On Saturday night, as storms blew across the city and with lighting carving across the sky, C.W. Stoneking’s national tour came to close with a sold out show at Fremantle Arts Centre. To me it seemed a fitting prelude for an artist as idiosyncratic and otherworldly as Stoneking. Listening to Stoneking is like listening to…
Monday night gigs are a strange anomaly. Personally, I like them. They kind of take your mind off the working week to come, and allow you to ease yourself into the next four days of working for the man, or woman. One thing about this particular Monday night was that Matt Corby was gracing the…
The impending and inclement rain and the mud and the grey skies were no deterrent for the loyal music fans who descended upon the already trampled turf of the Domain. Gentlemen of the Road is part music festival, part band love-in all originated, hosted and curated by the lads from Mumford and Sons. The aim…
It’s hard to imagine a more pristine and picturesque setting for a four-night run of shows, other than overlooking Sydney Harbour, the Harbour Bridge, and the world famous sails of the Opera House. For a select few thousand punter on a wet Friday night, this is exactly the view that was afforded to them, as…
Friday night I donned my most obnoxious striped pants to see 80’s power rockers The Darkness play the Enmore Theatre in Sydney. The band took the stage with flamboyance, Justin Hawkins sporting a gregarious black and white pinstriped suit, complete with suspenders and his name emblazoned in metallics across the back, validating my calculated fashion…
There are few bands who I’ve been lucky enough to witness multiple times in the past few years who have managed to leave a starkly different set of memories with me following each set. The first time I saw Future Islands was earlier in the year at the Laneway Festival and they wasted no time…
There’s no place quite like Sydney Harbour. The Harbour Bridge standing silent, illuminated and majestic; the Opera House elegantly lit up in white; the dark expanse of water that’s only disturbed by the puttering of ferries and sail boats. It’s not a rare sight for anybody, but it makes a spectacular scene when it’s turned…
The Darkness last played Thebarton Theatre on their last Australian tour, so to see that they had downgraded slightly HQ wasn’t too much of a worry. If you’d seen them before, you’d known that they’re more than capable of putting on a brilliantly entertaining show regardless of the room. On a Friday night in Adelaide…
If you grew up in the 90’s, chances are you’ll be well aware of Naughty By Nature. The Grammy Award winning hip hop crew responsible for some huge hits during what was arguably one of the best decades of the genre were in Adelaide on Sunday night to take people for a trip down memory…
After the heartbreaking demise of Philadelphia Grand Jury and a few teasing reunion shows, the cheeky trio of Berkfinger, MC Bad Genius and Dan W Sweat have finally returned, finishing their Summer of Doom tour in Perth Saturday night with plenty of flailing fans and sweaty, sweaty hugs. High-tails from Sydney were up to debut…
The Triffid celebrated with a rock Sunday sesh last week. What better way to do it then with a visit from English rock band The Vaccines who are celebrating their latest album, English Graffiti? Joining them on the night were The Jensens and The Belligerents, both locals and Brisbane favourites of the Brisbane music scene….
The beard may be gone, but rest assured – Chet Faker is still the king of Australian soul music. On Friday, thousands of fans flocked into the infamous Opera House forecourt for the first show in the new summer series that will welcome both Tame Impala and Florence and the Machine to the prestigious venue….
It seems a curiously long time ago that “London Still” peaked at number 3 in the 2002 triple j Hottest 100. Not least because it’s so hard to imagine a song of similar sound getting anywhere near the top 10 these days, but also because The Waifs still feel so familiar – an integral part…
The Philadelphia Grand Jury came back through Adelaide on a Thursday night ready to showcase new album Summer of Doom. Five years or so ago, they were on this same stage at Jive, the first time I can recall seeing them perform. They were without Dan W. Sweat at that point but all the same,…
“This is probably the most nervous we’ve been performing,” Julia Stone half stammers as she and her brother Angus stare out onto a soccer stadium’s pitch that is consistently being filled with eager music fans during their support set. The Sydney siblings are of course, opening for Fleetwood Mac tonight and the gravity of the situation is not…
Reunions are bittersweet, often synonymous with transience and hinting at the struggles of times past. Although when Philadelphia Grand Jury – better known to most as the Philly Jays – rolled into town as part of their first official tour in years, the Sydney trio’s cult following couldn’t help but flock to Sydney’s Oxford Art…
Homecoming shows are always going to special for bands. But in the age of social media, with so many average videos uploaded to your choice of social media channel, the exclusivity of a live gig is slowly beginning to dwindle. With this in mind, for a band to sell out a medium sized venue without…
Let me set the scene for you… I was at SXSW 2015 in March this year and with thousands of bands playing and endless sets that you could attend, it was virtually impossible for bands to stand out. Possibly one of the only artists that stood out and without a doubt, the only band I could sing you…
Over the past few years, the definition of each musical genre has become evermore blurred. No longer is it easy to pigeon-hole an artist into one specific genre, with the increasing rise of sub-genres within these previously defined genres becoming even more blurred. And the good thing about this, is that music, especially in Australia,…
Thursday October 15th at The Gov, in Adelaide, was the first show of The Paper Kites’ Twelvefour Australian tour, supported by Patrick James. It was also one of the early very hot days of spring. The beer garden of The Gov felt tropical, almost pre-cyclonic, the palm trees streaming in the hot, humid breeze. It’s…
Who’d have thought that a debut album released 10 years ago, with a lead single whose title was effectively just onomatopoeic syllables put together, would have spawned one of the sweatiest headline slots Sydney’s Metro Theatre would see this year? Definitely not me. But it’s exactly what Melbourne Indie-Pop-Punk quartet Kisschasy did. Acting as main…
The last time RÜFÜS played HQ in Adelaide, it was hands down one of the best live shows I’d seen that year. To see that the trio was coming back through was incredibly exciting and I knew it would be a good opportunity to see RÜFÜS before they headed back overseas where, no doubt, their…
Boyz II Men embody the warmth and tenderness of classic 90s R&B, and I’m far from the only one who still recognises and celebrates that, as evidenced by numerous sold out Australian dates, almost 25 years after this ultra successful group hit mainstream consciousness. Hitting Luna Park’s Big Top for the second of two shows…
For the release of their latest, hugely anticipated release of the Master Distillers Collection Black Barrel – Distilled 2005, Bundaberg Rum threw a day-long celebration of all things rum, music and community. The Spirit of Bundaberg Festival featured performances from the Antipodean Rock Collective (which comprises members of Spiderbait, Jet, Powderfinger and You Am I),…
On the back of their ARIA top 10 album Aesthesis, Queenslanders Dead Letter Circus hit Melbourne’s Forum Theatre with 10 Years and Guards of May in tow to deliver three hours of straight up alt-rock goodness. Hitting the stage first up were Guards of May, and if ever a band has existed whose style is perfectly…
City Calm Down have maintained somewhat of an air of mystery around them in recent years. Having spent quite a bit of time away working solidly on their debut album, In a Restless House, the Melbourne band have still managed to cultivate and maintain a strong fan base within the local scene and following on…
Photo Credit: Zana Kobayashi Grace Turner launched her new EP last week at the intimate, cosy 107 Projects in Redfern. 107 Projects is a tiny venue, that could be at the back of someone’s garage. With mismatched chairs and old lounges randomly placed throughout the space, it’s almost like being in a friend’s shed or…
Attempting to fill the shoes of anyone in Queen is a difficult, and almost impossible task. Though for the official cover band, where members are chosen by Brian May and Roger Taylor, The Queen Extravaganza is injected with an aura of legitimacy in their quest to continue the Queen experience. How did they go when…
One of the most anticipated musical events at the Sydney Opera House this weekend arrived as part of the House’s GRAPHIC Festival, featuring acclaimed Icelandic pianist Ólafur Arnalds, accompanied by a 15 piece Orchestra and special graphics commissioned specifically for the event, produced by Máni M. Sigfússon. On hand to conduct the 15 piece Sydney Chamber Orchestra…
Photo Credit: Prudence Upton One of the most anticipated musical events at the Sydney Opera House this weekend arrived as part of the House’s GRAPHIC Festival, featuring acclaimed Icelandic pianist Ólafur Arnalds, accompanied by a 15 piece Orchestra and special graphics commissioned specifically for the event, produced by Máni M. Sigfússon. On hand to conduct the 15…
