Putting on a show
Strange Universe.
Crust is a weekly newsletter on taste and culture from Tāmaki Makaurau.
Hello. This is my 50th newsletter, which feels like some kind of a milestone. The first came out on April 4 last year. Since then, I’ve sent one every single Friday and find myself consistently overwhelmed by how many people not only read Crust but tell me that it brings joy to their lives. Thank you all! Okay, back to regular programming. This week I speak to Matthew Crawley about how Strange Universe comes together, and share observations about stage presence. At the bottom, you’ll find where to buy merino underwear, details on Wynn Hamlyn’s sample sale and the new deli in Kingsland, plus some field recordings of Auckland that you’ll find on a great new gorge album. Let’s get stuck in.
For a relatively small town, dwarfed by our regular comparator Sydney, and even Melbourne, Tāmaki Makaurau has been blessed with a bounty of live music recently. Industry people and punters alike have told me there are “so many gigs” that it’s hard to keep up. Lucky as we are, it makes the civilised pacing of the Strange Universe programme appealing, even in the midst of a busy March. More of a series than a music festival, you could see everything and still have breathing room in between to do laundry or something less domestic.
With eight nights spread between March 4 and 24, the schedule counts Smerz, Derya Yildirim & Grup Şi̇mşek, The Bats, Nabiha Iqbal and Ty Segall. I asked Matthew Crawley — one half of Strange Universe, alongside Reuben Bonner — why they pursue this format, one that’s so different to other music festivals like Laneway or Big Day Out (RIP), rather than jamming everything into one night.
“[We] were getting offered so many incredible acts for March that we felt like the whole month needed a special little ribbon tying around it. That ribbon is Strange Universe — one ring to rule them all, with amazing shows instead of corrupted elves. It has given the month a magical feel for us,” he explains. “We’re about to announce it happening again in June and one show end of May.” (They did, on Thursday.)
The first Strange Universe show was back in 2022, which saw Parquet Courts, Mermaidens, Marlin’s Dreaming and Na Noise all playing on one night at The Powerstation. “It sort of became the name we used when something felt bigger than just a normal show or tour. Now the concept is out in the world, it feels like it’s going to be with us forever. No pressure, us.”
Strange Universe is the work of Matthew’s Strange News Touring and Reuben’s Banished Music. “And his trusty sidekick Cuillin Hearty is a legend,” Matthew adds. “We are a weird little power trio!” He also notes the critical support of the team at 95bFM, Under The Radar, 818 PR, Moshtix. “And all the venues are total legends. All our techs and door people who are often roped in in very chaotic ways.”
The series spans Double Whammy, Neck of The Woods, Pitt St Methodist Church, Powerstation and Hollywood Avondale. Putting together this year’s lineup happened in two chunks. “We dropped the announcement and then still had local supports to announce and extra international acts trickling in, so... (checking my emails) the first mention I can find of this Autumn round is September 2025.” Ty Segall was locked in, after back-and-forth emailing, in October. “Rocktober.”
The biggest surprise for Matthew this time was Derya Yildirim & Grup Şimşek. “Not a band I ever thought I’d get to see! Everyone needs to come see them and the full band version of WAIWHAI. Needs!” They’re playing on Sunday at Double Whammy. (I once saw Waiwhai, aka Rāhana Tito-Taylor, play in the carpark beneath Coffee Penn, a transportively surreal performance perfectly suited to a concrete bunker.)
Guitar Wolf know how to put on a show. Theirs, opening for Ty Segall, was just kicking off as I walked into the Powerstation on Tuesday night. Famous frontman Seiji was dressed head to toe in leather, looking every bit the rock star and every bit exactly how you expect him to be: jerking, gyrating, fizzing with energy. He’s 62 if you can believe it. (Coelacanth!) Founded in 1987, Guitar Wolf’s been on this mortal coil longer than my 38 years, and decades before the average age of the throng at the front of the pit. One of them was dragged on stage — literally — and handed a guitar, transforming into a man possessed. The band’s vaudevillian antics are to be expected and stand the test of time; stage diving is a timeless act of showmanship, even if it breaches security protocols.
Ty Segall delivered a different kind of ageless performance. Dressed like a Sunday afternoon, Segall was positioned stage right — more side man than front man, not that it dampened his performance. There’s something almost voyeuristic about seeing a rock star in profile, a vantage usually reserved for those in the wings. His blonde bob is intact, becoming increasingly damp in the course of the hour-long show, during which the band played a crop of new music and some old favourites (Girlfriend). Their T-shirts may have been soft, but they went hard.
Under the stage light, there’s a thing that happens sometimes, and did so with Segall; the boy he used to be reappeared in his face, passing like the sun. (Segall was birthed the same year Guitar Wolf.) That glow graced Seiji too. And the crowd, which arcs around the stage like the rings of a tree around the increasingly green interior. Above them were rock stars in old T-shirts, comfortable in their artistry. Everyone came out in the windy Auckland night to see them.
Putting anything on in Tāmaki Makaurau is a feat, and while Matthew and Reuben are pros, the logistics and comms involved in pulling something like this together aren’t to be underestimated; they reckon Strange Universe requires 800% of the normal work required of announcing a show.
“Biggest learned lesson is we can do it! Haven’t yet learned the lesson of whether it’s actually wise or insane to do this. The hardest part would be getting it all across the line at once,” says Matthew. “And the best part is one minute after it’s announced and watching the excitement spread. The best.”
They’ll be back for another round with the Strange Universe Winter Edition, a lineup that includes Dry Cleaning, Cate Le Bon and more, putting on a show.
Dropping… by Wonder Journal and Longform. The Britomart store is one-stop-shop for all your merino needs. Des Rusk’s range, as we’ve explored previously, has a relaxed fit and easygoing manner not unlike its designer. Yoko Shimoyama’s Yarn NZ range is where you want to go for leggings, singlets, underwear and assorted thermal layers (I like the scoop-neck half-sleeve top with visible cover seaming) that are all made in Japan from New Zealand merino. Speaking of merino, Standard Issue has two very good new colourways, umber and a red that reminds me of summer tomatoes.
Trying… that (very pale) American butter everyone’s been talking about. You’ll find more about that over on The Spinoff — including why it looks like that (so pale!) which my go-to butter expert Alisatir Carr kindly unpacks for us.
Listening… to Hasji’s new album Pahū, which features field recordings from around Tāmaki Makaurau. I asked them to tell me more. “I wanted to awhi the growth of that kaupapa in a small way as that track ngā kotete iti is about the growing/sprouting and murmuring of new voices and love and support of continuing to learn and find your own rhythm through the ‘mistakes’. It’s also a welcoming track dedicated to my nephew, who I made it for right after he was born, so I wanted to make a pēpē-like stumble-walk kind of rhythm to it (lil sprout!),” Hasji explains. “Waitematā has recordings of the harbour herself merged with digital wave sounds from a patch on my keyboard. That track is a dedication to the harbour/city and the grounding feeling that whakapapa can bring in the wash of timelines. Waitematā, according to Te Arawa, is the ‘waters of obsidian’ as Tamatekapua (captain of Te Arawa) placed a mauri stone made of obsidian in the harbour to protect future generations of us Te Arawa. I commissioned an ‘obsidian’ black glass kōauau from Amokura Glass in Rotorua to play on the track too — her name is Waitematā also. While 2b real doesn’t have explicit recordings from the harbour, the music video Sina Tui Leo was shot on both sides of the harbour in dedication to her.” Nice.
Having… several conversations with people (men!) who want to read more (books!) instead of looking at their phones. I tell them it’s like a muscle and you have to exercise it.
Cackling… at Goblin Girls last night. Johanna Cosgrove, back from Naarm, was hosting, looking like a doomed starlet in a quite sublime lace-trimmed Gloria dress by Kristine Crabb. On the bill were comedians Kura Forrester, Hayley Sproull, Abby Howells, Courtney Dawson, Justine Smith, and Goblin bar was already full half-an-hour before start (crowd: well-dressed, mostly women). There’s another edition on March 19, and then, come May, the ensemble show will be part of the New Zealand International Comedy Festival.
Chatting… to Soundscape Sirens’ Marissa Holder, Hannah Berry and Vanessa Tottle about how they turned what was a pilot show of sonic exploration into a multi-date tour (they play Whammy on Saturday night). Listen to the bCast here.
Finding… out how AS Colour built a billion-dollar business out of blank T-shirts. (I kind of miss those since-discontinued three-quarter sleeve ringer tees that everyone wore in 2010.)
Someone commuting via unicycle
A large disco ball being lugged down Great North Road
Skinny jeans 2.0
A sizeable anti-abortion protest march on Queen Street
Pat Menzies has a fresh delivery of men’s Camper Pelotas? Good if you work in a design or architecture office in the vicinity of Karangahape Road, or are a fan of the classic Miu Miu bubble sole. They start at size 42 and are, I believe, available in store only (Canterbury Arcade, off Queen Street).
There’s a new deli going into what was, once upon a time, The Fridge space (RIP) on New North Road? It appears to be the work of one Gin Wigmore (yes, really), which is intel I gleaned from the various logotypes for “Wigmore Deli” that are pinned on the wall and the fact that I saw her inside one day.
Pasifika Festival is happening at Western Springs this weekend? Go hungry and clear your afternoon.
The entire first season of New Zealand’s Next Top Model can be watched online? Alex Casey pointed that out in her recent essay about the show, which correctly points out how hectic body standards were back then. In an effort to distract myself from grim memories, I dug around for records about another local competition, the Girlfriend Model Search, and was rewarded with details of the 2007 prize pack. How’s this for evocative? Clean and Clear skincare, Playstation 2, the entire back catalogue of SingStar (!), hair straightener, the Fantasy Britney Spears range (!!), nail stamping set, makeup brushes, Hey Sister (!!!) underwear and Le Specs/One Teaspoon glasses.
Wynn Hamlyn is having a sample sale? Prices are always crazy low, so get thee to the workroom at 90 Anzac Ave on Friday or Saturday, 10am-6pm.
The schedule’s out for Te Wiki Āhua o Aotearoa? Tickets for Auckland’s underground fashion week, as everyone tends to describe it, are on sale now. It’s always a good time; you’ll leave with hope for the city’s style, creativity and boot-strapping spirit. I’d recommend catching the work of Fringes Garments, Oosterom, Daf Nimkovsky, Mitchell Vincent, Laurence Sabrine, Sherbert Lemon, EVULWRLD, Jojo Ross, Sleeping Profit, Adrion Atelier and Hiraka Raima — they’re among the programme’s 65 names, last time I checked, which runs March 20-28. Or just go to the Signature Show, where you’ll see two looks from most of the designers in one runway presentation.
Rebecca K Reilly’s sophomore book is imminent? Announced this morning, Bon Vivant will be out in April. A great end to the week for Greta and Valdin stans.
I’m on a panel talk tonight? It’s happening at Four Shells in Victoria Park and the occasion is International Women’s Day. Teuila Benioni Bourke, Layla Kaisi, Noeleen Tuala and I will be discussing rewriting the rules, among other things, from 7pm-9.30pm. It’s free to attend, but it helps to register your interest here.
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