Colour me jealous

Live Gigs that Rocked New Zealand, compiled by Bruce Jarvis and Josh Easby (Hurricane Press, RRP $89.99):

If you’re stuck for a Christmas gift idea for the music fan in your life, this book will score you some huge brownie points.

No matter what era you are from or what genre of music floats your boat this book will blow you away.

Covering 50 years of concerts in New Zealand, this is an incredibly in-depth history of live music in New Zealand.

Sure, not every concert is covered and I’m sure any of us could offer up a list of at least half a dozen other acts we think should have been included but the 20 writers and 50 photographers who contributed to this volume weren’t aiming for a record of every single act that hit our stages. Instead, they’ve delivered a considered record of a selection of the live acts we saw from the late 1950s.

Concerts in the book range from the huge to the surprising to the fun and for the more recent concerts, the write-ups are by people who were there.

This gives the reader a real feel for what it was like to be there.

As I started reading I was struck by just how many big names actually made it to New Zealand in years gone by: Johnny Cash, The Beatles, Rolling Stones all made it to our shores in the seven years before I was born and then there was the visit from the Yardbirds in 1967.

Colour me jealous.

And of course, our local musos aren’t forgotten, with everyone from Ray Columbus and the Invaders to Split Enz rating a chapter.

The Big Day Out and our long-lost Sweetwaters music festivals also rate a mention.

This is a stunning book, both visually and in its content and you’ll find yourself lost in it for hours.

I intended to have a skim through to find the concerts I was really interested in. Turns out it was all of them.

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