1997

Key Local Bands and Releases

Loosehead stayed busy, opening for visiting acts and releasing their debut album First Aid Kit in February, along with a split 7” with Lower Hutt’s Diecast (released via the Wellington Singles Club). Diecast themselves were a solid presence, regularly playing in the Hutt Valley and helping introduce younger kids to hardcore through shows with local acts like Walking Groin Infection.

Palmerston North bands made frequent trips south, with Motorsheep releasing their tape Unwanted Treasures and later their debut album The Passionless Are Fearless in June, complete with a Thistle Hall launch show. Newer PN outfits Master Cheese Maker and Sid Vishnu also began making an impact, playing multiple Wellington gigs throughout the year.

Other active local groups included Fatal Error, while Auckland and Hamilton bands such as Sommerset, Malevolence, Diswomble, Sky City Filth, Shinkasta, Balance, State of Grace, The Creed, and Vendetta ventured down for shows, strengthening inter-city connections in New Zealand’s hardcore and punk networks.

Major Gigs and Events

The year kicked off strongly in January with the return of former Wellington locals SMUT (now based in Australia) on the “Better Off Dead” tour with Melbourne’s H-Block. They played Thistle Hall twice, opening and closing the tour on home soil.

In May, Skaparty 4 brought a different flavour to the scene at Intensified (the former Rocky’s/Ali Baba’s venue), featuring Skapa, The Offbeats, and Screaming Orgasms.

One of the undoubted highlights was the return of legendary Washington DC band Fugazi in late June. They played the Victoria University Student Union hall, supported by brand-new Wellington band Brubeck, playing their very first gig. Brubeck would quickly grow into one of the city’s most prominent acts in the emerging “third wave” of the local scene. They followed up by releasing a split CD with Monkey Puzzle in July.

The second Wellington Punkfest (organised by Screaming Asylum Productions) took place over Labour Weekend in late October. It expanded from the previous year with a Saturday afternoon show and the main night event at Aro Valley Hall. The lineup mixed heavy hitters like Balance with Palmerston North’s Sid Vishnu and Master Cheese Maker, Auckland melodic punks Sommerset, Nelson’s new band Killtrain, and Wellington representatives Loosehead, Diecast, Walking Groin Infection, and Fatal Error. 

Zine Culture Milestone

On the DIY media side, March saw the final issue of the long-running anarcho-punk zine Social Dis-Ease (formerly Anti-System), which had been publishing for 12 years and served as an important voice for politics, reviews, and scene reports in Wellington and beyond.

The punk and hardcore scene operated as a tight-knit, grassroots counterpoint to the austerity led budget policies of the National government – DIY shows at Thistle Hall, Aro Valley Hall, and university venues provided spaces for expression, community, and occasional political edge in a country still navigating post-reform realities. International tours like Fugazi and SMUT, combined with energetic local output and the Punkfest gathering, gave 1997 a sense of renewal and connection for Wellington’s punks. It helped lay groundwork for the “third wave” bands that would define the scene in the coming years.