High waves in Wellington

The waves are crashing in Wellington, three whole nights. On the first, I go to a small indie club. Good music, but not enough people. Back out into the night, and after five minutes of walking it’s clear why: there’s a club every 50 metres where something is being performed live. Wellington is hardly any bigger than Regensburg, but has probably 10 times as many clubs. That thins out the crowd a bit.

In the second club, a noisy rock band is playing, a mixture of Hives and Black Crowes. There’s a lot of jumping around until one o’clock, then I’m suddenly standing next to a really wild punk. I go through a few clubs with her, then I ask about her parents. “My stepfather’s in prison,” she says, “I got him in.” I ask why, then there’s a long silence.

The rest of the night is a long, sad story. So sad that I listen to it until the end at five in the morning. Then the little punk falls asleep. For the first time that night with a grin on her face. She’s brewing beer next to her bed.

Next morning, room change at the hostel. It rains all day. We drive to the east side of Wellington Bay. Then we take the cable car up to the botanical gardens with a few other Germans. I see beautiful flowers, but somehow they are all grey today. After a few hours, I have to leave early to catch up on some sleep.

Evening two. There are numerous concerts again. I work late and then head into town with a young Berliner. A concert at the Valve. Many people seem to have a headache tonight. I see pills, pills, pills. Maybe it’s because party pills with effects similar to ecstasy have been legal in New Zealand for a few years now. That means three more days before they become illegal. Thousands of shops are selling leftover stocks at ridiculous prices. And the people party in the high waves of Wellington.

There’s a neatly styled eighties club on Courtney Place. In front of it we meet the Blues Brothers. They dance to Bon Jovi and Madonna. My young friend is in a bad way, so we go home at two.

It rains again on the last day. There’s a Christmas party at the hostel. I’m working because I just don’t like drunken, scribbling Brits at all. Towards the end of the party, I leave work and head straight into town. The Proxies are playing in the Bodega Bar just a few hundred metres away :-) Of course the web designer has to go. They are also a Pixies cover band, and a very good one at that. Another nice bounce to “Where is my Mind”. I have to go home at two.

Wellington was beautiful, but also sad and very unhealthy. I’m looking forward to the South Island tomorrow.