Today I was walking down Victoria Street and I passed a Chinese restaurant that smelled like cat piss. A few steps later some incense wafting into the street from a massage parlor warmly smothered the cat piss.
It was a humid day today, which seems to make everything unbearable. Usually I like the combination of cat piss and incense, but the humidity ruined it.
I have a song by the Beastie Boys stuck in my head called The Brouhaha. I signed up to Twitter.
Fin.
Words by Amanda Ratcliffe
Since forming in 2006, Christchurch’s very own, Pig Out have performed a number of shows all around the world. Sydney, LA, New York…they’ve done it all. They have even headlined the Midi Festival on the French Riviera and played a four-hour non-stop set in Berlin…but by far their most intriguing show to date has got to be performing at a rave held in a container ship in the Barcelona Harbor. How amazing do these kids sound? And they’ve managed all this in the space of just four years.
With all the touring and what not, it’s hard to imagine that there would be time to sit down and record, but that’s where you’re wrong, my friends. You might be familiar with a mini album named Club Poems that was released in 2008 – of which received a huge amount of recognition and top ratings from some of our country’s most loved and respected music reviewers. And then there is the team’s latest concoction that goes under the name Rave X.
To be honest with you, I couldn’t pick a better-suited name for such an album, filled with new and sophisticated sounds from the hot act that now reside in Auckland. These guys sure know how to cook up a storm and first track on the album to prove it is appropriately titled Wicked. Top Boy – which you will have already heard on indie stations scattered around the country follows featuring a few vocals, which sound a little on the English side...Sometimes this bugs me, but with this team, not so much.
It’s not until the third track on the disc that you’ll be forced to get off your lazy ass (if you haven’t already) and dance off a few pounds. It’s fast-paced and will give you a clear understanding on the reason why these guys are so popular at all of those fancy clubs. Get your glow sticks out, coz’ this is gonna’ be madness! From here on in, I would strongly advise you to keep your dancing shoes on, because you’ll most likely become one of those ravers covered in fluro paint / singlets and whatever else comes in neon these days.
I’m sweating just imagining what these guys are like live – especially after another strategically titled tune – Genius. Are you loving the names of these songs as much as me right now? This is certainly one to be turned up to maximum volume - with the heavy bass blaring. And, hey – no need to worry about the neighboring houses on this balmy school night…I’m sure if noise control turned up they’d end up joining your house party instead, so just go ahead and enjoy, yeah?
Electronic treat, Anthem is an absolute must to anyone in need of a quick pick me up, coz’ you’ll be back on your feet in no time. Can I suggest this as your early morning workout song of choice? Maybe after that party we were just talking about? Big Mouth is stunningly futuristic and reminds me of times spent playing on my cousin’s bright red Casio keyboard. It is the nineteen eighties, right? What ever it is, and where ever we are, Rave X is def. one to be checked out before you check out...
Written for Muzic.net
Words by Amanda Ratcliffe
Over the past twenty years, Parachute’s audience has grown from 12 hundred to 24 thousand eager Christian music supporters, and from the looks of things, there’s certainly no slowing down. Fans from all over – including Australia, headed out to Mystery Creek in Hamilton this weekend, and I was lucky enough to be part of it on the stifling hot Saturday.
Now, when you’re part of the media, you get treated to all kinds of things that aren’t part of the norm when it comes to these kinds of festivals. One of the things that was most enjoyable was sitting in on the press conferences through the morning to learn more about the main acts set to hit the stages in the evening.
Reporters from all around Australasia crammed into a rather balmy space to find out just what makes these bands tick, and first to tell us were rockers, all the way from San Diego – Switchfoot. They started out in 1996, so of course by now these guys are pretty well-known and are played quite regularly on The Rock radio station right here in New Zealand.
These guys are surprisingly down to earth and like the rest of the musicians interviewed, are true believers of their faith. The lads stick by their families and know that without such understanding from them, there is no way that they would be doing what they’re doing with their careers.
While they admit that being away and touring for months on end is tough, the reward of coming home and being able to spend three months at a time with their families is something that is deeply valued and rewarding.
If you remember my words from last year’s event you’ll recall a little crush that I have come to form over Atlanta’s very own Family Force 5. It started with a fondness for their look, which very quickly turned into a love of their incredible crunk rock tunes and outstanding on stage performance. The lads are extremely tight – and I don’t just mean as an act, but also in the ‘family’ sense.
Having just come back from ‘shearing sheep down the road’, the guys got into a wee discussion about their loves in life - their wives, their children, music and naturally, God – all of which work in harmony to make them who they are.
Youngsters, Leeland have received an amazing amount of much deserved praise over the past few years. They’re incredibly down-to-earth and when asked what they would be doing if it weren’t for music, they respond that they would easily fit back into the lives they led before in their hometowns. It’s not about fame, but singing about what they truly believe in that is most important.
For this attitude and their talent it’s pretty obvious how they have come to where they are in the world. These guys are popular in their own right and were an absolute pleasure to watch later on in the day.
Wellington based Rapture Ruckus formed about nine years ago now, and since then has released three popular records and supported hundreds of acts throughout Europe, Africa, North America and Asia. Front-man Brad Dring is clearly the star of the show and always puts on an effortless, but stunning live performance.
This year’s show at Parachute was no different as Dring raced around the stage jumping onto speakers and (strategically placed) metal tables. Clearly loving every moment of it, it was just delightful to see him watching the crowd get into it, and in turn playing off that energy. The band will be heading of to the States next, and are unsure of when they’ll be back.
Worship based musicians Leeland were next to take the Palladium stage, and after seeing these guys earlier, it was an absolute must to see what they’re all about in the musical sense. Although I don’t know a lot about this genre, these guys are not only beautiful to listen to, but also to watch. Mooring’s vocals are to die for and remind me a lot of the wonderful, David Kelley.
Mind you, it wasn’t just his performance that stood out, but also his brother, Jack on the keyboards who was really feelin’ it – right through to his fingertips. Not at all focused on the audience’s reaction he just got in there and went for gold. Eyes closed, hands in the air. Gorgeous.
After a bit of a sit down, it was time for teen favorites, Kingston who always manage to get the crowd pumping. To be honest, I thought that they would have pulled a larger crowd this year, but that wasn’t the case. Still, it was a treat watching the extremely cute Dan Gibson motor around the stage and into the crowd whilst performing a bunch of radio and television favorites.
Dying to see what Vince Harder was all about (minus P Money) it was time to check him out on the main stage…and oh, what a surprise I got watching him and his crew and their neatly choreographed skills. Wouldn’t have a clue what the tunes were, but I guess in some ways it was entertaining to see what looked a lot like the rainbows end musicians on stage. Not my cup of tea. Sorry Vince.
A quick trip to the Deluxe stage meant catching Trigger Theory’s set for a few songs. I wasn’t that impressed with their music last year, but this time round it was cute! The lads spoke about Aladdin and how they remembered it before jumping into a tune that was for ‘everyone who liked Aladdin, but liked The Lion King better’. A cover of I Just Can’t Wait to be King, was the one. Cute! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!
The fantastical Family Force 5 were next to grace the main stage, and from the moment the American Football clad lads hit the stage the crowd went mental. Taking photographs in the pit up the front, you’d think you’d be safe from it all. But this year that was definitely not the case and I managed to get smacked in the back of my head a few times, along with getting stood on. What the?!
These guys are well worth the injuries though, and seeing them up so close, performing with such energy is an amazing experience. Belting out all of their hits off their first album, Business up Front, Party in the Back and Dance or Die, these guys put on a truly unforgettable show full of heavy baselines and all that good stuff that they’re so well known for. There’s only one word for this performance, and that’s epic.
Switchfoot had a hard act to follow, which of course they did with all of the grace and charm that had been demonstrated earlier in the day. The guys are naturals when it comes to wooing the crowd - even with their heavier tunes, and they make it pretty clear that they’re having the time of their lives while on stage.
A bunch of glow sticks had been handed out to the crowd, which looked incredible in the night sky. And what looked even more incredible was when the lads walked off stage and got yelled at for an encore performance. Glow sticks got hurled forward at the stage creating quite the scene, before they came back to finish with radio hit, Stars.
After all that excitement it was time to finish up the day with a band who I’ve been meaning to check out for some time now – Needles & Bees. After a wee trek to the White Elephant, we arrived to see only a handful of tunes by the band that included a wonderful surprise – Roy Irwin, who I’d also been hoping to see live at some stage. A double treat!
The White Elephant is a low-lit intimate space, which was so lovely after such a massive day just to sit and listen to the pop-inspired tunes from the locals. The last song we got to enjoy was Irwin’s Jackson 5 cover – I Want You Back. From this tiny snippet, I can’t say I know what Needles & Bees are like, but I’m glad to have caught what I did!
And so comes the end of another Saturday spent at the Parachute music festival. Escaped the sunburn brilliantly, and most importantly – escaped the rain that came down on the Sunday. Apparently most people go along for the full event to camp out. Sucks to be them.
Words by Amanda Ratcliffe
2008 saw the final bits of the puzzle come together to create Hamilton based rock group, Sons of Apollo. The search to form such a band began earlier in the decade when Belgian born, Bart Brichau moved to New Zealand to pursue a life long dream - which was to write and record his debut album. Several years after, locals Andrew Rowson and Matt Paterson joined Brichau in his quest, and were later followed by Sandy Schaare and finally, Greg Prebble.
Each of the members had previous experience from other bands they had been involved in, and so they brought with them older songs that they’d worked on in the past. Naturally this moved onto songwriting sessions where the lads came together to create new material under the name Sons of Apollo.
They’ve enjoyed opening for favorite locals, Opshop in the past and take inspiration from bands such as Genesis, Queen and Muse - to name a few. So it becomes obvious that these guys are keen to be up there amongst the big guns. There’s no doubt that they’ll get there with a debut album like The Landing, which is proving to be quite the hit overseas already.
The first track on the disc titled Green opens with an experimental feel that is light hearted before becoming a rockier number. It’s not hard on your ears at all, and reminds me so much of some of the tunes that feature on the soundtrack from the movie, Rock Star.
Flickers of Genesis can be found in the beginning of Supersonic Slowness, which again is a very easy listen – while still managing to break many of the boundaries that so many Hamilton acts are afraid to even get close to. It’s nice to finally see a group who isn’t afraid to do something that they truly love, and believe in without the fear of being unique.
Although most will tell you that they are striving to be so, that result is very rarely the case, making this album a refreshing treat. Brichau does a brilliant job of drawing you in with his magical skills on the keyboard while Matt Paterson’s vocals will woo even the coldest of hearts with Fading Soul.
Sick of Waiting takes on a similar feel before rolling into the pop-rock inspired Set u Free to get you up onto your feet for a jive as Easy Road feels like a jam session on a Sunday afternoon. Or one of those tunes that you might hear in the wee early hours in a smoke-filled bar – not that you can even get those anymore, but you know what I mean…it’s a classic. Like The Eagles. The entire album is, and is definitely a product that Hamilton can be proud of.
Visit Sons of Apollo on Myspace
