After a brief period of oppressive, unbearable heat, the city is slowly beginning to venture out again, and the gig prospects for the near-future look bright. Here are a few of my picks over the coming weeks.
Methchrist is playing the Crown Hotel tonight with The Rothmans, BusPuncher and Swamp Dweller. Methchrist is probably Dunedin’s finest metal band, so you really owe it to yourself to see them at least once. The Rothmans have pretty much reached legendary status by this point. BusPuncher, previously known as Turbulent Juice, play crusty D-beat, and although I’ve never seen them live, I’m told they’re sludgy. Should be a good one for fans of classic summer jams. It’s $10.
On Sunday, the entrants for the annual Robbie Rocks competition will be rocking the Octagon with recontextualised versions of Robbie Burns’ classic poems, while Robbie himself gazes down at them in all his bronze glory. It’s free and starts at 2pm. If the weather’s bad it’ll be at Toitu Otago Settlers Museum.
Later in the evening you could head to Inch Bar and treat yourself to a pint while Nick Cornish and Bill Martin navigate their vast repertoire of bebop, Latin and Jazz standards via saxophone and keys. Bill Martin is a hell of a pianist, and while I haven’t seen Nick Cornish play I don’t doubt he’s an equally fearsome saxophonist. And it’s free.
On Thursday, Wellington band The Raskolnikovs will rock Dog With Two Tails with their ‘‘drunken Russian polka-rock’’. Local sound synthesis mogul Stef Animal is supporting them with a band of some sort. And it’s free too, although the seven beers and curly fries you’ll inevitably consume will definitely come at a cost.
On February 2, Connan Mockasin is again gracing the city with his lovely, lovely, lovely presence and playing a gig at a secret location (!). Connan’s another one of those NZ artists whose overseas presence dwarfs his NZ presence. He’s been hanging with the likes of MGMT, James Blake and Mac Demarco over the past year or so and brings with him a whole new album of intimate psychedelia. I saw him open for Radiohead in 2012 and secretly thought he was better than the English rockers so I can’t wait to see him again.
I think it’s also worth mentioning the various open mike nights still going around Dunedin. Tuesday has both The Bog and The Craic doing theirs. On Wednesday, Dog With Two Tails has one, hosted by Jared Smith, who is also a killer guitarist and vocalist in a variety of bands. And on Thursday Craft Bar does theirs.
Open mike nights always have a special place in my heart. The quality of the performances isn’t the point, it’s about providing a positive atmosphere for talented or not-so talented individuals to open their hearts to a room of music lovers. I love the fuzzy feeling I get as torrents of creative juices spill forth from the stage and bathe my tired flesh. It’s a great way to spend an evening.
- For more from Fraser Thompson go to dunedinsound.com.
