My enduring image of the night is tiny-framed Neko Case with her tangled red hair, almost on tip-toes to reach the microphone and those Iron Maiden sneakers. And the pure, crisp notes that rang out of her throat that were as perfect as the studio recordings.
I had been waiting for this concert since 2007 when I missed her in London by three days. So I had to be a geek and stake out an early spot at the front of the stage. But how often does this happen? Neko Case is one of my top five favourite artists and I was standing no more than a metre from her in the SanFran Bath House.
All gigs should be like this. When AC/DC announced their $160 concert tickets there was some discussion about who you'd pay that much to see. All I could think was, I'd love to see a artist play a small intimate venue. Somewhere you can see the fingerwork on the banjo, where you can hear the off microphone banter, where you can see the Iron Maiden sneakers stamping on the footpedal.
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Also the nights of Wellington are heating up, and it's not just the change in the weather. Local gumshoe Sam Spillane has been hired by a mysterious woman called Betty Black to find the person who really killed her partner and Sam's former nemesis Charlie Bennet.
This is the basis a trans-media story called The Case of the Midnight Note being run as a precursor to Webstock. The idea is that the story winds its way through Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and its own site to a dramatic conclusion at a fundraising party on the 28th. The idea is raise money to get folks to Webstock (in these harsh economic times)
Because we don't yet know how much will be raised on the night of the fundraiser, we cannot disclose the amount of money available for distribution nor can decisions be made about who should receive funding assistance.
After the fundraiser and once we know how much money we have to distribute, we will put out a call for nominations of people in need of partial funding to go toward a Webstock registration.
If you aren't following the Case of the Midnight Note yet, it's not too late. And of course you don't have to be on Twitter or Facebook to come along.
Wow. That Sam sure is a handsome man.
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We also drink a lot down this end of the North Island. It seems that every week there has been a Tweet-up (a gathering of folk organised via Twitter). So I was surprised to discover that Auckland tweeters were organising an UnTweet-up.
As far as I know, nobody has tried that in this neck of the woods, so maybe we're an untapped market.
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I would also be remiss if I didn't mention the Auckland roller derby Whip It exhibition bout on this Saturday. Tickets via Under the Radar or on the door.