Wie geht's?
Those of you who aren't that predisposed to my rantings and ravings on topics related to music can look away now.
Come on! You know who you are!
Okay. For the rest of you who want to stick around: this one is going to be inspired by my thoughts while reading Mike Chunn's latest memoir - A Sharp Left Turn.
Let's get the Wozza review over with quickly - although he still has an idiosyncratic floral writing style at times, this is a much more rewarding read than Stranger Than Fiction - his previous attempt to chronicle his life with the Enz.
Interested in life in Auckland in the second half of last century? Or NZ music? Or delving into the troubling world of panic attacks and agoraphobia? Or a Split Enz fan? Or a Citizen Band fan? Go buy a copy!
As I was reading it I had no trouble identifying with Mike Chunn. Like him - I grew up in 1960's Auckland, went to a traditional boys school in the seventies, then Auckland University, and I've experienced some debilitating panic attacks through my life.
Unlike him, I'm a couple of years younger, I was a day boy, I did an arts degree, I can't play any musical instrument, and my panic attacks weren't frequent enough for me to seek medicinal assistance.
While reading, it turns out that our lives also intersected in the audience at some seminal gigs during those Enz/CB years.
We were both at the After Hours/ Waves gig at the Maidment Arts Theatre (Auckland University), watching Geoffrey Chunn and Neil Finn play in After Hours before Waves performed. I was there with my mate - Greg Knowles.
Greg and I also went to the Auckland Town Hall on May 25th to see the Enz on their 1979 Give It A Whirl tour (ex Enzer Phil Judd's next band - The Swingers were the support and I remember complaining to Greg that they were too damn loud), then we were all at His Majesty's Theatre for a sublime Enz gig.
I watched the Enz and CB perform at Nambassa (truth to tell I remember watching the Enz but was too knackered to fully focus on the Citizen Band who followed them).
Finally, Greg, Kevin Simms and I watched the slicker Enz at the Logan Campbell Centre (I remember us discussing what song they'd start with as we waited).
While reading I dug out my Enz and CB recordings (including a bootleg concert CB Live at Mandrill Studios) and enjoyed reliving some amazing musical memories.
Thanks for that Mike.
Love and peace - Wozza
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