Melange of music

Bo and the Constrictors. Photo: supplied
Bo and the Constrictors. Photo: supplied
If you’re kicking about at home with nothing to do on Saturday night, you might want to check what’s on at Dog with Two Tails, writes Fraser Thompson.

Bo and the Constrictors are headlining a tidy wee gig featuring a melange of musical acts which should offer something for almost everyone.

Boaz Anema is the Bo in Bo and the Constrictors and he’s also the ‘‘master of melange’’.

‘‘We’ve got Lara Rose starting off the night,’’ he explains. ‘‘She’s a folk singer-songwriter. Then we’ve got The Prizillas, that’s a female-fronted ukulele band with bass, drums and keys as well.

‘‘And then Coin Laundry is Tom Garland, Mike Holland and Chris Miller, who’s also from The Entire Alphabet. Coin Laundry I would describe as sort of garage rock, hard rock, so it gets progressively heavier through the night.

‘‘And then us to finish off the night.’’

And who is ‘‘us’’? Bo and the Constrictors has been a band for a couple of years. Bo describes the group as ‘‘a four-piece modern vintage pop rock band’’ with ‘‘elements of soul and reggae’’, which sounds about right. If you enjoy blues guitar, soul vocals and the tinkling of a Hammond organ you’ll probably like it.

‘‘We’ve got the old-school sound, and we’ve kind of got dance upbeat tracks and stuff, trying to make people boogey.

‘‘We’re kind of going for that fun, high energy, get the crowd moving thing. We’ve got some kind of slower jazzier tunes, too, so it’s a bit of a mixed bag.’’

If the name Boaz Anema seems familiar to you but you can’t quite put your finger on it, it could be because he’s a regular at Dunedin Social Club, playing mostly covers until the wee hours of the morning, but the Dog with Two Tails gig will be a different kettle of fish.

‘‘One of the conflicting issues, as a musician, especially performing, is when you’re playing Wagon Wheel and you’ve got all those people singing along and having a great time, you’re like ‘This is what I love as a musician’, you want that, but you kind of want that with your own music, so you play an original and the crowd just disappears and it’s like, ‘That hurts’.

It’s true, you won’t get those audiences just anywhere.

‘‘The one thing I really noticed with the lockdown was it was really nice to just stay in my room and actually practice guitar more consistently, but I really missed the interaction with a live crowd.

‘‘I did the live streaming at the start; I did the first 10 days straight, but by the time I got to that 10th day I was burning out, the ideas just weren't coming to me, and because there wasn’t a crowd there to react right away it was a lot different.’’

The gig starts at 7pm and should be done by about 10.30pm, meaning you’ll be able to experience some stellar live music AND get a good night’s sleep, which is, honestly, really appreciated these days.

For more from Fraser Thompson go to dunedinsound.com.


The gig

‘‘Night At The Dog’’ featuring Bo and the Constrictors, Coin Laundry, The Prizillas and Lara Rose
Saturday night at Dog with Two Tails
Doors open 6.30pm. Tickets $10 on the door.

 

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