AJ wraps up his wild Auckland era with absolute carnage from Rhythm & Vines (R&V) - New Zealand’s massive New Year’s festival pulling 30,000+ punters.
Him and Ant get handed the main stage hosting gig, which is normally just quick intros… but they turn it into full theatre: six or seven costume changes a night, morph suits, Kermit, Pink Panther, inflatable boat races, kiss cams - and at one point, going out completely nude before a major headline act (thankfully not during).
They share the chaos of working around big artists like Savage, Sticky Fingers (who rocked up 40 minutes late while the crowd frothed), and the madness of trying to keep a festival crowd engaged when no one’s really listening anyway.
Then it drifts into pure after-dark festival mischief: roaming campgrounds in costume at sunrise, hiding in hay bales to dodge security, impulsively stealing a tractor for absolutely no reason… and somehow ending up buying a plus-size inflatable doll named “Bernice” for $100 - who later appears on stage leaking in front of thousands.
They also revisit the old Short & Wide TV show days, including a brutal hurdles challenge that leaves AJ with one of the most unfortunate bruising stories you’ll ever hear.
It’s five years of festival madness, media chaos, and two idiots pushing stage hosting way further than it ever needed to go.
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