Bay of Islands Jazz Festival 9-11 August 2009
Arrived Friday afternoon at Paihia Pacific Resort to check in and keen to say hi to the organiser Shirley May.
Accommodation and paperwork sorted, we promptly made our way into town excited about playing that night but also really looking forward to meeting and hearing some of the other great acts booked to play this weekend.
We arrived at the Cruza Bar and quickly sorted out the gear required, hooked into a nice glass of red wine (or “Good Oil” as we like to refer to it) in time to hear Jazz Factor and then Tony Martin/Heather Honey playing a smooth blues set.
Our time came around quickly and now we had to get on and sound check within the 15 minutes allowed! This had us all
pumped for a wicked first Bay of Islands gig and by all accounts was greatly received by the packed house crammed in to see all of the first nights offerings. We had a blast and played several up-tempo shuffles and catchy originals; we had the place pumping till the end.
We followed a great start for us at this year’s Jazz and Blues Festival with a quiet Saturday morning and a big breakfast and hot coffee at a cafe on the wharf in town. Next was the trip on the ferry to Russell, followed by another chance to hear some of the other acts in town busy busking, plus a parade of hot rods outside the Duke added to the entertainment.
At the Duke we had the pleasure of following the wonderful band “Shingle Bob” on stage as second act for the day. The crowd was building steadily throughout the afternoon. The combination of a historic venue and an appreciative audience brought the best from us and we played one of the best sets to date! Mr P was very much at home on the Grand Piano he found “stage right” and we had to threaten him with no more drinks if he didn’t come back on stage to finish the set on his very lonely Korg keyboard. All jokes aside, Dave did enjoy the rare chance to play a grand piano again live and we must admit it was brilliant.
Once our set was over it was time to kick back and relax to the feast of talent booked for the rest of the day. 
“Shimian” followed on from us and warmed the crowd with some serious blues and fine harmonies. “Brilleaux” took the stage next and had the place absolutely rocking with their very solid, tight and professional set of shuffle and boogie blues. This four piece band from Tauranga was certainly one of the best acts we have seen for years and if you ever have a chance to see them live don’t miss out. We were very impressed with the fresh approach and cool style of this band.
“Brilleaux” were a hard act to follow but no problem for the great “Kokomo” who lined up next at the Duke to a more than full house by this stage of the day. They played a very tidy set, alt=""a professional band that sets the standard for most to follow.
An Australian band, the “Funky Do Da’s”, imported as one of the headline acts set up soon afterwards and had us all wondering what we could expect. Well, we were blown away by these guys, tight, skilled and very enterprising they impressed from song one till the end of the set and for us were undoubtedly the most polished act on the tour. They played a mostly instrumental set with a mix of covers and some great originals. They featured a six string electric Bass and an electronic wind instrument (EWI) sounding much like a clarinet crossed with a Saxophone. I certainly hope they will come back again to play at the 2010 B.O.I. festival; don’t miss this one.
Meanwhile we headed back to Paihia late Saturday afternoon to prepare for our next spot at the Paihia Pacific Resort. We landed a great time slot of 10:30 pm and had the pleasure of playing to a full house on a huge stage which is always a buzz. We are always pleased with the reaction from the audiences to our original songs and this encouragement certainly helps us to push for the release our first CD later in 2009, all going to plan.
Sunday we were playing at Haruru Falls Resort which was already full on our arrival and we were treated to some more great music from “Brilleaux” and “Shingle Bob” again prior to our set. We played another fine list of standards and originals to an audience who by now were a little worn out but not showing any signs of slowing down. We finished the set with a blistering version of Sway and really had the audience won over.
We certainly enjoyed our first B.O.I. festival and feel sure we will be back next year. A big thanks to the “old” friends who took 
the time to listen and support us this trip and another big thanks to the new friends we made along the way! We also wish to sincerely thank Shirley May for inviting us to Paihia and to her team for the fantastic work put in to organise such an entertaining and professional festival. We hope the fans continue to support this great event. There is nothing to compare with live music, great company and some of the best venues in New Zealand. See you at the next one!