I think you are biased, and I think lilith is really on the money. To me the Checks sound exactly like early The Who and early Rolling Stones, with no alteration.

Sounded to me like myshkin was actually saying there are benefits to being in Invercargill. Not only does one of NZ's tallest dwarfs come from there (i.e. Chris Knox), but the town is also devoid of irony-obsessed postmodernist wankers, like other cities.

Slow down and read. And Tama is allowed to express his opinion - everyone is here. So are you, as long as it shows you aren't just reacting to things - people will end up baiting you if you just do that. Count to ten and then reply.

Yea, I was being reductive. But I would still argue that you could count their influences on one hand, and they seem pretty stuck in that rut of repeating them faithfully, without much interpretation. I can't see much psychadelia there tho. And to be fair, they only played two very similar sounding songs. I guess I had a knee-jerk reaction as they have had a lot of press and I was expecting something exciting, new and decent.

She is pretty, but I wouldn't say she was fantastic at the xylophone or anything. It's all very suitable, rather than compelling.

Actually, I was talking to someone who gets walked all over re repairs at the Rock Shop (presumably because they are a monopoly and can spend six months losing your contact details, your precious Telecaster, your order when it is sent and when it arrives, all several times over).

He once asked himself how the hell they stay in business. And he came up with this theory: the customers that do keep them in business, and presumably, the customers who they treat decently, are boutique customers. That is, they have a lot of money, buy the best, and are basically professionals who require professional gear (as opposed to starting out musicians who may be poor, who may be seeking advice as well). The few people who come in and buy a really kick-arse drum kit with all the bells and whistles, or a big pro PA system might be what the Rock Shop is all about.

Everyone else requires time and effort and politeness and everyone else don't always pay off the way the boutique customers do.

I thought that was an interesting theory.

Oops. Must remember to log Karen out before logging me in. [Sorry iluvtheclean!]

I can't even download it cleanie!

There are lollies/lozenges that get rid of mucus and increase circulation for singers. There are some specific ones you can get from music shops and chemists, but basically Fisherman's Friend are very similar to what you can buy. I'm told they make your throat feel as if it has been singing/warming up.

I have to say my impression was the complete opposite in Dunedin last night. The Mint Chicks had a heap of cool riff - unfortunately they moved from one to another for no apparent reason - seven or more in one song has got to be completely over the top doesn't it? Really wonderfully technically accomplished, lots of great potential, but too much emphasis on those things and not enough on instinct. Drummer seemed to be able to play only two beats ala Green Day crossed with Shellac - the punk double beat and some sort of cool swishy dance beat (that appeared only in one song). It was like those terrorists who only learnt to take off and never to land.

However, I expect good things from them if they manage to stay together and develop. The singer was particularly talented - great range, beautiful clear tones. They just need someone to tell them not to be clever and to trust their songs to be instinctive.

Whirlwind Heat were somewhere between the total jammy instinct of supporting locals Onanon and mathematical arbitrariness of Mint Chicks. I didn't like a lot of their album, but live they lost a lot of the extraneous bells and whistles, stripped it back to something that had catchiness and swagger. Some wonderful bass sounds - who needs guitars anymore! Great great great melodic hooks (like Onanon but with more precision). I'm not sure about the lyrics - some clever word play, but some phrases that sound a little put-on in the way that Beck at his worse can sound.

Not at all self-absorbed as you say they appeared in Christchurch. Very absorbed in the flow of the music. Mint Chicks on the other hand ... may get better. Onanon I adore, but they need to practise more, though that may mean they lose their beautiful 3Ds rough diamond feel.

Great gig. Pity there were not many people - and the people who were there seemed to be on the door list. Gorgeous door guy too :X

I don't know about that. I saw them play at Operation Music Storm in the late 90s - the judges loved them, but I thought they were pretty over the top, bombastic. I actually thought some of their newer stuff was better - not my cuppa t, but ... But I might just be talking about their really really really old stuff, not the album you are talking about.

Yeah, that what both of my American friends say - they left, and a lot of American outside of America are apparently more selfaware etc, but they put it down to the fact that the news media inside America is very very very local and doesn't talk about the outside at all.

Absolutely! I think they have one of the tightest rhythm sections in the country. The drum sound on the album is absolutely wonderful - reminded me of the drum sound on In Utero. Lovely sloppy skins!