By Al Ronberg

I never knew... how could it have been over all this time, that I never realised Rhys Darby is from Pakuranga!?!? No longer will it just be the suburb I kinda have to drive through to get anywhere else from Howick! It will now be the memory trigger for an AWESOME night out at The Civic!!!

As I wrote previously, I was REALLY excited about this event. From the very outset I was in stitches. Brendon Lovegrove was charged with warming up the crowd and it has to be said, there were some absolutely classic moments whilst he did so... I won't be able to keep a straight face in the event I meet someone who has the name Mahanama! (Doo do do do do). Once the crowd was considerably warm, it was time for Chris Brain to share some anecdotes. I have to be honest... the Standup comedy cliche of Drugs, Sex, gratuitous use of swear words and mocking religion was disappointing to more than just me. Looking around to the crowd around us, you could see a collective Meh in their eyes. I will leave it at that because I wasn't there to review Chris Brain! I will say though it was a bit like having the Howick Under 7 Rugby squad playing the curtain raiser at the world cup final...

After the break, Brendon Lovegrove came out to warm us up again and, it seemed, to rip the shreds out of Whitianga... I appreciated the ad-lib crowd warming styles and so did my Plus One.

Rhys Darby is nothing short of a genius. Right from the outset his understated, yet incredibly sharp presentation just hits you! It must be hard to keep fresh when so much of what you do is on youtube, or in major hollywood movies - but Rhy had the crowd on task right from the first sentence! There are many highlights and the stand-out would have to be the routine about Transformers - I was honestly blown away by the mix of physical humour with extremely well-timed dialogue. His sound effects are also well up there with the best and if they ever do remakes of the Police Academy movies, the Michael Winslow character is going to have an awesome Ginger Coiffe!
You could say from small beginnings, I am now quite happily a total Rhys Darby fan. In saying that, I am now clever enough to know NOT to stalk him, cos there is no way I am wanting to end up as a character on the next incredibly awesome Rhys Darby tour. So when I am walking through Pakuranga Plaza, wondering whether to have Oporto or BK for lunch... I know that if I bump into Rhys that I will give him a "Cher Bro" nod of the head and he will know that I care.

The show is going to come out on DVD at some stage in the near future, and I would highly recommend you get it for the Transformer skit alone!!! I also heard rumours of a TV spot for the show as well, so keep your eyes peeled!

Thanks a bunch
AL

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By Al Ronberg

OK, I am not really sure if it is the done thing to assign your own nickname to icons of New Zealand entertainment... but for now we are gonna go with it... But before then, I have a confession to make... can we handle confessions this close to Christmas!? I am sure it is the season for open and honest discussion so I am just going to put it out there... Ummmm... oh gosh this is tougher than I thought... Well... it's kinda like this... I have only seen 2 full episodes of Flight of the Conchords! (A NATION COLLECTIVELY GASPS)... In my defence... we don't have sky and I don't class myself as a junkie of TV stuff! I have friends in England that have more experience in the FOTC ways!

So my entire idea of what will transpire on Saturday night at the Civic, is based around having seen The Boat that Rocked, Yes Man, an occasional appearance on 7 Days and the 2 Degrees ads! I am sure that The Darbinator himself will be awesome and from what I have read of the show at Buytickets.co.nz there will be an awesome array of Characters that The Darbinator will bring out to declare war on any frowns that may just show up. (Did I really just create the worst metaphor in history?!).

I have to be really honest - my expectations are really high - I love the Darbinator's style and I think that out of all the KMA assignments I have been sent to, the expectation levels are as high as they were before I went to Avenue Q and we all know how much THAT was a resounding success!!! Looking forward to sharing with you after the show!

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Kiss My Arts and in particular blogger Al Ronberg made the Herald on Sunday today with an excerpt of his review of The Song Company. Nice one Al and thanks to the HOS for the plug!

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By Al Ronberg

It is truly an honour to know that you have done something incredibly significant with your life. Last evening was my moment to SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER the average age of the audience at The Song Company's performance at the Town Hall. As the lights dimmed at the beginning of the show, the crowd anxiously waited for an Aussie Sextet who, it seems, was also waiting to give everyone a very nice surprise by starting the concert from the BACK of the Town Hall. As they entered the room and sang their way around the circle, you could hear pins dropping and hearts melting at the sound of their song about Cuckoos. We were seated up in the circle and it was absolutely the coolest thing to have the singers come within arms reach as they made their way to the stage...

The Song Company are very good. I closed my eyes and imagined myself in distant places as they sang their way through Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter... I also couldn't help thinking that the guys looked remarkably like some teachers I had at High School. There was the Bespectacled Bearded Bass who was the spitting image of my maths teacher at Palmy Boys... and the shaved-headed Economics teacher and his Harry-Potter-with-a-beard tenor-singing IT guy... Not that describing how people look helps you understand how awesome they sounded though... But it is important to note that I was not expecting a flashback to Fourth Form when I headed out last night!

The songs were often in Exotic languages like French and German... the kind of songs you would whisper in your loved-one's ear if you had been naughty and needed to up your game in the romance stakes... not that I would know about these things... but learning songs in other languages could save a large number of relationships I am sure... I imagine though that the songs in German could be a little tricky to whisper. At one stage I thought that they were singing "Oh Bieber Feeling" which was very much fuel for a wandering mind like mine... It seems that seasons change much more nicely in other languages it has to be said!

There was a song which brought a teeny-tiny touch of humour to the performance where the boys were to-ing and fro-ing with the ladies with sounds from the school yard... the kind of sounds that boys make at girls during a particularly one-sided game of catch and kiss. I am not a fan of toilet-talk in general, but two blokes who were ok with it were having discussions in the loos about their being a touch of medieval in the first half... I will have to take their word for it as I am not one to clarify such thoughts in such a location.

Over all I enjoyed the concert. There were times though where I felt like a fish out of water. I think the show could have benefitted greatly by more engagement with the audience. There were times where Poetry was read aloud to the Audience, but no-one even introduced themselves or greeted the audience at the beginning which, as a highly relational individual, I found a bit snobby... It was almost as if I was supposed to KNOW who they were and find out more from the programme.

The songs on offer weren't really my flavour, but they were performed with a high-level of excellence. These people are very good and I give them big-ups for holding a whole evening of fantastic singing and keeping on tune without any musicians to blend with.

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By Al Ronberg

I was in choirs at school and even had a super-fun stint in the Manawatu Youth Choir which was a bit of a blast. Singing with other people is a craft... it is a challenge and it is a great way to meet hot-babes... well this seemed important when I was in my early 20s... I bet the hot-babes in question figured it was a safe way to get away from all the annoying hot-guys that were chasing them and hang out with the nerdy types for a while... be safe and drive them wild (or something like that). The highlight of this experience was singing in a Barbershop routine with an awesome Samoan mate... we sang a song about begging for money and it not being enough for fish and chips... it was funny when HE sang it... If I was to take lead... I could take some heat off Paul Henry for a while!

The Song Company promises something super-special to me. Their About Us on their website states: "The Song Company is Australia’s leading vocal ensemble. It embraces music from around the world and across the ages. In collaboration with artists of the highest calibre, it aims to create a distinctive and dynamic new voice, relevant to the audiences of today and tomorrow." I am really quite pumped about this!!!

Growing up in Central Otago bought with it a true appreciation of the Seasons. All four seasons are captured spectacularly in iconic events from my childhood. Spring was always celebrated with Alexandra's Blossom Festival. Parades and markets with kick-bottom rides were things to look forward to... much like the fruit that would soon follow. Summer in Central Otago is super-hot and brings back memories of swimming in the Clutha River... well when I say swimming... I mean "jumping-in-and-floating-a-couple-of-kilometres-downstream" as it was pretty quick-flowing. We all appreciate and have probably experienced the joys of Autumn when the trees spectacularly lose their leaves in places like Arrowtown and Winter is a no-brainer with all that it brings... Yes, the seasons are well entwined into the story of my life and I look forward to marrying these memories with a musical journey through the seasons with The Song Company tomorrow night.

Here is a little YouTubery for your listening pleasure... I can ACTUALLY imagine this in the Town Hall... Mind = ready to be blown

Check out their Website HERE

Buy TIckets to the event at Auckland Town Hall from 6:30pm. Show starts at 8pm tonight (Tuesday).

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By Al Ronberg

OK... I was expecting to learn heaps tonight, but one thing that had never clicked in my head was that Gordon and Miranda Harcourt were brother and sister... How can someone in their mid-30s, who is a fan of Fair Go not know this? (Gosh I shudder writing mid-30s in reference to myself)...

I have to say this right from the outset: Miranda Harcourt is a freaking genius! To carry a show like this with it's expertly navigated maze of live drama and video discussions (with significant characters from her past), is truly something that will have you on the edge of your seat... Miranda is someone that I have never really seen in action other than what I remember of Gloss (which never featured prominently in my viewing priorities to be fair). But on a stage, with a crowd, and a kick-bottom script - Miranda Harcourt is in her element. She is larger than life and I am a total convert to her Miranda-ness. I won't give away much of what is in the show, I just don't think that would be fair really - you have to see this show for yourself... Stuart McKenzie's script is SHARP and incredibly funny... however...

There are times during this show where I felt completely absorbed into the story, as my recollections of childhood memories connected with the events that form the backdrop of Miranda's life. In my head it was completely as if the 3 of us (Writer, Actor and Audience) were laying out pictures from our lives, onto a large canvas... A collage-a-trois if you like...

I felt challenged as a parent, as a husband and always find comfort that in many of the toughest times that I have had to face, that there are others that have survived similar things. This show is unceasingly honest and I find that to be totally refreshing. I loved the banter between Miranda and her Husband, and also the banter that was so expertly timed between Miranda and her video friends... I had taken my 21yo little sister and she really loved this show - the humour was timeless, so not just for us 80s geeks. She was even thinking of friends that she thought should come!

I can't emphasize enough that you truly have to get to this show. It not only captures the life of our country through a couple of awesome decades, but sheds light on the life of someone who has invested much of themselves in making those decades memorable for US. You WILL laugh and by the end of the night, you would have to be a brick if you hadn't had a hint of a tear in your eye.

Thank you Miranda for a good laugh that will have me up into the wee-small hours reading Milton to my breast-feeding wife.

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By Al Ronberg
As I sit here and ponder the prospect of heading to this show, something in the preamble has scared me a little bit... not in the "There's an axe-murderer in the hallway, Honey" kind of scared... but more the "I am going to have to confront the fact that much of what I know and remember is now classed as retro, nostalgic or historic" kind of scared. Growing up in the 1980s was awesome and I have to admit I am a wee bit excited at seeing how they capture this time of my life through Drama.

I haven't really dabbled in much professional theatre before Kiss My Arts came along, so this is going to be something that I know I will enjoy for the experience alone! I look forward to connecting into a storyline that promises to remind myself about a few things that may have slipped my memory!

The list of topics alluded to in this show reads very much like a checklist for proving your 80s credentials:
Springbok Tour
Gloss
Princess Di
80s and 90s Soundtrack...

I think I will be very much in my element.

I had a wee search through the Al Archives just now and found a few things that prove my 80s credentials and share them with you so next time you meet me, you know I am legit! In fact, you will think I am 2 Legit to Quit.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Aaaahhhh the 1980s...

I DID go to Empire Strikes Back when it first came out (Which in Central Otago was about 1997)... I did write about Lady Di and that WAS Darth Vader in the Empire Strikes Back picture... Bad Jelly was a witch to be reckoned with before there was a Voldemort and when your teacher says to "write a story about being sick" you write a story that says "On Tuesday I was sick". Simplicity personified.

Surprised I never went on to great things in the art world really...

For ticketing information check out http://www.the-edge.co.nz/Event-Pages/S/STAMP-2010/Biography-of-My-Skin.aspx

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By Al Ronberg

Colin Currie is actually very very awesome! Watching your 2 year old mesmerised by the movement, rhythm and sounds of a percussionist is truly a rewarding way to spend an afternoon. I kind of wished that I could have made it to the full NZSO version of the event, as I have to admit - I was almost as captivated as my daughter!

This show was completely inclusive and there were some very proud parents who can now say that they have watched their kids play drums at a concert in the Town Hall! It was one of those times when you felt really tempted to use your kids as an excuse to have a go... "Ooooh Emily, that drumstick looks really heavy, let Daddy help you..." (Anyone remember the Pulp Sport character who parodied the Instant Kiwi ads by playing Competitively against his kid instead of teaching him??? Well it's a bit like that!).

When you are a parent, you tend to notice things about people, and I noticed that Colin was noticing the kids really getting into his Marimba pieces, and there was a spark in his eye which told me he was doing something that he enjoyed very much... I am really grateful that someone of international renown would take the time to be involved in something like the "On the House" series of events at the Edge. When someone in the public eye decides to display their human-ness, who isn't going to win out of that!? Cheers Colin!

Yesterday was a pretty grey day in Auckland and to be honest, until being involved in Kiss My Arts, I wouldn't have even thought that there might be rainy day activities to do such as a Free Concert at the Town Hall - I will now be keeping this as an option in the back of my head - Why go play at Chipmunks, when you can open up the possibility of a new life-long passion for the arts in your kids?

Any concert that brings your kids to the point of falling asleep in their Carseat is a concert that has the potential to be very popular with parents - so Colin Currie proved to also be a very great Parenting Resource!!! :)

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OK, so the last Scottish person named Colin that I was excited about was racing cars around dirty tracks all over the world... and then he was taken from us way too soon... however, I am happy that tomorrow I get to replace Mr McRae with a new Scottish Colin. Colin Currie is a Scottish Percussionist which means he bangs on lots of things, and for all intents and purposes, he is renowned for doing this very well.

I checked out this awesome video from Good Morning which Colin links to from his Twitter account. All I can say is WOW!!!

He is soooooo very very good that I think former Defence Force Chief Scientist Mr Wince must have taught Colin everything he knows (Mr Wince seems to be very good at a lot of things)... Or more likely Colin is actually benefitting from many years of practice and hard work...

Tomorrow's show is with the NZSO and is GRATIS - that means free in Latin... We should use Latin more I think so we can say things like "Nulli Secundus" instead of "Second to None"... and "Nihil Boni Sine Labore" instead of "nothing good without hard work". OK, so I only know enough Latin to recall translations of 2 old school mottos, but there would be times that speaking Latin was awesome I am sure... How many of us would be able to sum up a night of triumph over our mates by saying Vini, Vidi, Vici and NOT feel very very good about ourselves.

I am taking my family with me again as this show is particularly suitable for kids who will LOVE the visual display that is inherently present in a percussion performance! Hope to see you there!!!

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A Taste of Africa was something that you will remember that I was very much looking forward to! There was a packed house of families that had come along to dance, sing and clap loudly... Everything that I hoped the concert would be, it so completely was! The opening act was a rhythmic dance that used empty cans of drink as both the Percussion section AND probs in the dance - very cool!

Next there was the African version of Fred Dagg (Apologies for the mental pictures currently circulating your head right now)... I only draw the analogy as the dance involved lots of energy and 8 or so guys dancing and slapping their gumboots. It was kind of like Kapa Hake, but with Gumboots... if the Springboks are ever looking to counter the Haka with a dance of their own, I would highly suggest they at least give the gumboot thing a go, it might not scare the ABs, but it could distract them with humour... Kind of like when the monsters on Monsters Inc work out laughter is more powerful than screams... (If this actually happens and it is a Springbok/AB final at next years world cup and we lose... you never heard all this from me!!!).

After the opening dance numbers there were a heap of super-tight African Choir songs. The language they sing in is so conducive to harmonies and multi-part choir pieces... But again, it wasn't just the harmonies that grab you, the Rhythm and movement of the singers is like whole body singing... it is like a choir that Deaf people would appreciate I am sure!!!

You often don't get much for free these days, so I am stoked that the Edge has put on these shows for families! I will leave you with the true test of the day - the Emily Toe-Tapperometer. I leave you this visual indication of my 2yo's response to the show! :)

28082010(001).mp4 Watch on Posterous

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By Al Ronberg

OK - so it is tentative at best to consider the blood running through my veins as even remotely African, but my Aunty visited South Africa once, so I am gonna claim it! My wife however is HALF South African and my daughters therefore are a 1/4 each, so our family will make up one whole South African when we go along to what promises to be a hugely cool event tomorrow!

There is something that has penetrated to my very core ever since Paul Simon released his Graceland album, and since the Lion King brought the African sound into a more global awareness... I LOVE the rhythm, the harmonies and the intensity of African music, so I am really excited about taking my family to the show! I might even practice that mildly sheep-sounding noise that you hear all through the Circle of Life or Homeless...

The very best thing about the Pick and Mix programme that this show forms a part of, is that you get Top-Notch entertainment for FREE!!! That means that there is no excuse for missing out on this one!!! The only PLEA I would make to you is PLEASE leave your Vuvuzelas at home!!!

I look forward to regaling you with information about the show tomorrow!!!

Cheers!!!

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By Al Ronberg

Bearing in mind the nature of this evening's topic - I had better be very careful how I write... Those Red Dots may appear when I least expect it!

Walking in to the set of Assassins is something that is just a wee bit enjoyable. Think of an ultra-patriotic pep rally or something like that and you get what I mean... great lighting and set-design sets the scene for shows like this so we were definitely off to a good start...

Having the cast wandering around the theatre before the show having little "interactions" with the crowd was pretty nice and then the pinnacle of the pre-show happenings was a resounding fart noise from a cheeky santa character (Who would later be seen in the vicinity of President Nixon).

The basic premise of this show is weaving a tapestry of narrative through the history of those that have tried to kill american presidents. From political activists and delusional nutters to fanatical followers of cult-leaders and the Jody-Foster obsessed lovestruck Reagan shooter... this show covers a lot of history. There are some VERY funny moments and some great music... But it unfortunately drags on a bit, something noticed by myself AND my Plus one for the evening. In no way was this caused by the cast - they were actually phenomenal and bang on the money with everything they were doing - I just think it is a concept limited in its range of material? I don't really know why it seemed to drag.. it starts awesomely and ends just as well... just a bit lost in the middle somewhere?

I think the cast did a great job of accents and mannerisms... I liked Charles' Manson's girlfriend the best - her character was very well executed (if you excuse the pun). The only down side was the poor guy who was losing his voice throughout the night... I hope he is all good for later performances. Lyrically there were a few lovely little tidbits like "The Lord was my employer, and now he is my lawyer..." (Al's VERY rough paraphrase)

I don't think that Les Mis, Blood Brothers or Avenue Q are in danger of being knocked off the "my favourite musicals" list by Assassins, but I think it is a pretty decent night out and I would fully understand if you wanted to make your own mind up!

Head HERE to get your tickets!

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By Al Ronberg

Kiss My Arts has always benefitted from the fantastic input of Sarah KNOWLES... but has now got the fantastic opportunity to examine what goes on in the world of GRASSY KNOLLS... That's right people - we are about to enter the world of the conspiracy theorists with just a touch of cabaret. (I am sure Sarah will smash the first person that sees fit to start calling her "Grassy"... just so you know!).

I was pretty excited about the opportunity to go to the preview of Avenue Q a couple of months back... mainly because it's reputation had preceded it and I was very much intrigued... Well... I am pretty much AS EXCITED to go to "Assassins" as it is something that I have always found extremely interesting.

Long before there were Princesses hitting pillars in Paris or Terrorists flying planes into New York, the world had two defining moments in which their collective memory was frozen in time. All of us in the Kiss My Arts experiment remember very clearly what we were doing when Neil Armstrong took those incredible first steps on the moon - we were all very busy NOT EXISTING, and likewise the world was in pause mode (and we were also not-existing) when JFK was on the receiving end of Lee Harvey Oswald's bullet (enter the grassy knoll). I can remember when John Hinckley Jr. had a shot or 6 at President Reagan and I am sure that I am going to be all very much excited at the whole package that is on offer on Friday!!!

Oliver Driver is... well... driving this production from the Director's chair (I just assume he has a chair he would have picked up somewhere along his illustrious acting and presenting career) which proves that Death does follow a career in breakfast television.

Assassins is a Stephen Sondheim written musical that looks at the lives of those that have obtained infamy through their attempts on the lives of US presidents and from all accounts seems to be a very well-received piece of musical brilliantness.

Secretly I hope that NZ features prominently with our fine tradition of egg-based Assassination attempts, and maybe someone might be able to run on stage and hurl a shoe or something... But that might be stretching it a bit!

I shall leave you with a funny YouTube clip as that would seem rather fitting methinks?

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By Al Ronberg

OK - the real temptation in writing a blog post about the Unfinished Symphony is to just stop somewhere random and pretend it is all very clever and funny... I will acknowledge that to do such a thing would be super-incredibly cheesy and well... very much ME! So at the risk of falling into new realms of silliness, I will just write a review of tonight's APO show "Unwrap the Music".

There is so much that impressed me tonight. The whole point of this Kiss My Arts program is to take cultural plebs like myself, and provide some catalytic experiences that open up new worlds of artistic appreciation-ness to us. If there was ever going to be one show that bridged that gap in the most tangible way, it was "Unwrap the Music". I do confess that over my formative years, much joy was to be had as I sat listening to old 33rpm LPs of classical music. I used to pretend that I was conducting the orchestra to all heights of euphoria with resounding renditions of the William Tell Overture... So you could say I have a little bit of a soft spot for Classical Music. On a strictly functional level, we have a CD of classical tunes that was exclusively compiled to enhance the Sleep-time of little babies, which has at times brought much sanity to our crazy household. But back to what impressed me.

Graham Abbot (whom for brevity's sake we shall now call "Abs") is that fantastic kind of dry-funny that is backed up with a strong knowledge of what he is being funny about... I am sure that we weren't the first audience he has used those one-liners and little comic "hooks" on, but there was never a time where his delivery felt stale - here I was at the APO, and I am talking about comedy - Comedy is light-years funnier when there is cleverness attached in my humble opinion! His explanation of the intricacies of the Unfinished Symphony, and the life of it's creator (Orange Sherbet or something like that) weren't just insightful, but very much foundational to the whole night! I tweeted it earlier tonight, but I have to say that Graham is a particularly great explainerer!!!

The ability in this modern age to harvest information about all new types of minutiae was well contrasted in Ab's disappointment that Schubert hasn't returned any explanatory e-mails about this piece, since 1828... and I also liked the down-to-earth way in which the pretentious wall often associated with things musical, was slowly and steadily picked away by Abs' careful and well-played explanations. The APO was in fine form - there were pin-dropping moments, and times when you thought all the ceiling panels were simultaneously going to jump up, spin around and fall back in place.

With a solid foundation of the bits and bobs that all come together to make a symphony, the highlight of the evening was sitting with my eyes closed, imagination suitably filled and ears ready to ironically listen to the ENTIRE Unfinished symphony - Hat tip to Abs for the pointer on the irony of the moment! The symphony is best illustrated in the words that Graham so accessibly described as the intent of the Composer... "I know what you are thinking right now... but THIS is what I am gonna do..." Schubert was obviously a musical genius operating under the shadow of the great Beeth Oven (Gratuitous Bill and Ted reference there) who for some reason or other, never finished an incredible musical journey that captivates your imagination from the first Subject (that's another word for a melody).

In short, there is another night of Unwrap the Music in August - and you really would be quite silly to miss the opportunity to head along and enlarge your world!!!

And to follow up - I have lovingly and tenderly prepared the following infographic to illustrate my theory that Graham Abbot is ACTUALLY Goldstein with Facial Hair - it is too close to be a coincidence! :)

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By Al Ronberg

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By Al Ronberg

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Roots, Dub and Reggae are three things that I reckon I know something about. Roots are those bits on the end of carrots that go well with peas (according to Forrest), Dub is when you give your mate a ride on your handlebars and Reggae was that guy that was President of the USA back in the 80s. Needless to say I am really excited to see what transpires with carrots, bicycles and old dead presidents on Saturday night.

I have to confess that I am a little bit intrigued as to what will indeed unfold at Music of 1000 Lovers on Saturday night, as a bunch of what I am sure are very talented musos, attempt to tap in to the history of the Auckland music scene. There are 2 nights on offer - Friday is all about rocakabilly apparently and I am heading to the Saturday night event with Tigi Ness curating a mix of people amongst who I have only heard of Che Fu (of whom I simply can't get enough, can't get enough, no). Sorry, Did I just make a lame Supergroove reference? I promised myself I wouldn't do that!!!

There will be a lot to learn for me on Saturday - I have a particular affinity with pretty much anything acoustic guitar driven when it comes to what I listen to most (and what I tend to play)... and I think I could definitely do with some horizons being broadened... I am taking my friend Jared who is a bit of a music nut - I am sure we will have an awesome time and look forward to getting inspired by some awesome musiciany-type-stuff! Music actually is a big part of my life - I have played and sung my way around the country and really enjoy a well-produced and presented show! If you are keen to be a part of something that is expressing the heart of what has made Auckland's music scene so lively and vibrant, then I suggest you come join us this weekend - Get your tickets at http://www.the-edge.co.nz/Event-Pages/S/STAMP-2010/STAMP-Music-Festival.aspx

 

Here is the line-up

 

Saturday 10 April
Roots, dub and reggae curated by Tigi Ness 

Obelix Brown DJ	8.00pm
Aurasta	8.30pm
Kingites	9.00pm
Silva	9.30pm
Royala	9.45pm
Atsushi and The Moisties	10.00pm
Che Fu and The Krates	10.35pm
Unity Pacific	11.15pm

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By Al Ronberg

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By Al Ronberg

Well... it had to come eventually didn't it? The assignment that would scare the willies out of me!!! I am heading to the Royal New Zealand Ballet on Friday evening with my lovely wife (who is probably just as scared as I am).

I remember that Dad stopped one level short of disowning me as a 6 year old when I accompanied my friend Megan McKay to ballet one night... it seemed interesting as a youngster - but I wasn't allowed to go back. What a childhood, Dad banned me from Ballet and Mum banned me from Karate after I pretended to snore in meditation time and gave her a whopper of a bruise in the shins showing her what I had learned that night...

Contrary to what you might think - Otago actually has a long and proud history of Ballet appreciation - check out these guys:

From what I can gather at http://www.nzballet.org.nz/node/458 - The evening ahead of me involves 3 short ballets... which to my unappreciative mind, is a far more palatable prospect than 4 hours of some crazy russian epic... The ballets that I am going to see are described on the website as "three stylish, spirited and sensual works of dance, featuring two new commissions – A Song In The Dark and Silhouette – and the return of an acclaimed encore, A Million Kisses to My Skin."

I think it is a bit unreasonable for me to be so hesitant, because I don't really have any experience of going to things like this... I am sure that the skill and talent will wow me, and I think I am probably more scared that I will actually ENJOY it!!! :)

I will leave you with another of my favourite Ballet clips which is possibly what has fed my unbridled ballet-related cynicism and amusement for many years!!!

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By Al Ronberg

I remember in the 1980's there was a TV programme that united the country on a Sunday night like no other... "A Dog's Show" was a celebration of Man and Mutt versus those pesky sheep (OK, so maybe it only united Central Otago for a few minutes each week and in exactly the same way as Country Calendar). A man and his little workhorse overcame trials and became ONE, weaving a tumultuous tapestry of ovine co-ordination. I remember being incredibly excited when the little gate shut and the sheep were trapped. In all my life I could never imagine so many variables coming together so well and in such a euphoric and satiating manner.

That is until tonight.

I do a lot of public speaking, and one of my little 'internal-giggles' occurs when people clap for someone that they haven't heard yet. The Town Hall was filled with people that were VERY generous with their applause and some were even more expressive with their foot-stamping and shouts of Bravo. All this occured before a single note was played! It would be fair to say that the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra has a few fans out there!

The bill for tonight included an explosive little number called The Mannheim Rocket. I loved the way that each instrument built on those around it and you felt like you were actually part of the orchestra. The highlight of this first piece is when a percussionist named Jasmine smashes a glass into a rubbish bin whilst wearing un-orchestra like safety goggles.

The 2nd Concerto of Mr Prokofiev was great for different reasons. The fantastic pianist, Eugene Mursky, who played it so very well received a large bunch of flowers afterward which I am pretty sure was for his outstanding performance... I just want to put it out there that I think he should have received the flowers for his FACIAL EXPRESSIONS alone. He was SOOOOO into his performance. The rather incredible thing is that he played a 45-odd minute musical piece FROM MEMORY!

By far the most impressive performance in my mind was when the Orchestra played the theme from "The New Statesman" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Statesman)... for a moment there I truly believed Alan B'Stard was heading out to take a bow. I am sure that I would get a good clip around the ear from any ardent Philharmonia fan for even acknowledging this mis-use of what is an incredibly compelling arrangement. The piece is very much like a musical journey and if you closed your eyes (which my mother-in-law was seen to be doing on occasion) you could picture scenes and situations coming to mind. There was a resounding explosion of applause that would not have been out of place at a rugby game and I was scared that on a night with long (but awesome) musical pieces, that there was going to be an encore... the conductor must have read my mind as he promised it would be short! It was a fancy piece that played around with Happy Birthday and made everyone clap some more... BRAVO!

In summary, the evening was vibrant, explosive and interesting as an experience. I am not sure if I would RUSH back to the Orchestra... it was very clever, it was amazing to see so many different players come together (like man and dog) to make such an impacting and truly marvelous sound... but I have to admit there were times in the middle of the Piano Concerto when I found myself waking up to crashing Cymbals... it was a long night. I can see why people get really excited and shout bravo, the emotion of the music can really carry you away...
I had a lovely time with my Mother-in-law who was really into the Orchestra. She was chatting away to the passionately supportive french-teaching Orchestra fan that she was sitting next to and loving reading the profiles of the Conductor and Pianist. I think that she would head back again in a heartbeat!

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