Carmel Courtney & Simon Gregory

It's a Friday night, the week's over, you're meeting up with friends, looking for somewhere winter warm, down to earth friendly with an open fire, live music, excellent tap beers and great kai.

You find a basement bar across the road from the moody Lyttelton Port. You walk in and hear a guitar full of warm velvet intuition and intrigue with a swinging pulse, a singing sax and vocals that weave nostalgia and grime.

They're playing off-beat, jazzy, swing grooves, originals and gems from the greats like Waits and Cohen and Cave, Billie, Ella and Monk. It's eclectic, keeps you guessing. The basement has the rich history that swirls around the air - people have been playing here since 1947 so on and on it goes... that's the gig.

Venue: The Commoners