Devo to delight at Day on the Green

Devo. Photo / Supplied

Three bands from the Sweetwaters era are getting together for the first A Day On the Green concert of the summer.

Scottish super act Simple Minds, American new wavers Devo and Australian psychedelic pop and rock veterans The Church play a one-off New Zealand show at Villa Maria Estate in Auckland on Saturday, December 15.

And though Devo - made up of brothers Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh and Gerald and Bob Casale - didn't play Sweetwaters in the 80s, as Simple Minds and the Church did, it will be the band's first visit here since that era 30 years ago.

The innovative and quirky band from Akron, Ohio (the same place as fellow end-of-year tourists the Black Keys) were known as much for classic dance pop songs like Whip It and Freedom of Choice (both from 1980) as they were for their funny hats and jumpsuits.

Nirvana's Kurt Cobain once said of Devo: "Of all the bands who came from the underground and actually made it in the mainstream, Devo is the most challenging and subversive of all."

After a break of 20 years they released, Something For Everybody, in 2010 which TimeOut described as "a set of songs that is unmistakably Devo, care of their trademark herky jerky hooks, megaphone vocals and synth-thumped rock".

Meanwhile, Simple Minds were last here in 2010 for a show at the Civic which was very much a greatest hits and favourites set including Waterfront and Don't You Forget About Me. Expect to hear more of the same but also some possible obscurities and early career highlights since the Glasgow band are currently on tour in Europe in support of box set Simple Minds X5, which collects together their first five albums.

The Church, whose bass playing singer Steve Kilbey played solo shows here last year, are not your typical Australian rock band and have remained true to their melodic and arty psychedelic rock sound which started with 1980's Of Skins and Heart and the beautiful track Unguarded Moment.

Tickets on sale July 2 from ticketmaster.co.nz. More information adayonthegreen.co.nz.

Die! Die! Die! Live! Live! Live!

Frenetic and noisy, yet emotional and melodic, South Island pop punk trio Die! Die! Die! are releasing their fourth studio album, Harmony, on July 6 and will be celebrating with a raucous national tour. They'll be bringing in bassist Michael Logie (the Mint Chicks, F in Math, Opossom) to help them out on the road.

They'll be in Hamilton at Static Bar on July 12, at the Winchester in Auckland on July 13 (for a 95bFM function) and cruising the Bay of Plenty on the Luvboat, leaving Tauranga on July 14. Then they'll head to the Crown Hotel in Dunedin on July 25, Chicks Hotel at Port Chalmers on July 27, the Dux Live in Christchurch on July 28 and finishing up at Bodega in Wellington on August 3.

Also heading round the country this July are two young solo storytellers - Lydia Cole, who released her debut album Me & Moon in February, and electro-pop genius Tom Lark.

They start out at the Yot Club in Raglan on July 5, followed by Besos Latinos in Auckland on July 8, Mighty Mighty in Wellington on July 12, The Dux Live in Christchurch on July 15, Arthur Street Cafe in Timaru on July 17, The Church Cafe in Dunedin on July 18, Fairfield House in Nelson on July 19, OE Cafe in Palmerston North on July 20, the Wanganui Musicians Club on July 21 and Milk & Honey in Hamilton on July 27.

Wiggling to a town near you

Before veteran Wiggles Jeff, Murray and Greg hand over the mantle to a new generation of performers they are heading out on one last tour of New Zealand.

Along with Anthony (the "Blue" Wiggle), who is staying on in the line-up, they will play 11 dates including Vector Arena on September 15 and 16 as part of their Celebration Tour.

So kids - and parents, you know you like joining in - expect to hear all the hits such as Hot Potato, Rock a Bye Your Bear and Toot Toot Chugga Chugga.

And they will have all their favourite Wiggle friends in tow, including Dorothy the Dinosaur, Captain Feathersword and Wags the Dog.

Following this farewell jaunt the retiring trio will hand over the purple, red and yellow skivvies to their replacements Emma Watkins, Lachlan Gillespie and Simon Pryce to take on backstage creative roles in the kids' entertainment phenomenon that has been running for more than two decades.

"We've been entertaining children around the world for 21 years and it's important that we plan for the future so that the Wiggles can keep wiggling in the years to come," said Murray.

The Wiggles also play the St James Theatre, Wellington, September 8 and 9; Regent, Palmerston North, September 10; TSB Theatre, New Plymouth, September 12; Founders Theatre, Hamilton, September 17 and 18; CBS Canterbury Arena, Christchurch, September 20; Regent, Dunedin, September 22; Civic Theatre, Invercargill, September 23.
For more information and tickets, which go on sale July 2, go to ticketmaster.co.nz.

-TimeOut