Punks hit Wellington

Rip It Up, Issue 12, 1 June 1978, Page 4

Punks hit Wellington

Everybody get their gymshoes on and start sweating with excitement. New Zealand’s first New Wave Special Concert featuring Auckland’s Scavengers and Suburban Reptiles will be presented in Wellington at the Town Hall on June 18 from four to nine p.m. Other bands playing will be Wellington’s 52 and Auckland bands the Assassins, Stimulators and the Idle Idols. The organisers aim to present the best of what is musically significant in New Zealand at the moment. The Scavengers and Suburban Reptiles top the bill in both performance and reputation. The two bands epitomise New Wave in New Zealand in entirely disparate styles the Scavengers with rock based manic excitement, the Reptiles with dramatic stage presence and the weird throbbing chord progressions that underlie their music. The Wellington concert will be the first time the two bands have played together since their origins. The contrast and exist-

ing competition between them should generate a pretty solid basis of interest for the audience and the performers. The other bands play various forms of punk based contemporary music, with the possible exception of 52 who have achieved remarkable notoriety since their opening night with a vacuum cleaner salesman at Ziggy’s nightclub in Wellington. Their music is difficult to describe and definitely futuristic. The Idle Idols are all girls whose appearances have provoked strong response from Auckland audiences. This is a fair line-up for a five hour concert, although South Island bands are notably missing. The organisers say they cannot risk the cost of flying the Enemy from Dunedin or the Aliens from Christchurch. It’s a pity, and it's indicative of the lack of support in New Zealand for local bands. The Wellington concert is an important representation of the direction of popular music here now. The growth of New Wave in New Zealand has parallels with the roots of British punk in rising unemployment, failing economy and political uncertainty. This is our own contemporary music and it is worth hearing. Jewel Sanyo