Second Announcement
Since announcing the first round of BIG DAY OUT artists for the 2008 series, tickets have been snapped up at lightning
speed! If you planning to head to the Auckland show and have been waiting around till all the acts have been revealed
before you purchase tickets, wait no longer or you could well miss out! For now you’ll find the next round of
International and Antipodean artists who will be rocking the stage at the Auckland BIG DAY OUT.
There’s no way around it, folks love SPOON. And the love will definitely be in the air when SPOON takes to the stage at
BIG DAY OUT 2008. The cult of SPOON has built up over fourteen years, six albums, and countless show-stealing festival
appearances. From small beginnings in Austin, Texas, singer Britt Daniel, drummer Jim Eno, keys man Eric Harvey and
bassist Rob Pope have made a big impact with minimalist style. Their latest payload of indie-pop brilliance, Ga Ga Ga Ga
Ga, debuted in the US Top 10. Bigger, but no less elusive (thanks, New York Times), SPOON will be sharing the love at
BIG DAY OUT this summer.
Rock: progressive. Electronica: leftfield. Beats: edgy. All this and more dwells within the one amazing act: UNKLE
(live). And now BIG DAY OUT 2008 brings you UNKLE as you’ve never seen UNKLE before: a fully-fledged live band, able to
leap multiple musical genres in a single bound. To bring UNKLE’s latest album War Stories to life, James Lavelle and
Richard File have dreamed up a unique audiovisual experience incorporating a seven-piece band, lights, screens and
(probably) bells and whistles. “It’s Chemical Brothers meets Nine Inch Nails,” Lavelle told Rip it Up. “It’s pretty
intense and pretty heavy.” To experience this one-of-a-kind musical tour de force, BIG DAY OUT’s yer UNKLE.
The undisputed heavyweight of New Zealand hip-hop, SCRIBE, has just opened his Rhymebook – the second album of his
career that charts his continued rise, the perils of battling to the top, and his response to parenthood. Armed with new
tunes and old classics, SCRIBE and his crew have a finely honed new live show to unleash at the BIG DAY OUT.
SUPERGROOVE has kept fans waiting ten full years for their magnificent seven-style return to the stage. Everyone who
grew up with their infectiously funky string of hits will be there to sing along to “Can’t Get Enough”, “Sitting Inside
My Head” and of course “Scorpio Girls” – they’ll be bringing their trademark spectacular energy in a welcome return to
the BIG DAY OUT stage.
CARL COX will become an official BIG DAY OUT lifetime membership holder this summer, when the UK DJ returns for his
third BIG DAY OUT season. After stints in 2001 and 2005, COX is back in the team in 2008 as an honorary Aussie – he now
owns a house in Frankston, on the south-east fringe of Melbourne. A constant at the top of dance music’s totem pole
across three decades now, COX has endured from the second Summer of Love to the rise of rave to the techno takeover, all
the while rocking crammed dance floors and wide open spaces around the world. For a feel-good factor like no other, hit
the floor when CARL COX hits the decks at BIG DAY OUT 2008.
What does KRAFTY KUTS do? “I play breaks and make funky music.” What does DYNAMITE MC do? “I respect skill, style and
originality.” Put this Brit duo together and you’re guaranteed that beats will break, drum will bass and hip will hop at
BIG DAY OUT 2008. KRAFTY has won pretty much every international DJ award going, and paved new ground with his album
Freakshow. DYNAMITE is best known as one of Roni Size’s Reprazent crew, and as the slick voice on KRAFTY’s latest banger
There They Go. But KRAFTY KUTS & MC DYNAMITE together? That’s a rarity you’ll only get at BIG DAY OUT this summer.
West Auckland’s BLEEDERS have just unleashed their second album, delivering on a promise to return to the brutal energy
of their first recordings and, according to singer Angelo Munro, “to make your ears bleed”. Raw, honest rock with its
roots firmly in the hardcore scene, these guys will grab an audience and leave it shaken so hard that fans trying to
undertake tasks requiring any co-ordination after a BLEEDERS set do so at their own peril. BLEEDERS come with a heavy
duty government health warning.
When the power must be fought, there is one band to call: ANTI-FLAG. BIG DAY OUT 2008 has hit the phones. Four old
school Pittsburgh punks for whom the word “outspoken” is a mission statement, ANTI-FLAG have been loud, proud and
abrasive since 1993. Justin Sane (guitar, vocals), Chris #2 (bass, vocals), Chris Head (guitar) and Pat Thetic (drums)
made the major-label leap with their seventh album, 2006’s For Blood and Empire. Think their message was toned down for
the masses? Not a chance. With a new album in the works, ANTI-FLAG are set to give BIG DAY OUT a fresh summer blast of
all-for-one, one-for-all punk. As ANTI-FLAG say, war sucks – let’s party!
In 2008, BIG DAY OUT will unveil a different side to a superstar. On one stage, he’ll be the Rage Against the Machine
guitar hero you know and love. On another stage, Tom Morello will transform into his alter ego, the folk hero known as
THE NIGHTWATCHMAN (Tom Morello acoustic). Singing songs of protest, bitterness, injustice and revenge from his album One
Man Revolution, Morello seeks to mobilize and inspire music fans to join his quest for social justice. Bear witness to
THE NIGHTWATCHMAN at BIG DAY OUT 2008.
TIKI TAANE left Salmonella Dub after a decade long stint to forge his own career with the dense dub production skills he
brought to that band allied to his own take on traditional Maori instrumentation and waiata. His album Past, Present,
Future superbly blends all those elements into this electrifying front man’s finest work.
New York MC Kool Keith goes by many names. At BIG DAY OUT 2008, you will know him as DR OCTAGON. But wait, there’s more.
The confirmed maverick and one-time ultra magnetic MC will be joined by his long-time partner in rhyme, beats, and all
manner of underground, space-age hip hoppery, KUTMASTA KURT. As a duo, they are sometimes known as Diesel Truckers –
well, they do love an alias! – and carry a respect unrivalled in the hip hop community for their minimalist beats and
lyrical headtrips. Prepare for space travel when DR OCTAGON with KUTMASTA KURT bring the hip hop noise to BIG DAY OUT.
Former Betchadupa front man’s LIAM FINN has been peddling his way around the world in 2007 with his one man shows in
support of his solo album, I’ll be Lightning. Liam cleaned up at the bnet awards, taking home five big awards. And on
that very same day, Rolling Stone in the USA picked the bearded pop wonder boy as one of ten new artists to watch out
for!
Take a blazing hot summer Down Under, add one 20-year-old songstress with a suitcase full of observations on London
life, and you’ve got the lovable KATE NASH at BIG DAY OUT. NASH’s tales of unrequited love and unworthy exes – over
indie pop, fragile folk and broken blues – are captured on her debut, Made of Bricks, a UK No.1. Once heard, makes
perfect sense that among her influences NASH lists everything from Regina Spektor to Roald Dahl, Jurassic 5 to The Young
Ones, poetry and politics to “being confused”. From drama student to shop assistant to MySpace sensation to
chart-topper, NASH’s rise has been rapid. Clearly, KATE NASH has a story to tell – hear it at BIG DAY OUT 2008.
Auckland’s OP SHOP cemented their status as the most popular band in the land when they won the People’s Choice Award at
the Tuis last month. And OP SHOP’s anthemic hits like “Maybe” will be sure to rouse the BIG DAY OUT crowds. A great Kiwi
band with warm and powerful stage presence.
PLUTO have just released their third album Sunken Water and the band have continued to increase their levels of pop
sophistication and arch showmanship to ever higher levels on this follow-up to the hit-drenched Pipeline Under The
Ocean. Firmly established as one of the country’s favourite live bands, front man Milan Borich and his bandmates will
swagger their way into the BIG DAY OUT with a bagful of tunes from their brilliant catalogue.
DIE! DIE! DIE! is another band from the shores of New Zealand to set fire to the souls of music fans everywhere. Their
self titled debut had Artrocker magazine impressed, DIE! DIE! DIE! created "A colossal sounding debut single...it's
little surprise that these Kiwis make such a marvellous racket, slinging out twisted melodies and hard, razor-edged
shards of post-punk dynamics. We'll have some of that." So will fans at the BIG DAY OUT! This year the band has been
busy with their second album Promises, Promises which shows the trio evolving with dramatic, chaotic instrumentation and
hypnotic riffing. Get ready for DIE! DIE! DIE!’s edgy, non-nonsense rock 'n' roll inspiring you to do the hip-shake
thang at the BIG DAY OUT.
HAVOC, the Havo, the fastest mouth on the breakfast airwaves and a man who knows a good tune or two, will be back at the
BIG DAY OUT this year spinning his favourite discs and promising to knock the Boiler Room temperature up a few notches.
Freeeedom!
COLLAPSING CITIES collected the Most Promising Award at the bnets. The Auckland quartet has knocked out a string of
tasty tunes on the alternative airwaves including their debut “Elixir Always”. Always bringing the indie dance party to
any show they play, COLLAPSING CITIES are emerging as one of the most exciting new guitar bands in the land.
They built themselves up from the grass roots, then took to the skies. Now British sensations ENTER SHIKARI are flying
further than ever before – all the way to BIG
DAY OUT 2008. The St Albans four-piece are a classic case of: it shouldn’t work, but it does. Hardcore and trance? Punk
and jungle? Strobe lights and human pyramids? That’s the ENTER SHIKARI arsenal, the thrilling mix that sent the band’s
independent debut, Take to the Skies, to No.4 on the UK charts. Grab your glowsticks and prepare to rock – BIG DAY OUT
is raving about the coming of ENTER SHIKARI.
Through word of mouth and the revelation of their EP Cement Cement on triple j, OPERATOR PLEASE has set the music scene
abuzz both here and overseas. Initially dubbed the ‘coolest band ever’ to ‘the next big thing’, NME added to the
fervour, naming them one of year’s ‘bands to watch’. Luckily, you’ll be able to watch them at the BIG DAY OUT! They have
already played the Reading and Leeds Festivals in the UK in August - not bad for a band formed in 2005 by lead singer
Amandah Wilkinson in an attempt to compete in her high school's annual "Battle of the Bands" competition! With their
highly anticipated debut album Yes Yes Vindictive to be released this November, this is one band to keep an eye on. See
them for yourself in 2008 as they tour with the BIG DAY OUT for the first time.
BIG DAY OUT is proud to announce that SHY CHILD are coming out of their shell, and coming our way. New York duo Pete
Cafarella (vocals/keytar), and Nate Smith (drums) create aural anarchy with every turn. Their third album Noise Won’t
Stop is a chaotic melding of synth-funk, reclaimed rave, ’80s pop, indie electro, jittery R and future disco. There’s a reason it’s called Noise Won’t Stop, people! Masters of the unexpected, SHY CHILD are
mentally perplexing, and likely to get your body flexing. Prepare for mad movement and glorious confusion at BIG DAY OUT
2008.
It’s out with the old, and in with the BRAND NEW at BIG DAY OUT 2008. Long Island’s BRAND NEW – singer/guitarist Jesse
Lacey, drummer Brian Lane, guitarist Vinnie Accardi, bassist Garrett Tierney – were born and raised in the basements of
the New York hardcore scene. After their second album, 2003’s Deja Entendu, was hailed as a masterpiece, the band dug
even deeper for 2006’s The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me – “Simply put,” declared Alternative Press, “BRAND NEW
have no peers.” To witness this band live is to witness intensely personal songs transformed into a powerful shared
experience. Get your share at this summer’s BIG DAY OUT.
DAM NATIVE have slipped back onto the New Zealand hip-hop scene in late 07, unveiling a scorching new live band to play
tracks from their forthcoming new album Aotearoa…Nobody Does It Better as well as material from kaupapa Driven Rhymes
Uplifted – the record widely acknowledged as this country’s greatest hip-hop record ever. Militant and magnetic, DAM
NATIVE will be serving up the true school action indeed.
THE CHECKS have led the youthful charge out of Auckland’s North Shore and since forming at school five years ago, the
group has headlined the NME tour in England and been invited to play around the world by the likes of REM, Oasis and
most recently Muse. THE CHECKS’ infectious mix of sixties maximum r’n’b with the kind of live energy and talent the
Strokes wish they had is already making these kids a household name.
If it’s riddims you want, it’s riddims you’ll get, when ACEYALONE explores the outer regions of hip hop on the outer
reaches of the earth – Down Under, that is, on BIG DAY OUT 2008. From his early ’90s breakout in the Freestyle
Fellowship crew, to his solo classic A Book of Human Language, to 2007’s hip hop/dancehall blend on Lightning Strikes,
ACEYALONE has stood tall as not only one of the most prolific indie rappers on the West Coast scene, but also one of the
smartest and most charismatic. Guaranteed to make you feel good, join ACEYALONE on his new trip at BIG DAY OUT this
summer.
New additions to BIG DAY OUT 2008: Unkle (live), Spoon, Scribe, Supergroove, Carl Cox, Krafty Kuts and MC Dynamite,
Bleeders, Anti-flag, The Nightwatchman (Tom Morello acoustic), Tiki Taane, Dr Octagon with Kutmaster Kurt, Liam Finn,
Kate Nash, Op Shop, Pluto, Die! Die! Die!, Havoc, Collapsing Cities, Enter Shikari, Operator Please, Shy Child, Brand
New, Damn Native, The Checks, Aceyalone
These acts join the already announced: Rage Against the Machine, Bjork, Arcade Fire, Shihad, LCD Sound System, Dizzee
Rascal, Billy Bragg, The Clean, Katchafire, The Phoenix Foundation, SJD, Grinspoon, Cut Off Your Hands, Hilltop Hoods,
Paul Kelly, Battles, Young Sid, Antagonist, Motocade, White Birds & Lemons
And we changed our minds. There were just too many bands to put into this announcement. So there will be a third and
final announcement on Wednesday December 12th.
THE BIG DAY OUT IN AUCKLAND
FRIDAY JANUARY 18th 2008
MT SMART STADIUM
Maurice Rd Penrose.
Gates open 11am
Tickets $120 +bf*. Strict limit of 4 tickets per customer.
Available from all Ticketek Outlets, phone and credit card bookings
0800 Ticketek (0800 84253835) or www.ticketek.co.nz, Real Groovy, Sounds, ECM, all good music stores nationwide, STA
Travel
and from our website www.bigdayout.com
For full show information and internet ticket bookings check out the website
www.bigdayout.com
*booking fees may vary pending on outlet & mode of purchase
Ends
IN STORES NOW