State of Euphoria in New Zealand

Upon arriving in Auckland, we sought food and were directed to an area downtown where there were many pubs and cafe's.  Aucklander's describe their city as "more of a town than a city."  The traffic and the skyscrapers had me fooled.  Construction and machinery sounds abound.  

The place has a really good vibe.  I dropped into a bookstore and brushed up on my Maori art and was struck by the similarities between the Maori and the Hawaiian culture.  New Zealand was the last place on Earth settled by the Polynesians only about 1,000 years ago.  As Maori legend has it, the demigod Maui created the North Island with his fishook, thus making it "Maui's Fish."  The South Island is "Maui's Canoe."  We stayed mainly on the North Island, but played in Christchurch and Napier on the So. Island.

I didn't have the nerve to get that facial tattoo.

Napier, NZ is a town rebuilt after a 1932 earthquake in the Art-Deco style.

Sunrise over Christchurch.

A 45 min. ferry ride takes us to Waiheke Island where we were rewarded for our efforts with a guided tour of the island.  The island is has recently become the home of many wineries.  We visited the Mudbrick Winery and enjoyed their great hospitality. The weather was perfect and the laid-back vibe on the island induced a state of euphoria.  The Chardonnay delicious. The guide took us all around the island before we returned on the last ferry.

http://www.mudbrick.co.nz/

On the ferry with Auckland in the backround.

Quiet harbor.  Sailing is huge down unda".The nets are to prevent the birds from eating the grapes.  The wineries on Waiheke are quite small and some of the wine never leaves the country...or the island I suppose.Farm-raised oysters.

A black sand beach.  Evidence of NZ's volcanic past.

Waiheke has a "little beach" and a "big beach" as does Maui.

Farewell Auckland!  We left on Tues. Am and arrived Mon. PM!  What a great tour and a very interesting trip to the land down under.   

Lizotte's! Fine Food With a Musical Mood. Yeah!

Every now and then on the road, you come upon a place that has simply "got it."  Lizotte's in Newcastle is one such place.  Brian Lizotte has been a professional caterer to rock n' rollers for years.  Weary of the the road, he has pursued his vision of creating a venue which features a dynamic blend of visual, aural and taste sensations.  His motto is that "the touring musician runs on his stomach" and he couldn't be more correct.  "If you guys are happy, then everyone else is too"  he said to me.  His establishment is in a very unassuming area of town and occupies a hundred-year-old theater turned supper club.  The food, the wine (esp. the white) and the staff were extremely accommodating.  We were pleased that this tour brought us to Lizotte's twice to perform our "long set" sans Michael and Boz.  You guys missed out!!

At the end of the second night, we reached for instruments which adorned the wall and had a brief and humorous "blowing session."  I would love to see a place like this on Maui.  We desperately need a world class supper club.  Any ideas?

Yes!

Sutton Grange Winery in Queensland

The subtitle of this blog is "where you never know what's going to happen next."  This tour has certainly lived up to that.  Leaving the grandeur of our Sydney hotel, we embarked on a sojourn which brought us out into southern Queensland. The venue was a place called Sutton Grange Winery in the Bendigo region.

The Eucalyptus trees were many, but no sign of Koalas or Kangaroos.

You know you are out in the country when your promo is affixed to hay bales.  The Maui boys still wearing their shorts and slippahs, were watching carefully for venomous creatures.

The event was well attended.  The folks from Bendigo were quite enthusiastic and the flies were many!

On of the highlights of our set is the portion where Rick and I trade off on Black Magic Woman.  It is different every night and allows us the opportunity to stretch out a bit.  The Peter Green (original) version is somewhat different than the Santana rendition in that it ends up as a double time shuffle and retains it's identity as a blues tune.  

Tom Kopecek, Mick's drum tech on this tour is from Melbourne and has done an outstanding job!  We'll see you on Maui, mate!

Mick wears his patented red shoes.

The folks at Sutton Grange took excellent care of us.  The home cooking and the wine were much appreciated by all.  We dined in the "Grange Hall."  where it looked like many bingo games had been played.  An unlikely venue for a concert, but a pleasant surprise for all of us who partook in the festival beneath the ever-expansive Australian skies.  

Rock on, Sutton Grange!

Long Day's Journey....

Riverstage in Brisbane was the site of our rainy show.  Dampness was no deterrent to the enthusiastic pancho-clad audience.

We were in Brisbane for less than 12 hours.  Our schedule dictated that we would have to travel back to Sydney and then fly back up the coast to Port MacQuarie the following day...two flights and a couple of van rides.   Michael MacDonaldSeveral hundred miles and a couple of flights brought us to the town of Port MacQuarie.  At last I was able to check out the beach which was only steps from the hotel. The wind was onshore and the waves were sloppy, but still there were many bodyboarders and a couple of surfers enjoying the point break.  The water looked iviting, so I jumped in and washed off the residue from the long day's journey.  It wasn't Maui, but it certainly did the job!