When it comes to regional music festivals, you don’t get much bigger, nor more exciting, than the travelling circus that is Groovin’ The Moo. From the crowds to the bands to its general atmosphere, I have to say that Groovin’ has fast become one of my favourite annual Australian music events. So it was with…
I made my way into the second day of Bluesfest with the following mentality: here is where the real fun begins. With legends such as BB King and Grace Jones gracing the Bluesfest stage, today was going to be quite special indeed… Brisbane based Transvaal Diamond Syndicate were wrapping up their APRA stage set as…
Bluesfest is back with its biggest and most impressive lineup ever. Stretching over 6 days – taking full advantage of the super long weekend – it goes without saying that Peter Noble has outdone himself in his 2011 installment. We’ll probably never see anything like this on Australian soil again! So can something with such…
I believe it was Bob Marley who said “one good thing about music, when it hits, you feel no pain”. Well, the punters at this year’s Blues and Roots were in for a pain free day, with the music on offer being of the highest quality from artists of the highest calibre. Organisers have been…
With Raval gone and the Annandale under similar threat, Sydney is once again set to witness a facelift of its live scene. Hotel Hollywood, around the corner from the Macquarie Hotel, is looking to pick up from where Raval left off, while two new venues have popped up, looking to fill a gap in the…
Having already taken in a whole heap of music during the day, my Friday evening remained a bit of a blank canvas right up until the night began. My first destination: Bright Eyes announced a ‘pop-up show’, however as essentially no one was let into this event, and gauging that fact pretty quickly, I made…
The Aussie BBQ has become an institution of the annual SXSW calendar. Organised by Stage Mothers, the event is now put on in four North American cities around the time of SXSW: Toronto (during CMW), New York City, Los Angeles and of course, here in Austin. The event showcases the best in Australian music –…
While most of the South by Southwest contingency say their goodbyes on the Saturday evening, I decided to stay on board for an extra night – primarily to get to be a tourist for once (checking out the capital building, etc), but also to engage in another South by Southwest tradition shared by many. Stubb’s…
One of the worst parts about travelling around on a tight schedule are the delays one encounters while awaiting their next flight. One such delay hit me today, travelling from Las Vegas to San Francisco. The latter is an airport known for its delays – with two runways quite close together, it’s common practice for…
Where his 2010 event was very much about the star power, 2011 saw Perez Hilton turn the focus of his annual “One Night in Austin” party to the music – celebrating a selection of often lesser known international artists – including some Aussies and Kiwis – who he had been enjoying during SXSW, and in…
Now, here’s where things get really fun. The Auditorium Stage sees some of the festival’s biggest names play free shows to the public. So, you can imagine the shitfight to get into the venue – some 40,000 people making their way to witness the now legendary New Yorkers. In fact, the only reason I got…
My Friday began with a bit of running around, grabbing the obligatory complimentary breakfasts that a couple of the events were running. This resulted in me catching up with Jonquil again (see part one), as I surprisingly sung along to a few of their tracks in the process. It seemed that they had caught on…
It was my second morning in Austin, and decided I best check out some of the free day music on display at the Convention Centre. First up, Erland and the Carnival, whose debut album I gave a glowing review to a year or so ago. They’ve since released a new album, Nightingale (their North American…
In between my visits to the Canadian Music week in Toronto and SXSW in Austin, I spent 48 hours in New York City, catching the 2nd leg of the Aussie BBQ tour at the Bowery Ballroom on the 13th and the cinematic stylings of Godspeed! You Black Emperor at Terminal 5 (where LCD Soundsystem will…
Day turned into night and I found myself with a bit of running around to do. First up were NewVillager, a three piece based out of New York, playing at Maggie Mae’s. While the sound at the venue left a lot to be desired, they impressed the crowd, producing unique and entertaining music off their…
With the music portion of SXSW officially kicking off today, so did the mountain of day parties to conquer: free food, free booze and a whole heap of amazing music. I first headed to the annual Canadian Blast BBQ in the park opposite the convention centre, fitting in a few interviews which you’ll see soon,…
As I sit in the airport departing Austin, Texas for the second consecutive year, I begin the long process of looking back over the last six days, in which an overload of music was shot my way, courtesy of the fine folk at South by Southwest (SXSW). First, it needs to be established that SXSW…
Day Four of Canadian Music Week After 3 days of some amazing music, excellent panels and the usual networking opportunities, it was time to bid farewell to our time in Toronto*. But today it was Australia’s turn to truly shine, with its annual Aussie BBQ showcase. Taking place at the semi-legendary Horseshoe Tavern, the day…
We arrive at the Friday portion of the festival, in which things really seemed to kick off – attendance grew as the headliners arrived, while the choice between showcases grew more and more difficult. Today also saw my first opportunity to catch some day performances. The most notable of these was the impressive lineup at…
If day one was a relaxed acoustic based experience, then day two was the night of the rock and roll. But first off, day two saw the conference itself launch at the beautiful (and historic) Fairmont Royal York Hotel. All standard conference fodder was included: Stalls full of people wanting to tell you about their…
Canadian Music Week got off to a killer start last night with a selection of showcases across a wide variety of venues in Toronto, Canada. We decided to kick off our 4 nights of live music and conferences with one of the smaller bills on this list, heading along to the Free Times Café to…
I am exhausted. My eyes are red and my limbs ache. I have dust in places you don’t want to hear about. My black jeans are currently a lovely shade of brown. I feel like I have been out all night, yet it’s only 10pm. Soundwave, you really know how to take everything out of…
Jazz gigs are a touchy affair sometimes. You can get enamoured with the music that comes from the stage, but at the same time, once it goes too far it can all become a wank. On the audience side of things, you can either get a crowd that is responsive to a small degree, or…
As last year’s Future, Good Vibrations 2009 and Global Gathering 2008 proved for many, horse racing venues, continuous rain and hordes of people don’t mix very well. It’s practically a repeat scenario this time, Future Music 2011 welcoming the underdressed punters with dismal weather and gravy-thick mud. Upon entrance, I give myself a mental high-five…
Last night saw the Triple Rainbow Tour hit Sydney, taking over Purple Sneakers’ Last Night at the Gaelic Club. The tour brings together three bands who scored Big Day Out spots in their hometowns back in January: Sydney’s We Say Bamboulee, Melbourne’s Eagle and the Worm and Brisbane’s Ball Park Music. First up were Ball…
The last band added to the Soundwave bill, This Town Needs Guns, put on a stellar performance at The Toff in Town on Wednesday night, proving that one of “Britain’s best kept secrets” might not be a secret for much longer. Support act To The North put in a decent shift, getting the crowd moving,…
Let’s get to the important part first up: This was the first Sydney Soundwave done right. From its beginnings at Sydney Park, through Eastern Creek and now to Olympic Park, the journey of Soundwave has been a bumpy one in NSW. A myriad of complaints marred just about every event – though the quality of…
I arrived just in time to catch Melbourne’s The Night Terrors unleash a world of theremin onto an unsuspecting crowd. It was a fascinating display of musicianship, for one, though I didn’t see nearly enough of the set to judge further. If nothing else, it made me quite interested to see them perform in the…
March in Adelaide is truly a magical time. Unicorns? Perhaps not, but there are a number of amazing, back-to-back festivals. The Fringe Festival is still a warm corpse in the ground, and we are about to dance upon its grave. The “Garden” has transformed, with six stages having sprouted up overnight, across Rymill Park. The…
A smaller-than-usual crowd took over Centennial Park in Sydney yesterday for the annual Good Vibrations Festival, as a light rain did little to dampen the spirits of punters ready for some pretty fantastic music. Before we get to the music, let’s talk more generally about the event itself. Good Vibrations is about as commercial as…
