Dubsters on tour
If you are heading north over the holiday season, you are heading in the right direction to catch Salmonella Dub on their No Worries 2000 tour.
Fresh from their slot at last night's show at the WestpacTrust Centre, the Dubsters plan a mainland bass assault that begins in Kaikoura on Monday night.
Having released Killervision earlier this year, the Christchurch band continued to leave their indelible mark on the New Zealand music industry by winning a heap of awards at the bfm New Zealand Music awards in August, including those for best album, best song, and best live act.
And, it is live that Salmonella Dub really get to strut their stuff.
With a show that will have you on the dancefloor from start to finish, they do live what most dance music producers take weeks to perfect, and are guaranteed to leave your senses reeling. A highlight of this tour will be the midnight slot on New Year's Eve in the drum&bass zone at The Gathering.
The No Worries 2000 tour takes Salmonella Dub to Kaikoura on Monday, and Nelson on Wednesday. After The Gathering they play at Takaka on January 4, and Buller Gorge on January 9. Look out for the single release of Johnny some time in January, and their much-awaited back catalogue re-release in February.
Gathering countdown:
For those lucky (and organised) people who have tickets to The Gathering this year, there are only seven sleeps until the best millennium event in New Zealand officially starts.
The seven dance zones begin pumping out the sounds that will take Gatherers through into the next century at midday on January 31, but the gates open at midday the day before to give people plenty of time to set up camp before the fun begins.
To make the Gathering experience even more enjoyable, organisers have produced handy, pocket-sized booklets that have useful information about what to bring, what not to bring, how to get there, and other things to do in the Nelson region. These booklets are available from wherever you bought your ticket.
If you are still trying to buy your tickets to The Gathering, organisers strongly suggest caution. All tickets to the event sold out weeks ago, and there are currently at least two types of forged tickets in circulation.
If you arrive at The Gathering with a forged ticket you will not be allowed into the event, and may be liable for prosecution yorself - all of which will leave you seriously ripped off.
A genuine Gathering ticket has the G symbol embossed, but while some of the fakes are missing this feature, others have been well-printed with an embossed G.
However, the real thing also has a couple of hidden identification marks, which will allow security to spot imposters at the gate.
If you have bought a fake Gathering ticket in the past month, there are a limited number of the genuine article available from 0800 2 BOOKIT (0800 226-6548), but these are only available to those who need to replace a possible forgery.