Entertainment picks: Violent outbursts of our time

Jeremy Wells and his team relive some of the best violent outbursts in 'Eating Media Lunch'. Picture / Herald on Sunday

TV

Eating Media Lunch just gets better and better. Jeremy Wells is the most lovable little smart ass on TV. Tomorrow night at 10pm on TV2, Wells, with his cheeky and intelligent team of writers, celebrates violent outbursts that have been caught on tape. No doubt that cry baby scuffle outside Christchurch District Court starring a former Christian Heritage party leader will make the cut.

But wait, there's more violence to come this week on TV. Now, I'd rather sit down to a meal of cockroaches than get in a boxing ring. But when someone willing is doing it, as in The Contender (TV2, 9.30pm, Wednesday), then I'll watch it.

Sly Stallone and Sugar Ray Leonard host the show where one contestant is "KO'd" every week until there are two. Then those two will slug it out at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas for the finale.

And what a week for music TV. If you missed it first time round, then catch Give It A Whirl, the excellent series about New Zealand music, on Wednesday (TV One, 11.05pm). When I first saw this programme I thought, "Finally, someone has done a good, slick job of putting together our music history."

Believe me, it had been done before - in various formats - and, at times, with appalling results. Give It A Whirl is a must-see, and if it's a bit late, then set the tape.

If you missed Shihad's free gig in Aotea Square, then catch it on C4, 8.30pm Thursday. It rained, and it poured, but it'll take more than that to dampen the spirits of the Had lads and 8000 of their screaming fans.

Now for some kai. Believe it or not there's more to Maori food than pork bones, puha, and hangi. Kai Time On the Road (Maori Television, 8pm, Thursday) lets you in on more secret Maori, and not so Maori, recipes. So join chef Pete Peeti and co-host Kingi Biddle as they hunt, gather and cook their way around the country.

After a feed bro' cap off your working week with this week's hottest Super 12 clash: Crusaders versus Hurricanes (Sky Sport, 7.30pm, Friday). And at risk of being sick of Star Wars even before you've seen Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, you can check out Episode I: The Phantom Menace tonight on TV3 at 8.30pm.

Music

Got your tickets to Nick Cave this Friday? Didn't think so. I'm glad I got in early because I, for one, will be bowing down to Cave's dark gospel and hoping like hell he plays lots from 1988's Tender Prey. It will be a great night. If you're desperate, then jump on to Trademe, where tickets are going for upwards of $250.

This Saturday at the Studio on K Rd, Blindspott are back in action with a new line-up and new single, Yours Truly. Chances are the Westie lads will play a few songs from their new album, which is due out later this year.

It's about time, too. It's been more than three years since their debut album and songs like Nil By Mouth and Room To Breathe rocked those baggy jeans right off your butt.

Speaking of rocking, the D4 take off on the Out of My Head tour this week, starting at the Masonic Tavern in Devonport on Friday and the Kings Arms on Saturday. The latter should be a goodie, with the Fanatics and the Bleeders in support.

This weekend is tribute band heaven. On Friday at the Kings Arms, Dazzo Clash play all your favourite Clash songs. Then the next night, After Forever play all your favourite Black Sabbath songs at the Huapai Tavern (that's out west, on the way to Muriwai). War pigs unite.

Exhibition

Sadly, Martin Emond (aka Martin F. Emond, aka Martin [expletive] Emond) committed suicide last year. The cartoonist, tattooist, and all round good bloke, was a legend. The exhibition, Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, at the Cross St Orphanage Gallery (in the Illicit Basement at 202 K Rd) is a retrospective of his work. They played Metallica's Fade To Black at his funeral. Get ready to rock. Movies

If there's one film you see this week make it Resistencia: Hip Hop in Colombia on Friday, 8.30pm at the Academy in Lorne St. It follows a summer in the lives of some of Colombia's best rappers, DJs and breakdancers and offers a "street side view" of the civil war and the corruption affecting the country.

Resistencia ... is part of the Human Rights Film Festival, on from May 12-19 at the Academy, and also features The Fourth World War, which argues that the world is in a state of war, Academy Award-winning documentary Born into Brothels, the fictional account of the September 11 hijackers, Hamburg Cell, produced by New Zealander Finola Dwyer, and British director Ken Loach's film, Bread and Roses. Also opening this week is White Noise about an architect who tries to contact his dead wife by electronic voice phenomena, and French comedy Apres Vous.

Social circuit

I always dreamed of buying the old Ponsonby Post Office when it went on sale but alas, I didn't have a spare two, three, or however many million it went for. Never fear, we can all share its charms because a new Belgian beer cafe opens its doors in that building tomorrow. Cheers.