Roots guitar music is rarely as evocative as on Tom Rodwell’s Wood & Waste, an album that moves easily between raw pre-rock structures and darkly sensual grooves, just as his on-stage group Storehouse speaks a secret language of rhythm & blues - vivid, propulsive and uncommon.
Although the LP charted on US radio (notching up 7 months of rotation), gained international media coverage and secured distribution with the legendary Cargo Records UK, Wood & Waste flew mostly under the radar in New Zealand, launching just as Omicron washed ashore.
The Listener’s Graham Reid was one who did take note, naming it one of his top albums of the year. “The subtle and supple shapeshifting Wood & Waste reveals depths and delights at every turn,” he wrote.
Consequently, a much-anticipated 14-date NZ concert series over late summer seeks to redress the balance, trafficking rolling and tumbling treatments of Wood & Waste material, alongside new tunes from recent tape studio sessions, stretches of improvisation and sacrilegious dives into a greasy barrel of calypso and gospel obscurities.
“We’re pleased to be able to bring it all to a lot of different towns this time,” says Rodwell. “The live experience is a special one, and we aim to make each night a distinct kettle of fish.”
The tour begins with a Wine Cellar showdown on Friday 27th January, as Storehouse are joined by Darryn (Loud Ghost/New Telepathics) Harkness on drums and DJ Jon Bywater. Further dates in Raglan, Whangarei, Waiheke and Wellington feature free-jazzmen Chris O’Connor and Count Bassy, while Rodwell presents his minimalist solo set at a series of South Island shows.
* Friday January 27 - Wine Cellar / Auckland (BAND)
* Friday February 17 - The Yard / Raglan (BAND)
* Saturday February 18 - OneOneSix / Whangarei (BAND)
* Saturday March 4 - Artworks Theatre / Waiheke Island (BAND)
* Saturday March 11 - Pioneer Hall / Port Chalmers (DUO)
* Saturday March 18 - Opera House / Oamaru (solo)
* Sunday March 19 - Wunderbar / Lyttelton (solo)
* Thursday March 23 - Fairfield House / Nelson (solo)
* Friday March 24 - Chanel Arts Centre / Motueka (solo)
* Saturday March 25 - Mussel Inn / Golden Bay (solo)
* Sunday April 16 - Jam Factory / Tauranga (solo)
* Wednesday April 19 - Meow, Wellington (BAND)
* Friday April 21 - St Peter's Hall, Paekakariki (BAND)
* Sunday April 23 - Meteor Theatre, Hamilton (solo)
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“You won’t find a more individual, eclectic, rhythmically compelling approach to this music, anywhere.” - Nick Bollinger, Radio NZ.
Rodwell manages to eschew the cliches that beset blues music. By turns wild, angry, hypnotic and sensual, it's as uncompromising as it is funky and some of the best live music I've seen. - Blues in London.
“Beautiful tunes, beautiful grooves - you don’t hear that anymore, man!” Derek Trucks (The Allman Brothers).
