NZ | Music + Concerts + Festivals + Exhibitions

[Mr_kiwi_fruit]

RANDOM ACTS - Auckland Street Art



Aotea Square and surrounding streets are about to come alive with Random Acts! Theatre and street collide with urban and contemporary entertainment that reflects our unique Auckland environment and features a collection of family friendly interactive street theatre. Come on down to Auckland’s CBD and experience your city in a whole new light with:

Pacific Me Barbie come on down and meet real life hula dolls and then just push play! The Business are three suited business men morph into a gravity defying dance troupe. From Australia comes the extraordinary roaming giants Snuff Puppets with the Boom Family and the Seagulls - they can’t be missed! Help build a gigantic red jigsaw in Aotea Square with Red on Red people.

Discover what can happen when Green Jelly Man eats a huge bowl of green jelly and he likes to share with his audience! A wearable PAINT-BY-NUMBERS experience Bodography is a new take on interactive public art-making. Are they Aliens? Giant Worms? Elaborately-disguised security cameras? Or what? You decide as Eye Spies appear around the streets and Aotea Square.

Come inside the tent on Aotea Square and spin the Wheel of Experience, where it lands a story will be told, songs sung, and an adventures will be had. Witness a grey blank wall in Aotea Square transformed into a whimsical narrative with the creative team of Tape Art you may even be drawn into their work. Look up and watch Co Theatre Physical’s Vertical Auckland they will be tipping Auckland upside down and performing a spectacular aerial theatre show in Aotea Square.

An archaeological dig on Aotea Square!? Come and observe Soundig and experience what lies deep beneath the city. A large blackboard, a humble piece of chalk and your ability to wax lyrical is all you need to be part of this interactive interconnected collision between street and theatre!

[SYDNEY]

System of a Down loves NZ

They love New Zealand so much the singer bought a house here and even became a New Zealand resident, and Kiwi fans can show their love when System of a Down play one Auckland show in February. The band, fronted by Serj Tankian, the American rock band will play at the Trust Stadium Arena on February 22 with special guests The Dillinger Escape Plan. The band were on a six-year-hiatus, before reuniting last year and their Auckland show is on the back of their headlining slot at Australia's Soundwave Festival.

System of a Down have had three number one albums on the Billboard charts as well as four Grammy nominations including a win in 2006 for the song B.Y.O.B. The band's songs, like Chop Suey and Aerials, focus on activism, war, terrorism and politics. Tankian has released two solo albums, including Elect The Dead, that he played in full with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in Auckland Town Hall. While he might be in LA putting the finishing touches to his next solo album, Tankian says New Zealand is where his heart is. "New Zealand feels like home to me, and while my work takes me many places, I always love returning. I'm super-excited to be back home in Auckland again, this time with System."

[cambennett]

2012 Big Day Out will be last in NZ
6:06 PM Tuesday Jan 17, 2012

.This Friday's Big Day Out is the last day out for Auckland, according to organisers.

The transtasman music festival is pulling the plug on its New Zealand show, although Australia concerts will continue.

3News reported tonight that festival organiser Ken West said it was no longer financially viable to hold the show in New Zealand.

The news was confirmed in a tweet this evening from the BigDayOutNZ feed:

"This year will be New Zealand's last Big Day Out. Come party with us this Friday. It's been an amazing 18 years here in Auckland."

This year's show has been hit by downsizing and sluggish ticket sales. Promoter Campbell Smith had earlier said the event at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland was unlikely to sell out this year.

"We need to have a good show to ensure that we can continue to run the show here," Smith said before the announcement of the show's future came out.

This year's line-up was overshadowed by controversy when headline act Kanye West dropped out of the New Zealand and several Australian shows after initially being announced. The acts for Friday's show include grunge act Soundgarden, Kasabian and Noel Gallagher's post-Oasis band High Flying Birds.

Online: Big Day Out

- HERALD

[piles]

They've conveniently announced this three days before the festival is going to take place, obviously to drum up as much ticket sales as possible for people who think this will be the last one (I also remember 1997 was meant to be the last one). No doubt all sorts of Facebook groups will start in the next 24 hours, with the thinking being if it does sell out there is no reason to can it here.

My prediction is it takes a year off and comes back to Auckland in 2014 will a lot of hoopla. If not, something else will fill the void. Maybe a downsized Soundwave Festival instead.

[piles]

Big Day Out - 2012



Big Day Out - 2007

[SYDNEY]

First international World of Wearable Arts show sells out

The first international show of the renowned World of Wearable Arts sold out over the weekend. As part of Hong Kong Arts Festival's 40th anniversary this year, WOW has shipped out for the first time to perform at the overseas festival. The New Zealand show, founded in 1987, annually showcases weird and wacky themed artistic costumes in Wellington. WOW founder Dame Suzie Moncrieff said the series of 70-minute shows in Hong Kong started out with a bang, as performers faced two packed shows on Sunday. "We opened on Sunday with a private show for the Hong Kong Jockey Club, and then presented to a sold out public matinee audience.

"Both shows were well received. We had great feedback from the audience with people saying they had never seen anything like it." She said many of the audience said they were keen for another round of the show, which featured 100 garments from the historic WOW collection. "Many we spoke with said they would definitely come again next time, which bodes well for our goal of taking WOW performances to other international festivals." A total of eight performances and an audience of at least 16,000 are expected to attend over WOW's Hong Kong run until February 5.

The international show is comprised of a mixture of local Hong Kong performers and New Zealanders flown over for the occasion, she said. "The New Zealand performers and Hong Kong performers (made up of 35 local children and 38 local adult dancers) had rehearsed separately and came together for a full rehearsal less than two weeks ago. "The WOW team arrived here and hit the ground running, pulling together the show in its entirety in a very short timeframe. They've done a wonderful job, and New Zealand should be very proud of how the country has been represented on the international stage."

[IThomas]

Lady Gaga confirms Auckland concert

Get your wackiest outfits ready and prepare for the monster ball - Lady Gaga has confirmed a June show in Auckland. The reigning Queen of Pop will perform for her "little monsters" at Auckland's Vector Arena on June 7 as part of her Born This Way Ball world tour. It will be Stefani Germanotta's third visit to New Zealand after playing support for the Pussycat Dolls in May, 2009, and two sold out shows in March, 2010. Gaga is known as much for her crazy costumes - she wore a meat dress at 2010's MTV Video Music Awards, and emerged from an egg at last year's Grammys - as her hit songs, of which there are many. She hit it big with Poker Face, Just Dance and Paparazzi from her 2008 album The Fame, and followed it up with Marry the Night and Judas from last year's Born This Way. Of her 2010 shows, reviewer Scott Kara said they were as much about the costumes as the music. "The show is a spectacle with a full band and troupe of dancers, multiple costume changes, and special effects including everything from a burning piano through to a scary monster who looks like a deep sea fish, giant squid, and some sort of Doctor Who creature morphed into one," he said. Just the one Auckland show has been announced for June 7, but Gaga doesn't have another gig scheduled until June 13 at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, so there could be room for more.

Pre-sale tickets go on sale on February 13 through www.visaentertainment.co.nz
They go on general release on February 17 through www.ticketmaster.co.nz

What: Lady Gaga
Where: Vector Arena, Auckland
When: Thursday, June 7

[SYDNEY]

Up and coming Concerts ....

GAGA will now have 3 shows in Auckland .... LINK

REECE MASTIN Live, for all the teenage girls ... LINK

TAYLOR SWIFT Concert ... LINK

EVANESCENCE Concert ... LINK

RADIOHEAD Concert ... LINK

FATBOY SLIM ... LINK

DAVID GUETTA ... LINK

FLORENCE & THE MACHINE ... LINK

[IThomas]

Coldplay confirm massive outdoor NZ show

Coldplay is returning to New Zealand in November, graduating to the outdoors of Mt Smart Stadium for what is likely to be the biggest show of the summer. Following in the footsteps of U2, who played two nights at the arena in 2010, it also marks Coldplay's return to the same venue where as relative newbies they played an afternoon slot at the 2001 Big Day Out following the release of their debut album Parachutes and breakthrough single Yellow.

The English band will perform one New Zealand show at Mt Smart on Saturday, November 10. They'll be supported by The Pierces from Alabama and Temper Trap from Australia. They were last here in March 2009 for two shows at Vector Arena off the back of fourth album Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, a gig that included the band playing a three-song acoustic set on tiny instruments at the back of the venue. "We can't wait to get back to New Zealand this November," front man Chris Martin said. "It's such a special place for us. The venue is pretty huge, the New Zealand crowds are always incredible and we'll be bringing everything we've got. It's going to be big."

This time round they come to New Zealand on an extended global jaunt for latest album Mylo Xyloto, which includes singles Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall and Paradise (the one with the video of the band in those silly elephant suits), from June last year. They haven't let up since with a constant stream of dates throughout this year. "It does seem a little bit scary when you first look at it," guitarist Johnny Buckland told TimeOut this week. "But once you start doing it it's great because we genuinely love touring, traveling, and playing - you know, it's a good life." Advance tickets will be available to all Visa members from midday May 17 until 5pm, Saturday 19 May at Visa Entertainment.

Tickets go on general release at 9am on May 25 through Ticketmaster and cost $99.
Where: Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland
When: Saturday, November 10

[IThomas]

Auckland Pride Festival Gets the Pink Light

The streets of Auckland will come alive for the Auckland Pride Festival and Parade in February 2013. The Auckland Pride Festival Trust is delighted the event has received major events sponsorship from Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) and the backing of Mayor Len Brown to stage the 2013 event. Auckland Pride Festival Steering Committee Chair, Gresham Bradley, says the amount of support the GABA-led Community Consultation process has had to bring a Pride Festival back to Auckland has been overwhelming. “The support we’ve received from the GLBT community, the wider community, politically from major parties, and from the media has been heart-warming to say the least. We are a diverse community and we are looking forward to the festival and parade providing a platform to celebrate who we are,” said Gresham. “The sponsorship of the Festival by ATEED represents the first time our community has received any tangible support from Council and will make it possible for us to secure broader sponsorship from the business and corporate sectors. It gives us the foundation from which we can build a major Festival that will become a long term part of an inclusive Auckland City.”

The fortnight long festival launches with the highly successful Big Gay Out on Sunday February 9. The new Pride Street Parade is set for Saturday February 15. A series of events will take place throughout the two weeks including Bear Week, many cultural, sporting and social events yet to be scheduled including a closing celebration on Saturday February 22. “It’s important to stress that we are not intending to recreate the Hero Parade. Ten years have passed since the last one and it’s incredibly important that we move with the times and create a solid foundation for the future. We’re living in a new Auckland and this is a new festival,” he said. “The active involvement of the GBLT community itself will be a key part of building this new Festival”.

The Festival, includes the arrival into Auckland of passengers on a sold out crowd of 1,800 departing from Auckland on an all-gay cruise onboard the exquisite 5-star Atlantis Oosterdam. A welcome event for the cruise passengers is already in planning. The cruise culminates with a dramatic arrival into Sydney for an overnight celebration during the finale of Mardi Gras. Connected communities are a key pillar of Mayor Len Brown’s vision for the new Auckland and he says celebrations like the Pride Festival have an important role in making Auckland the World’s most liveable city. “Our diversity is one of the things that make us great. We love celebrating it, whether it’s Matariki, Pasifika, Diwali, the Lantern Festival or now Pride. I am already a big fan of Big Gay Out. I look forward to being a part of the Pride Festival,” says Len Brown.

Auckland Pride Festival Trust will operate as a governance body and is now recruiting a Festival Board of seven Trustees with experience in business management, event management, public relations, marketing, sponsorship, legal, financial management, and community relationships. The Trustees’ key role will be managing the various aspects of mounting a new Festival including the contracting for the services of a Festival Coordinator and a Parade Coordinator to deliver the 2013 event.
ATEED Major Events Manager Jennah Wootten says the Pride Festival aligns well with Auckland’s Major Events Strategy, delivering both social and economic benefits to the city. “In addition to celebrating Auckland’s diversity, the event will deliver Auckland a boost visitor nights and GDP. It is timed for the lead up to Sydney’s Mardi Gras to maximise these opportunities.” The Festival is expected to contribute an additional 7500 visitor nights to Auckland’s visitor economy and $784,000 to Auckland’s GDP.

[SYDNEY]

Up and Coming Events at VECTOR ARENA:

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS
KENNY ROGERS & GLEN CAMPBELL
SLASH
JEFF DUNHAM
THE WIGGLES
HOT CHELLE RAE
MUMFORD & SONS
THE BLACK KEYS
RADIOHEAD
ONE DIRECTION

[SYDNEY]

Auckland Restaurant Month

Launch into Auckland Restaurant Month in style at the Official Launch Party, bringing together a selection of the BIG little City’s most acclaimed chefs to create a “Walking Degustation” complemented by fine company, music, and entertainment. NZ wines will be matched with dishes from Simon Gault (Euro), Al Brown (Depot), Sean Marshall (Roxy), Warren Turnbull (District Dining) and Ben Bayly (The Grove) from 6.30 – 10pm. The party carries on ‘til late with live music & DJs. The Auckland Restaurant Month Official Launch Party comes complete with a Garden of Eve theme, acknowledging the idea that Eve was the original Epicure. Enjoy this sumptuous party in Eve’s garden where no apple is forbidden and expect the unexpected!

Venue:
Imperial Lane

Address:
Everybody's and Imperial Lane, 7 Fort Lane, Auckland

Date:
1/08/2012 6:30PM

[SYDNEY]

Melissa Etheridge



Fans will experience an evening of over two hours of Melissa’s extensive catalogue. The Frontier Touring Company is proud to announce that Oscar® and Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter MELISSA ETHERIDGE is returning to New Zealand and Australia for a very special July 2012 live tour. Fans will experience an intimate evening of over two hours of powerful performances from Melissa’s extensive catalogue of hits when she returns for her first Australian appearances since 1996. The tour will kick off in New Zealand in July 2012 and will continue on to Australia.

[SYDNEY]

NZ INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

[SYDNEY]

Dame Edna: Eat Pray Laugh



Dame Edna says “farewell Possums” as Barry Humphries takes a final bow. Paul Dainty, Chairman of Dainty Group announced today that Australia’s greatest entertainment export – iconic performer, satirist, artist and comedian Barry Humphries – will take his final bow to New Zealand audiences during his farewell tour, “Eat Pray Laugh!”. Humphries, whose alter egos include inebriated cultural attaché, the Honorable Sir Les Patterson, and Moonee Ponds’ legendary housewife, Dame Edna Everage, will perform a limited number of farewell shows from June to August this year.

[SYDNEY]

Men in tights perform ballet classics

Weezer at Vector this summer

Auckland Marathon the hottest ticket in town

[SYDNEY]

Red Hot Chili Peppers at Vector

Grammy Award-winning legends Red Hot Chili Peppers will return to Auckland for one show in January. The California rock band will play Vector Arena on January 14. Even approaching close to 30 years on the music scene, the Red Hot Chili Peppers show no signs of slowing down. Led by Anthony Kiedis, the band released their 10th studio album in 2011. The first show back in New Zealand since the opening of Vector in 2007, the band are expected to play all the favourites, from the 1990s classic albums Blood Sugar Sex Magic and One Hot Minute, through to more recent hit songs Californication and By the Way. This will be the first tour for the band's new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer. Ticket details are still to be announced but fans can register for pre-sales with Live Nation.

WHERE: Vector Arena

WHEN: January 14

[IThomas]

Nicki Minaj coming to New Zealand

Singer Nicki Minaj has announced on Twitter she will be performing in New Zealand in September. The ‘Super Bass’ hitmaker this morning tweeted a number of concert details, and when prompted by a follower gave a date for her show: “New Zealand Sept 28th!!!” Minaj’s album Pink Friday was certified platinum a month after its release in the US. Her follow-up, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, was released this year and has sold over 1 million copies. Minaj has been compared to Lady Gaga throughout her career, but says she is vastly different as she’s a “rapper from southside Jamaica, Queens”. No further details about Minaj’s New Zealand concert have yet been announced.

[SYDNEY]

Ed Sheeran wows ASB Theatre

[SYDNEY]

Nickelback are Auckland bound

Without trying, they have become one of the most controversial bands in the world. And Kiwi audiences will get to see Nickelback in all their glory this November. Having just finished a 54-city tour of North America, and before they hit Europe, the Canadian rock band will bring their Here and Now tour to Auckland for their first Kiwi show in three years. The band's last tour in 2009 saw them performing to nearly two million fans with more than 120 shows around the world. Their most recent album, Here and Now, has been their biggest international release ever, debuting in the top 10 of the New Zealand charts. Nickelback has sold nearly 50 million albums worldwide - 150,000 in New Zealand alone - making them one of the most successful rock acts in history. Since their 2001 breakthrough hit song How You Remind Me, Nickelback has sent more than 20 singles to radio. In 2009, Billboard Magazine also named Nickelback Top Group of the Decade. Their album All the Right Reasons spent 112 consecutive weeks in the Top 30 of the Billboard Top 200, was certified eight-times platinum in the US and sold more than 11 million copies worldwide. Nickelback made headlines ealier this year by firing back against vocal critics on Twitter, and in 2011, 50,000 people signed a petition to stop the band performing during half time at a Detroit Lions football game. The band will be performing hits and chart-topping singles drawn from their seven-album arsenal for their one New Zealand show.