I don't normally write about past events, but the Hollies concert at Mills Reef last weekend deserves a mention.
Until almost the last minute it looked as though 2010's torrential rain – which caused a cancellation for the first time in the event's history – was due for a comeback, but despite the occasional cold gust of wind, everything went swimmingly.

Apparently there had been some sound problems at the Saturday show, but everything seemed to have been sorted by Sunday when I was there and it was a heart-warming spectacle watching several thousand folk all having a trouble-free good time.
I wasn't at the Saturday show since, with a bunch of like-minded individuals, we turned over the Watusi Country Club to a celebration of Thomas Paine Day.
Not a lot of people commemorate Thomas Paine Day (or Freethinkers Day as it is also known), possibly because he had little to do directly with this part of the world. But freethinkers everywhere are to be celebrated and Paine – pamphleteer, revolutionary, dreamer – was one of the great voices of enlightenment thinking.
I could go on and on about him, but briefly, he was an Englishman present and writing inspirational tracts at both the American and French revolutions. He advocated an end to slavery and the establishment of human rights worldwide. He wanted to abolish monarchies and to separate the church and the state. In later life he was ostracised for calling for equal rights for all citizens, including women and blacks.
Let me quote him for a minute, since he said some memorable stuff (this is the guy that coined the phrase ‘these are the times that try men's souls'). How about: ‘The most formidable weapon against errors of every kind is reason.' Or: ‘The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.'
He was a contentious guy, but very sensible. What else would you expect from someone whose most famous tracts are called Common Sense and Age of Reason?
So it was in the warm glow of Tom Paine's legacy that I watched the Hollies and contemplated the times.
Promoter Craig Wilson certainly deserves congratulation. He's been building up these Stars Under The Stars concerts for well over a decade, from local cabaret and country through overseas tribute acts and finally last year Glenn Shorrock of the Little River Band, the first legitimate ‘star'. The Hollies, what with being a real group ‘n' all, were a step up from that and as big a band as have been to Tauranga for some years. I know how much work that is and I suspect Craig doesn't get enough recognition for what he does.
I do know on Sunday there were mutterings in some quarters that the newspapers in town don't support the concerts as they should. That's possibly true, I don't know. If anyone has any thoughts, please share them on the letters page – it would be interesting to get opinions.
I certainly heard a little criticism that I hadn't really covered the shows and, what with being a music writer here at The Weekend Sun that was hardly good enough.
Well it's true and there was a reason. I'm not actually a journalist, I'm a columnist. So as well as trying to keep people vaguely informed I get to rant and rave and be generally opinionated. I get to say what I think. That's all part of the deal, and the reason I didn't write more about the Mills Reef concert this year is that I hate the Hollies.
There we go, I said it. Sorry to all Hollies fans out there but every song of theirs (with one exception) makes my skin crawl. There were a bucketload of cool bands around in the 60s and 70s, but the Hollies weren't one of them, happily jumping on any style available to produce a series of bland, derivative, characterless journeyman singles.
Again, sorry. I know people who love the band and I'm happy to admit that the shows – for Hollies fans – were first rate.
But I hate ‘em, and I didn't think that particular opinion would have really helped ticket sales or the event. So, as my mother used to say ‘If you can't say something nice…'.