Live Reviews

If ever in doubt of where to go at SXSW, a good bet is to pick a headliner you’d like to see and get there early. There’ll usually be a few artists on that bill who might surprise and impress along the way. Or, as I said here, the church is always a good bet,…

By the time I finally got to check out DZ Deathrays at SXSW, they had already played ten shows. This one – just after midnight at Bar 96 – was their eleventh and last. So it was perhaps appropriate that things should go a bit wrong, as someone “pulled the power” before the hit the…

While badgeholders jump from intimate venue to intimate venue, the general public are given their share of SXSW experiences, too, from outdoor events like the Fader Fort, to badge-free events across the city. But nothing comes bigger than the free outdoor stage – which has moved to Butler Park as Auditorium Shores next door undergoes…

A glamorous St Vincent and an apologetic Damon Albarn helped close the second night of the SXSW music festival at the NPR showcase, as elsewhere Kanye and Jay-Z delivered one of the evenings most exclusive performances. Even those with “guaranteed entry” wristbands to the event were turned away as the venue prematurely reached capacity. Unfortunately…

It’s hard to go past a magical Monday evening at the Sydney Opera House, under the light of a full moon with one of Ireland’s most successful and prolific singer-songwriters of all days on St Patrick’s Day. Tonight would be a night where Glen Hansard would showcase early material from The Frames right through to his most recent release Rhythmn…

Though the bright green Spotify House has been part of SXSW for a few years now (this is the third year they’ve been at the event), 2014 marked my first visit to the venue’s electric lineup. From Blondie‘s Deborah Harry joining Dum Dum Girls to hosting the hottest emerging talents – there was no shortage…

Hype Machine’s Hype Hotel has been a mainstay at the SXSW Music Festival for as long as I’ve been attending the event, and this year was no exception. At the venue’s opening night, co-presented by music blog Consequence of Sound, a mixed bag of musical delights were shown off for our consumption, alongside some tacos…

Back in 2005, then trio The Octopus Project released their second record One Ten Hundred Thousand Million to critical acclaim. It saw the Austin based group reach ears around the world, including my own, thanks in part to support from blogs like Pitchfork. Since then, the “indietronica” group have expanded to a four piece and…

For the third night of SXSW music, it was pretty much business as usual after the tragic events of the prior night, though for yours truly it was difficult to get excited to line up for hours to get into any of the night’s biggest shows. Thankfully, one of my favourite bands of the moment…

School night be damned, that wasn’t going to stop a bunch of punters to come along and check out some styled Aussie rock and roll tunes get cranked out. Both of the acts on the bill tonight have been critically recognised in the indigenous and mainstream music scene and both perform with an intensity and…

The co-headline gig is something we rarely see in Australia from international artists. But in America, it’s fairly common place, with tours like NINJA (Nine Inch Nails and Janes Addiction) becoming something of legend. Finally, Australia gets its turn, with NIN – returning for the first time since Soundwave in 2009 – joined by Queens…

Much of the music being played at Soundwave was something that did not say “tepid”. It sure was hard, fast, strong, and at times, weird. Everything that happened at this festival was metaphorically going straight into the depths of the audience’s chests, whether they liked it or not. Not being too sure what to head…

Thursday night saw Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds brave the warm Perth weather and make his Perth Festival debut at the festival gardens, treating the attentive and patient crowd to a selection of songs from his latest album For Now I Am Winter and more. Sydney composer Sophie Hutchings opened proceedings with a brief, but lovely…

Something special must be in the water here in Australia, because Bruce Springsteen sure has been treating us well on his current High Hopes tour with the E Street Band; their second time to our shores in the last 12 months, which is a rarity in its own right. Following two nights in Melbourne, where…

As the seven members of Little Bastard emerge, squeezed tightly onto the Factory Floor stage, the room fills with friends of the band and fans, eager to enjoy the band’s headlining gig in their hometown. For those who have missed the memo to now, the Sydney band could be described as a disheveled country experience;…

Laneway Festival returned to Western Australia for the 5th year on Saturday, moving from its home in the Cultural Precinct, to the leafy surrounds of Fremantle’s Esplanade park. In a period of uncertainty for festival organisers Laneway seems to be going from strength to strength consistently selling out across the country, even in Perth! But…

Some gigs are really hard to put into words. It’s that “look, I don’t know how to tell you this, but you weren’t there and you really missed out” sort of feeling. You don’t want to come off a dick, but at the same time, you know it’s true. And nothing you can say in…

Brisbane group Pigeon have been doing the hard yards for years now. Travelling the country, supporting countless bands, playing festivals and releasing two EPs along the way, including their latest, Settle In, which was released at the end of January. Last night, the tour to celebrate its release arrived in Sydney, with a headlining performance…

Opening things up for Frightened Rabbit at their final Laneway sideshow (and what may be their final headline show for the year) were local five piece Gang of Youths, who seem to be popping up all over the place of late. Having driven to and from Melbourne in the last 48 hours in support of…

They’re currently skyrocketing in popularity, and those who weren’t over at the QANTAS Credit Union Arena (formerly Sydney Entertainment Centre) checking out Arcade Fire were those who snapped up tickets to a sold out show at the Enmore Theatre to see The Lumineers.

As the Sydney Entertainment Centre sees its name officially change to the Qantas Credit Union Arena (doesn’t really have the same ring to it, does it?), the venue welcomes one of this year’s Big Day Out headliners into the fairly esteemed company of bands who have played the venue. It marks the first time the…

After releasing two albums Liam Gallagher finally brings his band Beady Eye to Australia as part of the 2014 Big Day Out tour for the first time since Oasis disbanded. For the faithful Oasis fans and for the British ex-pats it was an opportunity to finally get to see the notorious frontman and his bandmates in action again.

Visitors is the latest film from the acclaimed director of the Qatsi trilogy, Godfrey Reggio; a film, in collaboration with filmmaker Jon Kane, which also sees Reggio reunite with composer Philip Glass for the first time since the trilogy came to an end in 2002. While Koyaanisqatsi and its following two films are an artistic…

One of the most intriguing additions to the Sydney Festival’s “About an Hour” series for 2014 is Bullet Catch. Part theatre, part magic show, part interactive experience, the production is Rob Drummond’s one man show as magician William Wonder, who tells the story of a magician who died 100 years ago performing the infamous “Bullet…

One of the unique advantages of playing a successful and respected annual event like Sydney Festival is that artists who may otherwise perform to half full rooms around the country are given the chance to sit in front of large, (usually) packed venues. This is thanks to the mix of fans and the curious who…

After seeing Limbo, I felt it would be hard to witness another acrobatic circus so soon. Surely it couldn’t top all the wonderful array of party tricks they had up their sleeves. Indeed, Limbo is a high-tech, over-the-top masterpiece of the circus. So I went into Scotch and Soda, Sydney festival’s other house circus, with…

If you could mix together a blend of emo, pop punk, fast paced alternative rock and a dash of rap you would be pretty close to summarising the different genres and sounds you’d hear at tonight’s concert. All of this would be delivered in large high energy doses courtesy of all three acts.

Sometimes on very rare occasions an artist is so mesmerising and captivating, that all you can hear is their performance and nothing else. It’s not often that I get to be a part of shows like that, but tonight was one of those nights.

Following years of successful cabaret “house shows” at the Sydney Festival’s Famous Spiegeltent, it should come of little surprise that this year’s production LIMBO is set to follow in the footsteps of critical and box office smashes like Cantina and Smoke & Mirrors. Well, we certainly can’t predict a sell out season, but we can…

In the now classic song* by Sydney band The Beards, it’s exclaimed “There’s Nothing Better Than Having a Beard”. What Canadian troubadour Ben Caplan proved in his Sydney Festival opening set, accompanied by his band The Casual Smokers, is that a) this is true and b) it’s even better when that beard can play some…