Dave Dobbyn is nothing short of being a national treasure, and he's coming to town twice over the next few months in two very different contexts.

The first time is at the end of December, when he plays in an open air marquee at 'Brewers Field” at the Mount, before he returns for the MoreFM Winery Tour in late February, when he performs with Tim Finn, Bic Runga and Che Fu.
The first gig is part of Dobbyn's 30 Years of Hits tour, and the shows will see him playing with a six-piece band, running through the massive back-catalogue that features on what should be everyone's favourite stocking stuffer this Christmas, the new CD, Beside You – 30 Years of Hits.
Dobbyn has become so much a part of the respectable New Zealand music landscape that it's easy to forget his struggles over the years. And while 30 years in music definitely deserves celebration, this year – in two week's time to be exact – marks the 25th anniversary of another seminal moment for Dave Dobbyn. In one of the more remarkable events in Kiwi musical history, in 1984 Dobbyn was arrested for inciting a riot on Queen Street. It's an event made even stranger by the fact that no one – even to this day – can explain exactly why there was a riot in the first place.
I'm sure that more than a few readers were actually there on that fateful day. If you feel so inclined, the letters page would be vastly enriched by your perspective on events. Conversely, being a quarter of a century ago, many may not know the story so I'm delighted to recap the highlights.
On December 7, 1984, the Thank God It's Over free concert took place in Aotea Square on Auckland's Queen Street to celebrate the end of the academic year. It featured Herbs and The Mockers and was headlined by DD Smash.
The problems seemed to start not long after DD Smash took the stage. From what I can gather (though not from the very slanted and dubious newspaper reporting at the time), some intoxicated music lover took it upon themselves to urinate on the crowd. In the context of a 10,000 strong audience this doesn't seem like a huge transgression, however, when police tried to arrest the man, the crowd tried to stop them, and all hell broke loose.
Firstly the power went off. Whether this was coincidental or caused by the police is still in question. Then the audience started throwing bottles at the police. There were several arrests, and more police arrived outfitted in riot gear. It was then that Dobbyn, on stage, made the remark that caused him to be vilified throughout crusty heartland New Zealand.
'I wish those riot squad guys would stop wanking and put their little batons away.” said Dobbyn. Unsurprisingly, this was not to be, and the concert promoters, radio station Triple M, announced that the concert was being stopped at the request of the police.
Possibly with the images of the relatively recent Sprinbok tour in their minds, though no one has ever really explained the reasons, the audience rioted. They spilled out onto Queen Street, smashing windows, throwing bottles and rubbish bins, and overturning cars. There was even looting. In the final tally, damage caused was in excess of $1 million. The next day, one headline ran, 'Tears, terror at the concert that made history”; the story described screaming children, bloody head wounds and police facing 'gun-toting” rioters.
In response, the government set up a commision of inquiry and Dobbyn was charged with inciting a riot. The commision was as much of a waste of taxpayers' money as most such ventures, but in June 1985 a criminal prosecution began against Dobbyn, by now demonised in many areas of society, though viewed as an innocent scapegoat by anyone with half a brain. The latter view prevailed and he was, at considerable personal expense it should be noted, cleared of all charges.
Dave Dobbyn's 30 Years of Hits tour rolls into Mount Maunganui on Tuesday, December 29. Tickets went on sale last week through ticketmaster: www.ticketmaster.co.nz or
0800 111 999.