ABOUT HAPPY

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Live Music every night Tuesday through Sunday. Local, National, and International. Comfy sofas, atmospheric lighting and delicious drinks. In the basement, 118 Tory St

The Good Words with The Claire Terry Trio


Friday May 6th 9 pm $10

Be at Happy on Friday the 6th of May and be moved by the sounds of The Good Words as they spin mysteries into tuneful gold. The Good Words invite you to share the sound they're planning to capture when they record in June. Come along and be part of what promises to be a good time, with support from the Claire Terry Trio.
Tune in to the RadioActive Jazz Show on 88.6FM, Sunday the 1st of May at 1.30pm for a taste of what's to come.

Alda Rezende Quintet Every Tuesday

Every Tuesday Night on May and June 7 pm $5

Featuring heavy weight players; Lucien Johnson, Jon Rae and Noel Clayton.

In her home country of Brazil, Alda Rezende is something of a household name. Her career has been a mix of all manner of music styles including jazz, bossa nova, samba, classics, electronic music and pop – she can do them all! From being the soloist singer of an opera accompanied by a symphonic orchestra, to singing alongside some of the most traditional old style samba groups in Brazil. 

In New Zealand, Alda has Worked Wellingtons Jazz circuit and recently appeared on Loops O.E. Brazil album. 

Music and Artists' Social Club

Wednesday May 4th first band 9 pm $5

This month Ubermahlung und frottage, Anton Killan, Andrew Savage

The first Wednesday of every Month at Happy Musicians and artists get together to show what they've been working on, discus music and art, and drink a little booze.

Singles Night - One Man Band Show

Thursday May 5th 8 pm $5

Lots of One Man Bands.


Uncle Thundermaker - Avuncular stomp-punk chanties
Meatbucket Surprise - 
Double Ya D - DoubleMySpace 

Rodrigo Brothers

Saturday June 7th 8 pm $5

Rodrigo Brothers, Lawnmaster, The Others

The Rodrigo Brothers do 3.5 - 4.5 minute catchy quirky original kiwi pop songs. 
We call it neo-extraneous earth rock. They also do occasional covers and will be doing a few on the night.

Alan Gebbie: lead vocals, blues harp, mandolin, violin
Chris Salmon: lead vocals rhythm guitar
Raja Hidzir: lead guitar, harmonies
Paul Mackay: Drums Percussion harmonies
Alan Burden: Drum Percussion
Brian Nelson: bass

They have 5 CD's to date more to follow.

see them also on facebook and myspace and at www.RodrogoBrothers.com

Marineville LP release

Friday April 29th 9 pm $5

Wellington post-punk group MarineVille present their new 10 track LP Fowl Swoop.

Released on Los Angeles label Last Visible Dog the bands stock-in-trade is songs; Fowl Swoop roars out of the blocks with 6 minutes of motorik psych-rock blast before launching into a series of moody pop miniatures.

Although based in Wellington three quarters of MarineVille hail from Dunedin including drummer Greg Cairns (ex-King Loser, Sferic Experiment), bassist Denise Roughan (ex-3Ds) and guitarist Mark Williams.

Previous MarineVille releases include Ready for the Dance (Oak Park Records, 2001) and Diving the Wreck (Involve Records, 2005).

‘... if you’re interested in hearing well-crafted, adventurous guitar music consciously building on our underground guitar heritage, then there isn’t a band that’s doing a better job of it right now than MarineVille’. - Steve Kerr, Staple Magazine, New Zealand

Claude Rains, Rosy Tin Tea Caddy

Saturday April 30th 8.30 pm $10

"Claude Rains" are Murray Hewitt (Nylon string acoustic guitar, mahalo and vocals), Heather Weir (acoustic guitar, vocals) and Andrew Bain (bass).Playing mostly folk alt-country with a smidgen of punkness, we are named after a Front Lawn song. We are currently recording our first album. 



Rosy Tin Teacaddy are Billy Earl and Betty Grey. Since 2007 the duo have been wooing discerning music lovers with their indie-folk sing-alongs.

Based in Wellington, the wry lyrical flavour of Rosy Tin Teacaddy is proving popular with live audiences. The group has shared the stage with Jose Gonzalez, Iron and Wine, Chris Knox, Jess Chambers, Teacups, Ragamuffin Children, Matt Langley, The Broken Heartbreakers, and Tim Guy.

The Hipper Critters, Lumesta, Stone Candy

Thursday April 28th 8 pm $5

The Hipper Critters are - Bruce Mahalski(vox) Bridget Kelly(sax) James Gilberd(drums) John Costa(Warr guitar/vox)

Luke Hurley

Wednesday April 27th $8.30 pm $10

Luke Hurley is a guitarist / singer songwriter from New Zealand who has been writing songs and singing them for more than 30 years.
From July 08 until late January 09 Luke was on an extended tour of Ireland, UK, France and Sweden . He is currently based back in Auckland, NZ and sometimes in Australia. You may have met him during those travels.

The pEggs Easter Saturday Special

Easter Saturday April 23rd 9pm  $5
The pEggs will be giving their live album set a final workout in preparation for recording Live at The Matterhorn on May 1st.


It's Easter Saturday, so come on time, the Easter Bunny will be arriving at Midnight on the dot to turn the pEggs back into Eggs and hide us away for Sunday's Egg hunt.

Clothes Peg Yeabsley
Piton Hoskin
Tent Peg Yeabsly
Boundry Peg Lindsay
Survey peg Lindsay
Lab Peg Laing

More info and bad jokes on Facebook

Model Train Wreck

Saturday May 14th 9 pm $10
with  The Sunshine Suite, and Vorn

The first three quarters of your life was a dream, and you’ve woken up in a lounge bar, drunk and confused.  David Lynch is yelling directions at Don McGlashan, Marty McFly is giving MGMT a free lesson in advanced pinball, and Bill Haley is arguing with Bill Callahan about the relevance of meaningful lyrics in popular music.  In the corner is a small stage with a red curtain and an old silver microphone. The band is playing a murder ballad, backwards, and you know the words even though you’ve never heard the song before. 
Genre: Indie-pop / rockabilly / 1950s.    
Location: Auckland 
Members: 

 Chris Howard (The Sproutts, Pavlova and the Jandals) 
 Tom Healy (The Verlaines, The Low Spark, Paquin) 
 Hamish Peart (The Credits, Dukes of Hammersmith) 
 Carl Letcher (Dukes of Hammersmith)

April Vinyl Fridays

The Last Friday of every month 5.30 to 8.30 Free Entry
Oh yes.Featured with the full wax and day spa are:

HOWARD DUFF

Howard spent his formative years at the Golden Torch in Stoke-on-Trent developing a lifelong obsession with Northern Soul. He has a show on Radio Active where he gets to air his extensive collection, and this Friday he'll be treating us to the whole assortment. Northern Soul was a big influence on a generation of musicians, including people like Pete Waterman and Soft Cell; in fact Howard will be playing the original Tainted Love that Mark Almond would have first heard at the Wigan Casino.


ROWAN MCARTHUR

Rowan writes:
"Like Howard I too have crossed paths with greatness ... in 1965/66 I lived across the road from Mr Lee Grant in Palmerston North. Only a year or two earlier my Aunty Carol from Hastings saw the Beatles in the Wellington Town Hall. Other musical milestones include busting my parents’ first proper stereo with Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars ("this record is to be played at full volume”) … and buying that record plus Kenny Rogers and the First Edition’s Greatest Hits on the same shopping trip."
If you'd like to play, or to join our mailing list just send us an email.

Vorn with The Sunshine Suite

Wednesday April 13th 9 pm $5


Local indie Lege Vorn will be playing tunes from his new album with his band Special Needs. Support from the Sunshine Suite.


Dorrs at 9. start 9.30 PM

Mailing List

Keep up to date with all the Happy gigs.

Just send us an email and we'll ad you to our mailing list.

This Week's Happy Gigs 04/04 ...

we're really looking forward to City Oh Sigh's 'Like A Light' E.P. release show on Thursday. Check the links below for more info on all our  gigs this week.



Tuesday April 5th

Wednesday April 6th

Thursday April 7th

Friday April 8th

Saturday April 9th


Coming up

Thursday April 14th

Friday April 15th

Friday April 29th
MarineVille LP release

Friday May 13th

Rackets (AK), Nevernudes (AK), Beach pigs (AK)

Thursday April 14th 8.30 pm $5

Three ace bands from Auckland on a bit of a roadie.

Music player on their site www.nevernudes.net


Storehouse - Brain Surgeon Limbo Tour

Friday April 15th 9 pm $10


Cult blues group STOREHOUSE have been making brain surgeons do the limbo with their raw blues / smutty calypso / slave spirituals rent party in over 700 shows internationally since 2003, performing widely in the UK, USA, New Zealand, Switzerland and Holland.

2011 sees the release of the debut Storehouse album, “Live Humble” on Fireplace Recordings, recorded at the London boutique analogue studio, Playhouse.  

Built around UK singer/guitarist Tom Rodwell ("Sheffield's answer to Lightnin' Hopkins" - NME), Storehouse originated in the deep South Pacific, at Auckland's bohemian headquarters, the Wine Cellar, before years working both in London's Brick Lane scene and pubs in the North of England, with the occasional foray to underground venues in California, Utah and Switzerland. 

With both critical respect and a diverse following, Storehouse continue to make blues-based music relevant, unconventional and fiercely entertaining.  No need for hot foot powder - Storehouse will make you dance 'till your shoes fall off.

More information, audio samples and video clips available at:

Yellow Fever, Sisters of St Rupertsburg

Friday May 13th  Doors 8 pm First Band 9.30 pm $15
YellowFever, the captivating minimalist art-pop duo from Austin, Texas are poised and ready to pounce (much like the "rat catcher" cat who stars in several of their songs), as they ready themselves for their inaugural visit to Australia this April/May. Since their 2006 inception, the band have released a string of EPs and singles which were eventually compiled onto their self-titled album of 2009, released locally by Lost And Lonesome. Their first YellowFever album-proper is set for a late-2011 release.

Originally formed as a four-piece, the band have slowly whittled away to the core duo of Jennifer Moore and Adam Jones. The pair manage to balance perfectly the complex and the refreshingly sparse, applying drums, guitar, organ and synth bass to their jerky rhythms and willowy arrangements. Meanwhile, Jennifer's arresting vocals add a restrained sophistication to the garage-y undertow. Think Stereolab covering early-Go-Betweens, or Young Marble Giants, if they had have existed in Dunedin in the early-eighties…

French for Rabbits, Seafarer, Hula Hope

Doors open at 8pm, Show starts at 9pm.
Only $5 on the door for three lovely folk acts.

Just before Easter you will be treated to the very special first (self-organised) show of three new musical acts in Wellington City.

We are very pleased to announce a line-up of lovely folk for your listening delight!

SEAFARER- is the moniker for Kelvin Bannan, and this will be his first ever show. His songs draw inspiration from mysterious island lighthouse orphanages, Swedish labour markets and ocean voyages.

HULA HOPE-Writes songs and sings them with guitar and other instruments. She has recently started performing her own music, and used to perform in UrbanTramper.

FRENCH FOR RABBITS- is the name of the new dream folk project of Brooke Singer (Ex-Ragamuffin Children/The O'Lovelys)and John Fitzgerald. They have recently moved to Wellington from the dusty, shaky city of Christchurch. Brooke has just started singing in public after years of singing only in the shower or in empty houses.



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