NZ Music Awards random thoughts
Damn, Vector Arena is in a crappy looking part of town. Sure, flash new buildings all around it, but they lack any defining qualities that suggest character. They look like new urban ghettos. Thanks, ACC urban planning!
Seated inside by 7.30, and at 7.29, the pre-show music starts sounding strangely familiar. I turn to my table mates and say, "hey, that's my song!"And it is too - Smash Thru, off my new EP. And damn, it sounds good loud thru a PA (As the person next to me commented). So, yay me. (Thanks, Josh!)
During Campbell Smith's speech, he paid tribute to the recently departed Mahiarangi Tocker and Rob Guest. Meanwhile at the next table , a young woman was deeply engrossed playing with the g-string undies from her goody bag. Nice one.
Helen Clark presented the international achievement award, to Savage and Flight of the Conchords. Savage was there in person (dude has sold half a million singles in the US this year - read that again, and then ponder why the hell he's not on the front of the paper every goddamn day), and opened his speech by saying "Go Labour". FOTC did a wacky prerecord from New York. When they won best album, Brett did the speech, with Jemaine sitting there going "I'm not accepting this".
Oscar Kightley was one of the presenters, he observed that the event had pretty flash production values. "I feel like I'm at Destiny Church".
Kora and Opensouls backing Scribe were great, Tiki was spectacular, Cut Off Your Hands were spirited, Anika Moa was lovely, and Shihad were Shihad (shout out to my man Chip Matthews, hardest working musician at NZ Music Awards - he played in two different bands, had to go to two sound checks, but got double the rider - I'm sure).
The closer with Julia Deans and band doing Straitjacket Fits was a note-perfect carbon copy. SJF's Lifetime Achievement was presented by John Campbell. According to the speech notes he left lying on his table (which mysteriously fell into my hands), he was instructed to "Please introduce yourself, and talk from the heart about what the Straitjacket Fits mean to you for up to three minutes". If you want em, they'll be on Trade Me soonish. Campbell never even said 'marvellous', so there went that drinking game.
After-party kicked in, with expat Kiwi (Now LA-based) Dan Mancini creating havoc. I ran to the front of the venue and jumped around like a maniac when he played Psycho by the Sonics - classic 60s garage punk. He even played Forever Tuesday Morning by the Mockers, which managed to get our table up and dancing, including Mr Brett Adams (formerly of The Mockers) on air guitar. Beautiful moment. Time to go home.
Official results here.
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