Live Reviews

It’s a distant memory now when Coldplay first played Australia. In fact most of you probably didn’t even notice it happening. Riddled with nerves, Chris Martin stepped onto the Big Day Out Main Stage in 2001 to a crowd who had no idea who they were. They had barely released “Parachutes” at this point, after…

One thing that my friends in the UK have always bragged about over the years were the bands that their Universities would get for their Orientation week-equivalent, Freshers’ Week. Well it seems the kind folks at Boundary Sounds were a bit jealous as well, and organised an Australian-wide tour / mini festival “The Big O”,…

A while back I reviewed Decorated Generals as part of the MUM lineup at World Bar, in which I commented on how they are easily, and perhaps surprisingly, one of the most impressive up-and-coming bands Sydney has seen in some time. In a recent appearance at Oxford Art Factory, they cemented this status, playing tracks…

Review by Dane Wang: After last year’s hiccup you would have thought that the promoters wouldn’t make the same mistake twice, but however they managed to outdo themselves again. Waiting in line for almost an hour to get in, I feared the worst for the remainder of the day; will there be enough free water?…

Trying to write a review for a Leonard Cohen concert has been one of the hardest tasks I’ve undertaken in recent memory (clearly I live a difficult life…). To be able to clearly articulate this experience is far outside my skills as a writer. Put simply, I will never be able to replicate the true…

While everyone else was at the Sydney Big Day Out (including, initially, some members of The Curse of Company), a small group had gathered at the Hopetoun Hotel for what was to be an excellent, albeit rather humid, night of live music. First up, all the way from New York, was the one-man machine of…

Going to an All Tomorrow’s Parties [ATP] festival is like being in on a fantastic secret, a secret which has been kept from Australia’s shores for way too long. But this past weekend, Sydney finally got to see what the rest of the world doesn’t know about: the festival alternative to festivals, headlined and curated…

A beautiful sunny day preceded the first event in the “iiNet Films Afloat” series: a unique event (part of the Sydney Festival) showcasing bands from around the world playing live (and original) soundtracks to three films. Enter the Dragon, Fantastic Planet and this, the seminal 1998 film Run Lola Run. And a good thing it…

Following last year’s hugely successful inaugural event (headlined by Mr. Brian Wilson), and a Sydney Festival with profits through the roof, they said they were going to make the 2009 Festival First Night absolutely massive by comparison. And thanks of course to an increased budget, it appears they were able to pull it off. Taking…

In what has to be one of the best value-for-money tickets Sydney has seen in quite a long time (this side of “free”), Dr. Dog, Ash Grunwald, Gomez and The Black Keys lit up the Luna Park Big Top in a night not quite unlike the end of a day at Byron’s Blues Festival. Indeed,…

One of the best things about getting into a band before anyone else in town is that every now and then you’ll get an opportunity to see said band for free. But usually this isn’t a privilege extended to fans of a band from, say, Philadelphia! Yesterday, however, an exception was made, and The Filth’s…

Fresh off a hit of Franz Ferdinand, next on the calendar were the gods of Sweden: The Hives. And I don’t really know how to write a review for this one. I mean this gig was just so mind-blowingly good that words can’t really describe it. But let’s give it a shot. Fresh off a…

FINALLY! FRANZ HAVE RETURNED! And they’re making new music too! For us Franz Ferdinand fans, it’s a very exciting time indeed – and well overdue. But for those of us who were already attending The Hives on the evening of the 6th when their gig was announced for the same night, disappointment was definitely the…

Now the first thing you may wonder when you look at the above picture is: Wait a minute, is that Vinnie Chase / Adrian Grenier in a band? Did I just miss Adrian Grenier in Sydney? The answer to both is, indeed, yes. With Adrian playing both guitar and drums (usually the latter) in The…

Man. Where do you even begin with these guys? Fun. Energetic. Ridiculous. Crazy. Hilarious. Grammatically Incorrect. If you didn’t have a smile on your face during this entire gig, then you really must have been having a pretty awful day. Its gigs like this that remind me how much fun live music can be when…

Although I missed Perth’s wunderkinds Tame Impala, I think for many they would have been the highlight of the night. Indeed, there was a good bit of fun to follow… but I’m going to say this outright: MGMT are an awful live band, and Luke Steele’s solo tracks leave quite a lot to be desired….

I think it would be fair to say that most people were fairly blown away by the show Kanye West put on at Good Vibrations 2008. In fact, the whole festival seemed to be just a lead up to a production the likes of which I’ve never seen at a festival before – costume changes,…

Like V Festival before it, Australia’s latest English export has arrived in spectacular fashion, taking over the Hordern Pavilion and its surrounds this past Saturday. And with a crowd as diverse as the bands and DJs who graced the 5 stages, this was a day to be enjoyed by everyone, young and old alike. But…

When Bloc Party last came to town, they played the Hordern Pavilion with a show that sold out in seconds. But still a little peeved off about the leak of A Weekend in the City MONTHS before it’s street release, no longer would the band be playing any new material at concerts – so this…

With a barrage of quality bands, DJs and a guaranteed packed dance floor (not something you can say for most band nights), Mum at World Bar is definitely one of the best places to experience local music on a Friday night. And for only $10, it’s a bargain too! Last week’s gig was certainly no…

Another year, another Newtown Festival… felt like just yesterday that the last one rolled around! But admittedly, it has been several years since I’ve attended the free event – now in its 30th year – and I must say it really was bigger than ever – not in size nor in the quality of the…

An excellent night of Aussie Rock n’ Roll was set off in style by The Wahas, one of the few local young bands left standing following Operator Please’s ride to stardom, which gave hope to high school bands across the country. Indeed, most of these guys are doing their HSC exams as we speak, but…

Fresh off the announcements of major spots at NeverEverLand (UK and Australia), Shore Thing and Good Vibrations… oh and then those ARIA awards as well… The Presets returned last night for a free hometown show that packed not only the Apple Store, but the streets outside as well. I think it’s fair to say that…

Actually arriving in time for a change to see the support act, Tame Impala, I must say these Perth boys are different to what I was expecting. They are, after all, Modular’s latest prodigal children, so the concept of “dance music” is the first thing that comes to mind. But instead, they seem to be…

Another year, another Parklife festival – although this is the first year I’ve actually attended. While always one of the hottest tickets in town, there does generally seem to be a post-event “oh, yeah it was OK… but had a great time with my mates” kind of vibe. And I think I’m going to have…

This year has been an amazing one for live music in Sydney, especially for yours truly – finally being given the opportunity to see bands that I’ve been listening to since I was a young one! And having missed them last time they were in town (and then having their last tour coinciding with Bluesfest…

I must admit that I didn’t go to this concert knowing any of Conor’s solo stuff, with the exception of the recent single “Souled Out!” Likewise, I never quite got into Bright Eyes the way others did, so I certainly wasn’t attending with an expectation to hear the better known music. I still don’t own…

Sydney’s newest live music night is Wednesdays at Ruby Rabbit on Oxford Street, in which a local up-and-coming band is given the rare opportunity to headline, with guest DJs and performance artists rounding the rest of the night off. And in the second week of their new event, Ruby Rabbit welcomed to the stage Sydney’s…

“The Great Escape” time has arrived! Well, it would have had it not been cancelled much to my dismay. In its place is the barrage of remaining “sideshows.” The first of these happened last night with Ladytron from the UK hitting the all ages Metro stage, in what was surprisingly their first ever concert in…

A surprisingly small crowd featured at this Thursday night gig, and I myself missed the opening act Made in Japan, but nonetheless both The Silents from Perth and Sydney’s own Peabody put on a stirring performance for those who turned up, including The Silent’s label mates The Vines. The Silents are easily one of the…