New Zealand Happenings teaser
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UNSANITARY NAPKIN and HELLEBORES
August 26th, 2017
August 26th, 2017
Onslaught 13 @The Crown Hotel
Dunedin, New Zealand
UNSANITARY NAPKIN
Volatile, venomous and politically driven hardcore that was probably the best set of the entire fest (that I saw, at least). This four-piece from Wellington just shredded with great, screamy, female vocals (think Johnny Whitney from The Blood Brothers) amidst pulsating hardcore punk with a danceable groove thanks to Rupert's groovin' bass riffs (think Death From Above 1979). Their art with donald trump's (shouldn't be capitalized) head getting blown open by a flying vagina emitting a rainbow is one of the greatest things I've ever seen and is a quick and accurate snapshot into the band's lyrical content. Speaking of their lyrical content, it's amazing. Their new LP 'Patriotic Grooves' comes with a sick booklet with song explanations that will have you screaming obscenities at cops in no time. Really, really cool band. Highly recommended.
For fans of: The Blood Brothers, Black Flag and Amygdala
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HELLEBORES
This Wellington-based band was very cool. All three members took turns on vocals and I think this one was the only one that was led by the drummer, and it fucking kicks ass. The driving, punk rock instrumentals are taken to the next level with those shouted vocals which are being delivered at the same time as some seriously noisy drums. Awesome set, definitely recommend.
For fans of: Nofx and Ramones
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Click here to watch additional videos from:
POVERTY AND SPIT or perhaps YOUR FACE...I don't know - *1* / *2*
POVERTY AND SPIT or perhaps YOUR FACE...I don't know - *1* / *2*
GRIPPER *1*
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YUNG NAT$, MISHAP and COMMUNITY STATE
September 8th, 2017
Dunedin, New Zealand
YUNG NAT$
My first ever YUNG NAT$ experience was very enjoyable. Having been greeted with open arms by Joerg (bass) and Lana (vocals) after only two days in Dunedin, I had been keen on seeing them play in their band together with fellow flatmate Ollie (guitar) and drummer Sam. The raw energy and explosive anger was palpable, with Joerg's spastic movements and Lana's shrieks stealing the show. I love Lana's back and forth talking/screaming style that she has and Joerg's bass riff in opener "Safer Communities". Linked below is the band's full set.
For fans of: Amygdala, Cerce and Hedge Fund Trader
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MISHAP
This young band was on tour in support of their recent single "Hey, Allie". They are straight-up pop-punk, so if you like Green Day and Blink 182 you'll be all over this.
For fans of: The Gamits, Simple Plan and Blink 182
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COMMUNITY STATE
This Christchurch band brought back memories of my pop-punk days of past (late 1990s and perhaps even early 2000s) and reminded me a lot of The Ataris and The All American Rejects.
For fans of: Deville, The June Spirit and The Ataris
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METHCHRIST, BOOGNISH and THE ROTHMANS
September 15th, 2017
Methchrist tape release show for 'Nomadic War Machine' @The Crown Hotel
Dunedin, New Zealand
METHCHRIST
One of the first nights I was in New Zealand I met Ollie through my friend Joerg. Ollie was super nice and I heard some (at that time) unreleased METHCHRIST tracks and asked what genre it was considered. The answer was war metal, something I was not familiar with. It kind of sounds like harsh, lo-fi grind/black-metal, and it's really fucking good. This was their release show and the place was packed so they ripped through about 20 minutes like it was nothing, with some of the most intense drumming I've seen here. I was exhausted after the set and definitely felt a tad more evil. But I recently found out that Ollie is a bit of a racist and a shitty person, so FUCK Methchrist. I deleted their videos and have removed the remainder of this post. Fuck you, Ollie.
For fans of: racism, shitty behaviour, scum
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BOOGNISH
BOOGNISH are a three-piece that sounds like a 5-piece with very expensive equipment. I don't know they do it, but holy smokes this stuff is huge. The angry, seething nature of the songs themselves are sprinkled with excellent craftsmanship and a strong sense of melody. Think Neurosis meets Alice In Chains, maybe? I dunno, you decide. Also, the drummer was super nice.
For fans of: Neurosis, Alice In Chains and Tool
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THE ROTHMANS
THE ROTHMANS are quickly becoming one of my favourite Dunedin bands. Their quirky, jarring and spacey concoctions are laced with sass and watching them rock out is always a treat. They played a cover of "Light My Fire" by The Doors which I've embedded below, as well as an original underneath that. If you scroll down you'll see that THE ROTHMANS also played the Hedge Fund Trader, Swallow's Nest and Yung Nat$ show.
For fans of: Rye Coalition, The Pixies and These Arms Are Snakes
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YUNG NAT$, IRON MAMMOTH and SWALLOW'S NEST
October 7th, 2017
Secret House show @Matt's House
Dunedin, New Zealand
YUNG NAT$
YUNG NAT$ closed out the night in typical fashion, movin' around the living room and screamin'. I've seen the band quite a few times and this was one of my favourites, for sure. I took three videos that you can check out below. I think almost all of it is unreleased thus far. The embedded video is called "Safer Communities".
For fans of: Amygdala, Cerce and Hedge Fund Trader
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IRON MAMMOTH
Opening the night was IRON MAMMOTH, a three-piece of drums, trumpet, keyboard and vocals. I have no idea how to describe the music except as rock and roll meets circus/carnival music, and hot damn it worked really well. I thoroughly enjoyed their set and actually used their video as the introduction for the "New Zealand happenings" teaser video that I made for this blog. Definitely check them out.
For fans of: cool, chill and weird music
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SWALLOW'S NEST
This was our first show. I was a little more nervous than most shows I've done, as we were asked to play about 48 hours before the show so I hadn't memorized all of the lyrics. Considering I scream my head off most of the time it was silly to get worried about it. Anyhoos, I thought we played pretty well. We did the six songs that we had been writing since early September with three of those being much newer. It seemed like it was well received. The video I've posted below is for the song "Apathy as an Infinite Measurement" and it was one of the first three songs we wrote. It's basically a revolt song, centered around the theme that many people in the world are indifferent toward making the world a better place. Considering the devastating path we are on currently in regards to the environment and the future of our children, the increased amount of apathy is appalling, and in some degree as responsible for the current mess we are in as those who purposefully put us here to reap the financial reward.
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HEDGE FUND TRADER, SWALLOW'S NEST, CARRADINE CHOKE and NERVOUS JERK
October 13th, 2017
Hedge Fund Trader NZ tour @Wunderbar
Lyttelton, New Zealand
HEDGE FUND TRADER
This was my first time seeing Hamilton's HEDGE FUND TRADER, the three piece that titled their debut EP 'Discography' and had dropped their new tape 'No Birds' but a day or two beforehand. Their volatile and screechy take hardcore/emo-violence is fucking awesome, with just a vocalist, guitarist and drummer. The microphone seemed to be feeding back at times, but otherwise the set sounded fuckin' killer. I highly, highly recommend checking out New Zealand's best screamo band.
For fans of: Vril, Cerce and La Luna
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SWALLOW'S NEST
This was our second show, almost a week after our first. It went pretty well, although the vocal mic was distorted and overly sharp, resulting in it sounding much too loud in the mix. Regardless, I didn't realize this at the time and had a great time. We played the same set in the same order and things felt much more comfortable. The video embedded here is for the song titled "Dark Hamz". It's about the struggle my wife and I went through trying to find our figurative place in New Zealand and the subsequent toll it took on our marriage.
For fans of: Buried Inside, The World That Summer and Terry Green
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CARRADINE CHOKE
I had previously seen CARRADINE CHOKE at the Onslaught 13 Fest (discussed above). I enjoyed their set even more this time, as they blasted through about 15 minutes of raw, dirty, Black Flag hardcore with a New Zealand twist.
For fans of: Circle Jerks, Leftover Crack and Black Flag
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NERVOUS JERK
The local act was NERVOUS JERK, a fun, energetic and talented pop-punk/rock band. They pulled a fair amount of people and, I must say, I dig the bass and doubled-up vocals.
For fans of: Bomb The Music Industry, Andrew W.K. and Joyce Manor
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This show was off the hook. Seriously. Without a doubt the most fun I've had yet, the Dunedin date for the Hedge Fund Trader tour was pretty goddamned stacked and all the bands played amazing. Gone were the vocal mic issues from Christchurch and the inclusion of two great local bands made it that much better. Also, our drummer Gabe lives upstairs!
Link to song: Light My Fire
HEDGE FUND TRADER, YUNG NAT$, THE ROTHMANS and SWALLOW'S NEST
October 14th, 2017
Hedge Fund Trader NZ tour @None Gallery
Dunedin, New Zealand
HEDGE FUND TRADER
I think quite a few people who came out were there to see HEDGE FUND TRADER...I know I was, despite the fact that I was also playing the show. And good goddamn, they did not disappoint. I captured their entire set which is embedded below. I can say for sure that Swallow's Nest and HEDGE FUND TRADER will be doing a split together that may or may not end up being a 4-way split. We'll see. Watch this video to see screamo, black-metal, powerviolence and hardcore come together with just vocals, a guitar and drums.
For fans of: Vril, Piri Reis and La Luna
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SWALLOW'S NEST
This was a blast, plain and simple. Like the Baltimore show that I played with мятеж (linked here), seeing and hearing the crowd during and in between songs was great, for they legitimately seemed to be very down with our music. We played quite tight and had fun doing so. The song I've embedded is called "The Stork and the Pelican" and was the second last song that I wrote with the band. It's about a friend of mine and his partner in Toronto who, later in life, were on the verge of having their first child only to find out that the baby had severe issues and would have to be aborted...at nine months. Their ordeal was horrific, even though I feel it from an outsider perspective, so to be a part of it must have been beyond devastating, hence the lines, "I can't find a single time to say how fucking sorry that I am. There's nothing we can do, for what you had to go through..." SWALLOW'S NEST's last show with yours truly in the band will be December 1st, 2017 at The Crown Hotel in Dunedin. It will be our only show with two vocalists, as Lana from Yung Nat$ will be taking over after I go, less than two weeks after the show. We've been doubling up vocals for all seven songs so it will definitely be our best show. More info to come.
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YUNG NAT$
Here is YUNG NAT$, which has since had vocalist Lana joining myself and her YUNG NAT$ bandmate/bassist/partner Joerg in Swallow's Nest. This was a decent set but not the best I've witnessed. I captured some of their best songs, some of which should see the light of day soon via the Diploid split.
For fans of: Amygdala, Cerce and Hedge Fund Trader
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THE ROTHMANS
I knew I liked THE ROTHMANS, but after this show they are easily in my top 3 Dunedin bands. Watching their quirky, disjointed and jammy rock songs was a treat. The song they played and that I've embedded below is fantastic. It borderlines on cheese but never gets there. Instead, it builds and drops numerous times, with the flow of the song shifting like the ocean. It's also got some fantastic vocals and lyrics. The bassist from this band is also the guitarist and vocalist in Milpool, reviewed further down in this post.
For fans of: Blue Youth, The Pixies and These Arms Are Snakes
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MILPOOL, SEWAGE, EMÖ LENDVAI, FUCKAULT and MICK ELBORADO
October 27th, 2017
New Bands & Old Bands @The Crown Hotel
Dunedin, New Zealand
This was a show put on by Karl Leisky of Fuckault and Emö Lendvai. Karl also used to play in Yung Nat$. Karl is amazing. I will miss them immensely upon leaving New Zealand. We started a band with another local Tom on bass and Joe on drums and became Emö Lendvai. I am leaving so I am unsure what the band will be doing, but I'm assuming carrying on as a three-piece, as I know that Tom and Joe can also do vocals. The show was very eclectic and fun to watch.
MICK ELBORADO + FUCKAULT
Opening the night was Mick and Karl, combining bass and guitar/noise for some pretty sweet introductory sounds. Karl also plays in Emö Lendvai and their solo noise project is nicely titled Fuckault.
For fans of: noise, ambiance and bass
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EMÖ LENDVAI
Link to song: *2*
After a quick changeover we played four of the first five songs that we wrote. They are sloppy, dual screaming, emo/screamo with everyone playing their selected instrument in a band for the first time. We played okay, as in two songs things got pretty muddled, but this video gives you a good idea of what we sound like. This will likely be my only show with the band as I move back to Canada in just three weeks. The songs we played were "Shmoodles" (video below), "Space Fasting", "No Home for Stem Smoker" and "I Can't Math".
For fans of: And Always, Synodus Horrenda and Rene Descartes
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MILPOOL
MILPOOL have a pretty substantial fanbase here in Dunedin, with one member also playing with The Rothmans. Instead of powerful, raging rock/hardcore, this three-piece opt for one of their two heads; either sludgy Weezer rock or twinkly indie rock. I, personally, enjoyed the latter more but unfortunately all the songs I taped were in the former's vein.
For fans of: Pile, Weezer and The Rentals
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SEWAGE
SEWAGE is a two-piece that started with more members when they were about 14, aka 9 years ago. What started as a Pink Floyd cover band quickly evolved into an experimental, noise and improv group that occasionally features additional musicians. Tonight was just the two of them, Ro on vocals, violin and flute while Gabe (who also drums for my other band Swallow's Nest) goes ballistic on the drums. I don't generally listen to stuff like this at home, but watching people play this amazingness in a live setting is a completely different story. Jam this video and be in awe, seriously!!!
For fans of: Hella and Ahleuchatistas
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