Last night we were given a very very special treat indeed – Wilco in the beautiful Civic – and you’d be hard pushed to leave a show any more satisfied than we were last night. The show was enthralling, charming and thoroughly entertaining.

Wilco gave us a more than generous helping of awesomeness; with this, their third visit to NZ – after 2008’s Bruce Mason Centre show and their part in Neil Finn’s 7 Worlds Collide supergroup last year. They opened with their self-referencing “Wilco” from their latest album – with cool pauses and a robotic voice introducing each of the sextet. But the band didn’t just focus on their latest album for the show – rather there delved all the way into their 15 year career and, it seemed, played at least one song for everyone of us in the audience. Tweedy pretty much refrained from addressing the audience for the first 30 or so minutes – letting the songs do the talking – but after that – the banter ran freely, and at times, wonderfully bizarrely.
Support provided by Justin Townes Earle. Photos by Cheese on Toast photographer Dan Trotter – look at our fancy new gallery here.

The Artisan Guns held their EP Release Party for their new EP Hearts on Saturday night at The Rising Sun with support from Subterranes.

Check out teh full photo set from Cheese on Toast photo-contributor Amanda Cheng here

Saturday night at Whammy saw all-and-sundry gathered to farewell Tourettes who heads away to re-locate to Melbourne for a year.

Check out the full photo set from Cheese on Toast photographer Rebecca Hawkins here

Friday night (April 23rd) was Bemsha Swing’s single release party at Whammy Bar – with support from Wilberforces and USSA.

Check out the full photo set by Cheese on Toast photo contributor Winchey Zheng here

The Situations, F in Math and Bandicoot played at the MUM Clubnight on Friday 23rd (hosted by our pal D.AV.E.S.K.I.P)

Check out the full photo-set by Cheese on Toast photo-contributor Dan Trotter here

Friday night at Town Hall was super-freakin’-choice as Rohan Evans from Wine Cellar curated the Night of a 1000 Lovers with Steve Abel, Lisa Crawley, Broken Heartbreakers. Pirate City Rollers, Drab Doo Riffs, Death Valley, Lubin Rains, Storehouse and Tourettes hit the stage in Auckland’s Town Hall.

As a special extra treat Tanja (Misery) did a burlesque performance for the Drab Doo Riffs song Hot Tanya.

Cheese on Toast photographer Dan Trotter arrived a little late (oops) and missed the first 3 acts… here’s his photos of City Rollers, Drab Doo Riffs, Death Valley, Lubin Rains, Storehouse and Tourettes – LINK

Connan Mockasin played a very very special show at Monte Christo Room on Saturday night.

Support provided by Dear Times Waste.

Joining Connan on stage were Wild Bill Rickets, Liam Finn, Elroy Finn and Sam Eastgate (Late of the Pier)

During their encore Connan played a Michale Jackson cover – which may, or may not have been on the Michael Jackson Tribute Album that Cheese on Toast released last year for free.

Full photoset by Dan Trotter here

Last Friday (26 March) saw the end of Cheese on Toast’s month long curation of the MUM Clubnight at Cassette Number Nine – and we went out with a bang – Hamilton’s Milk Train came up to play a blistering dirty blues-rock set and set us on fire, and Cheese on Toast’s favorite Auckland skuzzy-punks The Hairdos squirted petrol on the flames!

Check out the awesome photoset provided by Milana Radojcic here.

On 18 March The Fourmyula perfromed for the first time in forty years in Auckland and the Monte Christo Room. It was amazing.

Check out the full photo-set by Straton Heron here.

On the way to Raekwon at the Powerstation, Cheese on Toast bumped into our mate Mikey, who raps for Smoking Hot Bitch Fight – he asked what we were up to and we said we’re going to Raekwon and his jaw dropped, literally, to the floor… a quick call later and Mikey had been promoted to gig reviewer and was along for the ride…

Here’s his review…

Raekwon the Chef at the Powerstation,
Saturday. 20th March. 2010
Review by Mikey Krummins and awesome photos by Venus Tong

The last thing I expected when I left the house last night was to be stood 4 rows from the front of a Raekwon concert, throwing my arms in the air and stuff.

It’s a rare thing to be offered a ticket to a time machine like that. It was as if Andrew yanked me down a sweaty vortex and I had landed in the pit of a weird Being John Malkovic Wu Tang Clan memory.

Raekwon kind of looked like the same had just happened to him. Appearing not to expect this clamour of howling baboons repeatedly whooping woo at him.

“It’s so cool to come all the way to your country and not play a wack show!”

He was right into it. Getting his purple lights on low for the ladies (about 5 in total). Rocking Ice Cream. Eye for an Eye. Rainy Days. The whole swag. By the time Incarcerated Scarfaces came on I was right in the middle of a full on Rikers Island prison gig. I got a sudden urge with my new found youthful primate energy to pull a Wu Tang ninja move up the wall and take out the guards with the hand-held searchlights. All silent like.

“NEW Z.NEW ZEA.LAND. NEW ZEEEE!!”

If there’s one gripe I have it’s the hype man. They all have them. The rappers mate who comes along just to shout really loud over the end of every single line. Rubbish.

Apart from that, and perhaps the new Dr Dre produced gangster crap, I love you Raekwon, thanks for being so cool.

Full photo-set here – thanks Venus of PartyOfWolves.com