Wild Things 2007

Wild Things 2007

A Celebration of the Wilder Side of 1960s NZ Rock and Roll

AUCKLAND @ THE MONTE CRISTO ROOM
51 NELSON STREET, CITY
SATURDAY 17th NOVEMBER – doors @ 7pm

The momentum is building for this one-time-only opportunity to revisit the furious sounds of NZ circa ’67, with a definitive bill that could never have happened back in the day!

THE PLEAZERS. CHANTS R&B. THE BREAKAWAYS. THE UNDERDOGS. PETER NELSON & THE CASTAWAYS. RAY COLUMBUS/DAVE RUSSELL/BILLY KRISTIAN. THE COMING GENERATION. GENE PIERSON.

Yes, the all original line-ups, playing the wild sets which shook up the swinging clubs of the 60s underground, have reconvened to bring the noise! In rehearsal rooms across New Zealand and Australia, the years have melted away under the intense heat of the feedback-drenched, frantic rock ‘n’ roll sounds and garage R&B spirit. The bands have rediscovered the biff-bang-POWER, and cannot wait to unleash it again at Wild Things 07…

Matt Croke, aka Max Kelly, the six-string maverick of the legendary Chants R&B, initially said he was only interested in playing if “it was like 1966 again”. Now, after he and his bandmates have regrouped and discovered the energy is still there, he is convinced that the sonic attack of the Chants will “strip the paint off the back wall”.

Field reports from other participants reveal a rising level of excitement also. Ray Columbus has been itching to show a New Zealand audience what exactly he was up to in California in 1967, ever since he performed one song – ‘Kick Me’ – with members of the Rock‘n’Roll Machine and the Henchmen at the Kings Arms in 2004. Joined by former Invaders Dave Russell and Billy Kristian, and backed by The Situations, the public will now be let in on the whole secret.

And the buzz is out there about the return of the mighty Underdogs. Chris Knox – no slouch himself when it comes to creating NZ musical and cultural history – has been ensuring that anybody who’ll stand still for it knows the significance of the band, their return, and of Wild Things 07 itself. A more credible ambassador would have been hard to find.

Radio New Zealand have recognized the historic import of Wild Things 07, and will be recording it for posterity. But as we’ve said before, the REAL way to experience these groups and their raw power is LIVE. This is the first chance you’ve had in 40 years, and the ONLY time all these groundbreakers have EVER appeared on the same bill!!

What are the Wild Things? Part-inspired by the tougher sound of The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Yardbirds, and the Pretty Things, a fuzz-box powered youth movement erupted throughout New Zealand. There was no careerist aspirations, government grants, or talk of export commodities – this scene was about the wild abandon of the music and liberation from the staid, dreary everyday life in a former colonial outpost. Some of this spirit was captured on singles and LPs – many now prized by collectors of original garage R&B fury worldwide – but the heart of it all was in live performance. The volume, the adrenaline rush, the no-holds-barred passion…

Be warned -- this is no safe nostalgia show. The Wild Things bands are set to sonically recreate the heady, sweaty vibe of the mid-sixties when they destroyed clubs like the Galaxie (AK), The Stage Door (ChCh), and The Thumpin’ Tum (Melbourne). No “new” songs, no concession to the passing of time, and no rose-tinted, misty eyed retro: pure, unrestrained, maximum R&B, the way the establishment didn’t want it played.

Hear what revisionist history has tried to obscure -- the real sound of the 60s underground! Hurry up – tickets are selling rapidly!

WILD THINGS 07
MONTE CRISTO ROOM, 53 NELSON STREET, AUCKLAND CITY
DOORS 7-00pm
TICKETS LIMITED TO 300
AVAILABLE FROM TICKETEK + REAL GROOVY
One Night Only: One chance to catch all these groups together!

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