Live Reviews

How good is not having to travel more than 15 minutes to get to a gig after a long working week? In short, it’s pretty bloody good. Bringing world class acts to Western Sydney is well overdue, and having Boy & Bear, Middle Kids and Dylan Wright grace the impressive Sydney Coliseum in Rooty Hill…

Despite being released in June, the title track from Hiatus Kaiyote’s Love Heart Cheat Code has only recently stopped echoing in my mind. Luckily this past weekend the band added a stop at Brisbane’s Fortitude Music Hall to their list of home dates before heading off to the UK, planting that chorus in my head…

Saturday August 31st saw the last gig of Trophy Eyes’ headline tour, with support from Towns and Boston Manor. Melbourne’s Forum was packed for the sold-out show, with fans lining up hours in advance. It was great to see hundreds there early to show their support for Adelaide duo Towns, who in the past have…

It’s only late August, but one thing is for sure: this is the year of suffering. Perth metalcore legends Make Them Suffer have been a local staple for over 15 years now, so it’s no surprise that they’ve established themselves as one of the best. Having supported the mighty Bring Me the Horizon on their…

Coinciding with the release of their new album MajorDomo, Teenage Dads kicked off their Aussie tour in the River City this past Friday at The Tivoli. I have a special place in my heart for The Tivoli, the 1500-seat venue nestled in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley. The venue’s intimacy always highlights how powerful live music can…

Pop singer, Charley, is a superstar in the making. Her home support slot on the Sydney leg of the Griff tour is sure to spark her career into a fully fledged flame – after all, she’s now just one degree of separation away from Taylor Swift and that’s not something many Australian artists can boast….

I’ve been lucky enough to see the Foo Fighters a couple of times in Los Angeles over the years. First was in 2006 at The Pantages, in the shows that wound up on their CD/DVD release Skin and Bones. And then in 2018 at the second (and presumably final) year of their Cal Jam Festival. The…

Massive crowds, sweltering heat, and scarce cloud cover made the Hinterland music festival quite the endurance test. But thanks to one of the best festivals lineups of 2024 and proper hydration, the latest edition of the Iowa music festival was an incredible weekend. Hinterland began in 2015 and has evolved into multiple forms over the…

On Friday July 26, we had the pleasure of seeing one of Australia’s favourite Freo bands, San Cisco, where they played at the UC Refectory as part of their regional tour. It’s always a treat to have a band stop by to say hello in Canberra: especially when it’s to do with a new studio…

The premise of Unsound, a part of Illuminate Adelaide is to bring artists together who don’t suit a mainstream audience. Experimental noise probably generally describes the genre. The type of artistry that is polarising. People either love it or hate it. Fortunately, the audience was more of the “love it” type. The opening act of…

Dutch classical pianist, Joep Beving was last in Adelaide four years ago, just as the pandemic hit. Last time he was finishing a tour, so it makes sense that he starts it all back here again. As the lights dim, the music begins, almost to quiet to hear. The audience silences and is captivated by…

A few weeks ago, I had the chance to review Omar Apollo’s new album God Said No, and I quickly realized the US pop artist had seriously flown under my radar. Following the album’s release, the artist has brought his brand of funk-filled dance-pop to Australia for three dates across the nation, allowing me to…

It’s been over a decade since the duo of Jack Black and Kyle Gass have graced Australian shores as Tenacious D, so it was that two sold-out arena shows would grace Sydney’s ICC and put a lot of smiles on a lot of dials. Know as Crusade, the duo of Jonn Konesky and Mike Bray…

Everywhere I look, Vegas is full of Deadheads. The deathless hype that surrounds Americana icons The Grateful Dead knows no bounds. Or age. At any given moment, Las Vegas is full of just about every type of person you can think of, all of whom have descended upon this great city to let loose and…

Lady Gaga shone this week in the eighth and presumably final iteration of her Las Vegas residency Lady Gaga: Jazz and Piano. Though garnering fame as a pop artist, Lady Gaga began her career singing jazz as a teenager, it was only a matter of time for her to produce a show like this. All…

Escaping from a brisk Brisbane winter mere minutes before showtime, I found myself wedged far from the stage between the mixing desk and merch table, surrounded by a sea of eager fans filling the upper and lower decks of Brisbane’s iconic venue, The Brightside. In this little corner of Fortitude Valley, Sydneysiders Reliqa continued their…

Luke Hemmings‘ show in Melbourne on Wednesday, June 12th, marked a significant milestone in his career. This was his first solo performance in Australia, a highly anticipated event for fans of the frontman of the beloved Aussie band 5 Seconds of Summer. The band’s latest album was released in 2022, while Luke’s solo journey began…

In 2004 MF DOOM released Madvillainy and MM..FOOD, often cited as the two best albums of his career, in 238 days. For the years following up until DOOM’s death in late 2020, these two albums and the entirety of his discography have garnered consistent critical acclaim, frequently appearing in year and decade-end lists. Universally accepted…

Despite it being quite a warm day, there were threatening clouds on the horizon at the start of the third day of Porto’s Primavera Sound festival. On the main Porto stage, Best Youth, Portugal’s indie pop band showed that a little rain was not going to dampen their enthusiasm. They played their infectious music and…

On the final date of her North American tour for her latest album – the brilliant Cyan Blue – Canadian R&B artist Charlotte Day Wilson sold out one of Toronto, Canada’s most popular new venues, History. “You know it’s a big night, right?”, Wilson said as she stared out into a crowd full of fans,…

I love my hometown. I know its ins and outs, the traffic to avoid, best food and drink spots and most importantly, it is comfortable, familiar and feels like home. For Middle Kids, their Enmore Theatre show was a triumphant homecoming showcasing the best from their recent album Faith Crisis Pt 1 and their ever…

The second day of Porto’s Primavera Sound Festival was marked by threatening rainclouds overhead. Despite this the rain stayed mostly away and raincoats were not really needed. But the action on stage was what people were there for. The Vodaphone stage was strangely under construction which meant that artists such as Justice did not perform….

Primavera Sound Porto celebrates ten years of music festivals with an amazing lineup. Created in Barcelona, the Porto, Portugal leg is held in the Parque da Cidade, a large park right on Porto’s shore. With four stages and numerous pop-up installations, there’s plenty to keep everyone entertained. The atmospheric pop and futuristic Portugese R&B artist,…

Something in the air? A buzz perhaps? Or maybe it was just the manic crowd gathering in Circular Quay? No, Air, performing an exclusive debut set as part of Sydney’s Vivid were gathering and providing a rush of excitement from the confines of the Sydney Opera House’s Concert Hall.  Moon Safari, their debut record, released…

Just over a year since gracing the stage at Fat Dumpling in Fortitude Valley, Sleepy Benjamin is back better than ever, preforming to a crowd doubled in size! This intimate performance created a unique and immersive experience, with the artist and audience connection at the forefront of this show. With the setlist featuring covers of…

Stopping by Toronto at the half way point of their 26 show stint across North America, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets gave everyone exactly what they needed on one of the first warm Canadian Wednesdays of the year. Originally slated to play the smaller Opera House, a last minute upgrade to the Phoenix Concert Theatre resulted in their largest…

After releasing one of, if not, the best albums of 2023, Angie McMahon returned to Sydney to play the first stop on her Making It Through national tour. Selling out the Sydney Opera House in the process, McMahon greeted the Sydney crowd as old friends by welcoming them into her world and showcasing the stories…

Embarking on the last leg of their co-headline tour down under, Everything Everything and The Vaccines brought their A-games to a near capacity crowd at Sydney’s Roundhouse. It’s not every day you get a co-headline tour. Those days are even less common when the headline bands are two of England’s tightest bands returning to the…

If I’m going to make one recommendation to you this year, let it be this: attend a Sydney Opera House show on a rainy Saturday night. If it’s with Ngaiire as the headline act, then that will make the night that much better. On the back of the release of her new live album, Live…

Niall Horan‘s inaugural Melbourne show on The Show tour at Rod Laver Arena marked a monumental milestone in his solo career journey. Having risen from his One Direction roots, Niall has solidified himself as a formidable solo artist with three studio albums to his name, amassing a dedicated and loyal fanbase. This concert, selling out…