52 years ago, there was a music festival held on a dairy farm in Bethel, New York which would end up being regarded as a seminal moment in counterculture and music history.

Promoting “3 days of peace and music”, the festival featured artists like Janis Joplin, The Who, Ravi Shankar and Jimi Hendrix.

Jump forward to 1994 and another festival was held to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original. Both the ’69 and ’94 Festivals were not without problems, but with the public seemingly remembering the rosy glow of both, why not have another festival in the last year of the 20th century?

Garret Price’s Woodstock 99: Peace, Love and Rage tells you why the ’99 Festival should not have happened, what did happen, and the social and political environment of the time. It was this environment that turned what should have been a celebration of peace and love and the final days of the 20th century into a dude bro Lord of the Flies-style debacle.

With the disaster of the Fyre Festival still fresh in the audience’s mind, Garret Price could have easily delivered a chronological documentary that looked at what happened and where things went wrong and it would still be engaging.

However, Price goes even deeper by weaving in the interviews and narratives of attendees, performers and journalists (as well as Woodstock ’69 co-founder Michael Lang and ’99 promoter John Scher), as well as the diary entries of a young man called Dave who documented the Festival in his diary.

These viewpoints give a rich picture of not only what was going on onstage and in the mosh pit, but also what was going on socially and culturally in the world in 1999.

What we see in the documentary (and in hindsight) is an audience and society that was not just decades apart from the original Woodstock Festival, but light years away from the sentiment and vibes of 1969. Instead of people coming together on a muddy dairy farm in Bethel, New York, a disused military base was the scene for Woodstock ’99.

The muddy free love vibe of ’69 was replaced by, as one attendee puts it, “a lot of white boys wearing backwards baseball caps”, sliding not in mud but in human excrement due to overflowing sanitation.

That’s not to say that ’69 and ’94 remained problem free, something that the documentary is quick to point out: the military had to get involved with ’69 and in ’94 there were people sneaking through the weakly reinforced fencing (among other issues).

But selective memory and the passage of time has seemingly wiped these issues away like the mud in Bethel with the argument being that the 1970 documentary and soundtrack commemorating the ’69 Festival became what people remembered instead of the whole, unstilled truth of the event.

The ’99 Festival came at a time when young people (unlike their predecessors in ’69) really didn’t have anything to fight for.

It was a time when MTV played mostly music (instead of reality shows), and there was a strange duality: after the short-lived and more socially aware grunge era, the space was being filled by saccharine boy bands and acts like Britney Spears, and the rise of darker, more mean-spirited bands and the birth of Nu-Metal. And it was this mean-spiritedness that would seep into Woodstock ’99.

At the same time, the selling of sexuality and exploitation of women was rife in the media- magazine racks stacked with titles like FHM and Maxim, and the Girls Gone Wild series encouraging young women to flash their breasts on camera. All of these elements meant that the ’99 Festival was seething with misogyny and anger, something seen in the documentary very clearly.

Adding to this cultural powder keg was the stifling heat, poorly trained security guards and a lack of safe, inexpensive water (there was free water available, but people were taking it upon themselves to bathe in it, thus rendering it undrinkable).

The safety of women was not a priority, with groping whilst crowdsurfing, chants of “show us your tits!” and 8 sexual assaults reported to police (with the documentary estimating that there were hundreds more). By the time the Red Hot Chilli Peppers took to the stage at night and candles were given out for an anti-gun vigil the stage was set for a complete deterioration and chaos was fully unleashed.

Perhaps for those of us who were teens or in our twenties in 1999 it also captures a slice of what was happening for us musically, as Price very deftly layers the documentary with some of the Woodstock ’99 performances (including Limp Bizkit’s Break Stuff which has been labelled-albeit possibly too strongly- as the catalyst for the violence that followed) to really bring the event to life.

Perhaps it’s nostalgia of being a teen in 1999 talking, but you can almost smell and taste it (however bad that might smell and taste given the sanitary issues). ’99 may have been a (no pun intended) shit show, but artists like Moby, Jewel, The Offspring, Metallica and Korn were part of our consciousness, even if we listened to the likes of ‘N Sync or Britney Spears instead.

Woodstock ’99: Peace, Love and Rage looks at a very specific moment in 20th century history that was captured snow-globe-like in a Festival. It doesn’t shy away from the chaos but also manages to give voice to a particular generation who before 9/11 had very little to be concerned about.

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There’s no denying New Zealand loves its music and barbecue, so Meatstock Auckland is back again in its fourth instalment of excessive meat and rockin blues.

The sell-out festival will be returning to its NZ home, the ASB Showground, on the 15th to 16th of February 2020 with tickets on sale soon at Meatstock Official website.

Meatstock will be hosting some of the juiciest names in the music and BBQ scene. This year’s headliner is the legendary roots rockers, Katchafire, who are sure to get the crowd pumping and when it comes to big time barbecue masters, get ready to welcome back our favourite personality Big Moe Cason, new to Meatstock American pitmaster, Mike Johnson and “Queen of Fire”, Paula Labaki.

Big Moe who has now competed in over 250 competitions across the states, will be hosting the hugely popular Texan BBQ Masterclasses. Always up for a fan pic, you won’t miss his smiling face wandering through the festival over the weekend.

Festival Directors are super excited to welcome Mike Johnson to the line up, heralding from St. Louis’ Sugarfire Smoke House, an award-winning restaurant, with fourteen locations (and counting). Not only has Sugarfire continuously won the title of best barbecue in St. Louis, but Mike himself has also taken home trophies at the 2014, 2015 and 2018 Memphis in May World Championships, plus 3rd in the 2015 World Food Championship for Bacon. This man knows his meat.

Queen Paula, is one of the first pitmasters in Brazil, and is now a house-hold name having been a consultant on the Brazilian Masterchef and being part of the jury in the TV show, BBQ Brazil. A vivacious personality, Paula will certainly inspire fire in the New Zealand barbecue scene.Over 50 teams from across New Zealand and counting will be battling it out at the fourth Meatstock NZ Barbecue Wars for $15,000 in cash and prizes and more importantly to be crowned the best barbecuers in the land. And our favourite butchers are back, going head to head to win NZ’s best in the biz.

What is sure to be a hit is the inaugural NZ Sausage Sizzle Throwdown! Professionals (yes, there are competitive rankings) will go up against anyone to compete for $1,500.00 cash and a multitude of prizes.

The 2-day line-up also includes Texas Pete’s BBQ Showdown with 4 of the best teams in NZ, Rod + Custom Rumble, free rides for the kids, barbecue expo, live art, refreshments by Liberty Brewing and Jack Daniels, plus more.

The post Meat & Music Lovers Unite for Meatstock 2020! appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

With only days to go till Bad Friday’s 10th Anniversary, the festival finally reveals set times so punters can plan their unforgettable day at Railway Parade.

Headlining the festivities on the Bad Friday stage will be local heavy weights DMA’S – who recently received three entries in triple’s Hottest 100 – and plunderphonic legends The Avalanches performing in DJ mode. The UK’s disco-soul juggernauts Jungle will take out the title of the festival’s first international act. Brisbane’s party rock legends DZ Deathrays will play alongside guitar toting siblings Lime Cordiale, both of whom are fresh from placing in the recent Hottest 100. Also celebrating ten years in the game The Jezabels will play alongside new project Shogun and the Sheets from the infamous Royal Headache crew, and teeth bared and no fucks given Tropical Fuck Storm are ready to barrage punters with the anarchy of their debut album.

Populating the Carla Flanagan stage will be mainly locals only, from psych-pop lords World Champion to rapidly rising glam punks Johnny Hunter. Melbourne lo-fi impressers RVG will offer a heavy dose of confessional retro-pop, and serving up the sweatiest set of the day garage lords Crocodylus. Bad Friday will also feature sets from up and coming favourites Georgia June, pop enigma Holiday Sidewinder, grungey punks100, riot grrl’s The Buoys, indie rockers Planet, Newtown’s self-confessed shittest band Scabz, and dream-pop trio Baby Beef.

Unconventional pop leaders Haiku Hands will take to the third stage, the newly minted, boiler-room style dance tent alongside leading purveyor of the electronic scene Nina Las Vegas, and one half of iconic Australian music duo The Presets, K.I.M (Kim Moyes). Further inclusions include party perfecters Human Movement who’ve supported Deadmau5 and performed in Ibiza and Croatia, local maestro Dro Carey who will navigate a sonic journey through a set of house, grime, garage and bass, Melbourne producer and genre-bender Christopher Port who was named in Purple Sneakers ‘Artists to Watch in 2018’, and up and coming rap prodigy Yibby. Or get yourself moving to DJ sets from local advocate Luen, party favourites Fox Force II and Absolutely Everybody & Friends.

Unparalleled for championing home-grown talent, these new additions bump the festival’s overall bill to 80% hailing from Sydney; a testament to our great city when it needs it most. The festival once again encourages attendees to donate to two local charities when picking up their tickets: Youth Off The Streets and the Aboriginal Women and Children’s Crisis Service (formerly Marrickville Women’s Refuge).

Already on their final ticket release, this year’s Bad Friday will surely be a sell out after the pre-sale and first release were exhausted in a combined seven minutes.

Join us as we turn Good Friday Bad this Easter long weekend. Ticket details can be found HERE.

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The meat was sizzling and the live music was blaring.

The weekend of the 16th and 17th of February 2019 saw thousands descend on ASB Showgrounds in Greenlane, Auckland for the annual BBQ, Social and Music festival; Meatstock.

From retailers and wholesalers differing ways to cook up a storm in the summer sun were on offer aswell as live food displays, hair cutting competitions, lotions for your beard and food, food, food.

The sprawling layout took you from food vendors to food vendors, IPA Beer stockists and condiment stalls.

Inside muscle car and suped up vintage autos were lined up as if ready to drag race eachother.

Then, there was the live stage.

Over both days (Saturday and Sunday) live bands and artists were belting out tunes to the crowds who had seated themselves in the sun with their hearty supply of cooked meats and IPA’s.

Jon Toogood from Shihad, Lady D, The Whittakers, Henry Wagons and more offered a diverse playlist that catered for all tastes with two standout performances; Jon Toogood and the Recliner Rockers being my picks for both days. The mix of music went from contemporary, rock through to hillbilly rock and beyond.

Each band or artist having a one or two hour set – the endless stream of live music really set the tone for the weekend and made it definitely one of the more enjoyable and relaxing events to attend.

Meatstock, now in it’s third year, having started in Australia is the one event for all foodies, budding chefs and those that love a kiwi summer barby.

If you missed this year, make sure to mark it on your calendar for 2020.

The post Meat ‘n’ Music – Meatstock Event Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

The Others Way is an annual multi-venue music showcase festival that takes place across Karangahape Rd, Auckland.

Every year the lineup consists of between 40-50 mostly local New Zealand artists performing across one action-packed evening. From early until late, the street and unique venues are humming.

2018 was the fourth year of the event, and we felt a short documentary film capturing the vibe and music was long overdue.

To realise this film project, director Gwen Isaac was enlisted, bringing her extensive experience in the UK, US and NZ, along with a squad of students from the School of Music and Creative Media Production at Massey University. While the logistics of shooting an event as sprawling (across 14 venues) as The Others Way are a challenge, the team captured its essence – all via the artists, audience and atmosphere.

The film features Purple Pilgrims, Wax Chattels, Bene, Marlon Williams, Meer,The Beths, music fans and more.

People attend The Others Way for a variety of reasons; to catch emerging artists, iconic local legends, diverse genres, the community, K’rd culture and the opportunity to discover a new favourite band. The festival has sold out every year.

Also attending were a selection of music industry figures from around the world, who travel to New Zealand for the Going Global Music Summit. In previous years, many of the artists performing have gone on to secure international record deals, booking agents and other opportunities. This year, delegate Katie Garcia (A&R for Secretly Canadian andBayonet Records) was there and interviewed for the film.

The Others Way is hosted by Flying Out – a record store, distributor and home to Flying Nun Records, Arch Hill and numerous other local and international labels and music.

The Others Way Short Music Film can be watched above.

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CBC (Asia) e-Sports & Music Festival Hong Kong (EMFHK) returns this summer with professional gamers competing for glory at three international e-sports tournaments from 24th to 26th August 2018 (Friday to Sunday) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), the second annual EMFHK enters the third day today. The winners of the Return of the Legends 2018 and the Hong Kong PUBG World Invitational have been named, leaving only the championship of the ZOTAC CUP MASTERS CS:GO 2018 Grand Finals up for grabs later tonight.

The ZOTAC CUP MASTERS CS:GO 2018 Grand Finals will offer a total prize pool of US$300,000 (over HK$2 million), setting a new record in Hong Kong’s e-sports tournament.

While DJ Soda and singer-songwriter Gin Lee have already graced the stage at the Tournament Zone, gaming fans can continue to try their hand at the latest games and enjoy a host of music and entertainment programmes at the Experience Zone. At the Hong Kong Computer & Communications Festival (HKCCF) 2018, gadget lovers will be able to shop for everything digital until 6pm – 27th of August 2018.

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The heat of New Zealand’s summer bore down on the massive crowds as the twelve hour music festival kicked into action.

Samsung New Zealand invited us from STG to attend Auckland City Limits which boasted both local and big name artists across six massive stages (six including the Kiddie Limits area).

Local groups such as SWIDT, Katchafire, P Money, Scribe and more played alongside international giants; Justice, Beck, Sigrid and the legendary Grace Jones.

Photo taken on Samsung Galaxy S9

In all there were over thirty five bands or artists catering for most genres from indie to pop through to hip hop and electric, spread across the stages at the massive open area that is Western Springs Park in Auckland, New Zealand.

As with any large outdoor festival it was a case of checking the play schedule online and traversing across the green to each stadium to catch the acts that you had come to see.

Tash Sultana interacted with her audience and displayed her amazing array of musical talents, Sigrid played a selection of her well known tracks and DJ Tina Turntables had the crowds pumping.

Photo taken on Samsung Galaxy S9

While U.S. rap artist Justice failed to impress with his low key energetic performance. Head Like a Hole did not fail to deliver and Beck overly impressed his captivated attendees… and then there was one of the final acts of the day; the pioneer-ess, the legend that is Grace Jones.

Myself and the entire crowds at the Aroha Stage were left wanting more as Grace both engaged and mesmerized us with her artistry, spontaneity and a mix of her new material and signature classics such as ‘Pull Up to the Bumper’ being her outro song.

Photo taken on Samsung Galaxy S9

Auckland City Limits was a day for music fans of every genre. A day for families, friends and those that just wanted to kick back and chill on the grass.

Our mates at Edifier also featured with a non-stop Silent Disco.

Auckland City Limits was THE music event of 2018 and if you weren’t among the thousands of attendees, you have twelve months to prep yourself to be at the next one.

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