Entertainment picks: Documentary deals in history of drugs

High Times looks at the use of P.

TV

I need to say something briefly about Rockstar: INXS (TV3, Thursday, 10.05pm; Friday, 7.30pm). It is a disgrace. Michael Hutchence was no angel, but he deserves better from his bloated former bandmates, who are on a last-ditch effort to make some money out of his memory before they retire. Thank you, that's all.

This week, get out your party pills - they're legal, remember - because it's the third and final episode of High Times (TV3, 8.30pm, Thursday), the excellent Inside New Zealand documentary on illegal drugs in this country. This week we travel, or should that be trip, from the mid 80s obsession with cocaine (yeah!), to the first seizure of Ecstasy (I really love you man) in 1986, to present day P use (I feel good).

Whether or not you believe the immortal words of local rock band Deja Voodoo, who reckon "I smoke P and I'm alright", P is a serious issue and High Times deals with it.

There is little of note this week, except the return of the popular McLeod's Daughters (TV2, 8.30pm, Thursday) and new on Friday is LAX (TV2, 8.30pm), a drama set in Los Angeles' international airport which stars the eternally young Heather Locklear. How did the 40-something marry Motley Crue's Tommy Lee, then another rocker, Richie Sambora from Bon Jovi, and still manage to look just like she did as Sammy Jo in Dynasty more than 20 years ago? Playing many of the best high powered "bitch" roles on TV obviously helps.

And just a reminder, the All Blacks play South Africa in their first match of the Tri Nations series on the weekend. So don't be lazy, either stay up on Saturday night or get out of bed to see it live on Sky at 12.50am on Sunday.

Music

I'm not one to go to church, but on Saturday at 8pm a unique gig by Moana and the Tribe will be held at Parnell's Holy Trinity Cathedral.

Entitled "Celebrate Our Cultural Fusion", this will be the last chance to see the group before they head off overseas on their annual pilgrimage to concerts in Europe and other parts of the world.

Just in case you're not familiar with Moana and the Tribe's sound, it's a mix of traditional Maori music with pop, rock and soul elements and contemporary Western grooves.

Also performing are the New Zealand Trio, who are the ensemble in residence at Auckland University.

Elsewhere this week, the music scene is making me feel all cosmopolitan. It's just like we're living in London.

There is a big gig on nearly every night of the week, starting with Goldenhorse and Breaks Co-Op tonight at the TelstraClear Theatre in Manukau.

On Tuesday it's cool and crimsony New York rockers Interpol at the St James. Wednesday sees the welcome return of the Finn Brothers at the Civic, and on Thursday there's lots of little things - so check the paper in the morning.

On Friday you have a choice of Pluto at the Kings Arms or the D4, with up-and-comers the Sneaks, at Vesbar in the AUT quad.

Food

There has to be free food at the Food Show, surely. With hundreds of exhibits laden with the best local food and beverages and international cuisine, I'm convinced there will be.

This year's event (at the Auckland Showgrounds from August 5-7) features local and international chefs, free cooking demonstrations, and wine seminars and tastings. Well, blow the seminars, where are the tastings?

Movies

The Lords Of Dogtown, which starts on Thursday, is a kind of dramatised version of the excellent 2001 documentary, Dogtown and Z-Boys, about a group of teenage surfers from "Dogtown" in Venice, California, who pioneer a new style of skateboarding. Set in the 1970s, it shows how the Z-Boyz turn to riding skateboards, perfecting their craft in the empty swimming pools of suburbia and creating a new sport.

With Danny Trainspotting Boyle's new film it's the old story - what would you do if you found $100, or $1 million for that matter? Watch Millions and Damian and Anthony will show you. After a railway heist goes wrong and an enormous bag of money falls from the sky into their laps, they decide there's only one thing to do - spend it.

Rounding out a good batch of new movies this week is zombie flick The Land of the Dead. These zombies are different. Riley, the chief of a crew of soldiers protecting the living from the undead, notices the zombies are organising an army. Quick, call in Shaun of the Dead.

Exhibitions

For a triple-bill art exhibition check out NorthArt gallery in Northcote. The three exhibitions are About Memory by photographer Barbara Cope, A Continuum by printmaker Lynn Brown and People I Met In Paris and Northcote by photographer Harvey Benge. They run August 4-21.

Cope says About Memory, a series of black and white photographs, is based around the idea of memory - past, present and future.

"I'm interested in how a photograph, in that precise moment of taking, contains its own significant history, acting at any given time as a key to our memories in terms of personal experience."

Social Circuit

Today Anika Moa launches her new album, Stolen Hill, at an event at Orakei Marae, Bastion Pt.

But don't turn up at the marae gates expecting a free show, because it's invite only. The reason I'm mentioning it is because it's a novel, and less drunken, way to celebrate the release of your new album. Stolen Hill is out today and while it's sweet and tender, it's a little darker and not as girly as her debut, Thinking Room.