Brisbane's Ball Park Music have been ever-rising in the Australian music scene, and they have no intention of slowing down any time soon. Not only are they ridiculously talented musicians, they also have a rad sense of humour - what's not to love! I had a chat (and a lot of laughs) with the band's guitarist Dean Hanson about their recently announced Thank Ewes tour, new music, puppies, all ages concerts and everything else in between.

After an epic two years of writing, recording and touring, Brisbane's Ball Park Music have announced that they're going to be out on the road for one last, huge hurrah for the year. The "Thank Ewes Tour" is a special lot of headline dates dedicated to the Ball Park fans, a way of saying 'thanks' for their dedication and committment to the band over the past few years.

Summer may be drawing to a close down here in the southern hemisphere but the tour circuit is still smoking hot. This week we've got news from Phoenix, Splendour, national event news, new music, and new labels.

Australia's exporting one of it's best festivals to North America - yay for Laneway! Also, Flume tickets are selling like hotcakes, Shock Records appoints a new General Manager, so many bands are being snapped up by labels, and be prepared to dust off your record player because Record Store Day is just around the corner. Plus, plenty more goss and tid bits below the cut!

Flume Sells Out

O-week…the only time when getting absolutely shit faced on a Wednesday afternoon is socially acceptable. Gear Up, The University of South Australia’s biggest O-week event, was of course no exception. Featuring Hungry Kids of Hungary, Ball Park Music, Busby Marou, Asta and way too many drunken first years, the mini-festival of sorts was a sure-fire hit, despite the notably moist weather.

Weezer performed their Blue album in full plus a set of their greatest hits, with support from Ball Park Music and Cloud Control (not pictured). Photography by Pete Dovgan.

Every now and then a show comes along where being a fan makes it rather difficult to write a review that isn't full of hyperbole and inexplicable excitement. For me, Weezer was one of those shows. But don't let my status as a "fan" belittle any praise bestowed upon this gig. I've seen Weezer before, and they weren't this good. I've been to many shows as a big fan before, and rarely do they deserve such praise - after all, the bigger a fan you are, the easier it is to be let down. This was one night where it was good to be a fan, one night where no one left disappointed. And, irrespective of hyperbole, how often can one say that about any show, period? But before we get there, let's take a look at the supports...

Another year, another Southbound Festival and despite predictions of the opposite, attendance was up on last year, with the vast majority of the attendees opting to camp on site for the weekends festivities. Though this years line-up may not have been at its most buzz-worthy, it was still a fine collection of acts over the two days, with just enough variety to keep everybody happy.

We continue our countdown of the best tracks of 2012, as voted by our contributors!

The third day of the Falls Festival sees bands such as Ash Grunwald, Cosmo Jarvis and Oh Mercy in the Grand Theatre and Boy and Bear, The Flaming Lips and Hot Chip on the Valley Stage. The Theatre reaches capacity for Flume later in the evening. Our photographer on the ground, John Goodridge was there to bring us some photos.

This country on this far end of the world has it’s own little vibrant scene, and if you are reading this from overseas, then the below tours is one good ‘ol reason to come on down here. These gigs aren’t necessarily at your high-end billion dollar venues like Sydney’s Opera House or some seated entertainment centre, but in dark dank pubs to evocative art spaces (although we won’t dare diss those high-end places – the wine they serve in those places is exquisite).