Weekly Round-Up: Friday 31st May

Ending the month on a high, the final week of May got off to a great start with tour announcements from Fleetwood Mac, who return in December for one Auckland date, and much loved singer-songwriter Jeff Mangum who's Neutral Milk Hotel tours New Zealand in November - tickets for the show went on sale this morning at 9am with the crush of eager fans temporarily stalling the site and some dates are already well on their way to selling out.  Exciting news also ended the working week with The Black Angels announcing their first ever New Zealand shows happening next month and making for a very busy June (see why below). On the local front Secret Knives and Glass Vaults announced a joint nationwide tour starting at the end of June.

In album release news... Flying Nun confirmed the  re-release of Skeptics' entire back catalogue starting with III and Amalgam in August to coincide with the premiere of the documentary about the band at the New Zealand International Film Festival, Nine Inch Nails confirmed the release of a new album this year via Columbia/Sony, No Age announced the release of new album An Object in August via Sub Pop,  Kody Nielson (Opossom, Mint Chicks) sneakily released a really great solo album of experimental Jazz titled Devils, These New Puritans released a stream of their new album Field of Reids ahead of it's June 10th release date and last but not least,  in an interview with Rolling Stone Blur frontman Damon Albarn announced the release of his first solo album which he plans to follow up with a tour to include material from his entire career.

Caught live this week we have Christchurch's The Dance Asthmatics who played Cassette Nine with a host of their Melted Ice Cream label mates last Friday and were filmed as part of our Music Month live videos series...

Watch all our live videos for the month so far, including The Eversons, BnP, Salad Boys, X-Ray Charles, Suren Unka and more,  OVER HERE.

WEEKEND GIG PICKS:

Friday (31st May)

AUCKLAND: Salad Boys, Doprah, Trust Punks + more, Kings Arms
AUCKLAND: Mum Presents: Super Villains and guests, Cassette Nine
AUCKLAND: Fireshark, Murderchord + more, Lucha Lounge
WELLINGTON: Urbantramper, Joe Blossom and Orchestra of Spheres, SFBH
WELLINGTON: Las Tetas and Tape Wolf, Mighty Mighty
DUNEDIN: Beastwars!, Re Fuel
DUNEDIN: Opposite Sex, Murderbike and Strange Harvest, Queens

Saturday (1st June)

AUCKLAND: Tiny Ruins, Wine Cellar (limited doorsales available)
AUCKLAND: Jello Biafra Speaks, Galatos
AUCKLAND: Spook The Horses, Mosquito Control and more, Whammy Bar
AUCKLAND: She's So Rad and Randa, Cassette Nine
WELLINGTON: Zen Mantra, Mighty Mighty
WELLINGTON: John the Baptist + D Burmester and the Blind, Bodega
DUNEDIN: Die! Die! Die!, Trick Mammoth and Opposite Sex, Queens

Sunday (2nd June)

AUCKLAND: Tiny Ruins, Wine Cellar (limited doorsales available)
WELLINGTON: C.L.I.T Fest After Party, Bodega

Coming up next month...

Killing Joke: Auckland (Thur 13th) and Wellington (Fri 14th)
Municipal Waste: Wellington (Thur 13th) and Auckland (Fri 14th)
The Black Angels: Wellington (Wed 19th) and Auckland (Thur 20th)
BBQ (Mark Sultan): Christchurch (Wed 19th), Wellington (Thur 20th) and Auckland (Fri 21st)
Mono: Auckland (Thur 20th) and Wellington (Fri 21st)
oOoOO: Wellington (Thur 27th) and Auckland (Fri 28th)

NEW TRACKS: