A group of young talents from the other East Coast capitals took over The Standard in Sydney last night, officially celebrating the debut LP of Ball Park Music, Happiness and Surrounding Suburbs, released in September. Fellow Brisbanites The Jungle Giants opened up proceedings, one of the latest additions to the indie pop regiment coming out…
The third day of CMJ proceedings was primarily occupied by a slew of interviews I had to undertake (you’ll be seeing them online soon) and the CMJ College Day and College Radio Awards, which saw college radio personalities and stations recognised for their talents and hard work. Sounds Australia were behind the day itself, putting…
In my fourth day of CMJ, I made tracks to catch up with 1,2,3, a band from Pittsburgh who were heading into James Iha’s recording studio (complete with Smashing Pumpkins memorabilia), Stratosphere Sound, to lay down a few live tracks as part of the Fred Perry Artists Lounge sessions. They were quite the tight band……
Rat vs Possum may be the support for tonight’s Melbourne Festival show at the Toff in Town, but their party-time set doesn’t waste time, even with people who just want to stick to the walls of the venue. Their live shows in more recent times have moved away from their tribal, thunderous vibe to a…
This night was a night for the clock. Considering I ordered dinner at 8:00pm, it was a bit of a disaster to not see anything at my table after half an hour waiting. And I waited some more. In the end, I would like to thank the East Brunswick Club kitchen for making me miss…
For those of you who haven’t been keeping tabs on our coverage of the Los Angeles based festival Culture Collide over the last week, let me bring you up to date. From last Wednesday night until Saturday, a series of live events took over a variety of venues in the Echo Park/Silverlake area of Los…
And the music continues! We kicked things off on day two with the Dutch Impact Party and enjoyed the sweet sounds of bands from The Netherlands. Unfortunately we missed Death Letters (more on them later in week), but made it just in time to see the energetic performance from De Staat. Their brand of heavy…
My third night at Culture Collide was a rather brief affair due to other engagements, but I got to catch some fantastic performances from a couple of bands I know very well, and a couple others I didn’t know much about at all… First up were Netherlands based duo Death Letters. With both members under…
Following a special evening of Culture Collide celebrations on Wednesday night, which included the LA premiere screening of Nirvana: Live at the Paramount (which literally had people cheering in their seats), a special DJ set from The Rapture and some entertaining dancing courtesy of Playstation Move, the festival officially kicked into gear last night with…
I normally don’t head to hip hop shows. After tonight, I probably won’t head to another hip hop gig for a while. For starters, it was a very cold, very uninviting night to head on out to a gig for. I had been put in a bad mood by security already (note to self: don’t…
When it comes to up-and-coming female vocalists, no one can match the rise of New Zealand born, Melbourne based Kimbra, who tonight sold out the Metro with ease. I arrive slightly late but just managed to catch “Limbo”, off her debut album Vows, which would of course be the focus of the set. Despite the…
Another week, another venue is born (though some may argue reborn) and another takes it’s final breath (Tone, at least in it’s current location). Yesterday saw the launch of The Standard at Kinselas, in what used to be the Lo-Fi Collective art room. Embracing it’s early 90s NYC warehouse heritage, which featured bands from around…
On Friday night Perth band The Brow Horn Orchestra launched their debut EP. Yeah that’s right their debut EP. Though given the scale on which they launched their latest creation, you’d be forgiven for thinking they were releasing their second or third album. The Brow clearly does not do anything by half measures – with…
Just hitting the stage as I arrived at the Oxford Art Factory, Melbourne’s The Frowning Clouds mirror bands like The Beatles, The Kinks, The Monkees and The Rolling Stones with total conviction. From their hair and clothes to their 7 inches – they’ve committed to a 60s aesthetic and are doing it ample justice. It…
It’s been a long five years since I last caught the Austin, Texas based alternative rock quartet …And They Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, in which context they were supported by Blood Brothers at a truly memorable performance in Vancouver. Since then, the iconic group have released two albums: The Century of…
Oh, the comedy! One of the most talked about events of the year – and as equally anticipated – has been the debut of the world famous Just For Laughs Festival in Australia, courtesy of the fine folks at the Sydney Opera House. With John Cleese, Martin Short and Margaret Cho leading a star studded…
The emotive Carry Nation opened in a fashion of quiet nicety. She gave us music of intricacy and loneliness giving off emotion which doesn’t normally seem normal for an opening act. Three songs in, the little quartet were evidently overwhelmed by the sight of a packed venue on this night which made it more special…
This being my very first time at Revolver Upstairs, I walked around like a complete git, not knowing where the freaking bandroom was and looking like a complete idiot for 20 minutes or so. This made me late for probably half of Other Places. From the music (or should that be ‘experimentation with sound’, I…
It was just bad luck that the night I was set to see Brisbane Oz music princes, Regurgitator play the Gov was the same night I chose to eat some bad chinese.The irony was not lost on me, as I took a seat in the dimly lit and still sparsely populated venue, determined not to…
Ah, FBi Social. There are few places I’d rather be on a Thursday night. And tonight was no exception, with Adam Lewis’ Radiant Live returning with a vengeance thanks to headliner Richard in Your Mind. But first up were some very special guests from Melbourne, avant-pop duo Hammocks and Honey. The duo – Prudence Rees-Lee…
With the loss of Robert Crumb to theoretical assassins, the highlight of the Sydney GRAPHIC Festival inarguably belonged to Gotye, and his hyped ‘animated album preview’ for Making Mirrors. Though in our books, this was always the highlight of the weekend. Playing to two sold out Sydney Opera House crowds, it’s clear that Gotye has…
Today I seemed to spend just about my entire day wandering the halls of the Sydney Opera House, immersed in a world of graphics, music and art. From the free talks in the Western Foyers to the Independent Games Festival in the same location, there was plenty to see and do even if you didn’t…
One of the unsung champions of the Sydney live music scene is The Lansdowne Hotel, essentially opposite Sydney University on City Road. Those of us who went to Sydney Uni remember the venue more for the $5 (now $7-15) meals (that would usually keep you there well beyond lunchtime) than for the music. But in…
Every now and then an intimate Sydney venue gains a coup – a rare, raw performance from an internationally recognised artist. Even rarer is when this artist happens to be Australian. Wednesday night at Tone, this was exactly what took place when New York based Daniel Merriweather took to the stage for an intimate, acoustic,…
As I write this article, Sydney’s Boy and Bear are representing Australia (alongside An Horse at the iconic Lollapalooza Festival in Chicago, USA. But just a few days ago they celebrated the launch of their new album Moonfire with a hometown intimate gig for iTunes Live at the Apple Store on George Street. As is…
As I entered the festival grounds for day two, rushing to see Lanie Lane (only to discover she had finished her set early), I noticed something: The dress code at this year’s Splendour in the Grass seemed to include furry animal hats. They were everywhere! Anywho, the silver lining in missing Lanie was that I…
In my final day of Splendour in the Grass for 2011, it was the main stage calling: with one of my favourite bands playing (Pulp), I was determined to get a spot early in the day. And so I did! But unfortunately this meant I was going to miss bands like Young The Giant, The…
After a long journey up from Sydney, it was finally time to embrace the sweet sounds of Splendour in the Grass for 2011, which had returned to Woodford for the 2nd consecutive year. Unfortunately, the usual logistical delays of picking up our campervan kept us from enjoying some of the early sounds of the day,…
The bellowing Jack Ladder seems to be one of those guys quietly working hard to sound more mature every time I see him live. His swagger on stage is really refined, and you’d be mistaken if you had transported yourself to the early new wave scenes of the 1970’s and 80’s. Jack’s guitarist – Kirin…
What was all this talk about Modest Mouse only playing new songs at On The Bright Side? I just saw the setlist then and it was pretty much ONLY old stuff. Just because it’s super old and you don’t know what it is, doesn’t a new song make! Pfft. Anyway, for one reason or another…
