All set for Summer Seven

COLIN SMITH

MAKING AMENDS: Phat Club owner Dave White has put together a stellar lineup of Kiwi artists to make up for the "teething problems" experienced at Summer Six.

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Hard on the heels of Summer Six comes Summer Seven – another multi-artist gig organised by Phat Club owners Dave White and Selena Coombes, this time planned for Nelson's Trafalgar Centre on Waitangi Day, Saturday, February 6.

Summer Seven will be an all-ages gig (with an R18 area) and will feature a mix of musical genres, with Tiki, the Upbeats, Rhombus, Luger Boa, Optimus Gryme and Wicked Draw lined up to play.

Summer Six, held at the Saxton Field cricket oval earlier this month, attracted a big crowd – around 6000 people – but also "plenty of feedback", Mr White says, including over "teething problems" involving long queues at times. The complaints were part of the motivation for organising the Waitangi Day follow-up.

"We are pretty keen to reassure people that we can fix what happened with Summer Six, with the queues and stuff like that.

"The idea was to do a similar outdoor thing, but unfortunately we couldn't get any of the outdoor grounds. The cricket ground wasn't available, and we tried to get Founders Park and there was something already happening there as well. So we thought we would give it a go at the Trafalgar Centre," Mr White says.

There was also strong demand from musicians who wanted to play at Summer Six, and "we thought, oh well, we have got people who want to play and people who want a similar kind of gig [to Summer Six], especially the underagers – they were pretty rapt with it".

Mr White says Summer Seven will go through a musical transition, starting with reggae and dubstep before moving on to rock and finishing with drum'n'bass.

One of the best things about the gig is that it will be all ages, he says.

"All of those bands are always trying to play to all ages because every time they play, people ring up and say, `Can I bring my kids to the club?', and they have to say, `Nah, sorry, it's over-18'."

Mr White plans to stage a similar concert in winter, which is "obviously way more risky", and has a date booked at the Trafalgar Centre. "Which is why we wanted to test out the centre. We have a date booked there for July 4."

The acts for that concert are under wraps, but one might be international.

He says the teething problems are being sorted out for next year's Summer Six, which will definitely be a goer, although a date can't be guaranteed at Saxton Oval until the year's cricket schedule is drawn up.

Mr White says that now a manager has been appointed at the Phat Club, he and Ms Coombes want to try some new things.

"We are actually stepping aside from the day-to-day work there. We have been doing it for eight years and it's time to spread our wings a bit more."

• Summer Seven will be at the Trafalgar Centre on February 6 from 6pm to midnight. Tickets are strictly limited to 2000 and cost $25 at Everyman in Nelson, Cyberworld in Motueka, John's CD Store in Blenheim, and online at everyman.co.nz.

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