Bowl on down to see top band

Auckland blues trio Heart Attack Alley are to play a one-off Masterton show to warm the wheels before hitting the road on tour through New Zealand and Europe.

The band, which features Supergroove frontman Karl Steven on vocals and harmonica, guitarist Kristal G and lead singer Caoimhe Macfehin, will play at Masterbowl in Masterton on September 20.

Masterton promoters Katie Grantham and Mark Rogers, of Up With People, said the exclusive Masterton gig for Heart Attack Alley was a perfect follow to the Night At The Museum concert at Aratoi Wairarapa Museum of Art and History that the pair are also organising.

Mr Rogers said the band was an "explosive three-piece that pumps out a ferociously catchy combination of '50s and '60s Rhythm 'n Blues".

The band have released two singles ahead of their upcoming debut album and believe a bowling alley concert will be "the very epitome of Rock 'n Roll and the perfect place to roadtest the new material in front of a live audience.

"The new album is due in the spring and we're going to take it on a tour of New Zealand and Europe. I can't wait to get on the road again and it'll be good to kick it all off in a bowling alley too - they were made for Rock 'n Roll," Macfehin said.

Steven has mixed views on bowling but is thrilled at the prospect of playing the Masterton venue.

"I've always resisted 10 pin bowling out of a fear of slipping down the alley in those house shoes, being decapitated by the ball return system, and having my head rolled for a strike by my opponents," he said.

"It's a metaphor for life that I must have seen in a movie or comic book somewhere but I'm really looking forward to facing those fears with Heart Attack Alley in Masterton."

Heart Attack Alley had been offered a larger venue elsewhere, Rogers said, "for a potentially bigger pay-day but they made the decision to keep it low-key" and play in Masterton instead.

"Considering the band's status it would have been easy to put on a big gig for them but the whole aesthetic of a fantastic hard-hitting band in a bowling alley is too good to resist," he said.

Advance tickets for the concert cost $7.50 and are available by calling Masterbowl at 377 7352 or Vinyl Heaven at 378 6688. Door sales are $10 a head.