The best of 2017
From Bruce to Macca, Matilda to Dita, our entertainment writers bring you their most memorable experiences of the past 12 months.
Adele, Mt Smart, Auckland
Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland’s Colosseum, is unforgiving and brutal. Justin Bieber failed to conquer it and Sia screamed awkwardness with a selfindulgent imitation of a concert.
Adele, however, sold out three unmatched shows. She arrived in Auckland at the end of her yearlong tour, but that slog didn’t appear to have worn her down. She was hilarious, giving respite from her self-confessed ‘‘miserable’’ songs. And of course, her vocals were off the Richter. That night I said: ‘‘Adele puts on not only a concert but creates an experience’’. Her concert – with theatrics even Peter Jackson would envy – took the 40,000 strong crowd from near-tears to pure jubilance.
Lorde Melodrama and tour
Lorde unleashed a hype tsunami on New Zealand in the latter half of 2017. It was impossible not to be caught up in that swell.
She wiped out the music awards, overtook theatres and finally released her second album in June.
Reporting on music, the question was; is her stuff any good, or are we just caught up in a hype bubble? But no, Melodrama actually ruled. It’s now taking top spots on end-of-year critics’ lists. It reached the incredibly high bar set by her debut and pre-launched treasure hunt.
Its release (forgive me) was the equivalent of a Rugby World Cup for local music. Her tour, a victory parade. And those intimate shows too: wow.
Kylie Klein-Nixon: Nick Cave TSB Arena, Wellington
I’ve always liked Nick Cave, but wouldn’t call myself a true believer. I was more curious than excited to see him live, especially following the gruelling year he’d had (his son died under horrible circumstances and Cave dealt with his grief through music).
But 10 minutes into his astounding show at the Arena and I was born again. His energy, passion and straight up commitment to songs, some more than 20 years old, was undeniable, and the songs I’d previously merely admired were performed with all the fire and passion of a freshly converted zealot. Wonderful, gripping stuff.
No Man’s Land scene,
Right when we’ve all been feeling a little bit of superhero fatigue, the first ever female-lead superfilm landed with an almighty THWACKin the middle of the movie year. At last!
While the front and back ends of Wonder Woman are a little hohum, director Patty Jenkins and her muse Gal Gadot as the titular woman warrior, hit their stride in the middle third. That’s when, after wading through the horrors of war, the Amazonian finally says enough is enough, takes up the heroic mantle, and steps onto the battlefield.
To some, it was just another impossible character doing something impossible in a ludicrous fairy tale for adults. But to me, it was the first time in my life I’ve ever seen a woman in a blockbuster not just leading the charge in the name of all that’s good and right, but inspiring others to follow her. Smashing through cynicism with compassion, righteousness and really, really good hair. The cinema I was in was filled with children of all ages. It’s delightful that that’s the powerful image of womanhood they will carry with them, into a bright and egalitarian future.
Honourable mentions: Zombie Ice Dragon Visirion melts the Wall and Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen doing the do on Game of Thrones; the unfolding of the GEORGE HEARD/STUFF Harvey Weinstein scandal and the #MeToo movement.
James Croot: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band AMI Stadium, Christchurch
It always had the promise to be both a joyous and cathartic night for Christchurch and Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band – on their first visit to ‘‘our hometown’’ – delivered exactly what the city wanted and needed with a three-hour set on the eve of the sixth anniversary of that terrible day in our history and in the immediate wake of the frightening events of the Port Hills fires.
From the first strains of No Surrender, it was clear that Springsteen and his bandmates were keen to entertain and engage. With a near permanent smile and a willingness to roam the full length of the front of the stage and then some, Springsteen drew the gathered community cross-section in like an old-time evangelist.
Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Toronto
Not only did I travel halfway across the world to see the international queen of burlesque, but I also had to walk a number of kilometres just to find the lakeside theatre where she was performing.
But while the Queen Elizabeth was strangely sandwiched between a soccer stadium (home to this year’s eventual MLS Champions Toronto FC) and what looked like an abandoned World Expo park, its slightly faded charm was the perfect venue for this raucous and raunchy show.
Ably hosted by the high-octane Johnny McGovern, it did not disappoint, showcasing a range of performers, elaborate sets and exquisite costumes.
Dita von Teese herself delivered four stunning set-pieces, including her famous Martini Glass and Rhinestone Cowgirl acts and an all-new Swan Lake Striptease.
Darren Bevan: The announcement of Jodie Whittaker as
Sure, she’s not yet appeared on screen and won’t until Boxing Day, when current doctor Peter Capaldi regenerates, but the casting announcement of a female Time Lord (in the form of the wonderful actress Jodie Whittaker) taking the helm of the Tardis after 54 years of white male control was the shot in the arm the long-running sci-fi series needed.
With the departing creative team and lead actor Peter Capaldi leaving, all eyes were on new showrunner Chris Chibnall (of Broadchurch fame) to do something bold.
He’s delivered on this early promise, and while it remains to be seen yet whether the scripts hold up on this and prove it to be more a smart gambit than a cheap cry for publicity for a show that’s creatively been waning over the past few years, the sense of empowerment and excitement is more than palpable after the annus miserabilis that male sexual misconduct ushered in during 2017. Launching a IP in the gaming world is always a fraught experience, but Guerrilla Games ( Killzone) got it so right with Horizon Zero Dawn, a postapocalyptic quest-fest that involved machine dinosaurs, tribes and the end of the world – and still made it accessible in creating its world, rather than miring it with backstory.
But key to Horizon Zero Dawn’s success was its protagonist, Aloy, a nonsexualised female lead who was smart, strong and engaging to be with.
Throwing in a search for her true identity and place in the world without ever compromising her journey and character arc was also a masterstroke. Beautifully realised and graphically showcasing the best the PlayStation machine can visually achieve meant this was one immersive game and world I was sad to leave – there was nothing to beat it as you rode as Aloy through the world, atop robot horses and using strategy and smarts to win the day and rise above the machines.
Dani McDonald: BATS Theatre, Wellington
It had been a year of Harvey Weinsteins and lack of female directors and female friends with boy woes and crap Tinder stories. So the prospect of watching a production directed by females, with female actors telling female stories all the while ridiculing male written stories about what females feel and Hollywood’s portrayals of sex and love and all that mushed together was rather alluring.
I walked into BATS Theatre on opening night feeling awkward about what I was wearing and walked out with an air of Helen Reddy’s I AmWoman audaciousness. Eleanor Bishop and Julia Croft are two fascinating and exciting directors and Croft’s performance, along with Karen McCracken’s was mesmerising. I saw myself on that stage, for once, I saw my thoughts and feelings paraded on a stage and was surprised that other women felt them too.
The theatre production was a stab commission production and for the first time ever it was picked up by the 2018 Arts Festival lineup before it had even premiered. My friend saw it twice, the second time she brought seven of her female friends.
Opera House, Wellington
At the start of the show everyone sat in their seats, politely and stiffly. Before long the knee started to bob. Then the hand started tapping the knee, and the head started grooving and suddenly (with a bit of coercion from the band itself), we were all up on our feet letting loose in Wellington’s Opera House, in front of London’s most psychedelic jazz band, The Comet is Coming. They were a headline act during the Wellington Jazz Festival.
With just a saxophonist, a drummer and a synth player, they filled the entire stage. A Stuff reviewer said he was blown away by the concert. The tracks were wonderfully long (I’ve never been appreciative of such a thing before).
We left hyped, went home to put the music on Youtube, then went back out after we heard they were performing at a second show.