Victor Billot » Dunedin music

From the Crypt: Age of Dog

admin — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 21:53:14 +0000

1992, Crown Hotel, Dunedin.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzZn1Z7S06k

Music and Dancing

admin — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 09:50:16 +0000

Finally got around to uploading some obscure mp3s from the dim past – including tracks from Das Phaedrus, Age of Dog, Swarm, Body Bomb, Alpha Plan and a few of my own, spanning the last 20 years (just about!)

David Kilgour at Arc, 13/9/07

admin — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 08:37:51 +0000

I ventured out last night to the Arc, which is under “new” management (again.) It’s a good space but has struggled. I’m out of the loop with music at the moment as I have been engaged in different things in the last few years.

David Kilgour was playing a solo set along with the duo version of White Swan Black Swan . . . or is that Black Swan White Swan.

Anyway the Swans did a decent opening set, I liked the piano/guitar combination. It was actually surprisingly mainstream. Some of those retro sounds were very eighties indeed.

Mr Kilgour had a battle on his hands with guitars that detuned themselves and technology that wouldn’t play ball. His songs are completely suited to the electric-acoustic guitar and voice format. He decided to take things west with a laptop and backing tracks; definitely worth a try, but it just seemed to confuse the sound rather than adding much. That said, he pulled it all together with a last number where everything seemed to work and when it did work, it was good. Of course. First night of the tour and all that . . . I just wonder whether going back to the man and six strings format would be the best option for these analogue melodies.

The audience was sparse to say the least but made up for quantity by quality. After the Clean’s stonking set at the Regent for the Dunedin Sound thing a few months back, you would think the place would be packed. Glad I went anyway.

Dating Godot

admin — Mon, 21 Jun 2004 08:12:00 +0000

I was alerted to a music show on National Radio last week featuring an interview with old friend and bandmate Andrew Spittle, now lost in the mists of the far north somewhere.

The half hour interview was great, and some long overdue coverage for the man who puts a new meaning to productivity. However the interviewer threw in a weird quote from an old Dead Weight article I wrote about Andrew, where I called him “one of life’s beautiful losers, a man screaming into deep space.”

If you read this Andy – you recovered well, man, after the first strangled choking noise you made. You’re right, the comment was made about your business acumen. The music stands. Or to quote from a certain movie “the dude abides.”

Eye of Sauron versus Plan of Alpha

admin — Sat, 12 Jun 2004 05:32:00 +0000

Yes, the rumours are true – the Alpha Plan have finally managed to crack the soundtrack game. New short NZ feature Bogans is a movie about three bogans (overseas readers – this is New Zealand vernacular for petrolheads/boy racers/young men with V8s) who decide to head to the Big Smoke (Wellington) to land work as extras in that most orc-tastic trilogy Lord of the Rings.

The Alpha Plan feature on the soundtrack with our song “Someone Else’s Air” (one of John’s numbers) from the dim dark nineties. Apparently Peter Jackson makes an appearance too . . .

Who know’s what will come next? A reformation? Invitation to play at the premiere of King Kong? Or perhaps just some more obscurity.

Ice Land

admin — Mon, 31 May 2004 08:53:00 +0000

A musical time lately in the Deep South.

We got to see the Verlaines play a few songs and spend what seemed like hours waiting around for the tv people to give them the nod at the ‘National Anthem’ down at Otago University on Saturday night. Still a great time had by all etc.

On Thursday night I got to get my own guitar out of the cupboard to join in the fun at Arc Cafe where Tristan Dingemans was having some kind of going away show before he leaves for Wellington.

Anyway, I got to join in a kind of free jazz/electronica session with a few people I’d never played with before. All very self-indulgent and great fun. The last time I’d played with Tristan was about ten years ago when we had a kind of hardcore band . . . maybe I’ll dig up one of those old tracks sometime and mp3ify it. TD went on to great things with HDU who are still rolling along by all accounts.

I didn’t get to see the Bats who were playing in the weekend, one of my very old favourites, as the movies called. The Day After Tomorrow – hamfisted, over the top, and probably just the right type of crude propaganda that could convert the wide-awake sleepers that elect the ‘Dubyas’ of the world to high office. But that’s another story.

King tides and howling winds in coastal Otago these days.