Whirlwind Heat

No Love, No Brain and Velvet Tiger present::

from Grand Rapids, Michigan, the return of
WHIRLWIND HEAT
with
THE MINT CHICKS

It's OK, you can admit it. The last time Whirlwind Heat played in New Zealand, you were too absorbed in White Stripes fever to pay much attention to the three-piece powerhouse tearing it up like the bastard offspring of Devo, Sonic Youth and Beefheart on stage before them. Maybe you were confused by the lack of a guitar player, or were intent on fixing your hair in case you ran into somebody famous. Maybe you spent too long posing by the merch stand, and standing at the bar holding court and telling the enthralled about how you were at the first White Stripes shows that only cost ten bucks. Or perhaps you were trying to do that "fashionably late" thing. It doesn't matter, really -- your hipster credentials haven' t suffered too badly. At least you were there, right?

This time though, you'll be paying more attention. You've got the Do Rabbits Wonder? album, the Flamingo Honey EP, and a couple of the vinyl 45s on import -- even the one with Meg dressed as a rabbit. Though you've boasted to your buddies that that band in the pages of Mojo and the NME already played here and they were too out-of-the-loop to know about it, you feel a little guilty. Because now things have changed. Now you get it. You've realised that it's not about fashion and appearing to be cool and ahead of the game and all that, it's about enjoying stuff. You've got a real kick out of the Whirlwind Heat stuff -- something about those twisted Moog sounds and oblique lyrics have struck a chord in your brain that have sent you back to the stereo again and again...and even if you're not sure of the difference between a polyrhythm and a stuttering stop-start noise, whatever it is, it sure doesn't sound like the rest of the stuff in your collection.

Good thing Whirlwind Heat care enough to come back to New Zealand. It's a long way from Michigan, but the weather's better -- even in winter. And since they were last here, they've played, er, hundreds of shows all over the place, and recorded a new album. Now, you get the chance to be first AGAIN, and hear those new songs before the Types Of Wood album comes out. Cool? Thought so.

Now, the Heat are teaming up with their buddies and erstwhile tour companions, The Mint Chicks, who've also been busy since the bands last played together on an Australian tour. Their debut album F**k The Golden Youth has followed their two EPs, and that's the only following that's been done by the Auckland four-piece. With an identity and sound formed outside of any accepted genre-bounds and fashionable concerns, The Mint Chicks have forged ahead on their own steam both here and overseas, along the way picking up fans like original LA punks Alice Bag of The Bags and Keith Morris of Black Flag. Not that they'd ever tell you about any of that, because those guys don't particularly care what other people think. Don't take it personally, though.

Anyhow, you know that this is going to be a double-bill that you are going to want to be there for. We know you're ahead of the game, and it'd be a real shame if you had to pretend you were there, right? Remember, shows have started to sell out in this country. Don't say we didn't warn you.

No Love, No Brain & Velvet Tiger present


WHIRLWIND HEAT & THE MINT CHICKS
Monday June 27th: Happy, Wellington
Tuesday June 28th: Ward Lane, Hamilton (door sales only)
Wednesday June 29th: Kings Arms, Auckland
Tickets $25 + b/f from Real Groovy, NZ Post, Fast & Loose,Bunny, and the venues.

Please note that all copies of the 'Blue' split 7-inch vinyl single have SOLD OUT and will be unavailable on this tour.