OUT TO SEE: FINDING THE MUSIC SCENE IN AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND (PART II OF II)

As you may be familiar from some of his past columns about his travels (Sevilla, Spain, Prague, etc.), Notes from Vivace always makes a point to try to locate the local music scene in each of the places he is exploring at one point or another during his trip.  You can read about his Auckland “Mission Bay Jazz and Blues Festival” experience here and you can read Part I of his Auckland Adventure here.

Thursday

I went off to see Sacha Vee at Sale St. Sale St. is this really nice bar where the patrons generally dress well.  It had a large patio area and generous space inside.  And the door guys were super laid back.

There was a small crowd that sat near the stage for her 1.5 hour set.  Sacha Vee is a singer songwriter with a neo-soul sound that would fit in perfectly at Hotel Café.

As I left, both security guys shook my hand and asked if I’d gotten any good photos.

Friday

Friday night was the biggest pain in the butt when it came to deciding where to go.  Bands were playing everywhere it seemed.  Out at the Juice Bar there was a touring band.  Out at Thirsty Dog, a singer songwriter was kicking off her tour.  Cassette Number Nine had a band coming in from Australia.  I was keen on doing the Cassette Number Nine, but near my hotel I saw a poster with a list of five bands playing at a place called the Whammy Bar. Next to the bands were the cities they hailed from:  Auckland, Wellington, and Hamilton – all New Zealand cities.  Now I had a major conflict:  a touring band from Australia that actually sounded interesting? I checked out their Myspace page.  Or some random New Zealand bands?  Since both locations were within walking distance (that sort of depends on how much you like to walk) I thought maybe I could hit both up.  I walked over to Cassette Number Nine first and asked the door guy when the bands started.  He said 10:30 and 11:30.  I headed up to the Whammy Bar.  I wasn’t sure of the exact location, but earlier the hotel/service apartment staff helped me out there.  I’d actually walked right past it a couple of times.  Once, I saw folks in comic book costumes walking into the bar so the venue is used for multiple events.  I asked the guy at the door, “You have bands playing tonight?”  In a very enthusiastic voice, he said, “Yes, punk bands.”  I decided to stick to the Whammy Bar.

Okay, let’s see how wild these Aucklanders can get.

The bar was not at floor level.  When I entered, I walked down a series of steps into the basement.  Almost immediately, the look felt familiar.  The smell was so absolutely familiar.  Even the cavernous floor had a familiar look to it.  Hey, wait, Mr T’s Bowl?

The first band, Rogernomix, started around 11:30 p.m.  A young woman fronted the band and she couldn’t have stood more than 5 feet tall.  She wore a sundress that would fit in perfectly at a Farmers Market.  Hmm, what sort of punk music is this band?  Their set started and don’t judge a book by its cover.  The music started with a scream and she didn’t stop screaming until the end of their quick four song set.  I tried to capture some photos, but got tossed to the side (somewhat violently) by two guys starting a mosh pit.  I soon learned that I better get some quick photos of the bands and then exit from the front of the stage as soon as possible.  The two went on not just in a mosh pit rage, but a boxing match that seemed in need of a referee.

The second band (Oilbarrons) up also gave a quick four song set.  They were another primal screaming punk band.  This time led by a tall guy who measured around 6 foot 5 inches.  I suspect he also worked at the Whammy Bar.  He got even more of the crowd going at it.

The last couple bands I saw had a change of tune.  More vocal driven.  Much more of what I’m used to in the Los Angeles area.  That didn’t stop the mosh pit folks which now numbered near a dozen.  I just have to explore this mosh pit experience with you.  There was head locking and the tossing of folks against walls.  I quickly understood why the pillar in the middle of the room had padding.  One guy got flung head first into a wall.  A small barrier I stood behind will no doubt come crashing down some day, because bodies throughout the night slammed against it.  One guy with glasses got tossed into the mosh pit by his friends.  He looked at them wondering why he’d gotten tossed into the pit.  He joined in a little, but mostly just bounced around.  Crowd surfing was the norm with a couple folks launching themselves into the air.  They would get ready to launch.  Folks would notice and stand crouched and ready, waiting for the Evel Knievel to launch himself off a ramp.  It was almost more fun watching the mosh pit than the bands.

I have to say I obviously go to the wrong shows in Los Angeles, because I never see such violent mosh pits here.  In fact, I was at the Five Star and folks got angry with a guy who tried to start a mild mosh pit.  I figure that wasn’t much of a punk show anyways so perhaps it doesn’t count.  So maybe a better example is when I headed off to the now defunct Mime where I’d say a more punk atmosphere reigned.  Yes, there was an actual mosh pit going on, but that mosh pit would get laughed at in Auckland, New Zealand.  Shoot, I’ve been at shows in Los Angeles where the band will tell the audience to calm down, because there are girls up front.  Personally, I have to say I enjoy our more subdued pits here in Los Angeles.

The third (Leeches) and fourth (Wasteland) bands played longer eight song sets.

Noticed 1:  The lead singer of Leeches assigned himself to water duty.  One guy asked for a water.  He rushed off to get it.  Then two others requested water and off he went to the bar.  Finally, he ended up getting a couple more:  one for himself and the last member of the band.  He did this all with a smile.

In the audience, I noticed a guy with a Terror LA baseball cap.  The band Terror had come through Auckland that week.  The guy punked his way through the set.  What else should one expect of a guy wearing a Terror cap?

Noticed 2:  As for Wasteland, I sensed that the band members weren’t on the same page.  The drummer and singer seemed to constantly be talking back and forth, negotiating how to begin a song.  Half their songs took two or three attempts to get off the ground.  All the other bands mentioned that they had one or two songs left in their set.  For this band, the music just stopped.  The drummer got up to put on a shirt.  The lead singer seemed to assume they had one more song – as did the audience.  The mosh pit looked confused, unsure what to do next.  Finally, the lead singer walked into the crowd and everyone gave them a cheer.  Someone is getting kicked off that band, I think.

Saturday

It was off to the Mission Bay Jazz and Blues Streetfest on Saturday.  I already did a write-up on this event.

A couple highlights from the late afternoon/evening night were a couple two year-old kids having the time of their lives.  One played next to me while I listened to one band.  He was learning to climb over a wooden post.  Another nearly stole the show at another set as he started dancing it up in front of the audience.  He seemed rather proud of the attention he was getting from the audience.

Quote of the evening:  “We’ve lost our bass player.  He’s reverted back to his natural state.  He’s up a tree.  Anyone got a banana?”

As I headed home for the night, I got onto a city bus.  The driver showed three fingers and then motioned out forty.  I couldn’t help but wonder if he assumed I didn’t speak English.  In fact, a small shock that hit me while in New Zealand occurred when I walked through the Auckland Airport.  I saw English everywhere.  I could actually understand everything.  You might find that funny as they do speak English in New Zealand.  When travelling in Spain and the Czech Republic, my first cultural adjustment was realizing the fact that I understood very little of what was written around me.  This wasn’t true in New Zealand and it felt strange – as weird as that might sound.

Saturday/Sunday

Heading home. After leaving the Jazz and Blues Streetfest, I decided to hit up the Gourmet Burger Joint to get a vegi burger.  Honestly, not that great.  Maybe they need to get some Morningstar vegi burgers into New Zealand.  In general, my experience with New Zealand sit down restaurants did not go well.  There were a number of days where I got sick after my meal.  The only place that I really enjoyed was a Japanese Restaurant next to Cassette Number Nine called the Sushi Factory.  Indian.  New Zealand vegetarian.  It all made me sick sick sick.  I didn’t get sick eating at the Gourmet Burger Joint, but as mentioned, it wasn’t all that great.  I got my best meals in New Zealand at the food stands – one being a pocket pizza.  I did try a couple unique New Zealand Brands: Tip Top Ice Cream and L&P Lemonade.  Both were tasty though I wouldn’t say unique in flavor.

To end my last night in Auckland, I ate my burger in my hotel/serviced apartment, watched thirty minutes of “K-Pax” and made sure I had everything packed.  I went to bed and a moment later I woke up at 3:13 a.m.  That’s right, exactly at 3:13 a.m., 2 minutes before my two alarms were set to go off – the bedside clock and my cell phone.

The crowd noise from outside woke me up.  Every few seconds shouts pierced the night air.  As I rushed out to catch my airport shuttle, I saw streams of young people walking up and down Queen St.  It was 4 a.m. and I was up with the college crowd.  In fact, as I looked across the street, I saw doors on a colonial-style building wide open, lights blazing inside.  The doors had been shut the whole time I’d been in Auckland, but were now open for the Saturday night party scene.

One interesting thing about Auckland was seeing what seemed like hundreds of young people parading in groups to – most likely – dance clubs on Friday and Saturday nights.  They would all be dressed in costumes so maybe it was also some kind of fraternity/sorority initiation.

Anyways, I arrived first at the shuttle stop.  Taxis drove by to see if I wanted a lift to the airport, but I waved them off.  A couple other airport-headed passengers showed up.  I was thinking the shuttle would be empty at 4 a.m.  So wrong.  The shuttle was about 75% full with fellow international travelers.  The airport was also relatively busy.  I snuck my way onto the plane with luggage that weighed way too much, getting a lecture from one of the airport personnel in the process.  I will definitely need to start thinking about switching up my luggage situation, considering all the stress I’m getting from it.

As is my norm, with my extra New Zealand currency, I bought a large Toblerone chocolate bar.

As is the heading-to-the-USA norm, once I got to the Sydney Airport, I was asked to leave the gate area for the flight to the USA.  Barriers were put up and then we were allowed to re-enter the area once our passports and boarding passes were checked.  As I roamed around the Sydney Airport, I noticed a row of Vegemite.  And then it hit me.  During her set, Amanda Palmer kept making jokes about Vegemite and how no one really liked it.  I wasn’t sure what she was talking about, some inside New Zealand joke, I figured.  And then at the Sydney Airport, I finally got the inside joke, it’s that nasty Australian paste that they put on their sandwiches.

The cool thing about the Sydney Airport:  they have free Internet access.

Customs.  As the flight neared LAX, the couple I shared a row with got into a big argument about their customs declaration.  The wife asked how much the husband had purchased in New Zealand.  The husband replied, “Make an estimate.”  The wife replied, “No, we need to be accurate.”  I was with the husband, make an estimate.  Is customs really going to get on you if your estimate is off a few dollars?  The wife went digging through their various receipts.  When she finished filling out the customs declaration, she punched her husband.  “What was that for?”  “Because you could at least thank me for looking through all of our receipts.”  I heard the figure $600 tossed out.  Mercy, I was only bringing in less than $50 (which included my Toblerone chocolate bar).

While I was filling out my customs declaration, I noticed green ink stains on my declaration.  Hmm.  I looked at my hand and it was all green.  My uni-ball pen had exploded.  Awesome.  At least I didn’t have a difficult time going through customs and was soon on my way home.

Random Nothingness

If you don’t have a smart phone (like me), you won’t feel out of place in Auckland.  I saw way more cell phones versus smart phones.  In fact, I’m betting that those with the smart phones were tourist. Peer pressure hasn’t hit there yet.

I honestly feel like I only barely touched the surface of the Auckland music scene.

The one problem with my hotel/serviced apartment was that I was on the first floor.  I had a nice view of electric meters.  And I don’t know if it was due to my being so low to the ground, but I heard the constant chirping of a million cicadas.  If I hadn’t brought ear plugs along, I would have gone insane.  The plugs didn’t work perfectly, but it at least kept the noise level down a degree.  There are 42 types of cicadas in New Zealand.  My recommendation should you ever head to Auckland is to bring some ear plugs or you’ll go insane.

When I arrived in Auckland, my first encounter with other tourists started at a bus stop.  I was waiting to board the airport bus when a guy started talking to me.  “So where are you staying.”  “Off Queen Street.”  “Okay, that is Central Auckland, you can take a taxi with us and we can split it.”  I felt bad when I replied, “I already have a ticket for this bus.  Sorry for any misunderstanding.”

When I first arrived in Auckland, I must admit a wave of disappointment hit.  Auckland definitely doesn’t carry the historical weight that Sevilla or Prague do.  I, of course, had to quickly adjust my perspective as I knew I’d come to Auckland not for history, but for the natural wonder of it all.

I took a couple day trips.  One to Waitakere Ranges and another to the Waitomo Caves (pictured right).  The cheapest of the day trips was to Waitakere Ranges.  It was a half day trip and totally worth it.  The tour guide was cool – even though he told jokes that were way too cheesy.  Heading to the Waitomo Caves to see the Glow Worms was on the expensive side and when I noticed I was only going to spend 45 minutes in the caves, I questioned my sanity in spending that much money, but I have to say it was totally worthwhile.

_________________________________________________________________________________

WAITAKERE RANGES

___________________________________________________________________________________

I also took a ferry to Waiheke Island where I hung out on the beach for awhile and checked out their small row of art galleries.  I also spent a day walking up two volcanoes.  Auckland is built over a number of volcanoes.  The two most famous ones are One Tree Hill (U2 fame) and Mount Eden.  I quickly understood what Amanda Palmer said when she mentioned that New Zealand had a hot sun.  I ended up getting sunburned.

If one is looking for Tourist Assistance, the I-Site visitor centers are really helpful.  They’ll book you on tours, help with car rentals.  Just really awesome help.

While in Auckland, I got mesmerized for some reason by their street signs.  Enjoy some street sign photography. (click on images to enlarge)

___________________________________________________________________________________

Jun 14, 2011 | Categories: Music, Out to See | Tags: Auckland, New Zealand, Notes from Vivace, Travel | Leave A Comment »