When The Cat’s Away With Special Taonga Herbs

In October 2023 one of New Zealand’s most cherished bands ever, When The Cat’s Away, regrouped for the first time in 33 years to celebrate the life of their beloved friend and bandmate Margaret Urlich. The show sold out within days and the response from their crowd reminded them how much they are still in the hearts and minds of Kiwis. So, they are on their way! – performing in Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin with a final flourish at the Powerstation in Auckland.

The show takes us back to the genesis of When the Cat’s Away in 1986 when five young women in their early 20s decided to take a small break from slogging around the country in their own bands. ‘One weekend, just a bit of fun’, they said but NZ audiences had other ideas. The first show sold out and a chord was struck that resonated with the hearts of Kiwis of all ages. There was something mesmerising about five powerful voices across the front of the stage with a full band and horns blaring. Margaret, Annie, Debbie, Kim and Dianne (all with solo careers) brought their music (and humour) to the stage and epitomised the saying ‘Greater than the sum of the parts’. The shows in the early days (in smoky pubs like the Gluepot) were celebrations of lost Kiwi tunes, favourite album tracks, funk/pop/rock/soul – all genres – their songs chosen purely for the craft of songwriting. Their No1 hit Melting Pot firmly etched them into NZ music history. These concerts feature favourite songs of their time together and they are joined by a mighty backing band The Band of Gold who have been Debbie & Margaret’s NZ band for the past 14 years. Four of the original WTCA band members also join the tour – Brett Adams and Gary Verberne on guitars, Michael Russell on trumpet and Holidaymakers’ maestro Barbara Griffin on keys. And it is with great anticipation that they will be joined on stage by Aotearoa’s mighty taonga HERBS. WTCA and Herbs have shared many stages over the years and are excited to be performing together in 2024, 40 years after the magic all began. Both bands have been honoured with induction into the NZ Music Hall of Fame.