Hard News: It Began ... in Chicago
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Christopher Dempsey, in reply to
Ahhh, Allenby Steps. I used to live in a flat in a a huge old two storey house on those steps... and I remember going to Naked Angel a couple of times.
I particularly remember leaving the Box one morning at 5am and walking home, Cuba, Manners, Willis, Boulcott, and just as I was coming up Boulcott, in the early morning summer's light, a light rain began to fall, and Our Lady of Grace looked so wonderful in that light...
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@ Chris "and Our Lady of Grace looked so wonderful in that light..."
As it would at 5am after a night out with light rain falling! ...
And errr when it rained it would all turn ... they were beautiful, the most beautiful skies as a matter of fact, the sunsets were purple and red and yellow and on fire and the clouds would catch the colours everywhere
(c) Ricki Lee Jones via The Orb
(ahem)
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Russell Brown, in reply to
Which of course got turned into this thing of wonder
Oh!
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Christopher Dempsey, in reply to
The skies were wonderful - constantly changing thanks to that wind... and the sunset colours were indeed lovely, caught on the clouds, while in the winter chill the distant Tararua ranges were dusted with snow... I'm reminded of that wonderful writers walk with the one on the Sky to Sea overbridge telling us Wellington is the world HQ of the verb. Lovely.
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nzlemming, in reply to
In case anybody's wondering, different other Mark Harris (the woods are full of them)
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Russell Brown, in reply to
As it would at 5am after a night out with light rain falling! …
I remember going to an incredible Mutoid Waste Company party at some rail sheds they'd squatted in 1989.
I emerged from one of the very crowded outbuildings to find a fine mist of rain falling. There was a strobe going, and the effect was that the air was full of glitter. It was really quite magical.
I was, of course, well high at the time.
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Christopher Dempsey, in reply to
This Mark Harris was a lovely wee gem. And really really liked his music. One memorable one involved us wiring up a bank of televisions on either side of the stage (Mark was a techie of sorts), through which was played various electronic art videos, all set to the sounds Mark played that night - mostly Acid, mixed with some house. I remember hoping that the tape used to 'stich' the televisions together were going to last the night (they did).
Gay Community Dances were the best... we created our own magic... it was a shame they folded, but inevitable.
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We went to Spectrum a couple of times (Monday nights!). Heaven was a gay club with an awesome lighting rig. Crazy place.
Ah Heaven. Never in my life have I brushed past so many naked male torsos. And the walls were dripping wet.
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There was a Box in Wellington??
Todd was electric during that period.
Absolutely! Black Riot's A Day in the Life might just be all-time top 10 for me
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Sacha, in reply to
I hadn't spotted it until today either
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I managed to catch the end of the orbital raves and then got seriously caught up in early jungle scene which meant no travelling... why would ya... was all well punk enough for me
I feel very lucky to have experienced something not fully formed... which is the beauty of so much of the Trax era of dance... simple machine music for the feet and the soul
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Christopher Dempsey, in reply to
I remember it being the Box, but I could be mistaken. It was in a building on Garrett St, now since demolished (I think). You went down a short flight of stairs. It was a large rectangular room and the walls were white...
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Mike Hollywood, in reply to
Garrett St = Clares, not the Box.
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Christopher Dempsey, in reply to
Ahhh, thanks!! Yes. Sorry. Got mixed up with Box in High St.
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Memory is a slippery beast.
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nzlemming, in reply to
I've been taken for him a few times, as I do techie stuff in theatre a lot.
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Mike Hollywood, in reply to
Memory is a slippery beast but often all it takes is a discussion like this or clip of a track to bring it all flooding back. I'm avoiding youtube at the moment because I know it would lead me to places I shouldn't be right now, but just humming the chorus (well, sort've) to 'Jack to the Sound of the Underground' is bringing back so many faces and scenes from what feels like another life. I'm on to Raze's 'Break for Love' next ... that might prove a hum too far and probably nsfw. Damn you Hard News and your Fridays.
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Russell Brown, in reply to
Ah Heaven. Never in my life have I brushed past so many naked male torsos. And the walls were dripping wet.
One night at Spectrum I was on the (sunken) dancefloor and a beautiful black man reached down over the railing, slipped an arm over my shoulder ... and put a phial of amyl under my nose.
People were so community-minded in those days.
Best celebrity spot at Spectrum: Lofty from East Enders, having it large.
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Mike Hollywood, in reply to
Community minded?! ... perhaps you just had that 'I need another brain explosion' look about you Russell? I shudder to think how beautiful the guy would have looked if he'd picked the wrong person at the wrong club. But yeah obviously he knew the territory and what was safe and what wasn't (I don't know the club).
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Simon Grigg, in reply to
Best celebrity spot at Spectrum: Lofty from East Enders, having it large.
There was a time, early to mid 80s, when you could spot Boy George, Marilyn and Richard Branson, who owed the place, on the dancefloor
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New genre: Dad House.
<3
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Too populist, you say? Bite me, house hipsters.
Tell us, Christopher, what were the skies like when you were young?
The skies were wonderful – constantly changing thanks to that wind… and the sunset colours were indeed lovely, caught on the clouds, while in the winter chill the distant Tararua ranges were dusted with snow.
Edit: Ah, I see Mike already made that joke. Carry on....
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Russell Brown, in reply to
I shudder to think how beautiful the guy would have looked if he’d picked the wrong person at the wrong club. But yeah obviously he knew the territory and what was safe and what wasn’t (I don’t know the club).
If you can't handle being touched by gay men, you shouldn't go to gay clubs, basically. But it was a happy, friendly time anyway.
I find the idea that such an action could provoke a beating really depressing.
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Russell Brown, in reply to
New genre: Dad House.
<3
Way ahead of you on that one.
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put a phial of amyl under my nose
I had a very similar experience at a party once. Everyone was having a sniff, and then putting their heads up through the holes in a parachute hanging from the ceiling. So you got the visual effect of a softly billowing cloudscape populated by manically grinning and gurning disembodied heads.
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