November 6th, 2006
The party could not have gone better. My cousin Warren came down from Whangerei and looked after the spit, Anne spent Saturday making potatoe salad, cold slaw, dips etc, and Dave Arrowsmith, the bass player from Siren, spent the day making the PA sound perfect. People started arriving on Friday afternoon and by 8.30 on Saturday the night the moon was full, the stars were out and there wasn’t a breath of wind.
We ate a perfect lamb (raised in my paddock) roast at 7.30, Warren Cate went on and did the warm up from 8.30 until 9.30 ,Dexter Radley performed his set from 9.45 until 10.45 , then the band played from 11.00 pm until 12.30.
The entire concert has been recorded and is being mixed by Dave Arrowsmith to be made into a double CD.
We fed everyone on Sunday morning, then they went home and we have both spent the rest of the time resting and recuperating. A couple of local farm hands are coming over today to put away the outdoor furniture and clean up the yard areas.
No broken glasses, no stains on the carpet and everyone talking about doing it again next year.
October 1, 2006
The band has rehearsed the set at Waikaretu to make sure the farm’s power supply will stand up to a rock concert ( photos in the Gallery ). The farm passed with flying colours. The PA pumps out 1200 watts of power and there are a number of stage lights that will allow the concert to be filmed for a DVD. The concert audio will be recorded onto 16 track digital deck for a CD.
The interest and response has been outstanding and we are expecting about 200 people to attend.
Local identity Phillip Woodward has agreed to be Master of Ceremonys and will even learn some new jokes.
September 28, 2006
The band has now had 2 rehearsals and the final rehearsal with the full PA will take place this Sunday at Waikaretu. Song lists have been finalised. Dexter’s Songlist ; Band Songlist
People who are coming down on the Friday night for Waikaretu Idol will need to ensure they have read the checklist of things they will need if they are staying Friday and Saturday nights. Most people seem to be coming on the Saturday night. If they intend to stay on the farm they should also read the checklist to make sure they have all that they need to make the trip.
August 22, 2006
The show is progressing well folks.
Following the intitial mailout of invitations Dave Arrowsmith and Warren Cate, friends from past bands got in touch and indicated they would like to be involved in the concert. Dave Arrowsmith (bass guitar) and Warren Cate (guitar) will open the Saturday night show as a two piece band playing some original songs and will join Dexter on stage later in the night and the trio will perform.
Initial rehearsals and song selection took place on Saturday August 20th at Dave and Warren’s recording studio and more rehearsals will take place to fine tune the show.