Weekly Round-Up: Friday 3rd May

It's May and you know what the means - a barrage of New Zealand music related goings on coming your way for the next four weeks.  Along with all our usual local music features, we have two special features running on the site this year.  The first we launched on Monday with one (Surf City's Kudos) of five albums streams celebrating great New Zealand records and next Monday we'll launch the first of five live video features (thanks to Becks) where we will have live footage from Cassette Nine's MUM club Music Month shows which start tonight with Opossom and Julien Dyne. Be sure too to keep an eye out for the awesome new, very kiwi, animated series from Coco Solid's Jessica Hansell called Hook Ups, here's the first episode.

There has been a heap of tours news this week with Japan's Mono announcing their return for two shows in June; Manic Street Preachers  announced their first ever New Zealand show, playing Vector Arena in July; The Veils are returning home to play dates nationwide in support of their new album Time Stays, We Go (tickets are selling fast!); Tiny Ruins announced nationwide dates in support of her new EP Haunts;  P-Money announced New Zealand and Australian tour dates with David Dallas in support of his new album Gratitude; British crooner Engelbert Humperdinck (aka Mr. Ten Guitars) has announced a one-off Auckland show in June; the much beloved Neutral Milk Hotel announced their reunion with a run of shows this year and the promise of a full world tour next year; and if you were planning on getting tickets to Splendour in the Grass, too bad, it's sold out BUT we recently interviewed The National's Aaron Dessner (to be posted in full on 17th May) who says they "insisted that we want to come to New Zealand" so fingers crossed for them and more awesome sideshows.

All other music news has been eclipsed this morning by the sad announcement that Slayer founding member and guitarist Jeff Hanneman has died of liver failure at only 49 years of age.  We really don't know how we can follow that up with anything else other than if you want to listen to some awesome heavy live music this weekend  - get along and see Beastwars perform with Unida in Auckland or Wellington.

WEEKEND GIG PICKS:

Friday 3rd May

AUCKLAND: Unida (ex Kyuss) + Beastwars, Kings Arms
AUCKLAND: Opossom and Julien Dyne, Cassette Nine
AUCKLAND: LatinAotearoa Album Release, Goldfinch
AUCKLAND: Mean Girls, Our Wild Lies + More, Lucha Lounge
WELLINGTON: Lawrence Arabia (solo) + Joe Blossom, Puppies
WELLINGTON: The Gunslingers Ball, Bodega
DUNEDIN: Matt Langley Album Release, Chicks Hotel 
DUNEDIN: Luke Thompson and Lydia Cole, The Church Cafe

Saturday 4th May

 Sunday 5th May

Auckland: Matt Langley and Bernie Griffen, Kings Arms Tavern

Coming up next week...

Truckfighters (Sweden) - Auckland (Tue 7th) and Wellington (Wed 8th)
Jello Biafra And The Guantanamo School Of Medicine - Wellington (Tue 7th) and Auckland (Wed 8th)
TOOL - Auckland (Wed 8th) and (Thur 9th)

NEW TRACKS: