More laughs on the way

Should your wallet still be showing signs of flushness and your sides remain unsplit after three weeks of comedy festival, there's another big name on the way.

English musical comedy oddball Bill Bailey is returning to play three New Zealand dates next month having toured here before in 2008 and before that visited as a comedy festival regular.

These days Bailey is also known as the star of TV shows Black Books and Skins and most recently appeared in the family movie Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang.

Kicking off on Friday, June 25 in Christchurch, the not-quite-imaginatively named Bill Bailey Live tour will head to to Wellington on Saturday June 26 before playing at Auckland's Civic on June 28. Tickets go on sale on May 10.

Meanwhile, San Francisco psych-blues band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club are roaring into town for a one-off show at the Powerstation on July 23. Founding members Robert Been and Pete Hayes have recruited a new drummer in Leah Shapiro from the Raveonettes and are calling their latest album, Beat The Devil's Tattoo, a "starting-over" for the group.

The result is a combination of the psychedelic haze of their first albums and the more traditional blues stomp of excellent 2005 record Howl.

Tickets go on sale May 13 from Ticketmaster and Real Groovy.

On the local scene, Fat Freddy's Drop have announced they will play second show at the Bruce Mason Centre in Takapuna on May 29. They also play May 28.