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August 2005 |
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Shop PricesPrices for all CDs in The Shop have just been reduced to take account of general lowering in price in international CDs on-line. We can assure you that our on-line ordering facilities are completely safe. Internet Marketing (our wonderful web designers) have installed absolutely the most efficient and secure system available. However... ...if you have any reservation about ordering on-line or using your credit card on the internet, we suggest emailing us directly - info@kokomo.co.nz - and we can work something out with cheques/cash/trade of some sort! |
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A Mini-tour Of The North (10th - 15th August) Including Derek's Thoughts On The Bay Of Island's Jazz & Blues Festival.jpg)
Kokomo have just returned from a very successful mini-tour of the North, the first trip out of the Bay Of Plenty since Derek’s health problems back in May. Derek has put together a few words about the shows and the tour. (The pic is from the Duke of Marlborough Hotel in Russell. Many thanks for David Young for sending it in.) ********************************************************************* REVA'S - 10TH AUGUST We kicked off at Reva’s in Whangarei, a venue we’ve always really enjoyed and which we haven’t visited now for nearly three years (how time flies!). Matt Hennessey joined us on drums and percussion – as he did for the whole tour – and we had a packed house, I think the biggest numbers we’ve ever had there, which was kinda reassuring as we were all wondering if people had forgotten us in the interim. It gave us the chance to debut a whole pile of new material, particularly a stack of radically-rearranged Bob Dylan tunes that we’ve been preparing for a Bob Dylan tribute album next year. It was a terrific night, and great to see so many old friends again! For anyone who might be interested, here is the night's set-list: FIRST SET Too Many Words (D Jacombs) Good Grief (B Lake / A Baysting) Any Road Up (D Jacombs) Queen Jane Approximately (B Dylan) Glory Of Love (B Hill) Ballad Of Kowhiterangi (N Masters) Things Have Changed (B Dylan) Tryin' To Get To Heaven (B Dylan) It Takes A Lot To Laugh It Takes A Train To Cry (B Dylan) Lights Out (??? Let us know if you can!) SECOND SET Don't Tempt Me (D Jacombs) Down In The Flood (B Dylan) Absolutely Sweet Marie (B Dylan) Don't Get Around Much Any More (D Ellington/B Russell) Saturday Blues (I Bracey) You're Not The Only One (D Jacombs) Batten Down The Hatches (D Jacombs) Rainy Night In Taupo (D Jacombs) Highway 61 Revisited (B Dylan) ENCORE Freight Train (J Terry) I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight (B Dylan) ********************************************************************* TWIN PINES – 11TH AUGUST It’s been many years since we last played at the Pines, and we have so many memories of the place and its various incarnations. This was the venue, under the ownership of the fabulous Putt siblings (Mamie, Gordon, John - we miss you!), that really introduced us to the North over a decade ago, and it's great to see it back under good hands. Steve and Jane looked after us wonderfully, and the show was long and tiring and a lot of fun. Grant and Sonia danced and swapped solos up on the shuttleboard table and – since Sonia turned 30 at midnight - we ended up drinking Drambuie till dawn just like in the old days! ********************************************************************* BAY OF ISLANDS JAZZ & BLUES FESTIVAL – 12th/13th/14th AUGUST The Bay of Islands Festival is always a high-point on our calendars and this year was no exception. The only problem is that we’re generally too busy playing to catch many of the other bands, which was particularly a shame this year as the bill was really good. We started with a Friday night gig at the Paihia Pacific, a good chance to roll out some of the new Dylan tunes. It went very well, as did all the shows over the weekend. We didn’t stay around afterwards to hear Tony Martin as we had a bit of a run-in with the management before the show (I think they were a bit stressed-out by the impending festival) and leaving quickly seemed the best way to avoid any further ruckus. Later that night we caught Billy TK Jr with his very impressive band. He is pumped up and looks as muscular as his music sounds after a stint in the army. Full-on electric blues with a big soul/funk influence. Very impressive. Continuum followed, who were also a knock-out – Danny's sax playing and singing just seems to go from strength to strength and the band are sounding great! Also had a chance to sit down and chat with visiting bluesman Doug McLeod which was a real treat as he has long been a bit of a hero of mine. What a nice man! He graciously accepted my somewhat gushing complements and local bluesman Mike Garner and I discussed blues songwriting with him (an area Doug is particularly adept and where he has inspired me over the years) and all sorts of stuff that now completely escapes me. The next morning we browsed round town a bit and caught Riverhead Slide (who had a guest female vocalist) as well as Ted Kinsella’s Top Cats (who had a pretty good male singer) and Tauranga duo Oscar. Within 10 minutes I heard each of them play Moondance. Festivals can be like that. Oscar were particularly impressive – Kim Ward is a fine singer and her partner Tim Cooper is a simply astounding guitarist, playing in a similar style to Tuck Andress of Tuck and Patti fame. We crammed into the tiny Cruza Bar that afternoon for a rollicking gig and I can only apologise to the many people who came to see us and couldn’t get near the place because of the crowds – I hope you managed to catch the band somewhere else over the weekend. Sally Burgess followed us there – God knows how she ended up as one of the “headliners” of the festival as she was simply singing a fairly straight selection of standards to a CD backing track. I understand she’s quite a good country performer. Then our old friend Mike Garner played with his band, this year including Stuart Lawrence on bass, Warren Houston on drums/percussion and Steve Evans on guitar. This was great to see, as Nigel and I backed Mike last year (along with Warren). Mike was sounding as good as ever and really clicking with Warren after their touring together as duo. Steve’s guitar (one of his handmade Beltona resonators) fit right in. Damn, I’d love one of those instruments – I was going green with envy at both Mike and Steve playing them! Popped up to the Lighthouse a little later set to hear Doug McLeod and he was, predictable, amazing. An absolute master of the guitar (great slide player too) and a wonderfully warm and personal performer. When you see people like Doug play you begin to realize what this is all about – he makes his total command of the stage seem natural and easy, while at the same time offering a performance that is so intimate that you feel like you’re sitting in his lounge at a private jam session. Shaken Not Stirred also played in the afternoon and were terrific. Singer Lisa Tomlins is getting even better (if that’s possible!) and Tim (bass) and Kate (sax and flute) Robinson are awesome additions to the band. We had a roaring session at the Scenic Circle (The Park) that night, and later caught The Blue Jaffas, who were playing one of those late night spots where only about 20 people were left in the crowd. Well, sometimes that brings out the best in bands and – with our rather drunken whooping and hollering to urge them on – the boys turned in an absolutely inspired set, the best I’ve ever heard them, playing some really tricky Steely Dan tunes and the like. I must say I admire bands that play really hard stuff. They must have to rehearse so much! Just as well we stick to the blues and can rely on feel and fun. Sunday we had a most enjoyable time over in Russell and caught The Wizard & Oz who were as entertaining as always and seem to have a great rapport with the audience. Sadly they completely butchered Like A Rolling Stone as a finale so we were forced to take them outside and beat them senseless in the name of the Bob Dylan Protection Society. The Blue Collar Band played some solid electric blues after us, and we caught Aussie guests Level-One (what a ghastly name!). They were very young and very together, playing a sort of original Celtic Rock that was reminiscent of the Corrs. I suspect they have a big future in the pop world but it was hard to imagine why they were at a jazz festival. To finish things off we did a set down at Haruru Falls which was fun despite the room’s somewhat dodgy acoustics. We started the show with a tribute to David Lange - on the way to the gig we heard that he had died. He was a mighty man, someone who made you feel good to be a New Zealander, and we felt sad but proud to be able to share the moment in music with other people who were as upset as us. Matt had to head back to Whangarei earlier so we were joined by Ian Parker of Shaken Not Stirred who played magnificently and really made the night for us. Shaken played next to end the official festival and were again great. I think some jamming then ensued but, frankly, I was too knackered to even hear it. All in all, though, a great weekend. Our thanks go out to the wonderful organisiers and to everyone who came to see us – it’s a very special festival for us and we are continually blown away by the friendship and support of our many fans up North. Thanks for listening and, if you were in any way alarmed by the lack of our “old favourites” in the set-lists please be assured, we haven’t forgotten them, we just wanted to try out some new stuff and playing 45 minute sets doesn’t give us enough time to do everything we’d like. On the other hand – we hope you enjoy the new tunes. Oh, and if anyone has any photos of the band at the festival please get in touch – we’d love to post some here and we didn’t quite get our act together with a camera this year. All the best, Derek |
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