Hamilton has hosted many notable bands, from elsewhere in NZ, as well as a number of international visitors. I approached musicians from some of these bands, and posed a single, simple question: “Do you have any lasting memories or impressions of playing in Hamilton?” This is third, and final (?) installment, where we talked to Mike Chunn (Split Enz, Citizen Band), Richard ('Dick') Driver, Buster Stiggs (The Swingers), as well as members of The Go-Betweens, The Newmatics, The Suburban Reptiles, The Terrorways, The Chills, Bailterspace, Skank Attack and The Fourmyula! Head over to our Features page for more!

HUP is very excited to have been able to help bring British indie legends The Wedding Present to Hamilton for a show on July 5 at Nivara Lounge!

Legendary British post-punk/indie band The Wedding Present return to New Zealand on the back of their ninth studio album Going, Going… 

Having formed in Leeds in 1985 around the lovelorn songwriting of David Gedge, the band soon acquired a reputation for bittersweet, breathtakingly honest songs of heartache immersed in whirlwind guitars — a jangly-yet-brawny sound, played at impossibly breakneck speeds, that was introduced to the world on their debut LP George Best. 

NME called the album “an unmitigated delight” and subsequently invited The Wedding Present to contribute a track to the magazine’s C86 compilation — a cassette release that has remained hugely influential upon generations of noisy indie rock bands. 

Over the course of the next three decades the band would find themselves exploring all kinds of sharp left turns like trying their hand at traditional Eastern European folk music on the album Ukrainski Vistupi V Johna Peela, enlisting the aid of the noise-mongering (and, at that point, relatively unknown) sound engineer Steve Albini for their 1991 album Seamonsters, and the time they released twelve 7” singles, one per month for a whole year — an experiment that paid off when they equaled Elvis Presley’s 35-year-old record for “most hits in one year”!

Today, The Wedding Present can be found at the top of their game — their 2016 album Going, Going... having been described as their masterpiece. AllMusic says “It's hard to deny the brilliance of a band that can crank out an album as passionate, hook-filled and flat-out fiery as this.” 

On this tour, The Wedding Present will be performing songs from throughout their career.

​Tickets go on sale next week at undertheradar.co.nz, and supports will be announced then too. 

Bandfandango 2017 is open for bizniz! Whatfanwhatwhat I hear you say? Here's a recap as to what Bandfandango is.

Bandfandango is a concept dreamed up here at HUP HQ last year, as a way to create a bunch of new bands. Basically, any interested musicians (and non-musicians) email us stating what they would like to play in the band and what type of music they would like their new band to play. We then drew names from a 'hat' and created brand new bands.

Those new bands - Closet Octopus, Kandy Finish, Hippo Crypts, and Cardio Farce - then had to come up with a band name, write three new original songs, and play them live - along with a cover of their choice - at the Finale show, which last year took place at a packed out Nivara Lounge.

This year's Bandfandango will take place throughout April with the Finale being held on May 26 at Nivara Lounge.

It is not for the faint-hearted and some commitment is required. On the other hand it can be a shitload of fun. Interested? Email us at [email protected] telling us what instrument and type of music you want to play and we will put you in the draw! 

HUP caught up with Lachie Thurlow from YUKON ERA ahead of their show at Diggers this coming Thursday, March 16th with Ancient Tapes and Contenders. Skip over to FEATURES to read more!

Further musings on Day 2 of Future City Festival, this time an addendum to Ian's earlier piece from Gee Ttochs, featuring more performances by bands that played in Nivara Lounge! Head over to the FEATURES page to read more!