Eight great concerts to see this month
From Dion to Dylan, there are plenty of terrific musicians visiting our shores this month, finds James Croot.
After a fairly quiet winter, Kendrick Lamar aside, the New Zealand concert scene bursts back into life this month. And no, I’m not talking about the imminent near-annual arrival of Disney on Ice, or the plethora of tribute acts spanning everyone from Cat Stevens to the Beach Boys, Roy Orbison and Freddy Mercury, or even the visit by what remains of the Bay City Rollers.
Instead, we have a series of performances by some of the most-enduring and hottest musical acts on the planet.
If you haven’t already got your tickets, you never know, there might still be time to check out one of these eight, great shows.
Celine Dion (Auckland, August 11, 12 and 14)
It certainly was Titanic news back in February when the much-loved Canadian chanteuse announced she was heading our way. Her threeshow residency at Spark Arena marks the My Heart Will Go On singer’s first appearance on our shores in more than two decades.
The 50-year-old is currently wowing Australian fans, with the Sydney Morning Herald’s Michael Bailey among those who were suitably impressed. ‘‘With a crack 13-piece band and three excellent backing singers behind her, a succession of elaborate costumes [only one of which was a ballgown] and the spectacle of seeing Dion sing Falling Into You while dancing a surprisingly deft tango duet, it was easy to get carried away in the lushness of it all.’’ Tickets are still available for her final two performances via Ticketmaster.
Katy Perry (Auckland, August 20 and 21)
More than 12 months after it was first announced, Kiwi KatyCats will finally get a chance to Witness the 33-year-old in the flesh at Spark Arena in just a few short weeks. The singer was last here in 2014, when she played two shows with Swedish singer Tove Lo at the same venue.
This Australasian leg marks the end of a near year-long tour to promote her polarising Witness album. ‘‘Perry pushed the envelope, presenting 20-odd songs across five acts, plus an encore which left no stone unturned, unpolished and uncoated in the brightest of sparkles,’’ wrote The Western
Australian’s Simon Collins about her recent Perth concert. Tickets are available from Ticketmaster.
5 Seconds Of Summer (Auckland, August 7)
The Aussie boy band return for their first visit since 2015 for a one-off gig at the Logan Campbell Centre to help promote their latest album Youngblood.
Rolling Stone magazine described their latest work as going, ‘‘full pop, gleaning into some 80s inflection and foregoing the bratty ethos of their earlier work’’. Whether you’ll be able to hear that above the screaming tweens and teenyboppers is debatable.
Tickets via Ticketmaster.
Bob Dylan (Auckland/Christchurch, August 26/28)
A recent winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, the 77-year-old ‘‘the poet laureate of rock ’n’ roll’’ is back to play concerts at Auckland’s Spark and Christchurch’s Horncastle arenas. While he last played Christchurch in 2014, it’s been six years since he last graced the Auckland stage.
Potential concertgoers be warned though, Dylan has become legendary for his vehement focus on the music/disinterest in crowd interaction. In reviewing a performance last November, The
Washington Post wrote that, ‘‘during the 90-minute show, he neither acknowledged the crowd nor spoke a single word’’.
Tickets are still available via Ticketmaster (Auckland) and Ticketek (Christchurch).
Queens Of The Stone Age (Auckland/ Christchurch, August 23/25)
The noughties US rockers are bringing their
Villains World Tour to Spark and Horncastle arenas, making good on founding member and vocalist Joshua Homme’s hint while here for a oneoff concert last year that they would be back.
The Californian five-piece, formed in 1996, will be joined by Australian bluesman C W Stoneking for both shows.
If The Guardian’s review of a London concert last November is anything to go by, fans are in for a treat. ‘‘Tearing up the rulebook, rock’s last remaining outlaws create a visceral, vast and
heavy sound that is scoured of machismo and full of wit,’’ wrote Stevie Chick.
Tickets are still available via Ticketmaster (Auckland) and Ticketek (Christchurch).
Suzanne Vega (Auckland/Wellington, August 7/8)
Best-known for her 1980s hits Luka and Tom’s
Diner, the US folk singer’s concerts at Auckland’s Bruce Mason Centre and Wellington’s Opera House mark the first time she has visited our shores in 25 years.
Vega and her acclaimed guitarist Gerry Leonard will perform songs from throughout her career, including her much-loved 1987 album Solitude Standing.
‘‘Masterfully, she left you wanting more, not just of her music, but also her little insights,’’ wrote
Gulf News’ Ashley Hammond about the performer’s recent Dubai concert.
Tickets for both shows are available from Ticketmaster.
Courtney Barnett (Auckland/Wellington, August 28-29/30)
One billed as ‘‘Australia’s most sought-after indie
export’’, the singer-songwriter is crossing the Tasman once again for concerts at Auckland’s Powerstation and Wellington’s Opera House in support of her new album Tell Me How You Really Feel.
Currently on tour in the US, The Columbus
Dispatch recently wrote that, while ‘‘the exhilaration of her distorted, incendiary guitar solos competed with her considerable ability as a composer and singer for centre stage... [it was] a dazzling display of all her strengths’’.
Tickets are still available for all concerts via Ticketmaster.
The Charlatans (Auckland, August 22)
Billed by promoters as ‘‘one of the most widely-loved British bands’’, the indie-rock specialists make their first appearance on a Kiwi stage since 2008 with their one-off concert at The Powerstation.
First forming in 1988, the Madchester pioneers are best-known for their 1990s song The Only One I Know.
Their latest album, Different Days, was released last year.
Tickets from Ticketmaster.