Tiger Choir have escaped the untouched serenity of Tasmania’s mountains and set out on an adventure to spread their home grown brand of new wave to the rest of the country. The band casually introduced themselves and the state of Tasmania before launching into their first song with a couple of heavy drum smacks. It…
It’s that time again! Laneway has arrived in town, a week or so after Big Day Out left us all rather exhausted. In its second appearance at the Sydney College of the Arts in Rozelle, let it first off be said that the organisers nailed the venue layout. Gone were the problems plaguing the festival…
Finding it a handy way to catch the vast majority of bands who took over Sydney Olympic Park for Big Day Out in 2010, I once again decided to venture out to the festival grounds for the two consecutive days of the 2011 event. Having seen such a ridiculous amount of amazing music over this…
When it comes to “totally epic weeks of music” in Sydney, rarely do you get more “epic” than the week of Big Day Out. Not only does the festival and its sideshow dictate most of your nights out, but so do the Sydney Festival shows, the emerging Laneway sideshows and even the odd “Police”-esque stadium…
In my final “About an Hour’ excursion for the Sydney Festival, last night I had the pleasure of attending Anthony Black‘s one man show Invisible Atom, a hit of the Edinburgh Fringe, and a production of the 2b theatre company (Nova Scotia). At its heart, Invisible Atom is an exercise in storytelling. Told on a…
One of the coolest parts of the Sydney Festival this year has been seeing the transformation of Sydney Town Hall – for the LIVE video installation as well as the Trocadero Dance Palace, an ode to the famed Sydney Trocadero, a venue popular in the 1940s and 50s. In the late hours of the evening,…
When Simba’s father, Mufasa, died in The Lion King, I remember burying my head in my grandmas lap wondering what the hell was going on. Why would a movie be going out of its way to depress me? What it showed though was that the idea of loss is translatable and relatable to a child,…
It’s not often you have the oppertunity to see an artist you truly admire and respect. Philip Glass is one such artist, whose film compositions have been my favourite of the last decade or two. From The Truman Show to Fog of War, Koyaanisqatsi to Kundun, The Illusionist to The Hours, this is one man…
Sydney Festival continued rolling out the hits last night as the anticipated LIVE video installation opened up at the Lower Town Hall. We’ll have some contributors heading along to the installation over the weekend who will fill you in properly, but let me just say that it’s a fabulous feature of the festival. On entry,…
The other night I met a two amazing people at The Forum. Derek E. Miller and Alexis Krauss. They called themselves Sleigh Bells. They had sex with my ears. Then they left, they didn’t leave their number and they finished way too quickly, leaving us with “Crown on the Ground”. I believe that was the…
Day 2 shall now forever be known as the Day of the Clash, so many great bands and not nearly enough time to see them all. It’s also the day a special shipment of Strongbow had to be shipped down because the bar had managed to run out after only one day. Up first on…
So the third and final day, where the festival site begins to resemble the aftermath of a battle, with punters lying around in the shade doing their best to recover before another days worth of music. The majority of the crowd it seemed went to the Rock Stage to see Pond, but I decided that…
Interpol are no doubt the most fruitful contribution America has made to the world of modern day rock and roll. Despite the departure of suave bassist Carlos D last year, Interpol have managed to sustain the aesthetic integrity he brought to the band. Following headline positions at Falls Festival, Sunset Sounds, and Southbound, Interpol played…
Not even a day into the New Year and Western Australia is already kicking off its live music year, with the three day long music, camping and arts festival Southbound. Thankfully having been to Glastonbury in the last twelve months, I had some idea of what to expect from a camping festival, that being said…
The camping festival. The second word of which has always placed a deal of trepidation in my loins. You will usually find me at a backpackers or a hotel nearby the festival grounds, rather than among the sweaty confines of a pitched tent. But at last year’s Splendour, I eased into breaking my camping virginity…
As another New Years Eve came and went, so too did the sold out Field Day Festival party that follows it. In its 10th year, Field Day produced what was easily its most impressive lineup to date – and under a scorching hot Summer sun, it produced an equally impressive day. Having made my tracks…
Oxford Arts Factory have addressed the widespread opinion that traditional Christmas parties with the family are really no fun, and for the third year in a row, attempted to host a debaucherous and badass Christmas party for the drunken music fans of Sydney. Five buck entry was surely their idea of a thoughtful Christmas gift,…
I had been eagerly anticipating last Wednesday rolling around, like a kid waiting for Santa to come. The No Sleep Til festival, a whole day of punk, hardcore and metal. Santa wasn’t in the house, but maybe Satan was, riding his black horse alongside the tour bus of Australia and New Zealand’s own dedicated punk…
Getting me out to Homebush is no easy feat – the frustrating distance between it and the city makes it a venue that ensures your night will be over the minute the gig comes to a close and we make the painful journey home. So it’s on the very rare occasion, and only for the…
In between Flo Rida and T-Pain making their mark on commercial radio, it’s easy to forget that REAL music still exists. The sort of music made by people with a love for sound, a love for writing, a love for the instrument and a love for the production. Thankfully, there are groups like Gotan Project,…
It had been quite a while since I’d had the opportunity to catch The Church – but never have I had an opportunity quite like this. In the middle of their “An Intimate Space” 30th Anniversary Acoustic Tour, they stopped off at a venue more intimate than most: Notes Live in Newtown, for a special…
4:30pm, ears firmly glued to the massive doors in the stinking alley beside Sydney’s Metro theatre. Inside, Manic Street Preachers are running a sound-check, and it seems vital to sit out here and take it all in, guessing each song as it’s played. It’s hard to distinguish the muffled vocals of James Dean Bradfield amongst the buzzing…
I can’t believe it’s been two years since I last reviewed the Newtown Festival – in fact it was one of the very first reviews published on the AU review (which was a very different can of worms back then…). But here we are, back again, sitting under the beautiful (though temporary) summer sun, watching some…
The Factory Theatre was buzzing on Thursday night, full of young females eager to see the latest “it” girl – New York’s Ingrid Michaelson. Local solo artist Jack Carty was given support duties, and played through a set with songs off his brilliant EP Wine and Consequence, as well us some new tracks. Of particular…
Tonight was yet another evening of quality music at Sydney’s Oxford Art Factory. Kicking off ARIA weekend, headlining the shindig were Melbourne’s The Basics, setting the event up as a duel album launch and farewell event. Thanks in part to Wally’s Gotye project, the band will be taking on a two-year-or-so hiatus after a short…
ARIA is back for another year, and in a very new form. Gone is the arena spectaular at Acer Arena – replaced instead by a week of awards and music – all leading up to a gala event at the Opera House which looks to focus more on live music than it does on the…
Truly long running music festivals in Australia are few and far between. To most observers, Big Day Out would take that cake – kicking off in 1992. But when placed against a festival like Glastonbury, which started out in some form over 40 years ago, it pales in comparison. But believe it or not, we…
Further to the release of her fourth album, Modern Day Addiction, and a recent live performance with MySpace Secret Shows at Melt Bar, ARIA award-winning singer-songwriter Clare Bowditch returned to Sydney and rocked out Saturday, October 23rd at the Metro Theatre. First to open the night was local singer-songwriter Andy Bull, accompanied by his guitarist,…
As I entered Luna Park’s Big Top, I have to say I got a little bit excited. Growing up, The Smashing Pumpkins were one of my favourite bands. Even now, I would rate ….Infinite Sadness and Siamese Dream among my all-time favourite album list. Sure, Billy has been a bit inconsistent when it comes to…
I love Deep Sea Arcade. They’re a band of increasingly impressive talent who are certain to go far. So the fact I missed them was quite upsetting – but I’m sure I’ll see them again soon enough! Thankfully, however, I did arrive just in time for Sydney based electronic trio Seekae. They were an odd…
