the world needs more photos of obscure signs

Surely someone snapped "Beware of the grid monsta"?

Oh, and the Buddy Holly poster is actually only about 6 years old

That figures--it did look too shiny to be from the 1950s. Loved the tour--many, many thanks for organising it.

Oh, and the Buddy Holly poster is actually only about 6 years old. It's a prop from the musical Buddy .

I'd dearly like to find some…

a mixed bag

I wonder if that "winter dance party" ever went ahead.

Now, I want to see Fiona's photos.
And Geoff's.

Will do, as soon as. I don't have a current Flickr account and will need to remedy that--unless there is another way of posting them. Anyway, they are a rather perverse collection of notices and signs, and certainly couldn't match Jackie's

The tour was fantastic! Best part – climbing out over the stage on those slats and…

My favourite moment was when the "sky" opened.

Hell yeah. And the vertiginous vistas. And the silent shooting star. Someone needs to bring a video…

... which remained alone in the middle of the stage, completely unused, for the entire tour – camera, not brain.

The Civic really is a black hole of time too, as you experienced... although some it could've been, what Tracy calls my 'Grandpa Simpson' moments.

Sam: I'm really sorry we missed you –…

;-)

Love this one. Curiously, a key reason for the stage being so awesome is that they had to build it to Andrew Lloyd Webber's specs.

I also liked driving the follow-spot and walking (in complete safety) 20 metres up over the stage.

Thanks Malcolm, it was brilliant.

Sam F, you must have just missed us. Ships in the night an'all. We went through the stage door around the side at about 2.45. Shame eh.

Again... :|

No chance of a repeat at some point maybe?

I forgot to add: Bring cameras... or your choice of recording device.

For those who are coming and that I haven't emailed: We shall meet at Starks at 2:30 and amble up to stage door from there.

I have a DVD copy of Peter Wells' The Mighty Civic to show ya'll too. I feel I must…

The boxes are useable – I often use the top ones…

Also, do you know if the boxes at each side of the stage are usable? Do OSH regulations prevent their use?

I am keen to get seats in one…

how to go to my next fancy-dress party as the Civic

Gold bodypaint?.

I'm now trying to work out how to go to my next fancy-dress party as the Civic...

Balance a couple of cats somewhere and put red tinted contacts in their eyes?

and it's Sofie/ Sofia...

Oh d'oh !!!

I'm sorry Sofie. And I so hate it when people leave the second 'l' out of Malcolm too.

I'm now trying to work out how to go to my next fancy-dress party as the Civic...

Emma, you'd only need a postcard surely? ;)

Both venerable ladies with rather stunning frontages – highly appropriate.

I'm now trying to work out how to go to my next fancy-dress party as the Civic...

Sophie, I have both Mayan & Aztec themed tattoos which I spend all summer trying to protect from the sun... oh, the irony :)

Oh, and Emma, maybe the next book should be launched at at the Civic?

yous can thank me for that too.

(It's bad, btw, that I'm more excited about the Civic tour than the book launch.)

Yes,yes Emma it is :) psst. I like to think us Aztecs have something to do with the sun, hell we have the Mayans to thank for that…

Now I get to see some of you thrice in one week. Outstanding!

Now I get to see you guys three times in one week. And the weather is always completely awesome when I'm in Auckland, so yous can thank me for that too.

(It's bad, btw, that I'm more…

Guess what Sofie? Ian will venture out........

And so he should. Very pleasant man. :)

I confess I got the book launch and the blend confused. Now I get to see some of you thrice in one week. Outstanding!

How does 2:30 sound ?

Should give everyone time to get over any Great Blend seediness :)

I don't suffer such things, although my other half might :) 2.30 sounds brill. Wll see you then if not before. 2nd is book launch too so busy,busy, fun week. I can do…

...If you can't find a copy of Peter's doco, I could check in our departmental library...

Thanks for the offer Geoff, but I'm pretty sure we have an archive copy on DVD here.

Now I figure the best way to figure out who's coming is; if you could please email…

So Malcolm 5th it is? Can we have a time please?

How does 2:30 sound ?

Should give everyone time to get over any Great Blend seediness :)

According to my diary, the Great Blend Christmas Party is Friday December 4--so would it be Saturday the 5th?

Indeed. We'll announce the details of the Orcon Great Blend Christmas Party on Thursday. Like nearly everything in my current events round, it's proved a bit of a palaver to get…

According to my diary, the Great…

I have a question about the panthers-that-I-always-thought-were-lady-lions (huh!), and perhaps you can answer this, Malcolm: before the refurbishment, were their eyes red?

Well, I have an answer... and it's yes... and no!

Until the '50s the eyes were blue/green (Lee 116, for any lighting people) – and the panthers were…

The afternoon of Sat 5th?

That would be several flavours of fabulous, as I happen to be in Auckland that day...

When would we like to do this? The afternoon of Sat 5th?

We're gonna be at least 2 hours... and I'll try and find a copy of Peter Wells' The Mighty Civic . It has the most amazing footage of the construction.

I reluctantly relinquish my spot. Hadn't thought that one through.

Damn! Neither had I Sacha. Sorry.

Just thinking about it though, the only stairs that we can't bypass with an elevator are the ones into the ceiling. Which, although amazing, isn't essential for the experience.

The Great Unwashed (as the Clean were then calling themselves) and Auckland Walk, at a hall on Ohope Beach, summer 1983-84.

I think it was the acoustics. I'm sure the bands had different gear but they were…

There are a lot of stairs

I reluctantly relinquish my spot. Hadn't thought that one through.

How many is "not too many"? I wouldn't mind ...

Hmmmm... I think 12 or 15 – any more gets a bit unwieldy. There are a lot of stairs, and we could end up with people getting lost... and ending up in some pretty 'OSH averse' places :)

I'd have to sort it with the powers-that-be, but I'm sure that if there's not too many of youse – it's a rabbit warren & I'd hate to lose anyone – we can organise something. A weekend would probably be the go for us working peoples.

How many is "not too…

It can't be this weekend 'cos I have a gig on Waiheke –I 'll try to tee it up for the weekend 4th/5th.

Would some of you lovely people be interested in an long-form tour of the Mighty Civic?

We want to come too. that's 2 of us.Weekend sounds perfect. :)

maybe a single malt

Preferred currency. Be my pleasure.

Fuck me, yes it was. Small world, eh? I'm afraid I missed your star turn, as we turned up a bit late for it. Good gig, though; we were the ones up the front of the stage waving rubber ducks. Actually, that means there's a chance you…

I do, however have the germ of an idea; Would some of you lovely people be interested in an long-form tour of the Mighty Civic?

I'd have…

Rock's analogue distortion makes ears hurt at high volumes. Digital dance, not so much. Loved the full-on slabs of sound from (among…

After the 12 or curtain calls and a quick change, I escorted him and his support crew down to the after show reception, being held in the Wintergarden.

The maestro was pretty shattered – as you'd expect…

I feel there's a joke struggling to be born there ...

Mime eyes have seen the gory...

@ Jack Elder

Re: Lemon Jelly @ the Junction

Was that in early 2003?

If so, I was the bingo caller.

Fuck me, yes it was. Small world, eh? I'm afraid I missed your star turn, as we turned up a bit late for it. Good gig, though; we were…

Marcel Marceau, when he played the Civic a few years back, was so disturbed by those eyes that he had me cover them in gaffer tape.

I feel there's a joke struggling to be born there ...

Re: Lemon Jelly @ the Junction

Was that in early 2003?

If so, I was the bingo caller.

Was actually responsible for the video projections – but LJ didn't have a support act, so they set up the bingo routine at the start of the tour. Did…

And there are gold lions with flashing eyes!

I'm going to be a total pendant here Danielle – and I'm allowed, 'cos I work in the Civic daily – those gold felines are actually Panthers. The eyes pulse between blue/green and green... they're fantastic!

Marcel Marceau, when he played the…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gahn5oPE6RQ

Waaay too much guitar solo wankery.

For all my sins, real, imagined and future, I found myself at a Deep Purple gig at Western Springs circa 1975, having won three tickets on Radio Hauraki. Richie Blackmore had already moved on to bloated solo pastures and Tommy Bolin (RIP) was in…

I thought the Civic was already on acid.

It's not bad, but it's merely the warm-up act for the State:

http://www.redbubble.com/people/salieri1627/art/2607108-4-they-dont-build-them-like-they-used-to-the-state-theatre-sydney-the-hdr-experience

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/State_Theatre_Sydney_Foyer.jpg

http://zabetheli.wordpress.com/2009/10/23/the-state-theatre/

Sarah McLeod of the Superjesus

She's wonderful. Pretty much my favourite rock moment ever was at the 1997? 8? Falls Festival when someone chucked a bottle out of the crowd, straight at her head. She caught it with her left hand, told the audience to throw underwear instead, and carried…

the entire audience realises what it is at the same moment and screams with joy as we all realise they're actually doing a version of the theme from Dr Who.

I think there's a live version on the b-side of one of their singles. I've got a copy somewhere.

They…

Good show. Yes I saw the earplugs and stole a handfull (I am a shooter!). I too thought the lead in act was loud. My test was "can I hear the lyrics?" well, no I couldn't but when I stuffed my fingers in…

But what…

Missing the first part of gigs: I went to see Lemon Jelly at the Junction in Cambridge. Doors opened 8pm, we got there at 8:45... and discovered that we'd…

(Does anyone know the story behind the ticket prices? I paid over $130.00, but many others got their tickets for $60.00. Hard not to feel peeved about that....)

Most of the audience, as far as I could tell, were in their 50s…

Well, that's you and I. But who on earth brought the third copy of Lament for the Numb?

That trio of albums Dobbyn did in the 90s; The taut, dark, edgy pop of Lament, the controlled…

Ah, the brown note – I heard about it as a rumour attached to the Butthole Surfers, but it seems to be an urban myth. Shame, no illegal bowel disruptors for us...

I think the same sort of thing was said about the Swans. Who used to play very loud…

Worst sound – main stages at Big Day Out, every time I've been, no question. But then I saw Neil Young and was gobsmacked. They can have sound of that quality???

Talking to some of the BDO technicians before his set, I think it's mainly down to the fact that…

There's an urban legend that one of the first wave of rave acts – Altern8, 808 State, or someone like that – played a gig once where their bass was so powerful that a number of ravers inadvertently voided their bowels....

Ah, the brown note – I heard about it…

it should have been bottled really.

Thanks for the tip, I was planning on getting there fairly early but didn't know there was…

Dave Dobbyn at the St James tomorrow

I saw him last night. When they say 'show starts at 8pm', they are not kidding! I think I missed about 20 minutes or so of his first set. I'm hoping it didn't include Songs From The Album That Three People Bought, Which…

...damaged by numerous hippies floundering...

Pitchforks again?

a malfunctioning smoke flare-powered giant inflatable octopus, which had become damaged by numerous hippies floundering about

I love this sentence so much that I want to marry it.

__

Legend has it that Pink Floyd played a 1971 show at the Crytal Palace…

"not only the loudest rock band in the galaxy, but in fact the loudest noise of any kind"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKyiIdb5PNo

Pink Floyd and their lavish stage shows were also the inspiration for the Adams-created fictional rock band "Disaster Area", described in the Hitchhiker's Guide as "not only the loudest rock band…

Russell, http://pacificears.co.nz could help you out. I've worn earplugs for almost 3 decades going to gigs (watching, playing, working) and my hearing is still decent (I'm in my mid forties...).

I get grumpy at rock gigs where the sound is not loud enough as there is…

>>
The repeated yells for unsolicited requests can get you down. I remember a Birthday Party gig at Sydney University in the early 80s, when some idiot kept yelling out for them to play "Shivers". Eventually Nick…

Russell, it might be worth you getting custom-made ones as you go to a whole lot of gigs.

Here in Welli there's a place called the Courtenay Hearing Centre and they make custom earplugs for musicians etc. I'm sure Auckers will have equivalent places. I got a pair for…

Argh, that has spoilt so many gigs – Belle & Sebastian at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Simon and Garfunkel at Vector Arena, many at San Francisco Bath House in Wellington ...

And bloody well start earlier, bands in NZ!

Went to see the…

It was so loud it made my teeth hurt.

It was a strange gig — they came on way too late on a…

Russell, I just buy them from the pharmacy. I get about 4 pairs for $12, in a little plastic box.

Yes, I've got those ones. But there was a thread where there was a bit of earplug connoisseur talk going on. I'll have to find it.

I saw Berline, Crary and Hickman in Dunedin in 198mumble.

I saw those guys when they came to HB. They even used my bass amp for the gig.

I was there for that one, and loved it! I propped myself against the stage and let the sheer volume rip through my body; the noise becoming physical sensation and vice versa. One of my favourite live music experiences, ever.

I totally agree, actually. I love Bailter Space and Jakob,…

The crowd started clapping after every solo from the supporting musicians

I saw Berline, Crary and Hickman in Dunedin in 198mumble. First odd thing was that the show was arranged by the US Consulate as an art initiative. Second thing was turning up and not recognizing anyone else in the…

the Civic on acid

I thought the Civic was already on acid.

I was there for that one, and loved it! I propped myself against the stage and let…

Rollins clearly had not learned to get over himself.
Chris drew a funny cartoon about the incident, as I recall.

The cartoon was in Stamp magazine: " My Chat With Henry". That show was way over-sold. You could hardly move in the Silo. I complained to the promoter and he…

wasn't that the Femmes gig at His Majesty's?

I was at that one too, that's the gig that decided me against ever sitting down at a concert again – the Town Hall one was definitely when the stage physically MOVED backwards about a foot.

volume-wise, the Ramones at the Powerstation would be mine.

Totally agree – couldn't tell one song from another it was so loud.

Very enjoyable!

In 1980? Same in Chch. Ear bleeding stuff.

He told me would never go there because he'd heard the sound was bad (huh?) and that he had been a Dylan fan all his life but wouldn't go and see him "unless he was playing an acoustic set in small club".

Hate to see the ticket prices for that.…

volume-wise, the Ramones at the Powerstation would be mine.

Totally agree – couldn't tell one song from another it was so loud.

Very enjoyable!

Most ear-damaging would be a tie between the Hoodoo Gurus at teh Gluepot and the Gun Club at some dive in London – both treble-heavy guitar bands, and the Gurus concert left…

asked (in broken English) the crowd to stop clapping along

Oh *man* do I hate clapping along. HATE. I mean, unless there are people actually doing the whole 'take them to church!' thing up there on stage, I want a clap-free experience during the songs.

The night of his performance (at Silo or some small theatre like that if I recall) one of the supporting performers didn't turn up and Chris Knox had to wing it for about an hour.

It was an exceptional performance…

apparently – I didn't see the end result – Rollins didn't take the banter in great spirit, hoisted Chris off the ground and pinned to him to a wall while advising him not to do it again.

fair dinkum?

I seem to remember Graham Reid writing about this. If Graham's…

Is it wrong to say that I'd pay to see Fight Club: The Musical, with Rollins and Knox in the role of Tyler Durden. :)

Fight Club 2: Beenie Man & Elton John?

apparently – I didn't see the end result – Rollins didn't take the banter in great spirit, hoisted Chris…

Or in Auckland either. Like I said: could have used more Lowe. (He did play '(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding', though. Very pretty.)

Sure, and I can get why any musician would get sick of playing "the hit" for the quintillionth time, but, folks, sometimes there's a…

Except Nick Lowe didn't play Cruel to Be Kind in Welly

WTF?

Or in Auckland either. Like I said: could have used more Lowe. (He did play '(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding', though. Very pretty.)

funniest crowd interaction had to be the pissed-up plonker who tried to start an argument with Jello Biafra about vegetarianism

Speaking of Jello Biafra, a great description of lively crowd interaction during a Dead Kennedys visit to Auckland in 1983:

They slam into Moral Majority. A song about organised religion.…

Except Nick Lowe didn't play Cruel to Be Kind in Welly

WTF? I love the 'Every Breath You Take'/'Better Be Home Soon' school of jolly tunes with seriously bitter and fucked up lyrics — something Kiwi pop does disturbingly well.

Oh well, we'll always have YouTube and Friday is only…

Talking Heads at His Majesty's Theatre. Not loud, no flashy lights. I don't recall any dancing. Utterly mesmerizing.
I still hate them for tearing down His Majesty's

Talking Heads tore the place down? Hell of a gig!

I'll get me coat....

Completely different. This was a salad fork. I don't know where that sits on the rock'n'roll scale, but I imagine it'd be quite low down.

I once had a fork thrown at me from a passing car while I was cycling up the Ngauranga Gorge.

I still have that fork.

and it is a New Zealand company as well.

Amen. I never leave the house to see live music without them. Proper ones that knock out 35 decibels. If I can't get any, I won't go. I think that loud music is a major unrecognised health and safety issue. A venue should not injure its patrons.

Actually, I recall…

Outside the doors upstairs was a large box containing little packets of ear plugs – and a warning sign about the possibility of loud music ... just in case, obviously.

I've seen earplugs on offer at TSB Arena too. It wouldn't even have occurred to me to wear them at…

That night, also at James Cabaret, he walked out into the spotlight to start the show, leaned into the mic, said "This is for Dan" and played Bradman for me

What a moment!

people like myself who had spent the whole day getting squashed by Metallica meatheads

Although! The meatheads had occasional redeeming qualities. That was the year I was sitting in the stands in the afternoon for one of the middling main stage bands, and I looked over to my right and…

There was some good banter when Dimmer played AL's in Christchurch a few weeks back. Shayne introduced his cover of The Gordons' "Machine Song" like this:

"A song by a Christchurch band. No, might be from Ashburton actually. Bit of an Ashburton classic, this."

That gig was filled with great…

Paul Kelly, Wellington, mid 1990s, with great dignity, to a heckler who kept yelling for 'Darling It Hurts' –
"A man is not a juke box."

A few years earlier a pal and I would have annoyed everyone around us calling for Bradman throughout a James Cabaret PK concert. The…

Psychedelic Furs at Sweetwaters.

Damn those old JBL long throw horns were efficient.
Even outside they could make a voice sound LOUD.

His Majesty's

You're done it now.
Sob, sniffle, whahhh

I still hate them for tearing down His Majesty's

.. in the middle of the night!
Still, Leonard Cohen was a beauty at Vector.

I don't think I've ever been to a gig that was actually, genuinely too loud.

Psychedelic Furs at Sweetwaters. Richard Butler's voice was an indeterminate roar inside my head. We were down front too so I'm thinking most of it was from the on-stage monitors.

By the way I have…

Outside the doors upstairs was a large box containing little packets of ear plugs – and a warning sign about the possibility…

Anyone know who that profoundly stupid and possibly deaf guy might have been?

I worked in a t-shirt stall at the Tom Petty-Bob Dylan gig at…

Was that the gig at the Powerstation earlier this year? I remember that douchebag yelling out and in quite the excited frenzy up the…

good vibrations all round :- )

That pitchfork again? Or was that a different thread?

Completely different. This was a salad fork. I don't know where that sits on the rock'n'roll scale, but I imagine it'd be quite low down.

About the only "rowdy" part of the night was a guy standing next to me with a fork (why a fork? I have no idea) as the person in front of fell backwards into him. Very minor injuries resulted

That pitchfork again? Or was that a different thread?

a concert isn't like the CD at home which you turn down to talk over, and the sound is never going to be as pristine as that shiny disc

Turn it Down?... Talk Over it? Sacrilege.
Concert sound should never sound like a record, its a live performance.
Tho' David…

Many years ago ( here he goes again) when I was a kid doing a bit of sound engineering with the NYT we got a one hour mandatory session at the beginning about volume. And what it did to your ears. Too much makes you deaf...

So occasionally I'm at…

This did not please some of the family groups, and soon disgruntled parents started yelling at them to sit down as they were blocking the view of the stage.

Last summer, the Klezmer Rebs played in the Soundshell at the Wellington Botanic Gardens. Before the gig, the MC made a…

"SUMMER OF '69!!"
– at a Ryan Adams concert

I bet he gets that a lot :)

Also, watching a guy in the front row of an over-sold(!) Icehouse gig doing his very best to spit at Iva Davies.
And Iva Davies doing his very best to dodge.
Electric Blue never sounded better.

So he never experienced a lunch hour that entire school year without hearing 'Free Bird' for sixty straight minutes.

(I always feel like that story has some grand significance, but I'm not quite sure what it is.)

That's great.

Late 1970s, Nae Nae Olympic Hotel. The jukebox was so close…

Of course he didn't sound like a busker.…

"A man is not a juke box."

But back to Ry and Nick Lowe: when people started to yell that it was too loud

I thought her mandolin was too loud and distorted and that that was what the complaints were about. I also thought the lead guitar was too quiet. Otherwise fine.

What did others think?…

But back to Ry and Nick Lowe: when people started to yell that it was too loud

Ok, that's weird because 'Cruel to be Kind' and Cooder's cover of 'Little Sister' are exactly the kind of song you should be dancing (or drunkenly shuffling) to in a dive of a…

I do wonder though how much less tolerant I've become as I've aged. My son and I went to the Red Hot Chili Peppers at Vector a wee while ago. I got distinctly bored and grumpy at the end when they turned into a pointlessly noodling jam band.

You're not…

"Free Bird!"

Speaking of this, a friend of mine in Texas went to a high school with a jukebox in the cafeteria. He said that every single day of his senior year, some mysterious person had gone into the cafeteria before lunch and cued up a 30-minute live version of…

After a few songs of…

I remember seeing, at the same venue around the same time, a very, very loud Bailter Space

At my old apartment in Pittsburgh there was a music critic who lived in the same building. He said he saw Bailter Space at CBGBs, and they were so loud that the audience…