
Rocda Gallery, 73 Princes St. Neil Emmerson: "The Glass Closet".
Sew Hoy Gallery , 29 Stafford St. From Friday: "In the Dragons' Footsteps". Chinese artifacts.
South Seas Gallery, 1088 Brighton Rd, Brighton, Until May 31: "Shades of Autumn". Weekends, 1pm-5pm.
Stuart St Potters Co-operative, 14 Lower Stuart St. Until May 9: Paddy Carr and Nicole Kolig.
Temple Gallery, 29 Moray Pl, Dunedin. Until May 12: "Te Karaka ki Te Tai o Arai-Te-Uru", curated by Simon Kaan.
Toi O Tahuna Fine Art Gallery, Church Lane, Queenstown. Until May 13: Exhibitions by Ewan McDougall and Jenufa Waiti.
University of Otago, De Beer Gallery, first floor, central library. Until July 3: "Beetles, Barnacles, Orchids and the Origin of Species: Charles Darwin and his legacy".
Mon-Fri, 8.30am-5pm.
Tell us
Promote your event by giving details to the Otago Daily Times. Information must arrive by 3pm on Tuesday for Thursday's paper. Fax 474-7422 or email playlist@odt.co.nz
