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Bowing break – Jambalaya 2012
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Kompang break – Jambalaya 2012
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Little Finger break – Jambalaya 2012
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“L O” break – Jambalaya 2012
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Jambalaya 2012 – Wellington Batucada gig
Quite possibly the best gig EVER
Jambalaya isn’t the biggest festival in New Zealand, but it’s certainly one of the most participatory. A large percentage of the people at the festival are there to take part in one of the immersion courses, which means they’re most definitely up for a bit of participation – and that “up for it” attitude seems to rub off on everyone else, turning virtually every gig into madness and mayhem on the dance floor.
We’d seen a bit of it first-hand on the Friday night when AKSamba played an awesome gig on the main stage. The crowd went nuts, dancing like mad things, and it was altogether rather impressive. I reckon there were probably 50 band members performing – some of whom had been at the immersion course with us – they were wearing their brightly-lit LED costumes and even had the word “AKSAMBA” spelled out in lights worn by a line of drummers at the back.
AKSamba differ from Wellington Batucada in that you have to be invited to join the band – so only the best drummers get an opportunity to stick around after their beginners classes are over and rehearse with the main group – and eventually, if they’re good enough – to perform with the band. This means that technically they’re pretty awesome, and they also play at speed – quite a bit faster than we do down in Wellington.
Having experienced the might of AKSamba in concert, I have to confess I was somewhat intimidated and a wee bit nervous about our upcoming gig the following night. Only 21 of us, our basic (though very cool) black uniforms (no pretty lights!) and Darren our director only just back with us after about a year of travelling the world with his band, Batucada Sound Machine. It was going to be a hard act to follow…
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Beginners’ drum workshops start Sunday 15 April 2012
Learn samba drumming!
We are pleased to announce that our 2012 beginners’ drumming workshops will start at 12.45pm on Sunday 15 April, and will run till 3pm. There will be 6 workshops in total, and costs are $60 for the series if paid in full, or $12.50 per workshop. The workshops are run at our usual practice space, Thistle Hall, which is on the corner of Arthur and Cuba Streets.
The dates for the workshops will be Sundays 15, 22, 29 April, and 6, 13, 20 May. Each workshop will run from 1 – 3pm, apart from the first which has the earlier start time of 12.45pm, to allow for the registration process.
To find out more, check out our Join page. The page includes a form to fill in if you’re interested in taking part.
Workshop places are filling up fast, so if you want to be involved – get in quick!
Newtown Fair 2012
…now with added audience participation!
Newtown Fair’s an old favourite for Wellington Batucada – such a great atmosphere, and the crowd always likes to get involved and join in with the dancing, as you can see… Continue reading
Wellington Sevens after-party Ninja gig
The maddest night of the year, pretty much
Initially Wellington City Council wanted us to play at the after-party in Courtenay Place, then they changed their minds and said they didn’t… so we decided to do it anyway for free (with their blessing). Awesome night!
Timbalada by flight3577
Wellington Rugby Sevens waterfront parade #2
Drumming in the rain, French maids, and an appearance on the catwalk
I thought there was an unwritten law that the weather is always insanely good throughout the Wellington Sevens weekend, with nary a drop of rain to be seen. Seems the Weather Gods mislaid the memo this year, because Saturday was wetwetwet.
At noon we did a short performance outside the stadium gates to a small and slightly damp crowd – check out the impressive fluoro-clad recording equipment!
Video by AtThe7s
Once we’d finished we were bussed back to the start of the waterfront parade route, and decided (seeing as the weather was so crappy) to do a bit of an impromptu gig under the arches next to Mac’s Brewbar.
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Wellington Rugby Sevens waterfront parade #1
All aboard the Friday walking bus!
After the success of our “Pied Piper” parades along the waterfront during the Rugby World Cup, the City Council decided to see if it would also work for the Sevens. They called it the “walking bus” in their publicity, and hoped we would get a massive crowd to follow us from the Fanzone to the stadium, in the same way that they did during the World Cup.
The big difference between a World Cup rugby game and the Sevens is that the rugby game has a specified kick-off time and if you’re late, you’ll miss it. So there’s clearly going to be a large number of people all heading to the stadium at around the same time.
Sevens weekend is different. Costumed ticket-holders gather in huge numbers in the bars and restaurants that line the waterfront, but they all make their way to the stadium at different times – they drift along whenever they feel like it and they aren’t constrained by a single magic kick-off moment. Continue reading