Hey, Pōneke! You need to see the Banksy show – immediately!

Don’t worry Tāmaki Makaurau residents - I’ve got something for you to do too. Plus, more recs for everyone!

I was in a rush. I didn’t have time. It was raining and the Wellington wind was blowing so hard it forced me sideways. I needed to get back to the hospital to be with my mum. But I’d bought my ticket months ago and didn’t want to waste it. So, on Sunday afternoon, I paced down Lambton Quay and made my way to Tākina, the Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre, where I allotted myself 15 minutes to see everything I could.

I was there for nearly two hours. I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to soak it up, to live it and breath it. The Art of Banksy is huge, with a dozen rooms filled with photos, prints, videos, and verified originals hanging on every wall. This exhibition is unsanctioned by the famously secretive UK graffiti artist, but that doesn’t mean anything once you see it for yourself. It’s all of the superlatives: incredible, eye-opening, culture-jamming, wondrous. You don’t want to miss it – especially if you’re a music lover.

Stormzy and his Glastonbury flak jacket. Photo: Chris Schulz.

That’s because Banksy’s career is intrinsically tied to some very big names in the music industry. He’s crafted dozens of albums covers. Some of his biggest pranks involve the producer Danger Mouse and acts like Run the Jewels and Sleaford Mods. When Stormzy wore a personalised flak jacket during his headlining set at Glastonbury, that was all Banksy: this exhibition explains how it came together in just a day – and how the police caught on and came closer than anyone to revealing his true identity.

As you’re walking around and taking it all in, songs by The Dandy Warhols, the Smashing Pumpkins, MF Doom and the Beastie Boys are blasted at you. You can put on headphones and listen to the 2006 Paris Hilton album remixed by Danger Mouse, which Banksy commissioned then snuck into record stores. You can see photos of Dismaland, his dystopian take on an amusement park that charged punters just £3 to enter then shocked them with bleakness then surprised them with a series of major musical guest stars.

Some of Banksy’s LP covers. Photo: Chris Schulz.

Banksy hasn’t approved any of this. He didn’t sanction it because he never would. “He doesn't like exhibitions. I dare to say that of all the exhibitions he likes us, but it's begrudgingly,” curator Michel Boersma recently told TVNZ. Banksy’s aware it’s happening, but he can’t stop it because all of the art in it is owned by private collectors. Which is very Banksy, when you think about it. “This is a museum-grade exhibition that should be in a museum, but the museums are not doing it because the artist is not co-operating,” says Boersma.

I thought I knew all that. I believed I understood the full Banksy story. I’ve seen the excellent Exit Through the Gift Shop documentary. I followed the headlines about his zoo infiltrations, the hotel surrounded by walls, and the self-destructing artwork. But I didn’t know shit. I didn’t even know I had a Banksy displayed on my wall at home: the cover of Blur’s Think Tank, an album I love and own on vinyl. Idiot.

This pieces Banksy’s career together to tell you everything you need to know, and then some. I loved it. I laughed a lot – especially at the teen who turned to his mum at the halfway point and whispered: “I don’t get it.” Pōneke residents: go immediately! Aucklanders, you’ll need to find another reason (hopefully not a hospital visit) to make the trip. Just get yourself there. But don’t be tempted by the hats and posters for sale in the gift shop at the end. Banksy definitely wouldn’t approve of any of that.

The Art of Banksy runs until January 20; tickets are available here.

Hey, Tāmaki Makaurau! You need to see Jack White’s show!

In just a week’s time, Jack White will play two shows here: one at the Powerstation on December 16, and another at the Auckland Town Hall on December 17. These are gigs that come with baggage. There’s heat behind them. Rumours are growing. Speculation is mounting. Anticipation is building. Many believe these gigs will deliver something unique and special. They might be the best gigs you can see in 2024.

That’s not coming from me. According to the experts, you need to be at these shows. You should beg, borrow or steal (don’t do that) to get your hands on a ticket immediately. So says a critic from The Guardian, who gave White’s recent Brisbane performance a full five stars in a review that came with the headline: “Do whatever you can to get a ticket.”

Here’s a sample of what Andrew Stafford had to say:

“He shimmies, pouts, stomps, and he solos wildly and at length. Rock’s era of cultural dominance may have passed long ago, but as White cajoles and conjures both band and audience he seems to be reminding himself – as well as the rest of us – of its physical dimensions and shapeshifting power … to watch White in concert right now is to see him reclaim his place in the pantheon.”

Fucking hell! This sounds awesome! I have a ticket to the Powerstation show and will report back afterwards to tell you if any of this is true. (I really hope it is. I need this year to end on a high.)

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One for everyone: a Netflix surprise.

Lately, I’ve needed time out. I’ve sought brain rot. After some pretty heavy days, I want to dumb it down and tune out. I thought Rhythm & Flow would hit that lowbrow sweet spot. The Netflix reality series is basically American Idol for hip-hop. It comes with all of the clichés: fluffed auditions, cliffhanger eliminations, backstage drama, hard-nosed judges. I don’t usually watch this stuff; right now, I crave it.

Season one came out in 2019 and barely raised a sweat: the winner, an Inglewood rapper called D Smoke, has hardly made a ripple since it finished. I watched every episode, but have barely thought about it in the five years since. I didn’t even know they’d bothered to make a second season. So, when I saw season two had landed earlier this month, I pushed play and let it run in the background. Very quickly, I changed my tune. This is riveting viewing. I am ripping through it faster than the Wellington wind.

That’s because Rhythm & Flow has beat-switched its formula. The stakes are higher. The judges are better. The production values are smoother. The guest stars are all huge names, including Busta Rhymes, Big Sean and Eminem. As a result, the contestants have upped their game. The songs are glowed up. Some of these performances are incendiary. Many of them rap like their lives depend on it.

For some, that is exactly the case. Each contestant comes with a brutal life story. Rhythm & Flow dives into it: rappers who grew up broke, without parents, homeless and living on the streets. Some have been to jail and are using rap to stay out; one contestant dedicates every performance to her late brother, murdered at the age of 14. These stories are heartbreaking. I was on the verge of tears many times. Crucially, it gives these performances context, and weight; when they’re eliminated, it’s so much more brutal than a harsh quotable from Simon Cowell as he points to the door.

Cutting through all of this is the pure charisma of the new judges. Chris Bridges, aka Ludacris, was a loveable larrikin before joining the show, but here he proves there’s heart behind his hijinks. Playing off him is Latto, who relaxes as the show goes on and becomes a magnetic personality with a wicked eye roll. DJ Khalid is there too, his inclusion almost certainly so he can utter his daft catch phrases – “Congratulations! You made it!” – to the winners.

Mostly, though, this is dumb TV done incredibly smartly. It surprised me and it kept surprising me. If you’re looking for something to binge over the holiday break, this will do nicely until the karaoke machine is switched on after Christmas dinner. If that happens, maybe leave the hip-hop to the experts. You don’t want your mum’s spaghetti flying everywhere.

Finally, Fazerdaze is (soft) powering up.

Someone who has been conspicuously absent of late is Fazerdaze, who released her incredible second album Soft Power in November, played a short set at the Flying Out record store, told The Spinoff why it had taken her seven years to make, then jetted off overseas for a US tour. Is that the sheer definition of soft power in action? Perhaps.

That’s about to change. Today, Amelia Murray confirms a one-off show in Tāmaki Makaurau at the Powerstation on March 22. She’ll be playing Soft Power in full, and she’ll have the excellent Office Dog and Elliott & Vincent playing in support.

Murray says this is the Fazerdaze show to end all Fazerdaze shows, and she promises there’ll be surprises. “If there is any Fazerdaze show to come and see, this is it,” she says. “My full band and I will be performing Soft Power in full, plus many of the old favourites. There will be exclusive merch, secret guests, and two of my favourite local acts, Office Dog and Elliot & Vincent, joining the line-up.”

Tickets go on sale tomorrow; you can find them here.

Here comes more nostalgia-bait.

The night before the Fazerdaze show, on March 21, Nelly will headline an all-dudes mini-festival at Spark Arena with a line-up that includes St Lunatics, Jermaine Dupri, and … Chingy. Yes, the Chingy, who released ‘Right Thurr’ in 2003 and still manages to pack dancefloors with his slurred St Louis slang. Honestly? Great song. Kinda wanna go just to see that.

It’s part of a world tour called Where Da Party At (the lack of a question mark was a choice). In a statement, Nelly appeared to believe he was penning a tweet: “Yo, ‘Where Da Party At Tour’ we are taking this tour worldwide — I got my folks with me St. Lunatics, Chingy and Jermaine Dupri — so you know it’s ⬆️ all 2025… LETS GOOOOO..!!! Da Party AT…!!”

Yep, that right thurr (sorry) is his full, uncut statement. This is a Live Nation show so expect multiple staggered pre-sale times, tiered VIP levels and full dynamic pricing experiences to be in play when ticket sales begin on Friday. Sigh.