NZ MUSIC AWARDS 2013

Lucky old me…invited to the NZ MUSIC AWARDS.

As a result of fleaBITE winning the Tui for Best NZ Children’s Album 2013,

I received a lanyard in the mail…my ticket to entry. 

The hype on George FM gathered momentum as my friend and I swerved and beeped our way along inner city Auckland streets en route to Vector Arena.

And I emulated Mr Bean, changing daytime garb for something a little less comfortable as we hurtled along.

We knew we were getting close when we encountered throngs of young people, many squashed into a new outfit and teetering in towering heels. Luckily, they were held back by a restraining fence, and we followed in the reflected glory of television celebrities along the reddish carpet for a laugh.

The throngs seemed to have got a better deal inside.  They sat in the tiered seating with a great view of the stage, while us VIPs were seated around tables on the ground floor.  There were opened beers in buckets on the tables, and finger food of some description…it was too dim to make out what it actually was.  Nice thought anyway.

Children’s Music being of supreme importance, we were allocated seats at the table furtherest away from the stage, and shared it with the guys who had done the onscreen graphics for the night’s events. Big screens on either side of the stage gave us a view, and television cameras roamed and swooped on long mechanical arms over the night’s proceedings.

The whole event was very well organised…everything segued smoothly from host patter (Benji Marshall?) to grateful acceptance speeches and performances.  The graphics guys said that from their perspective things weren’t going quite as planned, but no one else would notice it.

I have to say, the Silver Scroll Awards (based on the song writers) the previous month were much more to my taste…innovative approaches to songs. While these Vodafone sponsored NZ Music Awards did everything we have come to expect from these glitzy events it felt somehow hollow. This could have been because I was wearing earplugs and sitting right at the back but it was a flashy, poppy affair, not really aimed at me.

I did like the dancing girls dressed in onesie pyjama suits for Araadhna’s song ‘Wake Up’, Stan Walker is a talented home grown lad, I joined the ovation for Lorde and her voluminous Kate Bush-like tresses, and fancy them allowing a woman into the Music Hall of Fame (Shona Laing)!

Lorde with her voluminous Kate Bush-like tresses

The award for irony went to Male Vocalist of the Year James Milne (aka Lawrence Arabia) who said he had watched the event on the telly a few years ago and found it so excruciating that he and his friends were clawing their eyes out, and yet here he was, three years later, accepting the golden Tui.

And who would have thought that Peter Posa would carry off the award for Best Selling Album of the Year…not that many of the assembled youngsters had heard of him. His pre-recorded video acceptance speech showed a white-haired man of 72 twiddling away on his guitar.  Long may his royalties flow.

Mr Peter Posa, Best Selling Album 2013

And another surprise… Flight of the Conchords got Best Selling Single for their charity song ‘Feel Inside’ for Cure Kids.

Anyway, congrats to one and all…and didn’t those graphics guys do well!