Australia/NZ: McCartney, Lorde, Kings Cross

Frontier Touring Teases McCartney Tour

– Paul McCartney Teaser
Frontier Touring Company

A week after Australian media revealed that Frontier Touring had signed up Sir Paul McCartney for a November/ December run, the company posted a teaser photograph on its Facebook page June 19 spotlighting a left-handed guitarist with the emblems of Australia and New Zealand on the guitar.

Sir Paul has not toured these countries since 1993 as part of the New World Tour. Between March 5 to March 27, he played nine open-air and stadium dates in four Australian cities and one in New Zealand.

In November 2002, he was to play Melbourne exclusively at Docklands Stadium. The Victorian state government co-funded the visit as part of a strategy to brand Melbourne a city of major events.

However, in the wake of bombings in the Indonesian tourist island of Bali in which many Australians were among the 202 deaths and 209 injured, McCartney pulled out.

“This is not the appropriate time for a rock show,” he said in a statement, adding that the country needed to “recover.”

Media reports suggested the cancellation was also due to less-than-expected ticket sales, although promoter Paul Dainty said that 30,000 tickets had sold in the first five days. Docklands Stadium holds 53,359.

In 2012, McCartney told the Australian press that his management was negotiating with two promoters for a tour that year.

Lorde Sells Out NZ Shows In 10 Minutes

Jen Lowery Photography – Lorde
Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, Calif.

Tickets to six of seven Lorde’s Melodrama shows in her home country New Zealand sold out in 10 minutes after the general onsale June 19. In her first homeland tour since 2014 when she played arenas, the multi-platinum singer opted to play 2,000-capacity theatres on her run this November to a total of 11,200 fans.

The current slate is Dunedin Town Hall, Isaac Theatre Royal (Christchurch), Michael Fowler Centre (Wellington) and Powerstation (Auckland) Nov. 7-15.

According to Frontier Touring and Ticketmaster, tickets for Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch went in minutes.

But they were available in Dunedin four hours later. Half the NZ tour had already been snapped up in two pre-sales a week earlier.

Victoria Moves For Increased Search At Music Festivals

The state of Victoria is attacking the widespread use of drugs at music festivals by introducing increased authority for police to stop and search patrons.

The move began after 20 overdoses at the Electric Parade dance music festival at Sidney Myer Music Bowl earlier this year when 20 patrons overdosed, according to the Sunday Herald-Sun.

Current talks between the state government and its police force involve placing festivals with drug track records as designated events under the Major Sporting Events Act. That would mean police would no longer need “reasonable suspicion” – that someone has committed or about to commit an offense – to look for drugs.

The new law would apply outside and inside the venue, the SHS said.

Police Minister Lisa Neville said, “There has been very serious harm caused by drugs at music festivals. This is about protecting lives and ensuring music festivals are great places for young people to get together – not places for tragedies.”

Also worrying the government are “bush doofs,” EDM events in remote and regional areas.

Ambulance Victoria CEO Tony Walker said mass overdoses are increasing in such areas “where access is suitable medical facilities, including intensive care, is both limited and delayed by distance” are further stretching resources of paramedics. 

Venues Come Together To Celebrate Nightlife

Seven live music venues in Sydney’s Kings Cross entertainment precinct are coming together July 1 to celebrate the area’s nightlife. Since the 2014 introduction of Sydney’s lockout laws, venues claimed a 40 percent reduction in foot traffic and half a dozen shuttered up. But since last December, a number of these have been allowed to stay open an extra half hour later.

Two of these, The Potts Point Hotel and Kings Cross Hotel, join with The World Bar, Candys Apartment, Crane Bar, Jangling Jack’s and Sweethearts Rooftop for “Meet Me In The Cross.”

For $30, patrons can check out the music in any of these seven, creating a swirling carnival vibe. The initiative is the brainchild of the Keep Sydney Open lobby group, which has drawn 15,000 to 20,000 people to its rallies calling for the end of the lockouts.

Its campaign director, Tyson Koh, said, “Kings Cross is the heart and soul of Sydney nightlife. We all know it has suffered in recent times, but the truth is venues are still kicking in the Cross – you can still see great local live bands and dance to amazing music.”

Greg Turton of The World Bar, hailing the night as a way to highlight the “awesome talent that is on show every weekend,” added, “Hopefully this will be the first of many.”

Thirty DJs and live acts were announced June 19 to perform, including high profile hip-hop acts Hermitude and Thundamentals, Dappled Cities, Mezko and World Champion and DJs including Nina Las Vegas and those from club collectives Astral People and Future Classics.

Wellington Jazz Festival Hosts Jazz Awards

For the first time, the Wellington Jazz Festival hosted the New Zealand Jazz Awards June 11.

Winner of the best jazz album went to East West Moon by Jonathan Crayford who learned to play piano at the age of 3 and started writing film soundtracks at 18, while Callum Allardice won best jazz composition for the second time, this year for “Deep Thought.”

Attendance for the June 7-11 event was about 25,000 for 160 free and ticketed shows at 50 venues over five days.

International acts included Bill Frisell, space jazz pioneers The Comet is Coming, multi-Grammy winner Diana Reeves, the Harold López-Nussa Trio, sax prodigy King Shabaka, and the world premiere of Seoul Jazz, a collaboration between NZ’s The Jac and South Korea’s Black String.