OUT TO SEE: CLOUD CONTROL
(click on images to enlarge)
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This post is a sneak peek of an upcoming full blown intraffik report on the UK local music scene. Okay, full blown is an exaggeration since someone would probably need to stay a full year before becoming fully acquainted with the scene.
There is a connection here. I went to the UK in late May. As Intraffik readers know, I do a little local music exploration whenever I travel overseas. I’m writing this Los Angeles music post in late July, but the UK post has yet to see the light of day. You’d think two months would be enough time to write-up my UK adventures. What is the delay? Part of the delay is driven by laziness. The other part is driven by the fact that someone gave me the series set to The Wire. About 50 hours of potential writing got re-directed to DVD watching.
While doing some music research into the London scene, I came across the Rough Trade Shops. I noticed that on May 30th, Cloud Control (they’re from Australia, not the UK) was playing a free in-store set. As is well documented, it is expensive for an American to travel in London. Cloud Control + Free = “You Bet I’m Going.”
The Satellite. Once back in the US, I went to Cloud Control’s website. I so loved their set that I was hoping that their tour would take them through Los Angeles. And would you know it, they were scheduled to play Los Angeles on July 27th.
What attracted me to this band are the lead vocals by Alister Wright along with the backup vocals from Heidi Lenffer. Add in the fact that Heidi dances like a cool cat while playing the keyboards and you have a winner. Go to their website and take a listen to “Gold Canary” and “Ghost Story” as well as the rest of the songs they’ve posted. You’ll become a fan in quick fashion. (And note that they’ve toured with Los Angeles favorite, Local Natives.)
Comment of the night: After a quick look between Heidi and Alister: “Can you all come closer to the stage . . . okay, if you can all now take a step back.”
A moment. Heidi played the guitar for one song; however, she didn’t have a guitar pick so a request was made for one. This being Los Angeles the person nearest the stage had one in his pocket.
Based on the accents I over-heard during the night, there was a lot of Aussie expatriate support out there for them.
Here’s hoping they come through Los Angeles again . . .
Added benefit to the night. I was able to catch the opening act, Eleanor Friedberger (pictured below). What a wonderful set.
OUT TO SEE: BLOOMFEST
It was perfect Los Angeles weather to catch some live music over at Bloomfest.
Starting it off was Hello Vegas, playing it cool. Bullet and Snowfox hit the stage next with their infectious dance music. Off to the side, five teens were having fun doing some dance waving to the music. As some Traffik Radio listeners might recall, Bullet and Snowfox was featured on the station. Love Grenades is a band I saw at Silver Lake Jubilee. I loved them that time around and loved them even more this time. And like last time, as lead singer, Elizabeth Wight, made her way off the stage she found herself surrounded for quite some time by new found fans. Chicano Batman had the best use of an ironing board – their keyboard was on top of it. They definitely had the crowd dancing, especially when a friend of the band (my assumption) climbed onto the speakers and urged everyone to come closer and dance. Eastern Conference Champions. Eastern Conference Champions. Eastern Conference Champions. That is how the set started out for Eastern Conference Champions. You know you love a band when you realize during the set that you have a huge grin and you have no desire at all to stop grinning.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to stick around for the remaining bands. I would have loved catching those sets; however, I had a ticket for an Intraffik Report feature, Behind Closed Doors: A 2nd Class Cabaret. And so as soon as Eastern Conference Champions finished, I took off for the musical.
Anyways, back to Bloomfest after that brief plug. There was a nice crowd at Bloomfest this year when compared to last year. Of course, last year was at a distinct disadvantage as it was a freezing day in late July. I remember for the last couple bands, folks were covering themselves up in blankets. An amusing scene. The weather was much more cooperative this year.
HELLO VEGAS
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BULLET & SNOWFOX
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LOVE GRENADES
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CHICANO BATMAN
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EASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS
OUT TO SEE: MAKE MUSIC PASADENA
I had a conversation with a friend at Make Music Pasadena. We concluded that the Indie Rock Stage needs to get shifted to the park and the Emerging Artist Stage needs to get shifted to Colorado Blvd. That’s our recommendation, because it was one packed day of great bands.
Saint Motel
I saw Saint Motel about two years back. I think they are a much improved band. They started the day for me by bringing a little Silver Lake to Pasadena.
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Morning Benders
The day hit a snag here. The band played one song and then a police officer went up on stage. The police wanted to clear out the sidewalk for fire code reasons. No one, especially those near the stage, wanted to clear the sidewalk area. Finally, the area was cleared by a handful of officers and the band went back to giving one of the better performances of the day.
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NewVillager
It sounded like the ladies were totally into the lead singer.
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Best Coast
Could the crowd squeeze in any tighter? This was obviously the band everyone came to see. Best Coast also got delayed as the crowd needed to get cleared out from a fire zone section. Almost as soon as they started, a bra came flying on stage. The lead singer, Bethany, picked it up, “This is my first ever bra.” By the midpoint of the set, folks were crowd surfing, and a push towards the stage and to the sides started. At this point, Bethany stopped the set for a brief moment, “Don’t push. There are some real cuties at the front getting smashed. Don’t push.” And you know what, the crowd listened. There was still crowd surfing after her comment, but the push towards the stage stopped. As their set came to a close, a member from Make Music Pasadena ran over to the drummer. Something was whispered. I suspect it was, “That was your last song.” Bethany addressed the audience, “How long have we played? F*!ck that s!*t. We’re playing two more songs.” Considering this was the band folks were there to see, I think she made the right call. Noticed: Best Coast had their set list on paper plates, which they proceeded to toss out to fans after their set.
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Comment heard from the crowd: “This is way better than last year!“
My thoughts on that comment: Last year had Matt & Kim and Warpaint. Saying it is better is a matter of personal opinion, but saying it is way better seems biased . . .
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Ra Ra Riot
Okay, the lead singer admitted that he threw out his shoulder in the morning reading the newspaper. Now one might ask: who reads an actually newspaper anymore? Well, I say, this is a person I like, because I still read the newspaper. As for the violinist, the comment heard from my section of the crowd, “She’s so cute.” Due to all the delays driven by the fire code requirements, the Indie Rock Stage was behind schedule. A DJ was scheduled to play at 7:30 p.m. and so the Make Music Pasadena staff started setting up the DJ table during the middle of the set. I think the violinist found this distracting.
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Jenny O
It was a shift to the Emerging Artist Stage here. Jenny O was a nice change of pace. “Can I get more acoustic, sound guy . . . ?” That was a funny comment as the sound guy had apparently disappeared for a moment.
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Kisses
They came to throw a party. Leis were brought and eventually tossed into the audience. Folks were asked to stand up – the stage area had seats lined up – and not only did folks stand, but they also rushed towards the stage. And as their set ended, a call was made for folks to jump on stage for a group dance. To end it all the lead singer did a stage dive.
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Zola Jesus
I couldn’t help but think of IO Echo and Nico Vega while watching Zola Jesus. She was dressed in white and I couldn’t figure out if she represented a floating ghost or a siren angel as she moved around the stage. She kept on heading into the audience during her set and security followed her each step of the way. I think she was trying her best to escape the security. The set ended with one massive scream. Zola Jesus, a nice way for the evening to end.
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Metro: It was cool seeing the Gold Line packed. This was definitely a means of transportation to Pasadena.
I’ll make one negative comment here: I won’t name names, but one band was over-the-top disrespectful to Make Music Pasadena. Just my honest opinion.
OUT TO SEE AMANDA PALMER: ‘THE LOST DAY’ FINDING THE MUSIC SCENE IN AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
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 , Part I of his Auckland Adventure here, and Part II here. This is a bonus “lost day in Auckland” post, focusing on attending an Amanda Palmer show in Auckland.
Wednesday
One of my trends during my international travels is that I end up seeing US acts. The trend continued in New Zealand where I went to Kings Arms to catch Amanda Palmer. One thing I did immediately was a cost comparison of seeing an American act in New Zealand versus Los Angeles. The day before I arrived, the Melvins played in Auckland for about the equivalent of $35. They played at Spaceland/Satellite for $20 in January. The Amanda Palmer show was also the equivalent of $35.
After taking a day trip to the Waitakere Ranges and jumping onto the Internet to read up on daily events (the earthquake being one of them), I walked up Queen Street to Kings Arms. Kings Arms is split into two: one side is a tavern, while the other side is a music venue. Whenever I go to a foreign venue, I try to relate it to a Los Angeles venue. In this case, I’m not sure anything fits. I briefly thought about Old Towne Pub in Pasadena if OTP was 8x larger, but that would result in a really bad comparison.
When I got there around 8:15 p.m., a long line stretched outside the venue, waiting for the doors to open. Since the venue didn’t look that large, I wondered if it was sold out. I walked to the front of the line. A woman in line told me they were all waiting around to get inside and wasn’t sure why they weren’t being allowed inside. I asked if she knew if it was sold out. She replied she didn’t think so as some folks had just bought tickets. I stuck my head inside and asked the ticket lady if I could buy a ticket. She said sure. I then asked if they had a photography policy. She replied that photos weren’t allowed and that it was a standard policy at Auckland music venues (I think this might apply to SLRs, not point and shoots) if one didn’t have a photo pass. So I told her I wrote for a Los Angeles blog called Intraffik (we are world famous like Rolling Stone — not!) under Notes from Vivace and was doing a write-up on the Auckland music scene (maybe that argument would work). She said she’d look into it for me. I got a stamp on my wrist and went to the end of the line.
A young lady came up behind me and one of her friends joined her. They started to talk. The second girl seemed to know what was going on with the opening act so I asked her who was playing. She said a two piece band called Casey Morton (later realized she said Katie Morton).
A third girl came up. She was very excited. The two started to congratulate her. I came to the conclusion she was in the opening band. “How did you get this gig,” I heard one ask. I didn’t hear the response. Anyways, she ran off, “I need to get ready.”
Fifteen minutes later the venue opened the doors. When I got to the door, I asked the ticket lady if she’d checked on a photo pass, “F*!k, I forgot. I’ll get back to you on that.” In the back of my mind, I was thinking, Whatever. I was suspicious of her knowledge of things. I had noticed a number of cameras in the crowd. I was in Auckland, not Los Angeles where every other person with a camera is probably a blogger. No way everyone at the venue had asked for a photo pass. Even though I was highly suspicious of this camera policy, I decided to take a conservative approach and didn’t get any photos of the first band, April Fish (not called Casey Morton; Katie Morton was the lead singer).
When we were all inside the venue, Amanda Palmer jumped up on stage in a bra and shorts. “We’re so happy to be here. April Fish was in a plane that was about to land in Christchurch. The earthquake happened and the plane pulled up. My promoter, who didn’t even need to be at this show, left all his belongings at his Christchurch hotel, jumped onto a plane and is here tonight. As far as we know his hotel has toppled over. We just got here at 8 p.m. We haven’t even done a sound check. We’ll see how this will all work out. See you all soon.” She tossed glitter out into the audience as she headed back to her dressing room.
Twitter feed from Katie Morton. ktjohanna: We JUST missed the quake: plane was descending to land when it hit so we turned around and are back in Wellington. Our hearts go out to all. 7:06 PM Feb 21st via web
The first band up was April Fish. The lead singer was the excited young lady from outside. She was on keys and her band mate was on the guitar.
They put on a short 4 song set (perhaps driven by the fact that everything got delayed by thirty minutes) — a quiet, quirky set. For their last song some quick hand signals were made. Katie pointed “1” with her finger. Her guitarist also pointed “1”. She then crossed her arms into an “X” and he followed suit. “Our next song is called ‘X.’ I wrote this while we were looking at maps. ‘X’ as in X marks the spot.”
Jason Webley was up next. There was no wait between sets. As soon as April Fish left the stage, Amanda Palmer jumped on to give a brief introduction and on he went. His name sounded very familiar to me. I realized that I’d seen his flier at Thirsty Dog for a Thursday set he was doing there. Well, also, he’s in a musical duo called Evelyn Evelyn with Amanda Palmer.
Anyways, the first thing I noticed was that he is a very energetic singer who has a major spittle problem. One time he let loose and it flew off the stage. A half-second later a girl near the stage looked grossed out. For one of his last songs, he divided the audience in half to act as his orchestra. Violins stood on one side and the trombones on the other. I stood in the violin section. He tried to create a distinct separation between the two musical instruments as he wanted us to view this as a war. And to top it off, he wanted us to sound louder than Wellington.
After Jason finished his set, we had about a thirty minute wait. Amanda Palmer’s promoter (or stage hand) got on stage. He went up to the keyboard and taped on her set list. He then pointed out to the patio area. I’m not sure if a lot of folks understood what he meant by his hand signals, because people kept looking to the stage, but out on the patio I saw Amanda Palmer singing to those outside. She looped behind and came through the back of the room. She climbed atop the bar counter where she serenaded us with a ukulele and the song “Makin’ Whoopee.” She then pointed to the crowd up by the bar. They screamed. She took a dive and crowd surfed to the stage – probably a good 10 yards.
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She sprinkled her 2.5 hour set with various stories and quotable quotes.
Story 1: Last year when she was in Auckland, she’d just finished the first “Twilight” book. “It’s like cotton candy. I read it in four days, knowing it was bad for me.” When she arrived in Auckland, she had an exorcism performed on stage. Someone from the audience yelled out, “Did you read any of the other books?” “No.” “What are you reading now?” “The new Bill Bryson book.” I assume she meant “At Home: A Short History of Private Life.” That immediately made me a big fan of hers as I had started my Prague column with a quote from Bill Bryson.
Quote 1: “I like peanut butter and beer.”
Quote 2: “That takes real bravery to write a real hippy song. I may as well get a butterfly tattoo.”
Story 2: She performed a guerilla show in a small town in New Zealand. She did it on a random street. It was a very long street, which created a problem: people found it hard to find the exact location. She got a tweet from a female fan who said she had yelled out “Chicken Man” to find other fans.
Randomness of quirkiness filled the last hour or so of her set. Jason came back on stage. They did a skit of Billy Joe’s “Piano Man,” pulling seven people up onto the stage, assigning them different characters from the song.
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Some funny equipment malfunctions occurred. Jason went up to the keyboard and it blasted us with static. They quickly turned it off. When they switched it back on, it refused to work for ten minutes or so. The piano chair kept collapsing down on Amanda. She couldn’t figure out how to get it to go higher so Jason would set it at the proper height. She’s sit on it and it would go back down.
There was even some beer surfing as the crowd transported a couple beers from the bar to the stage.
They then went on this series of, “We have two songs left for you. I know there is a curfew.” I swear it went on eight times. Actually, I’d say this represented my one irritation with her set. You’re like, okay she’s finished, oh wait, she’s not. You hit a climatic end and you soon realize it wasn’t the end.
To end the set, they sang ‘The Drinking Song.” Upset (joking fashion) that everyone wasn’t singing loud enough and wasn’t drunk enough, they had everyone twirl around 12 times. And yes, people did twirl. Yes, practically everyone (I gave it about 6 twirls). As the clock hit 1 a.m., the set came to a close with:
“If God wanted us sober
he’d knock the glass over
so while it is full
we drink up.”
There was also a collection of funds for Christchurch. They passed a bucket around the crowd. If I recall right, they collected over a $1,000 NZ.
I headed off to my hotel/service apartment and four hours later I took off to see some glow worms at Waitomo Caves. Later someone informed me that a more appropriate name would be to call them maggots versus worms (click here to read about Notes from Vivace’s adventures at the Waitomo Caves)
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.
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WAITAKERE RANGES
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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)
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OUT TO SEE: FINDING THE MUSIC SCENE IN AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND (PART I 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.
Saturday to Monday
Why Auckland, New Zealand?
A number of small reasons led up to my decision to fly off to New Zealand:
1. “Lord of the Rings” was filmed in New Zealand – though not in Auckland (“The Piano” was filmed around Auckland) – so there was that built-in intrigue.
2. New Zealand is known for it’s natural wonders. I went in late February and since it is in the southern hemisphere, I was dealing with Summer versus Winter weather.
3. My last two vacations were to Europe and New Zealand was not Europe. Czech and Spanish were the national languages for my last two vacations and vacationing where English was the official language seemed like a good idea.
And why not another New Zealand city like Wellington? Honestly, going to Auckland was much cheaper.
The trip. A storm system hovered over Southern California when I left Glendale for LAX via public transportation. I caught a lucky break as the rain stopped until after I transferred from the bus to the Metro rail. While on the Green Line, the rain came down in torrents. Other than the rain, only two minor events provided any sort of excitement. First, I just missed a Blue Line metro. The Blue Line Metro has two rail lines. I entered on the wrong side and by the time I got to the other side of the track, the doors were closing. I imagined myself in one of those movies where the good guy is chasing after the bad guy and the bad guy ducks into a Metro car just as the doors close (actually, isn’t that usually the other way around, the good guy just escapes the bad guy? — whatever). Also, I did do my good deed for the day. An elderly man was attempting to get a senior discount ticket, he kept on hitting the wrong buttons so I leaned in and worked it out for him. Of course, I don’t know if it was so much of a good deed versus me just wanting to get my ticket.
My flight was via Virgin Australia. Instead of flying straight to New Zealand, my flight first diverted to Sydney, Australia. There are flights that go straight to Auckland, but the cheapest Expedia deal was via Sydney, so via Sydney I went.
Let me just say that the Virgin Australia Experience (and I do believe the ‘E’ in experience should be capitalized) starts at the ticket counter. You come in from your hectic travel to the airport and your mood adjusts immediately. Mood lighting and soothing pop-rock music greet you as you enter the area. Modern lamps grace each of the ticket counters. You’re like, “Hmm.”
And you read quirky comments like such that are written on your ticket:
“The Stub: Ever wonder where this part goes? So do we.”
“The Big Bit: This part of your ticket is fiercely loyal to its owner. While The Stub cavorts off to who knows where, The Big Bit sticks around to help you get to your seat. Treat it well, and it will be yours forever.”
It isn’t like the mood adjustment totally removes the pain of air travel. When I got to the counter, the ticket lady told me to put my carry-on onto the scale. It came in at 10 kilos. She told me I’d need to check it. I was like, “Why?” In the past, I’d never had to check my carry-on due to weight constraints (even though in the back of my mind I knew this restriction would hit me eventually). She told me it had to weigh less than 7.5 kilos. She asked if I wanted to take anything with me (as I also had a Jason Bourne-inspired shoulder bag with me). Hmm, I said, “What if I removed these books?” I pulled out a “Lonely Guide” travel book and a Nick Hornby book. She smiled. The weight dropped down to 9.0. I took out my various adapters/rechargers. It dropped down to 8.0. She smiled again and let me remove my carry-on from the weight machine. Of course, my shoulder-bag probably weighed in at 10 kilos at that point.
I have this problem with checking my luggage. I avoid it at all costs. A few years ago, my luggage got lost twice in a row. After those experiences, I’ve always attempted to use a suitcase that would slide into the over-head bins. Of course, the airlines wanting to apply fees to everything so that they can increase their revenues and knowing that many of us only bring a carry-on to avoid those fees are now going for a weight restriction. Maybe I’ll just have to deal with checking my main luggage from now on; however, I’ll probably still bring a small carry-on with clothes to cover me for a couple days should my checked luggage get lost in the grand scheme of things. As you can see, Virgin Australia or not, I do not trust airlines to keep track of my luggage.
After the desk clerk allowed me to cheat the luggage rules, she noticed that my itinerary took through Sydney. “You need a Visa to enter Australia.” What? (more…)