Small Hall Sessions & NZ Music Month presents:
Hawkes Bay Music Month: Week One
4th – 7th May 2023
Hawkes Bay, New Zealand.
Review by Rob Harbers, photography by Chris Kiely.
Never afraid to push the envelope, in honour of New Zealand Music Month the Small Hall Sessions are going all in and featuring, across 16 gigs over 4 weeks, acts exclusively from Hawkes Bay. A rotating cast of the finest to come from Te-Matau-a-Maui are plying their craft in Small Halls the length of the province. In light of recent climate-induced trauma to afflict the area, these are providing valuable opportunity for small communities to come together and, even if just for a night, put aside the clean-up woes! I went along for a couple of nights in the first week (could’ve been more, but you know, life and all that!)
The first night took place in the Maraekakaho Hall, and opening was Jackson Plumpton, a recent graduate of EIT’s music degree course. He delivered a strong set of original material, featuring often intense lyrics accompanied by some very fine melodies, marking him out as another one to watch as he continues to hone his craft over the coming years.
It was then time for James “JR” Rochester to entertain us, and that he surely did! Boasting of the biggest pedal board of the night (it’s a muso thing!), he then proceeded to put it to very good use indeed. Perhaps better known in his myriad other roles, principally as owner of Napier’s Paisley Stage but encompassing far more than just that single dimension, he is also an accomplished musician, albeit one who’s more often encountered in the setting of a band. This then was a rare opportunity to see the man himself, and catch a taste of his understated mastery of guitar and pedal board. His ability to craft amazing and surprising sounds out of these instruments, while singing an impressive array of original material, some from as far back as the last century(!) stunned the audience in to silence, showing the man behind the beard to be quite the sensitive soul. And leaving many wondering when this rare bloom will be visible again! Ah well, something to look forward to…
And then we were treated to the band that JR said he’s been following/hanging around with since he was about 15, the venerable institution that is Dusty Rhodes and the Bluesmobile, veterans of a 30+ year career dedicated to keeping the blues spirit alive in Aotearoa. With the volume going up a notch or two, they proceeded to threaten the structural integrity of the hall, putting the roof at risk of being taken off!
The years of experience showed in the skill with which they tore through a set made up of both original material and a good few classics of the genre. The original material told tales old as time, of the working man’s life, honed by years on the road, and often accompanied by the stories behind them, for an added degree of illumination. It was a night for rare experiences for both band and setting, with the band enjoying the novelty of playing to an audience that wasn’t three sheets to the wind, and the uncommon, for Small Halls, provision of an area for dancing! Speaking as one who’d generally have to be hugely intoxicated before even thinking of dancing, personally I fell between both of these poles – and I’m quite sure those around me would be appreciative of such mercies, if only they knew…
Having shown the audience the good time they needed, Dusty and co hit the Rhodes, promising to come back the next night – and perhaps the marker of how good they were is that I chose to stay around on the second night for their set – they were worth seeing again!
Night two saw the Sessions travel to Clive, where the opening slot was filled by Emma Webb, performing as a solo act for the first time for around six months or so – her usual gig being with her band Atlantic Wave. Such a novelty for her that she required her iPad to remind her of the lyrics! Another impressive set from an artist I’ve not previously encountered, demonstrating the depth of talent here in the Bay.
With the second act of the night, it was a slight echo of the previous night, in that Cam Burns is more commonly encountered in a band setting, much like JR, adding his instrumental shadings to the sonic tapestries of various other acts. Keeping things intensely local, he also lives within walking distance of the hall – no big roady on this night! Somewhat of a musical polymath, Cam is also an educator, producer and sound therapist, but this saw him stripping it all back to just him and his (new) guitar, singing songs of great meaning and emotion, with inspiring lyrical content displaying an open heart that seeks to inspire and uplift those who hear them. In similar fashion to the aforementioned JR, this is material that understatedly wears the craft behind it, passing over the flash to go for the emotional purity. Not quite such a rarity as a JR solo set, Cam does pop up around the traps now and again, and would be well worth catching again!
And finally – the band so good I saw them twice – the Bluesmobile. Doing it all over again for the people, but keeping me from taking any more notes – let’s just say they were just as good as the first night!
This special run of sessions continue until the 28th of this month, from Thursday through Sunday nights – coming to a Small Hall near you. Check smallhallsessions.co.nz for details. Don’t worry if you think you haven’t heard of the musicians – trust me when I tell you that these curators won’t see you crook! Thanks to some very generous support from various institutions, tickets are only $25 – what else could you get for that money? Take a chance, take the night off, come bathe in community, company and chords!
Were you there in the Hawkes Bay for any of these intimate gigs? Or have you seen any of these acts perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Note: Ambient Light was provided passes to review and photograph these concerts. As always, this has not influenced the review in any way and the opinions expressed are those of Ambient Light’s only.
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