One specific Pint Night line-up have had their gig postponed and rescheduled four times in a row due to Covid. Since the first lockdown cancelled their original Pint Night on 18 March 2020, Rezzy Crooks, Jam Henderson and Alex Dykes have been trying their best to get on the subterranean stage, to no avail.
“Three of them have been cancelled within 24 hours of the gig,” said Sam from Jam Henderson. The lineup has stuck together, rescheduling after each postponement, telling themselves “surely it can’t happen a second time. A third time. A fourth time. Surely not.” But time and time again, an unexpected outbreak of Covid has shuttered UBar and sent the bands packing.
“Obviously it’s disheartening,” said Alex Dykes, who remained keen as ever to try for a fifth gig. “Playing a pint night is sorta a Dunedin musician’s peak … You’ve got a guaranteed crowd and you can test your chops. Having the opportunity to do that and then having it taken away is annoying, but we might as well keep throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks. Though the pile at the bottom of the wall is starting to get quite big.”
The logistical shitshow that Alex described as “a controlled one mate, a controlled one” has unfolded over the last year. Four separate gigs, four separate postponements. “It would make a great conspiracy, actually,” said Alex. “We’re just such a powerful triumvirate that us being together could cause some great natural disaster. Clearly the government has been watching us, chucking together lockdowns to prevent us from getting together. That’s totally what it is.”
“From my research, we’re like the second-best predictor of lockdown in New Zealand, through no fault of our own”, said Alex, keen to not make it sound like he was an official source of Covid coverage. The Ministry of Health did not respond to our inquiry about this correlation. But we did ask.
The boys from Rezzy Crooks had their own theory. “I think they make the decision to enter lockdown based on when we have gigs,” said Josh. “They see that there’s another community case and they go ‘Oh fuck, better head to Rezzy Crook’s event page. If they’re having another pint night, we’re locking down.’ Jacinda is out to silence us.”
Jamie chirped up and said that he hoped it was a flirting technique. Critic did not ask the Prime Minister if this was true.
Despite the setbacks, all three thirds of the ill-fated triumvirate are keen to keep on pushing. But they’re aware of the pattern, and are planning accordingly. “We're gonna strategically work out when people want the next lockdown and book the next gig for around then,” said Alex. “Right when people are desperate for that 5% grade bump, we’ll chuck a level 4 lockdown in for people to enjoy.”
Since their original postponement, Rezzy Crooks and Jam Henderson have each released EP’s, with Rezzy recording their third later this month. Alex Dykes and Jam Henderson also both released two new singles. You can find all three acts on Spotify, and, fingers crossed, you can see them jam these new tunes at a Pint Night in your future.