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Posts tagged Performance
Lost & Found #38: Sonny Rollins at the Wellington Jazz Festival, 2011

This week's Lost & Found post is from my last Wellington Jazz Festival - who are kicking off again today, over in New Zealand! 

Our major draw card in 2011 was a one-off concert with Sonny Rollins and his band at the Michael Fowler Centre. He may have been 81 (REALLY!?) at the time, but he put on a heck of a show - and as you'd expect from someone of his calibre, the band were top notch as well...

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The Bombay Royale at Sydney Town Hall (with Fuji X-Pro 1 & 56mm f/1.2, 18mm f/2)

The Skipper. The Mysterious Lady. The Tiger. A...unicorn?  A concert by Melbourne band The Bombay Royale is always an interesting event, so when I heard they were going to open for Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings recently, of course I booked right away!

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Kyary Pamyu Pamyu at the UNSW Roundhouse

So...this is a concert I went to on the weekend, featuring J-Pop superstar Kyary Pamyu Pamyu in her first Australian appearance.  In fact, the first time she'd crossed the equator, she said!

I had just been intending to go and enjoy myself - I'm a bit of a fan of SBS PopAsia on a Sunday afternoon - but once I got there and started seeing the fans in costumes (who apparently had been queuing since 12:30pm for an 8pm show!), I couldn't help getting my camera out for a bit of it...!

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Today in New Zealand International Arts Festival history: Schools Tour (2004), Parsifal (2006), La Vie & Festival Setup (2008)

Almost there - only one day left of this look back at the New Zealand Festival over the past decade or so.  Of course, the Festivals we're looking back at were winding up too, so today we've got more people than shows, as naturally there were fewer & fewer rehearsals for me to attend & photograph as the shows came to an end.

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Today in New Zealand International Arts Festival history: The Prophet (2004) & Revolt of the Mannequins (2010)

Wow, we're getting towards the end of the Festival, aren't we!  Well, there's still time for a few more shows - this one's Hone Kouka's play The Prophet from 2004, by Taki Rua Theatre; and a rare example of when I had to do an actual 'photo call' for a show, rather than being able to cover a rehearsal or show.  I always resist doing that if I can, because I don't think you get the same emotional honesty in the images by getting actors to perform a quick bite of the show just for the camera; but sometimes, it's the only option.

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Today in New Zealand International Arts Festival history: Tuwhare (2006) & T.E.O.R.E.M.A.T. (2010)

Today's images are brought to you by the letter T: first, Tuwhare, the concert tribute to the great New Zealand poet Hone Tuwhare.  Following on from Baxter in the 2000 Festival, songwriters were invited to create a new work using one of Tuwhare's poems, and an album and concert were created from those.

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Today in New Zealand International Arts Festival history: The Overcoat (2004), Body Movies (2008) & The Arrival (2010)

Another three-show day, today; this time, starting in 2004 with a production from my old home town of Toronto!  One of the few times English-Canadian theatre has visited New Zealand - in fact, I'm hard pressed to think of another - this was The Overcoat, an entirely wordless work that totally won audiences over, and possibly paved the way for The Sound Of Silence in 2010 now that I think about it.  (Having proved a silent show could work, I mean!)

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Today in New Zealand International Arts Festival history: Cookin' (2004), Once Upon A Deadline (2008), Don McGlashan (2010) & The Maori Troilus and Cressida (2012)

Four shows today - first is Cookin' (Nanta), which apparently is the most popular show in Korea and toured to Broadway just before it came to New Zealand!  I remember enjoying it, but also that I had no idea the cook in the fourth photo was going to throw that onion in the air and chop it - much less that it was stuffed with glitter...!

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Today in New Zealand International Arts Festival history: Velocities II (2004), Holy Sinner (2006), Black Watch (2008), The Animals & Children Took To The Streets and Writers & Readers Launch (2012)

Chamber orchestra Stroma followed up their 2002 concert with Velocities II in the Wellington Town Hall in '04; and this photo from the sound check became one of their main images for most of the next decade, which was nice!  They're a great ensemble, wish I could see more of them.

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Today in New Zealand International Arts Festival history: Out Of Order (2002), Akram Khan & Where We Once Belonged (2008)

Two shows and a workshop, today - first is Out Of Order, from the Out & About series in 2002.  Looking at the photos, I remember the show pretty well - I feel like the performer was French, but of course the phone box was sourced & branded locally so it would look normal.  I feel like he didn't speak during the show, but convinced members of the audience to help him at various points - getting up on the box, then passing him his briefcase, that sort of thing - and I think it was the most popular Civic Square show that year.  Certainly the crowd on the steps was good, and enjoyed themselves!  (Of course, could you do a show about trying to get into a phone booth now?  Wouldn't someone just hand him their iPhone, if he needed to make a call!?)

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Today in New Zealand International Arts Festival history: Indian Ocean (2002), Verona (2004), Don McGlashan (2006) & Giselle (2008)

A good selection today!  First up is Indian Ocean, a band that appeared in Civic Square as part of the Out & About section of the Festival (which one year was run by a Canadian, to much hilarity in the office) - and second isn't from a show, it's the band Verona from the show Geographical Cure in the 2004 Festival, but at the traditional Government House reception that all artists were welcome to attend.  A great bunch of people, and one of my favourite New Zealand bands.

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Today in New Zealand International Arts Festival history: Festival Picnic (2004) & Nouvelle Vague (2008)

A quick couple of events today - one of our outdoor regional events in 2004, part of a series of Festival Picnics we did in Upper Hutt, Porirua and at Frank Kitts Park in town.  (There may have been more I'm not remembering, too!)  This one had a series of performances over a few stages, including Pacific drummers, bands, a British comedian, and - as you can see - Korean tightrope walkers & drummers!  Nice to see some of the staff from that era out enjoying the sunshine, too - we all spend too much time in dark venues!

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Today in New Zealand International Arts Festival history: Mahinarangi Tocker (2004) & Ship Songs (2010)

Continuing from yesterday's rehearsal photos, here are a few images of Mahinarangi Tocker's 2004 concerts in the Festival Club / Pacific Crystal Palace tent - I went back the following day to photograph the school's performance in the afternoon, then again in the evening to enjoy the show myself.  These are a mix of both shows - two from the afternoon, three from the evening - and the second one was cropped, clearcut and used as the cover of her album the following year, The Mongrel In Me.

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