Good Riddance – Galatos (Concert Review)
So last night was the night for pop punk legends Good Riddance, and first impression walking in to the always great but oft forgotten Galatos was ‘oh god, it’s a total Sausage Fest (A feeling that intensified throughout the night), but a pretty damn good turn out for a Thursday night in Auckland’. Doors were […]
Marc Ribot – The Tuning Fork (Concert Review)
Guitarist extraordinaire Marc Ribot performed a rare solo acoustic show at Auckland’s Tuning Fork. It was a showcase of intense musicianship that left the assembled fans spellbound, despite the fact that there was very little personal interplay between Ribot and his audience. This was very much a case of an artist letting his music do […]
Watch Kevin Field Perform Offering From His New Album
Auckland-based keyboard player Kevin Field traveled to New York City to record his third album, The A List, which was released last week. Now he’s back in New Zealand playing around town. The 13th Floor caught up with him and his band at Auckland’s Kenneth Myers Centre where we recorded a video session with Kevin. […]
Lydia Lunch & Retrovirus – The Kings Arms (Concert Review)
Along with her band Retrovirus, Lydia Lunch brought plenty of attitude to The Kings Arms and a performance to justify that attitude. It was, despite the weather, one of the hottest shows of the year…noisy, confrontational, emotional and powerful…the way rock & roll is meant to be. For a brief time it felt like the […]
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Powerstation (Concert Review)
If we’re being charitable, we’ll write off the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion’s show at Auckland’s Powerstation to the fact that the show had been postponed from last Friday night due to an illness in the band. The rescheduling, we’ll allow, can account for the rather disappointing turnout at Wednesday’s show; the illness could explain the […]
Interview with Russ Rankin of Good Riddance!
Tove sat down with front man of Good Riddance. They played Wednesday night at Galatos with Vs The World and Auckland legends (and reformed for this show only) Prowler!
Lydia Lunch & Jon Spencer Talk To The 13th Floor
It looks like Auckland will be rockin’ tonight as The Powerstation hosts the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion for a show rescheduled from last week and The Kings Arms presents a set from No-Wave Goddess Lydia Lunch and her band Retrovirus. The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda spoke to both artists recently and it seems only right […]
Watch Holly Arrowsmith’s 13th Floor Video Session
Having just moved north from Queenstown to Auckland, singer-songwriter Holly Arrowsmith has just released her debut album, For The Weary Traveller. Inspired by classic songwriters such as Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, Holly infuses her experiences of living in the deep South along with her roots in the US. Here she is talking […]
Listen To Wrecking Crew Bassist Carol Kaye (Interview)
For music fans, one of the most intriguing documentaries on offer at this year’s New Zealand International Film Festival is The Wrecking Crew. The film shines a light on the group of session musicians who worked in Los Angeles in the 1960s in Los Angeles and played on just about every hit record to come […]
Kitty, Daisy & Lewis The Powerstation (Concert Review)
It’s been a lean few weeks for live music…thankfully, the film festival is taking up the slack…so that made the anticipation of seeing Camden siblings Kitty, Daisy & Lewis even greater. The trio have performed there before…Kitty celebrated her 18th birthday there in 2011. This time is was Lewis’ turn to blow out the candles […]
Watch Holly Arrowsmith’s Mouth of the Morning
Singer-songwriter Holly Arrowsmith releases her debut album, For The Weary Traveller today. Holly was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico and raised in Queenstown. She now resides in Auckland and is about to set out on the road to promote her new album, including a show at the Tuning Fork on Saturday, September 5th. Holly […]
Peace Officer or Killing Machine? (Interview)
Documentary film makers Scott Christopherson and Brad Barber are in New Zealand to attend the screening of their film Peace Officer at the New Zealand International Film Festival. Peace Officer explores the militarization of the police department in the United States, particularly the SWAT teams. Their chief character in the film is Dub Lawrence, a […]
Ginger Snort – Rangatire Q Theatre (Comedy Review)
Tonight’s performance by the Snort comedy crew really showed how far they’d come. Since first starting in September 2013, they’ve developed a cult following with their Friday night improv shows at the Basement Theatre. Tonight they went large and put on a special ginger themed fundraiser at Q Theatre. They teamed up with sponsors All […]
The Last Western? (Interview)
For their latest documentary, Western, co-directing brothers Bill and Turner Ross set their sights on the West Texas town of Eagle Pass to explore the current state of great American West. The Ross Brothers focus on Eagle Pass’s mayor, Chad Foster, a dynamic character who comes complete with a ten gallon hat along with local […]
Back To The Future With The Turbo Kid (Interview)
The Turbo Kid is a Canadian/New Zealand co-production which finds Kiwi producer Ant Timpson teaming up with Canadian directors Francois Simard, Anouk Whissell and Yoann-Karl Whissell. A “retro-sci-fi” based in 1997, The Turbo Kid is a sweet-natured tribute to the 1980s with stylistic nods to Mad Max and BMX Bandits and an over-abundance of blood and […]
Margot Nash’s Family Secrets (Interview)
Margot Nash has been a filmmaker since the 1970s. The Kiwi-born, Sydney-based director and academic turns the camera on her own family with her latest documentary, The Silences, which screens at this year’s New Zealand International Film Festival. Narrated by Nash herself, The Silences explores the secrets she discovered about her own family growing up […]
Mimsy Cable – Wine Cellar (Concert Review)
An early Sunday show often has a different mood about it, especially for a more intimate seated gig at the Wine Cellar. Tonight is also special as it’s Mimsy Cable’s first show in four years. She’d been working up to releasing her debut EP, The Coral Reef, for that long, so it felt like […]
Jon Spencer: Back To The Apple (Interview)
Jon Spencer brings his Blues Explosion back to Auckland for a raucous show at The Powerstation on Friday, July 31st plus 3 more NZ dates. The band has just released their latest album, Freedom Tower: No Wave Dance Party 2015. The album finds the trio in top form, with the songwriting centred around their adopted […]
Watch New Gum Sarn’s 13th Floor Video Session
With a debut album just released on Spunk Record, Auckland quartet New Gum Sarn are the hottest band on the local scene right now. Just before they set out on the road to conquer the rest of the country, they stopped by The 13th Floor to record a video session. In addition to playing two […]
Shining A Light On The Sherpa (Interview)
Film director Jennifer Peedom traveled to Nepal last year to make a documentary focusing on the often under-reported role Sherpas play in the huge business that has been built around Mt Everest climbing expeditions. Specifically, she planned to shine a light on Phurba Tashi Sherpa, who held the record with another Sherpa for most ascents […]