Live Reviews

Live Review: Primitive Calculators pumped Brisbane full of ugly muscle with The Goon Sax and Lilith

Chatter within Brisbane’s The Bearded Lady had one common topic: the Nazi flag incident. The previous week, a punk band caused outrage when two dim-witted members unveiled a Nazi flag. It reeked of desperate attention-seeking, especially compared to the sonic provocations of Melbourne noise legends Primitive Calculators. Formed in 1978, Primitive Calculators existed for two…

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Live Review: The Beautiful Girls + Bobby Alu + Pat Tierney – The Factory Theatre, Sydney (18.01.19)

There’s something really underrated about bands that play with as a three piece. Sure, having twelve people in your band means you can add incredible depth to your sound, but the raw basic-ness of guitar, bass and drums is something that will always manage to be magic in live setting. This is no different when…

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Festival Review: Mona Foma shines bright, weird and wonderful in its Launceston debut

Following ten years in Hobart – and a free block party last year in Launceston to test the waters – Mona Foma made its official debut in the Northern Tasmanian City this weekend, with a stellar weekend of art and music which took over Launceston for an event unlike anything locals have ever seen. Grimy…

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Live Review: Summer Series 2019 Feat. The Jacksons + Kool & The Gang and more – Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne (16.01.19)

While it is often true that Wednesday nights are relegated to early evenings or an easy night in at home, those who ventured from the safety of these homes were rewarded earlier in the week by a mammoth live performance of nostalgia and music with some of modern music’s famous artists spanning the course of…

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Sydney Festival Review: Paul Capsis with the Fitzroy Youth Orchestra showed a dark gothic chameleon paying tribute to his inspirations

Paul Capsis is a performer who appreciates artists who are both unique and true to their real selves. You could argue that he too fits into this distinctive mould. His Sydney Festival show at the Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent was an eclectic love letter to his many inspirations. The repertoire for the night was arranged by…

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Live Review: Leon Bridges proves to the Sydney crowd once and for all he’s a Good Thing

Leon Bridges is a man constantly wanting to change things up. Whether it be the generation of fans he’s aiming his music at, or the type of music he’s playing, the Fort Worth musician is all about taking things down a slightly different path and hoping you come along for the ride. Returning to Sydney…

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Live Review: After more than two decades under the influence, Taking Back Sunday show Sydney how it’s done

Once upon a time, I really enjoyed Monday night shows. This was at a time when I was at uni without any real obligations. Now, I am a boring person with a desk job that gets up early for work five days a week. You’re probably thinking, why am I telling you this? There is…

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Fleetwood Mac announce Australian arena tour for 2019

The legendary Fleetwood Mac have today announced that they will be returning to Australia for a six-date arena tour across August and September. As one of the first mammoth tour announcements for 2019, the Grammy winning band responsible for hits like “Dreams” and “Go Your Own Way” will be making stops in Perth, Brisbane, Sydney…

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Live Review: Grow Your Own 2019 was a midsummer’s daydream festival experience

Now in its third year, Grow Your Own Festival takes place on the North Coast of NSW in the Forster-Tuncurry area. Started in 2016 by local Holly Rankin, aka Jack River, the original motivation of the event was to bring more music to the region for the youth of the area. It has since grown into…

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Live Review: Mahalia and Jack Gray captivate at Sydney’s Lansdowne Hotel

Fresh from the Falls and Field Day circuits, British artist Mahalia rocked a sold-out show at The Lansdowne Hotel on what could have otherwise been a quiet Monday night. Opening for her was Jack Gray: the combination of beachy waves, a silk shirt and old school boyish charm. The Sunshine Coast singer had the crowd…

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Live Review and Photo Gallery: Soccer Mommy + Kelso – Howler, Melbourne (07.01.19)

Falling in with the other major internationals on sideshow duty Soccer Mommy finished the Melbourne; and final show of her two leg Australia tour. The show was filled with many fun moments as well as Soccer Mommy’s (Sophie Allison) appreciation towards her Melbourne fans who filled the Howler in Brunswick for the near sold out…

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Live Review: The Vaccines show their strength at Sydney’s Metro Theatre

Kicking the year off again with another Falls Festival sideshow, I ventured on down to Sydney’s Metro Theatre to take in the goods that The Vaccines are currently delivering as part of their current Combat Sports album tour. Opening up the night were Newcastle band Vacations. Making the trip down to Sydney, the touring five-piece…

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Live Review: OVO Sound’s dvsn show Sydney what R&B really is

The recent debate about who is the current “King of R&B” (sparked by a claim from Cash Money artist Jacquees) is not as clear cut as it has been made out to be. This isn’t the first time someone who has claimed to be the king of a genre or style of music. T.I once…

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Live Review: The Vaccines radiate their punk persona in Melbourne

Twenty Nineteen is finally at our feet and to mark the moment, The Vaccines flew across the entire globe to give Aussies something to remember during the first week of the new year. The English group appeared at The Croxton Bandroom (Thornbury) alongside Newcastle band, Vacations, and left the sardine-packed crowd drenched in a sublime blend of both perspiration and…

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Live Review: Toto – Festival Hall, Melbourne (04.01.19)

After forty years on the road, one could forgive Toto for having lost something over their long touring history but if the band’s Friday night performance at Festival Hall was anything to go by, Toto will probably be touring for many more years to come. The run sheet for Toto’s performance was an interesting one…

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Photo Gallery: Beyond The Valley Day Four – Lardner Park, VIC (31.12.18)

The final day of Beyond The Valley brought the fun with PNAU, English powerhouses The Kook’s, Ball Park Music and Remi all there to celebrate the chiming of the new year!

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Live Review: Field Day delivers a great New Years Day celebration in Sydney’s Domain

On New Years Eve, parties at Watson’s Bay, the fireworks in the city and NYE In The Park festival divide Sydney party goers. However, on New Years Day there is no competition. Field Day at The Domain Is the best celebration in the city and arguably the country. Field Day hosts a huge electronic and hip hop lineup,…

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Live Review: Beyond the Valley Day Four – Lardner Park (31.12.18)

The final day of Beyond the Valley continued the trend of an eclectic festival focussing on the enjoyment of all the participants with countless acts across multiple genres as electronic heavyweights Duke Dumont, Dom Dolla and Yotto stood alongside Indie rock juggernaut The Kooks and Australian sweethearts Ball Park Music. The final day hit the…

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Live Review: All You Need Is Love was a fab celebration of The Beatles’ famous studio cuts – Sydney Opera House (01.01.19)

The Beatles’ last official live concert was in San Francisco in 1966. They also did one last impromptu appearance on the rooftop of Apple in 1969 to bemused onlookers. This means that many of the band’s more experimental and expansive songs from their studio years have only been performed by tribute acts. The All You…

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Live Review: Beyond The Valley Day One ft. Joey Badass + Client Liaison + Winston Surfshirt and more (29.12.18)

Beyond The Valley (BTV) in Lardner, an hour and a half outside Melbourne has been proving itself to be a hot contender in the battle for the ideal New Years Festival, against tough competition from Falls Festival, Lost Paradise, Field Day and a stack of others. Although Falls generally has the biggest international names, Beyond…

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Live Review: Beyond The Valley Day Two ft. The Jungle Giants + Boo Seeka + Nicole Millar and more (30.12.18)

Day two of Beyond The Valley topped an already impressive first day! Nicole Millar set the tone for the day, leaving a predominantly young female crowd wondering how she isn’t already an international sensation. Although her song “Blindfolded” received a huge  crowd sing along she proved she has a whole catalogue of feel good pop…

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Live Review and Photo Gallery: British India + Social On The Veranda – Corner Hotel, Melbourne (20.12.18)

It has been a long road for Melbourne based band British India, releasing six albums over the past eleven years and countless tours through the country. Yet, the lead in to the weekend was the end of an era as one of the band’s leading members and creator Nic Wilson performed his final shows with…

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Live Review: Current you hates past you for missing The Beths at The Lansdowne in Sydney last night

As the silly season well and truly begins to hit its straps and everyone starts to wind things up at work (he types as he sits at his work desk procrastinating a grant application due in mere hours), the tour cycles of bands touring across this brown land of ours continues to go at breakneck…

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Live Review: NUN welcomes Brisbane to the pleasuredome with S>c>r>a>p>s and Blank Realm

Coloured cables hung over tables on the stage at Brisbane’s The Foundry. The tables brimmed with machines that made the venue’s walls shake with each drum machine thump. Churning out these cold, clanging beats were Melbourne four-piece NUN, who mine the distant past’s idea of the sounds of the future; sounds that came to terrifying…

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Festival Review: Sydney leg of Paul Kelly’s Making Gravy tour diluted by a terrible weather recipe

Rain will put a dampener on just about any outdoor activity. But when it’s a summer festival, and the rain is torrential, well, that just plain sucks. Unfortunately, Mother Nature must have been upset with the Sydney crowd attending Paul Kelly’s Making Gravy and pulled a classic stitch up on those in attendance and the…

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Live Review: Canberra’s Gingerfest was a night of beer, punk music and great friends

After a week of downpour, the sky cleared over Canberra on Saturday ahead of what was looking to be an incredible festival, Gingerfest 2018. With the charity run group Remembering the Ginger Ninja and their great partnership with Yours and Owls, as well as 6 Picks Brewers, the day was excellently executed, with each act…

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Live Review: Polish Club tears up the Gasometer stage for their closing show in Melbourne

Saturday night was the concluding show for Polish Club‘s ‘Get Some Clarity’ tour and there is no doubt that the boys wholeheartedly went out on a high. In October, the rock duo (David Novak and John-Henry Pajak) released the first glimpse of their forthcoming second album with their latest single ‘Clarity’ – a mammoth track…

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Live Review: Good Things proved a great day out for punk and metal in its Sydney debut

The trek to Parramatta Park seems to have become a regular occurrence for Sydney festival goers, with almost every large-scale day-long music event being held there nowadays. With Good Things the newest addition to this list and with more coming (looking at you Download and Ultra), the parklands might do a job of keeping the…

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Live Review: Stella Donnelly Finally Makes Some Friends and Brings Some Christmas Cheer to Sydney’s Oxford Art Factory (08.12.18)

This time of year is a time for everyone to wind down, get together with friends and family, and try be as merry as possible. For many people this comes in the form of parties, family get-togethers or work Christmas parties. For Stella Donnelly, it came in the form of a national tour. Hitting the…

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Photo Gallery and Live Review: Holy Holy + CLEWS + San Mei – 170 Russell, Melbourne (07.12.18)

Finishing off their tour with sold out performance, Holy Holy rocked 170 Russell in celebration of the band’s newest single “Faces”. After spending time in every over state, the closing performance came in Melbourne to a massive crowd all there is celebrate the tour with the band. Bringing along a surprise guest as well as…

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