Australian singer, Nick Cave. Photo / AP
Nick Cave may have sold out his four New Zealand shows in December but there's another opportunity to see the man in the flesh - and on screen.
On the day of his first New Zealand show in Auckland, Cave will be in attendance for a question and answer session at a screening of 20,000 Days on Earth, the biographical doco about his life and career that screened recently at the New Zealand International Film Festival and is in selected cinemas now.
Tickets to the December 6 screening at SkyCity Theatre at 12.30pm are on sale now through Ticketmaster.
This weekend Cave appears in Canvas magazine talking exclusively to Herald entertainment editor Russell Baillie about subjects raised in the film and how he sees his next 10,000 days on Earth panning out.
Stoneking and Gomez guy
CW Stoneking and his guitar.
CW Stoneking, the Aussie bluesman who sounds like he's stepped out of the 1930s, is touring New Zealand this November in celebration of his latest album, Gon' Boogaloo (out October 17).
It's the first album from the Australian in six years, but after toiling away on the songs for a long time, the final product was recorded live in two days, without any overdubs or edits and using only two microphones, into a two-track Ampex 351 quarter-inch tape machine that originally came from Capitol Records.
His previous album, Jungle Blues, saw him in demand all over Europe, making appearances on Later With Jools Holland and jazz star Jamie Cullum's BBC radio series, and had critics waxing lyrical about his authentic Delta sound.
He'll be playing at The Tuning Fork in Auckland on Wednesday November 5, followed by shows at King Street in Masterton (Nov 6), Bodega, Wellington (Nov 7), Coronation Hall in Dunedin (Nov 8), and Churchills Live, Christchurch, (Nov 9).
Meanwhile, you may known Ben Ottewell as the front man for eclectic Brit boys Gomez, but he's also a distinguished singer-songwriter on his own, and it's that side he'll be showcasing at a one-off Auckland show this September.
He will perform in support of his second solo album Rattlebag, at The Tuning Fork on November 7. Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Buddy will support him. Tickets on sale from September 3.
Attack of the mother truckers
The Grave Digger monster truck.
For all the motorheads out there, monster truck juggernaut Monster Jam is heading to New Zealand for the first time.
Ten monster trucks, measuring four metres and weighing five tonnes, will be coming Downunder for three shows at North Harbour stadium on November 1 and 2.
They'll be crashing, smashing and bashing their way around a custom-built track, driven by some of the TV show's most popular characters, including Grave Digger, Monster Mutt Rottweiler, Iron Man and the Queen of Carnage.
