I sometimes head over to Rotorua on a Wednesday night.

It's a good time to be in the town since Bay of Plenty Blues Club gets together on the second Wednesday of every month. The regular haunt for these gatherings, the headquarters of the Blues Club for several years now, is the Belgian Bar on Arawa Street.
And there's an added bonus from going to the blues nights. The added bonus is that there's also a band next door in the playfully-named Pheasant Plucker.
I was really surprised by this the first time. Not only was there a band playing next door but, when I poked my head in, I found that it was the rather fantastic Swamp Thing.
And, let me tell you, they were rocking it!
I watched them, transfixed by the sheer energy and passion of their performance. Grant Haua was playing electric and laying into a Ritchie Havens song. Michael Barker was behind his extensive percussion array, first playing a bamboo instrument that looked like a portable marimba before putting it down (all the while keeping a full drum beat going with his feet and other hand) and starting to play a keyboard bass with his left hand.
It was an astounding display. As wild percussion figures leapt out from behind the kit I could swear that Michael plays more with one hand while pumping out a bass line than most drummers could manage with all four limbs.
But here's the thing that surprised me most: there was virtually nobody there.
It wasn't entirely deserted, but there wouldn't have been more than a dozen people. Colour me surprised. Here's a band who have supported Tim Finn across Australia and who headline festivals here and in Oz. What were they doing in a small Rotorua bar on a Wednesday night playing for a largely empty room?
The answer is that they do it every Wednesday. Though they are probably the tightest live band I know, they go out every Wednesday and do a 'live rehearsal”, trying out new ideas and new songs, sharpening their skills, honing their act even further.
And that's why Swamp Thing are professionals in a world of amateurs. An amateur rehearses till they get something right; a professional rehearses till they can't get anything wrong.

Swamp Thing - Primordium
Swamp Thing have been busy since last year's debut album Baladeer, not only playing live but also hunkering down at drummer Michael Barker's Rotorua studio to record this monster of an album. And, as opposed to Baladeer's untempered explosion of energy, this is a more sophisticated production, another solid blast of Grant Haua's guitar and Michael's percussion but one augmented with (keyboard) bass and occasional keyboard contributions from Eddie Rayner.
The blues are still at the heart of Primordium, as evidenced by opener 'Voodoo Doll”, but sliding in amongst the tough guitar riffing is a pure and catchy chorus (with a cool key change to keep things interesting). Next up is what is surely intended as a live anthem, the band's own self-titled 'Swamp Thing”, a re-jigged Bo Diddley beat with percussion that can only be described as, er, swampy.
So far so Swamp Thing, but the band has bigger targets in its sights. After the throwaway 'Bumping & Grinding” things get less frivolous. 'Hand in a Hole” is a little gem and then comes 'Genius”, with Michael singing, a long rant against the injustices of the modern world reminiscent of possibly Kings of Leon or other American rockers. Then Grant gets onboard with 'The Reckoning”, a warning of end times with a vocal recalling Ritchie Haven and changing rhythms that even include an acoustic 'raga” section.
It's a heavy one two punch of Serious Stuff. And there's more. This is a big, bold album, clearly intending to make its mark both musically and lyrically. But, if the woes of the world are too much, there's 'Hot Potato”, a really fun song about the hedonistic pleasures of Amsterdam(?), and a simply beautiful ode to Kiwi summers in the closer 'Come with Me”.
This is stunning stuff; can world domination be far off for Swamp Thing? Find out where to buy it from their Facebook page. You won't regret it.