Live! is your ticket to Queenstown's best gigs.

Live! will bring you photos and reviews of Queenstown's live scene – music venues, shows and exhibitions.

You can catch up on the highlights of the past week in 24, your Around the Clock entertainment guide. And you can contribute your own photos and reviews from gigs by emailing them into live@scene.co.nz.

We'll publish the best of them and load the rest online at www.scene.co.nz.

Kids right on cue

The Neil Cowley Trio

Encore on cards

English piano wizard Neil Cowley enjoyed playing at JazzFest so much he wants to bring his talented trio back – pronto.

The London-based stars went down a storm in the resort at their debut New Zealand gigs.

Writing on Twitter, Cowley raves: “What a great crowd in Queenstown. Coming back next year whether they like it or not.”

He adds: “1st ever NZ under our belts. The people are sooo laid back. They raise an eyebrow if they are enjoying themselves. Some raised two.”

Back to 24Live! photo slideshow

Tahuna's dawn raid

Saturday, October 17 at Revolver Bar

Kiwi chart stars Tahuna Breaks partied until dawn after finishing their nationwide tour in Queenstown.

The eight-strong band celebrated a successful JazzFest gig at Revolver last Saturday by going on a bender.

“After the show we went on to Subculture and ended up in Fergburger before hitting our beds at 6.30am,” drummer Tim Gemmell says.

“We only had an hour’s sleep before getting back up for a flight back to Auckland.

“The plane was delayed for three hours so we ate just about everything in Queenstown Airport and I must have sat on every couch. “We were frazzled.”

The Wizard of Oz
Friday, October 9 

Queenstown’s Diego “Lion” Bianchi, 5,(right) is one of a new generation of The Wizard of Oz fans.

Joined by dad Ruggi “Scarecrow” Bianchi and mum Catherine “Dorothy” De Soura, the family got into costume last Friday for The Wizard of Oz Show – an Australian stage show based on the 1900 classic novel by Frank Baum.

Like many other kids who went to see the performance at the Memorial Hall, Diego was introduced to the story via You Tube on the internet.

“We just saw the cartoon beforehand so Diego could decide which character he wanted to be. I saw it when I was a child but I couldn’t really remember it so it’s good to have a refresh,” De Soura says.

The Aussie adaptation – a travelling show performing at 27 different places across New Zealand – attracted more than 450 kids and adults last week.

A packed house was enthralled at the opening night of JM Barrie’s Peter Pan.

Strong characterisations were conveyed by Emma Gamson (Peter Pan), Danielle Trewavas (Tinkerbell), Victoria Boult (Hook) and Rosie Glover (Wendy), competently backed up by the very Victorian Darling family, and a unified gang of Lost Boys, fierce Pirates, beautiful Fairies, dazzling Mermaids, scary Wolves, and hollering Redskins.

Fae Robertson as narrator provided clear and amusing comment on the action.

The five sets – moved on and off by a parent team – were colourful and practical, including painted backdrops by Maddy Williams.

This play will never date. We all believe in fairies, we all believe in vanquishing evil – and we all believe in watching our children perform.

Given the on-stage opportunity, kids can learn to work as a team and also become perceptive audiences and supporters of the performing arts.

Produced, directed and performed by the Kate Moetaua School of Drama, this was a colourful, entertaining and professional performance. A fantastic evening’s entertainment.

- Wendy Glover