Live Reviews

Horrorshow have always been welcomed with open arms by their loyal Adelaide crowd and it was no different this time around, with a whole lot of familiar faces flocking to The Gov despite it being a chilly Sunday night. It might have something to do with the fact that it’s been a minute since Horrorshow were…

Angus Stone‘s latest project Dope Lemon hit The Gov on Saturday night, enveloping a packed-out crowd with laidback psych-folk vibes. The first album, Honey Bones, is the driving force of the tour, with the third single “Coyote” having been released to coincide with the announcement of the national dates. Adelaide local Jesse Davidson was first up, charming the growing crowd…

The folk songstress quartet known as All Our Exes Live In Texas welcomed Perth for their latest single “The Devil’s Part” tour, proving they having every ounce of harmonic talent to back up potentially the best band name in history.  Wonderfully accompanied by Tasmanian Christopher Coleman Collective, locals Simone and Girlfunkle, and now infamous Tony…

The bands at Northcote Social club on Friday night exemplified the flow-through influence of the pop-punk movement, from mellow Max Quinn to Adelaide duo The Hard Aches. Associating Max Quinn with punk might be a bit of a reach, but the combination of simple, chorus-y guitars and sweet vocals reminds me of pop-punk stalwarts Modern…

The Jezabels‘ latest record SYNTHIA struck a chord early on, I remember. It had, admittedly, been a little while since I had revisited the Sydney band’s music (The Brink had a few striking moments, but wasn’t quite my bag), but this was an album that completely drew me back into the fold. There’s always been an unabashed sense…

The Every Night The Same Dream tour hit the chilly streets of Perth on Saturday night as Ball Park Music took to the sold out stage of Capitol, bringing with them fellow Brisbanites The Creases and homegrown locals Gunns. Touting plenty of material from their fourth album, there were plenty of former classics thrown into…

Palm Springs, a Melbourne act renowned for dark, sombre country music, dusky vocals and lyrical honesty were represented as a single act on Saturday night. Erica Dunn represented the band, bringing a set reminisce of Chelsea Wolfe; doom folk meets the blues. One woman, armed with a guitar, held The Tote’s audience hostage, with no…

Opening in 1999 to bring tourism to the small country town of Deniliquin, New South Wales, the ,concluded September and kicked off October with a bang! Although, as it was wet and muddy throughout the whole weekend – that bang may have been the crack of thunder, we just can’t be too sure … A…

Their first headline tour to reach the West Coast since 2013, Big Scary returned to Perth to play at The Rosemount Hotel on Friday night for the release of their latest album Animal. Bringing along Dreller featuring former Papa Vs Pretty frontman Thomas Rawle, it was a night of seriously loose heartfelt vibes with plenty…

Last Friday night showed the clear evolution and ambition of one of alt-rock’s most interesting and envelope-pushing bands.  Phantogram is composed of Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel, the two have been making music together since 2009 and their electronic, rock outfit just released their third album appropriately titled Three. As the lights went down on…

The second weekend of Desert Trip – aka “Oldchella” – has kicked off in India, California, on the site of the iconic Coachella music festival. The first night, as it did last weekend, kicked off with recent Nobel Prize winner Bob Dylan and iconic UK group The Rolling Stones. Bob Dylan played a largely unchanged…

The Jezabels’ third full-length album, Synthia, was released in February this year, delivering more of the powerful synth-pop that the band is revered for. Unfortunately, the supporting tour (planned for earlier this year) had to be cancelled, due to synth player Heather Shannon undergoing treatment for ovarian cancer. Now that everyone’s health is in check,…

It was affirming to see that the room was already mostly filled when first act Baby Blue took to the stage, opening the night. Baby Blue brought a dreamy indie pop-rock that danced between decidedly 60s sounds, as well as moments nearly reminiscent of Major Leagues. Fronted by Rhea Caldwell’s unique voice, we were taken across a…

The last time that Canadian punk outfit PUP were on Australian shores, they were touring as support for The Smith Street Band. It’s a kind of beautiful irony that they’re back, headlining a sold-out tour, supported by Aussie indie-punk darlings Camp Cope (who have a very intertwined history with The Smith Street Band themselves). We…

Long before the lockout laws, something else was killing the vibe among Sydney’s party scene: competition. One or two day festivals across the country were dropping like flies and it seemed like Fuzzy’s long-running Parklife was about to meet the axe, until the business made the wise decision to go boutique. Downsizing and effectively avoiding…

Supporting last year’s extremely successful debut LP In A Restless House, City Calm Down seem more at home than ever. Straight off the line up from Splendour in the Grass, the electronic-rock band excitably rounded out their month of touring with a string of homegrown gigs at Melbourne’s own 170 Russell. Although a gradual crowd welcomed City Calm…

It seemed the skies were on our side for the Perth leg of the DANCE worshipping festival that is Listen Out arrived at the new venue of the Western Parklands for its 2016 instalment.  It appeared that storms of any variations, both weather and artists, would not be seen over the weekend.  Boasting the likes…

Montaigne has been one of those artists who, in the past, I’ve approached hesitantly. I could never properly believe that this girl was as big as the hype that followed her. I mean, how could she be? The pedestal she’s been put on by fans and critics alike has been an incredible one. Seeing her…

It’s rare that you get an event like Stonecutters come through Adelaide with as much gusto as this event has done now, two years running. It’s grown up for 2016, moving to the larger digs of the old Queen’s Theatre and expanded over two nights instead of cramming bands into one. Boasting a line up of…

Adelaide’s hard rocking mini festival Stonecutters returned for its second year, boasting a colossal line-up of the loudest and loosest bands going around. Held over two days in Adelaide’s Queen’s Theatre, the gathering doubled in size since its last romp, playing host to local, national and international bands. Local lads Larsen kicked off night one,…

Since showcasing at BIGSOUND 2015, The Lulu Raes have had a hectic tour schedule, sharing stages with the likes of Jamie XX, The Jungle Giants and Sticky Fingers. In support of their recently released EP, All Our Parents Are Divorced, they’ve been touring the country, winning hearts and dance floors along the way. When they took on Northcote…

A large part of me feels like there’s little point in writing a review like this. Tim Freedman and The Whitlams have had a command of live music in Australia for so long now that I do sometimes wonder, “why bother?” I mean people don’t read reviews of Whitlams shows to find out if they’re…

For one magical week of the year, Fortitude Valley transforms to a musical haven; a subtropical playground bathed in the auditory ambrosia that is BIGSOUND. Christmas for the music industry has just passed, and what a week BIGSOUND 2016 has been. Dissection, examination and support of the Australian music community sustained the BIGSOUND conference during the…

Indie electro pop trio Lilt stormed a sold out Jimmy’s Den in Northbridge on Saturday night, flooding the packed venue with lush brooding dance tunes for the launch of their latest single “Wait No More”.  Bringing along fellow locals Phocal and Angus Dawson, the show was a full house, full volume yet intimate affair highlighting the stellar…

Despite the dreary winter weather still clinging to WA, people flocked to the basement of The Odd Fellow in Fremantle on Saturday night to soak up the positive vibes as it transformed into an electric den of energy under performances from L-Fresh the Lion’s Become Tour. Sparking with pointedly political verse, heavy beats and 100%…

You know how much a ticket was to see one of my favourite artists play the last show on her current tour? $15. Fifteen Australian dollars. A year ago, I was in London spending that much on a pint of beer. Yeah, the beers were delicious, but I’d have definitely been more than happy to…

On a Thursday night, The Gov fills out comfortably to await the return of Paul Dempsey to his beloved Kingdom. The air is chilly, but the vibe on the inside of the popular venue remains warm and inviting. It’s been a little while since the Australian favourite has been to Adelaide in this capacity and with…

If Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite, Maxwell’s stunning debut album, was released today instead of two decades ago perhaps it would be him who would hold the power to glue our eyes to a live stream of a near empty room for days on end. Perhaps it would be #Maxwell that would constantly trend on Twitter…

The first song I ever heard by Grouplove was “Colours”; I think it was an iTunes Single of the Week back in the days before streaming – remember those?! In the months that followed, while the tune had incredibly high rotation on my iPod, I remember having a feeling they’d be kick-ass live. Hitting the Oxford…

Since the release of their debut LP The Heist in 2012, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis have dominated the global music scene. While their latest project, This Unruly Mess I’ve Made, hasn’t peaked as high on the charts, it’s definitely helped cement the duo’s already loyal following, made evident in their live show. Frequent collaborator XP opened, running through…