Dub dot dash

The Checks, Live on a soccer pitch in Albany, Saturday night
So, we're out celebrating Guy Fawkes (gotta love dem anarchists). There's a wizz-bang fireworks display happening at North Harbour Stadium, but before darkness falls, we are treated to a string of young singers warbling karaoke-style over MOR hits of the day – don't ask me to name the songs, I feel dirty just thinking about them. It starts raining, settling to a steady drizzle.

The MC for the evening comes back on stage and encourages the kids to dance – they get up on stage with the next singer, and we have the dubious delight of about 50 pre-teen girls booty dancing. The MC returns after the singer finishes and congratulates the young crowd for dancing, but points out he meant for them to dance in front of the stage, not on it. He says "We've got Check coming soon, The Check…." (some of them do actually have Czech family roots, you know, so he wasn't completely wrong) The preteens correct him and he finally gets their name right.

They bound onto the stage and blast off their fine 60's Brit-pop, under the most basic lighting imaginable – white flood spots on either side of the stage pointing inwards. The lights nicely lit up the drizzle blowing diagonally across the front of stage. The preteens even give a cheer of recognition when they introduce What You Heard and Mercedes Chldren. From a soccer pitch to supporting Oasis in Oz… a nice leap. Then a brief pause before a sustained series of loud bangs and lots of pretty colours fill the sky. The fireworks seem very low, just above us, which was pretty cool, til the wind changed and the smoke from them rolled across us. There's nothing like the smell of napalm in the morning...

MISEX NZs No 1 Band
Saw that on the back windscreen of a car on Sunday – a homemade bumper sticker, the right half with "Misex - NZs # 1 band" written in black felt pen, and the left side said "Ultravox, Visage, Human League- UK #1 bands". The car was a Japanese make of some description, not too old. Like the song said,… Living in the 80s, 80s, you're living in the 80s…