***Official New Zealand Fans Thread***

NewZealandJamFan wrote:

I stand by all I said. Obviously this is only an opinion and so is yours so we're all quite right to voice them. I was in the 10C for a year, but for my $50NZ I saw no value out of it. Im 23, how many 23 year olds have vinyl players? Almost none in my neck of the woods. It's not particularly a great collectors item as thousands of people have one as well. If you can get the whole set of them then sure, but I don't.

Fan club tickets....to what? We haven't had a show in 8 years. It's okay for an Aussie fan or an american (non-south) fan, but I have to pay the same as you yet I have no chance to use fan club tickets. If they don't wanna come down here then fine (our stadiums are shit so I can understand) but don't put us on the tour booklet then not give us a single piece of information as to why they are now not coming. Thats heartbreaking. Ever experienced that?Nah you haven't. I may never see my favourite band because I was misled that I was going to see them in November, and that sucks.

I didn't bake the banana bread don't worry. I dont care who's dog is who, there was fuck all exciting stuff in that Deep magazine (in my opinion). Don't get me wrong, you Australian fans get plenty for your buck coz you get better seats. Us Kiwis? All we get is 3/5th of fuck all.

The one thing that shits me is the lack of communication. One person got an email back after our petition etc saying 'it doesn't look likely'. Is that it? That's poor. Pathetic even. Challenge me if you like, but I guarantee these points are all prophetic because i'm your typical fanatical NZ PJ fan.

Please don't decipher it as me having a go at the band. I'm not. They don't owe me anything after so many years of great albums and so much happiness for me. I blame their management and promoters etc for keeping us in the dark.

Seriously mate....i know what you are saying...i really do. Unfortunately for me I missed out on this tour, not tickets, had to go OS for work.....im feeling the pain of no concert for me!

And I feel so freakin bad for you guys in NZ. I think it was me who first brought the booklet to everyones attention. I remember seeing it and getting so happy for everyone in NZ cos it said New Zealand in the booklet.
again, i know what you are saying and I totally understand your sadness, its just sometimes we make a point about a certain thing and it is taken ... by others like myself....totally to heart.
I love the band, and if I never got to see them again.....ever, i would be happy because I have been lucky enough to have seen them once in my lifetime......you guys....im feeling for....and you know what, ever since I found out I was gonna be in the States when the Aus tour was on, i have been praying for a New Zealand tour announcement so i can head to NZ when I got back to see them....to no avail.

I guess .... im just pissy at the "lame" comment....and whether or not i know the history begind the comment, i get defensive. I am sorry mate, i just wanna defend the fantastic piece of memorabilia I get every year in the mail....even if it is not a massive deal to all......it is to me.....and I did cook the banana bread......fuckin sunk on me!!

Enzed wrote:

I went Friday night, and in no way an I a U2 fanboy - I don't own any of their music whatsoever.

But they brought it.

And no matter what you say, they turned up, unlike Pearl Jam. And don't give me that venue shit, as Pearl Jam played the same venue in 1998.

Well, finally managed to get back online after over a week of being back (too many things to do!).

Yeah, U2 were pretty good, but that Friday show, what a lame end to the concert! It couldn't have been more of an anti-climax. Now, Saturday they ended with One Tree Hill, a much better choice in my opinion!

As for my four PJ shows, they were all we'd hoped for. It's been so many years since I've seen them (Auckland 98) and my g/f had never seen them, but these shows really made up for it. It didn't hurt that we managed to score front row centre tickets an hour before one of the shows, but even from our other seats these shows really lived up to our expectations.

We managed to score a setlist, and a couple of Mike picks from the first row, so I guess we're going to frame them up with our tickets, hopefully that'll turn out nicely. As if the trip didn't cost enough, now I gotta get the 4 posters framed!

My only regret is that we didn't get to more shows! Newcastle would've been nice, but I think the pair of Adelaide shows were really very good, the crowd rocked!

bazzer wrote:

Well, finally managed to get back online after over a week of being back (too many things to do!).

Yeah, U2 were pretty good, but that Friday show, what a lame end to the concert! It couldn't have been more of an anti-climax. Now, Saturday they ended with One Tree Hill, a much better choice in my opinion!

As for my four PJ shows, they were all we'd hoped for. It's been so many years since I've seen them (Auckland 98) and my g/f had never seen them, but these shows really made up for it. It didn't hurt that we managed to score front row centre tickets an hour before one of the shows, but even from our other seats these shows really lived up to our expectations.

We managed to score a setlist, and a couple of Mike picks from the first row, so I guess we're going to frame them up with our tickets, hopefully that'll turn out nicely. As if the trip didn't cost enough, now I gotta get the 4 posters framed!

My only regret is that we didn't get to more shows! Newcastle would've been nice, but I think the pair of Adelaide shows were really very good, the crowd rocked!

Glad you had a good time! I haven't seen them since 98 too, but I also saw them in 95.

Oh - if you're in Auckland there's a good framing shop in Apollo drive in Mairangi Bay that I can recommend.

I saw a guy in an Avocado shirt at the pub the other day, should've said gidday nice shirt but I didn't.
Also the Rock just played Aaron Lewis' version of Black (he's from Staind) and if you've heard it you'd know how cringe-worthy it is....why can't they play the original? That version sucks. "her legs spread out before me". Fuckin idiot.

i_am_a_wishlist wrote:

Is anyone going to see Shihad/Datsuns this summer? Personally I'm lookin forward to the Datsuns the most. Christian is an awesome guitarist and he reminds me soooo much of Jimmy Page. I seeing them in Welly on the 6th.

Yip. Should be a good gig. We're going St James, 27th. I think there's meant to be a nice poster for the shows too, if anyone's interested.

NewZealandJamFan wrote:

I'm gonna go to this if tickets are still on sale..are they? I'm just listening to AIC as an inside, what great times. Wish they'd tour with Duvall (new lead singer, obviously no Layne but i'd stil love to see em)

They sure are, $50 + bf from here. Good luck with AIC, maybe they'll play Vector Arena?

Yeah man, that was fan-fucking-tastic.

I'd been waiting to go to a show that would totally absorb me for ages. My November 06 was stacked with shows I was expecting to take me away, but nothing really turned out like I was hoping:

1) John Mayer at St James, Auckland - John was awesome, but this was the worst concert crowd in years - So many people up the front standing like zombies, and looking at you like you're an asshole if you actually seemed to be enjoying yourself.

2) Pearl Jam at Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne x 3 - These were supposed to be the centrepieces, but having my girlfriend drop out the night before we were to fly out because her passport expired two years ago, getting violently ill before the first show after indulging in a single Beer (and a glass of wine at lunch time), then getting busted outside the venue by the one person who was interested in buying my girlfriends ticket (despite my efforts to sell it online), who turned out to be a federal investigator for scalpers, then proceeding to spew my guts out, spend most of the show in the first aid room, and end up in the hospital on a drip till 4am, and remain sick in bed for the next two days (dragging myself out on Tuesday for the second show, which I managed to get through without spewing again), before finally coming right for the third show (which I have to say, was pretty awesome - Thank God I bought tickets for all 3 shows), kinda put a dampener on proceedings...

3) U2 at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland - After my Melbourne experience I managed to come into this one with out too much expectation, even though I am a long time U2 fan. But somehow, I managed to stand in the one spot (a quarter of the way dowm the stage, on The Edge's side) that the biggest wall of speakers I've ever seen, somehow managed to avoid, on a perfectly still night. This was the quietest rock show I've been to in my life - from where I was standing they weren't much louder that the warm up music at most shows, and were easily drowned out by the mediocre crowd (and every song was dominated by my friends singing from behind me). I had to fucking concentrate to hear the music! You don't go to a rock show to concentrate, you go to be absorbed! I finally decided that I was actually cursed when I spoke to various people after the show, who were watching at different positions around the stadium and who generally agreed that from where they were, the sound was quite loud...

Shihad and the Datsuns, Wellington Town Hall, 6 Jan 2007:
Now that's what I was waiting for. I haven't got into a show like that for ages. It had been more than a year since I last saw Shihad, longer since the Datsuns. People said to me the Datsuns looked kinda tired compared to previous performances, but if that's tired then Whoa! Shihad's new songs sound really promising - catchy, but still definitely Shihady (as opposed to Pacifiery). And I can't remember the last time I saw Jon Toogood so excited to be playing back home in Wellington. The first Shihadatsuns song was Gates of Steel by Devo, a song Shihad covered on the Deb's Night Out EP. They used to play it on old Channel Z (pre-1999). Watching Dolf and Jon singing in synchronisation was like someone had pasted two amazingly kick ass shows together right in front of you. It was one of those moments where you're there and you think to yourself "Man, this is one of those moments!". Hell yeah. And then they rip out I See Red? In my home town? Fuck, that has to be my concert highlight of the year, and it's barely even started. That was as good a moment as from any show I've ever seen, including our beloved…

On another note, I saw a guy at the show in a red Mookie T-shirt. I got all excited like I'd seen an old friend. "Mookie!" I yelped quietly as he entered the hall. Felt kinda strange heckling a stranger (I'm, not much of a heckler), but it's Mookie! Eventually I talked to the guy in the foyer. He seemed kinda weirded out (as most people would when some stranger starts a conversation from your T-shirt), but it was cool to talk to someone else who'd made the lunge across the ditch to see Pearl Jam - He went to the 1st Sydney show. Wait a minute... you're.... you're reading this right now aren't you? I see you......

By the way, if any of you see a lanky 20-something guy with brown hair walking around Wellington with a BLUE Mookie T-shirt on (once it finally arrives), feel free to stop him for a chat....

See this here, is why I don't usually blog, post or email anything substantial to anyone, anywhere - When I get started, the result is almost always a novel...