Next Gig

http://www.lopdell.org.nz/events/details/rhythm_verse2.html


  Thanks Ila for inviting me to read up at Lopdell House.
All my thoughts are with Lopdell house at the moment because of plans for These Four Walls, a sound based theatre initiative for the Auckland Fringe Festival next year.
I've been pouring over old photos and interviewing my nana.

Very lovely to pop over to Titirangi on the 28th to do some poems, and soak up a bit more site specific history!

Little Bonfire: Anna Kaye's EP release last night. Support by Jesse Sheehan

Missed out? you can download Back on Board for free from  Anna's Myspace page

Every now and then I am moved,
 on a cold winter  / early spring morning
  to make a bonfire, but it's very wet here in Auckland thanks to rain.
What I meant to say was every now and then I am moved to render forth a review of a gig, because the gig was so cool.   I am about as interested in reviewing something that didn't blow me away, as I am in going out and trying to set fire to a pile of jungle greenery in the mud of my back yard..  Last night was such a nice bright warming kind of show it couldn't stray into the realm of any other kind of fire. Little Bonfire is the perfect EP for August or perhaps September..

I already love Anna's performances, and I'd only seen a few over the last seven years or so... describing the bolt of persuasive vocalizing that comes unexpectedly to friends who hadn't. Anna you see, is demure and she giggles; sometimes she has a look about her that could be described as wistful or patient if you catch her off guard,  but on stage her self-assuredness is rock solid and her musicianship exquisite.  Her voice is wonderful.  Up at the Gin room at the Queen's Ferry, it felt a bit like a birthday party packed with a small and select crowd of friends and admirers, and Anna,  giggled, and punkrocked pogo'd and sang through a high energy set.  "This one's intense... and then "see I told you it was intense"   And she Sang. No I think she SANG. Sanguine, Gamine, but as usual incredibly strong on stage, as well as chatty.   Anna seems uncertain about this playing around with pretence, and takes a laidback path to avoid pretension altogether.  "If anyone tells you to get Back on Board, Go the other way" she tells us and laughs.  Which is what she does with any interpretation or expectation of her music. She is still laughing when she comes in on the first line of the next song, transitioning like a pirate in the rigging with consummate ease.  "Bones are over-rated"- a lyric in her song Girl with No Bones is a purposefully unacceptable line, a throwaway odd comment that she's caught up again, and favoured recording it to perfection in the studio as part of the eerily balanced oddness of the whole song.
     The engineers, played with heart and delivered a beautifully poised counterpart to Anna, both pushing the music and containing the spirit of these well formed songs. B.O.B.  got a little lost in exuberance, although fun, and whichever engineer did the vocals I thought that was a hit.
   I'm still getting these songs, and not playing them over and over too much.  They're a showcase for a band that could go anywhere do anything.  Making her E.P. both articulate and articulated.  There's a Pop option too, and Back on Board would break your heart if it wasn't for the Girl's Army Chorus line riff that will not let us wallow, I love that foghorn...
    All in all the Queen runs an excellent Ferry.


I will not go without mentioning Jesse Sheehan, who sang both originals and some Leonard Cohen classics too.  His amazing performance will draw you in as it did me.  Check out his music video:

I am also looking forward to the tour.  ?

Laydees and gennlemen.....

I am going to review two films.... at the Same Time!!

On one side Avatar.... and on the otherside: Land of the long white cloud.

....Similar in themes but not in tone.

....Similar in philosophies but not in budget.

...Aligned in their commentary on topics of spiritual inclinations of a colonized peoples,

and yet reaching widely varied audiences around the world...

One thing these films clearly have in common are the feelings induced by a set of prehistoric looking gnashers. James Cameron and Florian Habicht both clearly know a thing or two about symbolism and the psyche, and the sex drugs & rock and roll equivalent in telling a good yarn in the language of film. Well sex remains the same, (for drugs think Aiwaa, warfare, or fishing; any addiction really) but replace Rock n Roll with a good set of fangs of the 'About to eat you variety' and you have the contemporary version of absorbing image based story telling.

Immersed in the 3D effects of Avatar one could be excused for finding a connection with Habicht's 'place in the food-chain' sensibility. The film if you don't know, documents a five day fishing contest on 90 mile beach. Soon to be renowned for referential and self referential archetype in documentary;( bicycles in the water suggest the references of some of his earlier work), and a treasure to find in verité and clever heart winning vulnerable direction

Blast from the past

GENEVIEVEMCCLEAN

TEMPO: FUNNY BEATS-WING 4/MORE LETTERS IN PERFORMANCE: WORDS, NOMADIC ID: ENTITY PERFUMANCE PLAY - FLIGHT

MONDAY, MAY 09, 2005

New York was cold

New York was Cold and I liked where I was living. There was music everywhere in Brooklyn and everything was full of potential. It was Spring and all the Brownstones in Park Slope had Magnolia blossoming.. but the main flowers in Bloom in the South were Azaelea, and Oleander.

Auckland, is ripe with Autumn. Some people have died. Some people have become pregnant, some people have married, all in three weeks. The sun is waning, and I'm happy to be home. Which doesn't mean I wasn't happy to be heading up the West Coast toward Portland either.

Just let you know, America is full of clever thoughtful people. I always suspected. Even in Texas! In amongst the Cacti there. Atlanta worries me a little, but I hope to return to Austin and Albuquerque, and Orange before TOO Long. I'd also like to go to Toolong, but that's might be a different kettle of fish.

So I'm still thinking about those big signs that said CRAWFISH!, along the Cajun coast, in bewtween the mansions in the sunshine. Cat fish. Alligators. All those displays of Law enforcement in New Orleans. Black cops waving us through. A row of eye white's in the dark. Arrow of Injuns. Boots. Navajo Casino tycoons. The Pentagon and Washington DC with all it's low flying Copter's. A Million trucks and then some Carrion.

My friend the Crow on the lip of the Grand Canyon. I'm so jealous, about flying. You gotta git those things in perspective though. The Watchdog at the Kara-ok- Corale Motel, who Watched me.

The Grand Canyon was very much like a large Natural Cavity in the Ground.

Yeah we drove up around the Natural Cavity. Went to see the big Cavernous hole. Gaping example of vast natural erosion. I guess we all sometimes feel that way.

Orange

Auckland is cold. and I have a lot to say. I'll just go and make a coffee. Welcome to the Genblog.

Well well speak of the High C's ... Galleries

The nice thing about not having a car is that the miles you ambulate along are not in comparison with the miles you just did in the car. Instead you settle in and admire the scenery get yourself delighted by things you see and hear as you go, or just humbly trundle and navigate exhaust fumes and traffic and god excrement did I say god excrement? never mind we're all God's creatures.

Or you might do what I did today and get your legs out and flash them around footballer style and see how much more easily the traffic is to get through. Having a cute baby in the trolley helps create a gender neutral air of happy helpfulness. Then you stay happy baby stays happy and you can do something you haven't dreamed of trying in years, (since your new encumbered status anyway) and go art gallery cruising. I've never felt so helped which was lucky because I couldn't find the Copy shop and when I did it wasn't what I needed. I'll be back to the Digital Darkroom for printing my book covers I think. Keep you posted. ( Honestly people were chasing Finn's apple his hat, my second lot of directions I got someone to write down...)

Gambia Castle is in that space on K road that I think of as Mat Sunderland's old flat. I got a lift with the trolley up the stairs and that was the only point during the whole day that I thought I might not cope. You know that I might fall over and get stuck under the trolley or something like that..

A group artist showing including Daniel Malone and many more. I'm not an art critic. I admired some works there very much and enjoyed the space. Unconstructivism?

The other place I was hunting down was the High C gallery who are having an opening tonight. They're exhibiting screenprints on wood at the moment. Another opening on Friday. They're representing the Illustrating and comics and bookmaking side of things and I bought a fabulous book by A. Patrick Conlan called Portrait of a Waiting Pig. Which I loved quickly. Actually it's an illustrated Novella.

I know Andy Conlan as a diy filmmaker, he first earned my admiration for a brilliantly funny fence-jumping stunt for a 48 hour film now how long ago was that? Before your time my little galleries.

Seriously I'm so glad it's summer and we can walk around K'roads arty skene and bump into people when our cars are broken. Like Barbara. And she can tell you where everything is. Like the High Seas

Ladies and Gentlemen...

Like pulling teeth

little bits of bone make their way from the gum if the root of the tooth gets broken or if shards get left behind.

Do they ever, amazing... but when I heard it I thought that was a scenario of something that might happen if I was extremely unfortunate.

Having never had teeth pulled I was nervous sure, but my impulsive imagination hadn't accounted for painkillers. The dentist, well... she's lovely and well... she had little arms, so well...

once we were underway I was fine anyway just watching the drama of it unfolding around me, and the frustration and wishing I could help with my arms and not not just countering with every muscle that runs up into the base of my skull from my neck at the back.

All credit to her after 45 minutes of pulling and lactic acid build up in the fingers, ( strange intimacy) there was a riccochet of tooth through the expectant space of the room, and she sighed breathing a little athletically and stretching her fingers, then she flicked her hair to the side and said "well I'll have a go at the other one and see if we do any better". She was fantastic really.

Just had a coffee with a friend who pulled up several examples of dental surgeons who just go the other way; drop it all and go jungle; start bands; play the gazoo. My arms are quite strong at the moment. Stronger than they've ever been because of the two year old.... maybe I could fit in a 7 year degree.

It was nothing on the indignity of having those enormous pieces of plastic to hold your mouth open and the plaster to make the mould. Anyway you don't hear all those teenagers complaining do you? It's because they're in shock, and in a way it's probably an appropriate kind of adult world initiation, because everything in comparison will seem benignly well mannered afterward.

Bits of tooth are known to make their way out weeks and weeks later I was told and sure enough bits of tooth did. But you know it's quite exhausting work on the body and I just shut down completely... thing is I still feel like that I can hardly keep my eyes open and I'm waiting for a shard to come through any minute so I can admire it for its definitive bone-like quality and size and get on with things. Like blogging.

So years go by and then you discover that you already have some old blogs that you started and they're over five years old which is three years older than your child and it's hard to believe, but funny to read them and droll generally.

So much for daily produce, I was dispersed for a moment there but I'm formed again like a horde of Genevieves to bring you news like a "What I'm Reading" column from the philosophers mansion On the Hill and while they had a poetry convention going on.

The Montana poetry day readings were very wonderful, and Ila convened marvellously well. She told a friend that she couldn't describe my work, but I think we'll all be hard pressed to describe Glen Colquhoun's from now on. He was transformed and did an extraordinary sea-shanty from the boat and the shore of Cook's meetings with Maori. Amazing.

Lopdell house hovered above the ordinary realms of our problematic lives, and made Auckland look foreign.

I've got a new art studio and I'm working on my Matariki book again, and Christian Jensen has taken on the responsibility of organizing an event with all the poets involved in the first Matariki event, having an exhibition of their work related to the poetry. It's like the house of mirrors it could go on and on...

I'm going to host a Don't Sit Still storytime for kiddlings, but I suppose that blogger's not for promotional porpoises, so I won't advertise. Just now. But I'm looking forward to that.

I'm working on films, but the only acting I've done recently worth talking about is HORSES directed by Garrick Rigby. The next screening of which will be in the show me shorts colection at the Academy.

Here are more working shots from the film:

http://picasaweb.google.com/nikkicastle/Horses03?authkey=Gv1sRgCOzf-O-j_PO92QE#