Ticket Return For Two Shows Only

Two shows only and the reissue of their long lost album Awake.

Two things I remember clearly about Ticket: their hair was long and their songs were even longer. And back in the early 70s those were two very good things indeed When you saw Ticket live in a club it seemed to me they had extended the contract of tough blues-rock into free-flowing acid-rock (before we actually had acid) and Eddie Hansen was a local guitar hero alongside Harvey Mann of the Underdogs and Billy TK of Human Instinct.

They were all great individual musicians, as witnessed by their subsequent careers: drummer Ricky Ball went into Hello Sailor and bassist Paul Woolright was in Cruise Lane and Rainbow with Ball, then Graham Brazier's Legionnaires and Dave McArtney's Pink Flamingoes.

After more than a decade in the UK playing with various bands (with Chris Thompson from Manfred Mann, live at Ronnie Scotts with Midge Marsden), Woolright came home and he and Ball have been the heart of Hello Sailor engine room for the past 10 years. Singer Trevor Tombleson became Trevor Keith and joined the acclaimed Keef Hartley Band in Britain (which had also had expat Kiwi Gary Thain as its bassist) for a while; and Eddie Hansen.

Ticket weren't around for a long time – little more than two years at a guess, successful and acclaimed in Australia too – They are coming back for two shows – – and their suitably psychedelic rock album Awake from '72 is being re-released by the Melbourne's 70s reissues speciality company Aztec.

There are too many bands from previous decades reforming these days, but Ticket are one I'd make the case for. Ticket were there at exactly the right time – and if the Las De Das had been like having the Rolling Stones from your own hometown in the mid 60s,

then Ticket in the early 70s were our Cream.

Theirs was music which took flight and dragged you along for the magic carpet ride. And because they had formed in Christchurch (and also played in Wellington) they were a hard rocking band with a national profile. So it makes sense they should play Christchurch and Auckland for these shows. I'll be there. I want to hear this band soar again – and, to be honest, I'm curious about how much hair they might still have.

Christchurch @ Al’s Bar Friday 12th November 2010 Auckland @ The Kings Arms Saturday 13th November 2010 THE RETURN OF…….. TICKET

TICKET PERFORM TWO SHOWS IN 2010 with special guests Christchurch @ Al’s Bar – Friday 12th November 2010 Doors 8pm – TICKET on stage at 1030pm Pre sales - $30 +booking fee from Real Groovy , www.undertheradar.co.nz , & www.cosmicticketing.co.nz Hard tickets from Cosmic Corner, Galaxy Records Auckland @ The Kings Arms – Saturday 13th November 2010 Doors 8pm – TICKET on stage at 1030pm Pre sales - $30 +booking fee from Real Groovy & www.undertheradar.co.nz

LEGENDARY AND NOTORIOUS N.Z’s OWN PROGRESSIVE, ACID ROCK..... ROCKERS REFORM

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