Kyle Gilkeson 
Everyone’s favorite original rap super-group Wu-Tang Clan rolled through Chicago over the weekend to perform a set in the Congress Theater. Though its individual members have each gone on to do a number of other things, including RZA‘s foray into Hollywood and recent work on Kanye West‘s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, it’s nice to see them unite forces once in a while. ALARM contributing photographer Elizabeth Gilmore waded through the head-nodding masses to snap these stellar photos.
Each Tuesday, Behind the Counter speaks to an independent record store to ask about its recent favorites, best sellers, and noteworthy trends.
Slow Boat Records in Wellington, New Zealand is one of the record stores of yore, owned and operated by Dennis O’Brien for more than 25 years in the heart of the downtown area. The store sells both new and used records and places an emphasis on local and harder-to-find bands. Over time, it has expanded its Internet presence and now sells online as well as in store. We spoke to Slow Boat’s Jeremy Taylor to get the scoop on this Kiwi “mom and pop” record shop.
Which albums has your store sold the most over the past month?
We have sold a whole bunch of vinyl copies of local indie band The Phoenix Foundation’s latest album Buffalo; we had 300 copies pressed and have sold them exclusively through the shop and through the band’s own website. Big sellers over X-mas were Soul Jazz’s Deutsche Electronique Musique compilation, the new Robert Plant LP Band Of Joy, Mavis Staples‘ You Are Not Alone… and I never cease to be amazed by how many copies of The Velvet Underground & Nico we sell on LP.
What is the musical community like in Wellington?
Wellington has a strong musical community; we are regularly visited by musicians from some of the more popular bands from the local scene such as The Phoenix Foundation, Fat Freddys Drop, and Trinity Roots, and we have also hosted some impressive in-store performances.
