Homegrown

So this is the fourth Homegrown since it started, and was the fourth one I attended (yup, I am very proud of that fact!) I didn't get to spend as much time in Wellington as I would have liked (my heart will forever belong there) but I did get to see some of my favourite NZ bands. I can't be bothered doing a proper review, so here are some pretty pictures I took, and maybe some comments.

Supermodel: I had never heard of them and didn't know what to expect, but they were playing before Motocade so we thought 'Why not?'. They turned out to be awesome!





Next was Motocade: and they are always brilliant (fun fact, I first saw these guys live at the first Homegrown). I love the single 'Holy Moly', but even better they played my fave song 'Friends'.



After that was Ivy Lies. I had heard the single 'Addicted' a year earlier on the C4 ad and had been trying to hear more of their stuff since. I had even leagally downloaded a couple of their singles from itunes, but was worried that they would be one of those girl groups who were made awesome by autotune in the studio, and sucked live. Not the case. They rock. I bought the album afterwards. WOOT!





After that we headed over to the Jim Beam Rockstage. We managed to get to second row of the mosh pit in time to catch the end of Black River Drive, who I thought were good, but I didn't enjoy them enough to want to race out and buy their album or anything.



After that was one of my fave NZ bands THE CHECKS: God I freaking love these guys. I have actually lost count of how many times I have seen them live, (and I am pretty sure four of those times were at each homegrown). Unfortunately because they were on the rock stage instead of their usual place on the indie stage, the sound quality wasn't as good (and by that I mean it wasn't as LOUD) and you couldn't hear the actual words half the time. Plus the singer did seem REALLY out of it (just how many drugs did he take before getting on stage?). But as always, it was still an awesome show. Squeeee The Checks!!





Then we killed some time before heading over to the Redbull Studio Live stage and caught the end of Cairo Knife Fight before The Phoenix Foundation. And if I could go back in time I would probably stay at the rock stage longer and miss these acts.



But then came The Clean! These guys are the Godfathers of Indie rock in NZ and it was so amazing to see them live.



And we finished up with an always amazing, very energetic Die! Die! Die!. I love these guys (even if the singer does look a lot like my mate Jeremy) and as always they were well worth seeing.





So it was a great night in the end. A couple of run ins with rude, drunk, annoying people in the audience, but that always happens. The music more than made up for it. Only next year guys can you not make it such a long walk between stages! We missed out on seeing Tiki Tane because he was all the way across near Oriental Bay, and by the time we pushed through the crowds and waited in line numerous amounts of time we had missed his show. Boo. But the rest was good. I think I will give it an A-

AFP Goes Down on Napier! A.K.A my Sappy Love Letter to AFP

A Letter to Amanda Palmer.

I saw you for the first time performing with Brian Viglione under the band name 'The Dresden Dolls' in 2006. I had never really heard any of your music before, but that night I knew I had been converted.

I got your albums, I learnt the words and I saw you both times you returned to Wellington to play solo shows at Bodega. I loved your punk cabaret style, your beautiful outfits and the fact that you don't believe in the beauty standard (which as someone who has always felt self-conscious about my appearance, appealed to me). Your lyrics are clever and moving and are always stuck in my head and usually played on my ipod.

You are honest and most importantly you don't forget your fans. I think your total dedication to the people who love you is what makes me adore you the most. Constantly keeping us up to date through twitter and your blog posts, your ninja gigs and the fact that you have come to New Zealand three times in three years (when most musicians will visit us maybe once or twice in their careers) just makes you so much cooler!

So when I couldn't afford to go to your Wellington gig this year (because I lost my insurance job in Wellington and had to shift to Napier where I now work on check outs)I was heartbroken. I tried to make the best of it and enjoy art deco weekend, but it wasn't quite the same. Until Sunday morning when a friend updated their fb status about a ninja gig at Marine Parade. WHAT! AFP in Napier? For reals? I almost couldn't believe it.

The show was amazing, even in the rain. And although the crowd was not as big as I was hoping for, the fact that you managed to convert randoms from off the street into fans (two men asked me who you were, where you were from and how they could find out more about you) shows just how impressive you are.

The fact that I then got your autograph and a photo with you made up for the fact that I had to miss your gig. However, next time you come back I will be in the front row of Bodega, singing along and wearing a big grin.

So many things of AWESOME to blog about -

1) So I am one step closer to finishing my goal. Yesterday I finished Pride and Prejudice, and although I have never been able to get through it before, when I forced myself to finish those first few chapters I found my self not hating it.

Then, about half way through it, when Mr Darcy firsts proposes(hey, its not a spoiler if the book was written in the 19th century), I found that I had been pulled into the story and was actually enjoying it. By the time Elizabeth got to Pemberly I was so caught ip in the story that I read the last 100 pages in one sitting. At first it was Mr Bennett who was my favourite character, but as I got more taken in by the story I found myself falling in love with Mr Darcy and his awkward ways. By the time they all arrived at Longbourn and started making with the happy I realised that I actually loved the story that I had avoided for so long.

The plot was brilliant and the characters were a mixture of painfully embarassing (Mrs Bennett, Mr Collins), disgustingly haughter (the Bingly women, Lady Catherine), and really enjoyable (all of them really. Except Kitty. I felt nothing for her). Because of the long, and at times annoying to follow, speeches, it's not one that I would read over and over again. But I am glad that I read it after years of avoiding it. So score one for the list.


2) I saw the movie Burlesque and it was even more amazing than I thought it would be :)

Christina has an amazing voice (seriously- how can such a timy little white girl sing like that) and Cher is Cher (which means she is brilliant). Stanley Tucci as Chers gay best friend and costume man is just enough camp to be fun, but not too over the top. Cam Gigandet as the love interest was so gorgeous (and at one point delightfully naked :). The costumes made me nearly wet myself in excitement, and the dances were Las Vegas showgirls meets Cabaret fun and feel, (Alam Cumming as the doormman/master of ceremonies is so funny). I may even see it at the cinemas again, because the costumes and stage design look so much better on the big screen, and I will definately get the soundtrack.



and 3):



Amanda Fucking Palmer. 'Nuff said.