Copyright thespinoff
The Nocturnalists series shines a light on Auckland after dark. Chefs, comedians, performers and punters – Nocturnalists are spirited members of Auckland’s nighttime scene. In this series, they take us on a tour of their favourite spots and all this city has to offer after 5pm. This week: Half Queen. Shaki Wasasala is a fixture of Auckland nightlife. Better known as Half Queen, the DJ co-founded the legendary club night Filth, fosters creative spaces grounded in inclusivity, and advocates for the creative underground. As part of our series on what to do at night in the central city, she tells Emma Gleason where to go and what matters now, from the potential of the club scene to all of her favourite late-night spots. Photos by Sophie Miya-Smith shot on location at Public Bar and Waimahara. Emma: You live in Mount Eden now, do you still spend a lot of your time in the central city? Half Queen: Actually, I do. I don’t know why I pretend like I don’t, I found myself at Basement Theatre three weekends in a row recently. The city’s alive and there are things to do. And all these third spaces that are working. So I do spend a lot of my time in the city. What do you love about the city at night? I think, under the cloak of darkness, there’s a certain kind of permission granted where you can kind of be as different as you’d like to be. That’s what I love. It feels like a different place, but really it’s not that different, now that I think about it. Where are you most likely to be found after the sun goes down? Whammy Bar for sure. I’ve spent way too many hours there. And also Neck Of The Woods. What are some of the best gigs you’ve been to in your time? We did a Filth a few years ago when Cakes Da Killa came, he’s an incredible rapper and MC… And then in [2016] Le1f performed at Neck Of The Woods, he’s an iconic queer artist and rapper as well. Any gig where someone knows how to rock the sound system is just wow, chef’s kiss. Whammy, I feel like every live show, every punk band I see there, just really sends it all the way. Who are some of your favourite artists right now? I would make time to go and see VIDA; Hun Lynch, she’s unbelievable; LEAO. Oh and CCTV too, even though l’ve not seen them live, I would try to see them… Mara TK, of course, because he’s so rare. Oh my God, so many, so many, yeah. KaiViti is like my protégé. How do you feel after a really good night out? I feel a sense of jubilance, you know. How do you find out what’s going on in the city? I guess it is kind of a grapevine thing, or just the internet. I find the best nights are always when someone says ‘What are you doing? You should come to Whammy’ and then I’m in the mosh pit and didn’t anticipate it. Where would you go for a casual drink? I’d say Public Bar, if I was going to meet someone. What about dinner, something cheap and cheerful? I love Uncle Man’s. I just love a nasi lemak, that goes crazy. Love the roti canai and roti kaya. And if I were going to shout out anybody, it’s probably The White Lady. I love the vege burger, even though I’m not a vegetarian, because I used to work as a stripper at Showgirls, and that was the only thing that was open when I would finish a shift… That was always the thing that slaps so hard, and you get an egg in it, and it comes with the hash brown. I would always get that and a shake. Where do you go for a fancy dinner? Oh my god, Gemmayze Street. They really know how to do meat. Do you get anything in particular? We always do the set menu. I love the set menu, but I will just get whatever’s clever at the time, because I like to try everything. The lamb’s bussin’, I went there literally last week or the week before. Even their little mocktails are awesome. Where would you take, say, a really trendy friend from Melbourne who’s coming over and you want to show them that Auckland’s cool? I love sitting in the little mezzanine bit at Pici, I’m obsessed with that little nook up there. But definitely Gemmayze Street, because I love the view, it’s just incredible. If there was a show at Q Theatre or Basement, I’d take them there, then we’d go up underneath the beautiful light installation at the bottom of Myers Park, up through the stairs, go to Gemmayze Street, go to Public Bar, and end up in Whammy. Oh, tell me more about the light installation! Waimahara is a beautiful, living example of remembering the history of the whenua and awa, despite the concrete jungle that has taken over. I love when cities invest in public art and it feels intentional and considered, and Graham Tipene is a taonga of the city – you can feel the care and spirit whenever you’re near the installation. I’m always obsessed with an inner-city park, no matter where in the world I am. They always just serve as a poignant reminder of nature and co-existing alongside her, as her. Parks are the ultimate lil microcosmic third space! What about people-watching, any favourite spots? Verona is a classic. Oh, and Charlie’s! Wait, woah, where was the Charlie’s shout out. No one’s mentioned Charlie’s bar yet! You can be the first one. Charlie’s for people-watching, because I’ve had the most incredible experiences there. My favourite character of K Road is the pirate of Charlie’s, the man who’s there every single day, every single night. Do you ever do karaoke there? What’s your song? ‘If You’re Not The One’ by Daniel Bedingfield. Yeah, that’s my favourite. That or ‘Don’t Speak’ by No Doubt, a banger. Charlie’s is such an institution. It doesn’t get enough credit, but also we need to protect it a little bit. Yeah, Charlie’s needs to exist as it is. I also love that you can look out and just see the Vegas Girl, who is literally heritage protected. Absolute icon. Vegas is another iconic spot, but I also haven’t been there in a while… some of the first Filth gigs were up there. Galatos is always really fun. Basement is also an institution, and I think deserves a shout out! Yeah, Basement is an amazing inner-city theatre space. Lots of people in this series have mentioned it. Plus Q, The Civic and so on. Have you got any secret spots? I always enjoy getting lost in the Metro [Centre on Queen Street], I would say the IMAX is my favourite secret spot. You’ve been called our unofficial Night Mayor, a role found in other cities, like Amsterdam. What does that mean to you? My favourite character of Auckland’s nightlife is Taylor MacGregor, [a music promoter and venue advocate]. He dubbed me the night mayor when he was learning about the term. I think it’s not something that I take lightly, and it’s also not an official role or anything. But it really feels like there needs to be someone who is holding a bit of a torch in regards to the nighttime economy. I would love to actually be the night mayor, but of course that would require being across Auckland in every space, because it’s so big. It’s important because we need someone who can champion the people who are awake at night, people who make the city run at night, the people who pour in and invest in life at night. There’s never a time when everyone’s asleep because so many people live and work within nightlife. You’re pretty vocal about your appreciation for Tāmaki Makaurau. What do you love about the city? The people, the people. He tāngata. I love that the most I think. I also just like people that choose to stay and really rep it hard. They’re the real ones. Because we can already feel that it’s a very special place, and we just want everyone else to feel that. The people that are really championing the city, that’s my favourite thing, and the land.
