Dave might have to fight for space on John’s deck

Dave Dobbyn will be playing on John Currie's deck, or lawn.

KIWI musican and legend Dave Dobbyn will launch a whole new suite of songs next year and a Gisborne man will be able to say he heard a couple of them first.

John Currie has won Rhythm and Vines’ competition Dave On The Deck. People who bought Gisborne Club tickets — a locals-only initiative — went into the draw to have Dobbyn play them a private, at-home concert.

Currie clubbed together with about 30 friends to ensure their mass purchase gave them a good chance of winning the prize.

The show will be at Currie’s riverside home on the afternoon of New Year’s Eve — before Dobbyn’s evening set at the festival proper — but the lucky winner reckons there will be more in the audience than the 30 ticket buyers.

“It already sounds like there is going to be heaps more turning up, so we might have to squeeze on the deck while Dave plays on the lawn,” said the project manager and quantity surveyor.

“It’s going to be something new, something really nice to do on New Year’s Eve.”

For his part, Dobbyn hints there might be a special treat in store for the riverside revellers.

“I have been testing out a few of the new songs on audiences and they seem to work really well,” he says.

“That could be a good place to pull them out . . . why not?”

Currie says that after the solo show, he and his squad will head out to Waiohika Estate for the R&V festival, which he says he wouldn’t miss for the world.

“I think this is my ninth one and as well as being good times for us, it’s great for Gisborne,” he says.

“A lot of our friends come home over New Year especially for it, so it’s great to catch up with them and meet a few new ones as well.”