Vorn with Delgirl
Friday Feb 15th Coronation Hall Maori Hill Dunedin
8PM SHOWTIME DOOR SALES ONLY $12 REFRESHMENTS AVAILABLE
Vorn Colgan is that rarest of things in this age of uber-hyped instant stardom and the reduction of pop music to another reality-show format point: an underground artist. Since 1999, Colgan has been releasing albums to critical acclaim and building a small but fanatical following based on ceaseless touring with his phenomenal live band, all without the benefit of major label support or NZ on Air funding.
His 2011 release Down For It was a bona-fide masterpiece of pop songwriting, effortlessly switching between (and occasionally mashing together) seemingly disparate genres to create an entirely new vision of what pop music can be in the 21st century. Simon Sweetman opined Colgan is one of this country's greatest songwriters, never cloying or faux-romantic; these are direct songs; honest, cynical, sincere, hilarious and in many cases ridiculously catchy. Grant Smithies concurred - Here’s a man capable of wringing great pop from the bleaker aspects of modern urban life ... it’s the sharp eye for sadness that attracts me; his ability to use humour to expose pain, his affection for the underdogs.
Work has begun on Vorn's seventh studio album, and his February tour of the South Island presents an opportunity for fans to hear some new tunes, and for latecomers to become acquainted with possibly the finest back catalogue extant in New Zealand Music today. Don't miss it...
Delgirl will be providing the ‘Yin’ to the Dark Lord Vorns ‘Yang” on the band’s “Vorn Eliminates the South Island Tour” in February. “We’ll be the Slim to his Shady” they say, “there’s nothing like a North vs South showdown to get the creative juices flowing”. “It’s going to be brilliant fun to play with the band. Vorn writes songs like no other. Honest to the point of brutal, beautiful to the point of heartbreaking – he is a somewhat unknown NZ musical gem.
Delgirl have had an excellent summer break, although John has been on the road for the last few weeks with The Chaps, but it’s time to bet back on the stage and get to work. “This is the first time we’ve played at the Coronation Hall, it is a beautiful venue, so it will be a real pleasure to perform there along with Vorn”.
It’s a big year for Delgirl with an album to get recorded and a whole lot of new songs to sort out.
“Bring it on” they say, “it’s time.”
