 |
Music Plus with |
You might notice a small change this week: like the new Elizabeth Holmes documentary, we are now practising radical transparency.
And so the world turns. “The only constant thing in life is change.” Ritchie Pickett said that. Good old Ritchie. He was actually quoting the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, who lived about 500 years before Christ.
Heraclitus wasn’t one of the really famous old Greek thinkers, not up there with your Platos and Aristotles and Socrateses. But that’s a pretty good one-liner for a second-stringer and it’s lasted well. Will people still be quoting Bob Dylan in 4500AD?
Heraclitus’ other contribution to civilised thought is the “river analogy”, which is really cool if you haven’t come across it. It’s the concept that one cannot step into the same river twice, because the water is constantly moving and the person stepping into it has also changed.
Many people are right now taking a deep breath after the rush of Tauranga Arts Festival, not to mention the spectacular Tauranga Fringe Festival. October was a non-stop sprint from venue to venue. While the Jam Factory community is largely taking November off for rest and recreation, Totara Street is going full DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) in its variety of acts.
African rhythm
I feel bad that I missed this one last week because it’s tomorrow, November 7, that Ozi Ozaa’s 10-piece Afrofunk band is presenting a night of African rhythm, blending funk, jazz, Highlife and traditional Ghanaian grooves for a feast of dancing at Totara St.
Ozi Ozaa. Photo / Supplied
The band has played at WOMAD and CubaDupa and includes a bunch of top Tauranga musicians. Party time!
The following week, November 13, the rainbow community will gather, and everyone is invited as chart-topping queer Māori electronic artist Ardon England brings the Too Sexy Tour to town: live vocals, high-impact choreography, “taking dancefloor culture back to where it began: within queer communities”.
Actually, that week has accidentally grown into Tauranga Blues Week. It starts on Wednesday, November 11, at the Tauranga Sport Fishing Club where the Tauranga Blues Jam occurs. You never know who’s going to show up and play but there are regular surprise highlights. And they’re a friendly bunch.
Dynamite bluesman
The following night, November 12, head back to Totara Street where dynamite Australian bluesman Ash Grunwald promises a high-energy show with stacks of guitars and foot-stomping blues. He’s good.
The climax is on November 15 with the inaugural Tauranga Blues Festival at Holy Trinity Church. The line-up includes my band Kokomo, Mojo 3, Mike Garner Trio, Joanne Melbourne, Mark Dennison and more. I’m involved so I won’t rabbit on. But see page 26 of this paper if you want to learn more.
I want to mention one more show, for those for whom the twin visits of Mudhoney and OvO failed to sate your grungy urges. Auckland post-punk trio Swallow The Rat will play an all-ages show on November 14 at Ōkahukura Studio in Grey St to celebrate their new single Commitment, with local support from This is How We Die and Mount College band Deffex (not to be confused with Hamilton band D’Feks). See you next week.
Hear the latest Winston Playlist:
