Max Richter is less interested in your Pre-Frontal Cortex as he is in your limbic system, hippocampus and amygdala. The postminimalist piano man is as much a neuroscientist as a musician, taking a scatter shot for the subconscious with dreamy, evocative classical music designed to destroy and rebuild. Max Richter is my most trusted travel…
Back in the country for the first time since releasing her third album, Billie Eilish returned to Sydney for night one of a four-night run and delivered a killer 100 minute set that left the capacity crowd begging for more (literally). Opening up the night was fellow American artist and the only support for the…
In the 70s, Hailu Mergia was on the organ in the Walias Band, playing his part in the golden age of Ethiopian music. In the 80s he quit the band to stay in the U.S. and escape the Derg dictatorship. In the 90s he released a final album, opened a restaurant, and became a cab…
Charlee Watt is barely in her early twenties, yet she has taken a curated selection of Beatles tunes and made them her own. This year, the Adelaide Fringe has increased the number of performance hubs and Plant 4 at Bowden is one of those hubs. Charlee is playing at various venues, but this sunny Saturday…
Last night in Toronto, Canada, Phantogram returned four months after they last touched down for their tour in support of Kings of Leon. Between tours, the duo dropped a new album, the brilliant Memory of a Day, and are now just over half way through a massive run of dates across North America. The show…
The Prodigy is its own genre. And there aren’t many bands in history that can claim such a one-of-one reputation. Metal festivals? Yeah, they’ll dominate. EDM festivals? Best believe they are closing the main stage. The unimpeachable band, now officially the duo of Liam Howlett and Maxim, could even slot seamlessly into a hip hop…
The last time Still Woozy (Sven Eric Gamsky) was in Melbourne was a little over two years ago in July 2022. A part of the Splendour In The Grass line up that year, he played at the contemporary venue Howler, promoting his debut album If This Isn’t Nice, I Don’t Know What Is, which held…
The PICA (Port Melbourne Industrial Centre for Arts) was packed to the brim for Grammy-nominated artist Porter Robinson, with fans braving the heat on the 34-degree day in Melbourne’s South West to catch the only Melbourne show of the tour. Touring his third album, Smile! 😀 which was released in July last year, Porter Robinson’s…
It’s been over twenty years since The Flaming Lips released their epic album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, and it’s an album that still holds up. The band are currently touring Australia and Adelaide was the first stop of the leg. Frontman Wayne Coyne, dressed in a vintage black suit with a leather harness and…
On Friday afternoon Brisbane’s Bruce Highway became jammed on all sides, as swarms of ticket holders descended on the city while CBD commuters fought to get out. Congesting every conceivable entry towards Milton’s Suncorp Stadium, fans were queuing early for the first stop on country mega star Luke Combs’s record breaking stadium tour of Australia….
It’s Sunday night in the Valley and a line is forming outside Black Bear Lodge, the third stop on Future Static‘s Liminality tour. With the album dropping back in 2023 (check out our 5 star review HERE), both Future Static and fans alike have been waiting a while to celebrate this one. Aurateque were up first,…
As 2024 comes to its end, I’ve always enjoyed being able to head out and catch a couple local bands get in their last shows for the year, as they cap off what could have been a pivotal year of change for them. In this instance, it was Annie Hamilton headlining the last of her…
One of the world’s most acclaimed musicians, Detroit’s Jack White, is in Sydney this weekend following a run of shows in Victoria as part of the Always Live initiative. Originally expected to be exclusive to the southern state – as was St Vincent in recent weeks – NSW fans were elated to see the iconic…
Have you been to a rave at Sydney’s Carriageworks? You may have popped by the Carriageworks Farmers Markets, gazed in wonder at Sydney Contemporary and strutted your stuff at Fashion Week, but seeing a big, blinding rave at this arts and lifestyle institution is just as essential. I once saw Grace Jones in the belly…
In town for a run of Good Things sideshows, Bowling For Soup returned to our shores to also play a selection of sideshows. Managing to pack out the Metro Theatre on a Tuesday night, the Texas band brought the best of their 30 year deep catalogue, while also throwing in a couple special treats for…
You know it’s a big deal when bassist Mark Stoermer pops up on stage. Stoermer might be The Killers’ original bassist, but a combination of tinnitus and back issues means the prodigiously talented musician rarely tours with the band. Similarly, Dave Keuning’s luscious locks are barely seen when The Killers flirt around the word. And…
There are very good reasons why the Meredith Music Festival is celebrating the 32nd edition of the event. It’s a combination of the vision of the Nolan Family, who own the farm that the event is hosted on and the support of the community who come together to make it happen. There are a few…
Few performers have redefined artistry across recording, live performance and fan service quite as profoundly as Jack White. From the eccentricities of Nashville’s brick and mortar Third Man Records, live shows with no setlist, crew members dressed in full suit and tie and publishing full gig audio and photos after the fact, White has cemented…
Melbourne kicked off Australia’s annual Good Things Festival yesterday, drawing thousands of heavy music fans for a packed day of performances. With nu-metal legends Korn and pop-punk icons Sum 41 originally headlining, the event promised to deliver an unforgettable experience. However, a significant last-minute lineup change and looming storm clouds added unexpected challenges to the…
These days it is increasingly common to see VIP experiences on offer when tours go on sale. Crowded House‘s Gravity Stairs Tour, currently in Sydney on the forecourt of the beautiful Sydney Opera House, included the option to purchase a VIP soundcheck experience alongside access to the show. This afternoon I had the chance to…
A lot can change in ten years. Economics, politicians, relationships, the ability of your football team to win four grand finals in a row. What hasn’t changed though is the quality of The Gaslight Anthem‘s live show. Returning to Australian shores for the first time in a decade, the New Jersey band, led by frontman…
Prior to the release of Tiny Habit’s debut album, All For Something back in May, I was a total newcomer to the indie-folk trio from Boston, Massachusetts. After reviewing the album however, I started scouring the internet for tour info, regularly checking the Australia Post app for my “coke bottle clear” vinyl and pestering anyone…
It was a line-up resplendent in ‘90s/’00s Australian music royalty. A line-up that has probably never been in the same place at the same time, and almost certainly never will again. Such was the bulk of the quintuple-pronged show that it started at the ungodly early time of 5:30pm on a Friday. This meant that…
The Kid LAROI was initially scheduled to tour back in February, but now that the tour has been rescheduled to November, it’s all worth the wait. There was a definite buzz of anticipation as the audience filled the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Rap artist Quavo was unable to perform, so Kid LAROI’s DJ, TJ Mizell took…
Full disclosure: I am not a religious person, but Thursday night at Brisbane’s Riverstage I may have experienced something akin to a conversion. Through a few small miracles and a touch of divine intervention, James Blunt’s first Australian stop on the Who We Used To Be tour was easily one of the best shows of the…
It’s hard to believe that Hoodoo Gurus released their debut album Stoneage Romeos forty years ago. Winning awards in the day, it’s as fresh and exciting now as it was back then. The sold out crowd crammed the three levels of the Hindley Street Music Hall to witness rock history. Opening act, Dallas Crane are…
If you’d arrived at Sydney Olympic Park’s showground early enough (and 6pm is very early) , you’d have seen Eddie Vedder introducing the Cosmic Psychos to the crowd as one of his favourite bands. The seminal Melbourne punk band really don’t need much introduction, just a small bit of stage and a mic. What they…
Black Francis doesn’t like talking, and he isn’t afraid to let you know that. “We’re happy to be here. Many people think we aren’t because we don’t talk much, but we are,” he says casually into the microphone before his band, Pixies, give us two nonstop hours of snub-nosed rock & roll. “When you talk,…
It was a beautifully balmy Tuesday evening at The Drive for Troye Sivan‘s Something to Give Each Other Adelaide stopover. The Drive as a venue has come a long way since it was Memorial Drive back in the day, hosting the likes of Rod Stewart and Midnight Oil. Since the Adelaide Oval modernisation, the Drive’s subsequent…
Toronto has always had a remarkable love for live music, but when the Eras Tour rolled into the Rogers Centre, it felt like the city had been swept up in something even bigger than usual. Having attended her Reputation Tour here in 2018, I thought that was the pinnacle of Taylor Swift’s stadium performances—but somehow,…
