Live Reviews

“This is probably the most nervous we’ve been performing,” Julia Stone half stammers as she and her brother Angus stare out onto a soccer stadium’s pitch that is consistently being filled with eager music fans during their support set. The Sydney siblings are of course, opening for Fleetwood Mac tonight and the gravity of the situation is not…

Reunions are bittersweet, often synonymous with transience and hinting at the struggles of times past. Although when Philadelphia Grand Jury – better known to most as the Philly Jays – rolled into town as part of their first official tour in years, the Sydney trio’s cult following couldn’t help but flock to Sydney’s Oxford Art…

Homecoming shows are always going to special for bands. But in the age of social media, with so many average videos uploaded to your choice of social media channel, the exclusivity of a live gig is slowly beginning to dwindle. With this in mind, for a band to sell out a medium sized venue without…

Let me set the scene for you… I was at SXSW 2015 in March this year and with thousands of bands playing and endless sets that you could attend, it was virtually impossible for bands to stand out. Possibly one of the only artists that stood out and without a doubt, the only band I could sing you…

Over the past few years, the definition of each musical genre has become evermore blurred. No longer is it easy to pigeon-hole an artist into one specific genre, with the increasing rise of sub-genres within these previously defined genres becoming even more blurred. And the good thing about this, is that music, especially in Australia,…

Thursday October 15th at The Gov, in Adelaide, was the first show of The Paper Kites’ Twelvefour Australian tour, supported by Patrick James. It was also one of the early very hot days of spring. The beer garden of The Gov felt tropical, almost pre-cyclonic, the palm trees streaming in the hot, humid breeze. It’s…

Who’d have thought that a debut album released 10 years ago, with a lead single whose title was effectively just onomatopoeic syllables put together, would have spawned one of the sweatiest headline slots Sydney’s Metro Theatre would see this year? Definitely not me. But it’s exactly what Melbourne Indie-Pop-Punk quartet Kisschasy did. Acting as main…

The last time RÜFÜS played HQ in Adelaide, it was hands down one of the best live shows I’d seen that year. To see that the trio was coming back through was incredibly exciting and I knew it would be a good opportunity to see RÜFÜS before they headed back overseas where, no doubt, their…

Boyz II Men embody the warmth and tenderness of classic 90s R&B, and I’m far from the only one who still recognises and celebrates that, as evidenced by numerous sold out Australian dates, almost 25 years after this ultra successful group hit mainstream consciousness. Hitting Luna Park’s Big Top for the second of two shows…

For the release of their latest, hugely anticipated release of the Master Distillers Collection Black Barrel – Distilled 2005, Bundaberg Rum threw a day-long celebration of all things rum, music and community. The Spirit of Bundaberg Festival featured performances from the Antipodean Rock Collective (which comprises members of Spiderbait, Jet, Powderfinger and You Am I),…

On the back of their ARIA top 10 album Aesthesis, Queenslanders Dead Letter Circus hit Melbourne’s Forum Theatre with 10 Years and Guards of May in tow to deliver three hours of straight up alt-rock goodness. Hitting the stage first up were Guards of May, and if ever a band has existed whose style is perfectly…

City Calm Down have maintained somewhat of an air of mystery around them in recent years. Having spent quite a bit of time away working solidly on their debut album, In a Restless House, the Melbourne band have still managed to cultivate and maintain a strong fan base within the local scene and following on…

Photo Credit: Zana Kobayashi Grace Turner launched her new EP last week at the intimate, cosy 107 Projects in Redfern. 107 Projects is a tiny venue, that could be at the back of someone’s garage. With mismatched chairs and old lounges randomly placed throughout the space, it’s almost like being in a friend’s shed or…

Attempting to fill the shoes of anyone in Queen is a difficult, and almost impossible task. Though for the official cover band, where members are chosen by Brian May and Roger Taylor, The Queen Extravaganza is injected with an aura of legitimacy in their quest to continue the Queen experience. How did they go when…

One of the most anticipated musical events at the Sydney Opera House this weekend arrived as part of the House’s GRAPHIC Festival, featuring acclaimed Icelandic pianist Ólafur Arnalds, accompanied by a 15 piece Orchestra and special graphics commissioned specifically for the event, produced by Máni M. Sigfússon. On hand to conduct the 15 piece Sydney Chamber Orchestra…

Photo Credit: Prudence Upton One of the most anticipated musical events at the Sydney Opera House this weekend arrived as part of the House’s GRAPHIC Festival, featuring acclaimed Icelandic pianist Ólafur Arnalds, accompanied by a 15 piece Orchestra and special graphics commissioned specifically for the event, produced by Máni M. Sigfússon. On hand to conduct the 15…

Trimming the fat of a large scale dance festival, Fuzzy’s Listen Out has gotten the boutique angle exactly right for the past few years. The music starts around 2pm – when most would rock up to a festival anyway – and rolls out some of the best international and local party-starters across three stages. It’s…

Listen Out has come back doing the rounds, the lineup having some fan favourites as well as the Red Bull Music Academy stage coming back to bring young talent. This year the festival was simplified to two stages; this idea of festivals becoming smaller and more manageable continues to prove popular amongst music fans. It…

Perth was a hive of activity this weekend past. There were two football finals; two festivals, Wave Rock Weekender and Listen Out Festival, plus the usual selection of weekend gigs. Saturday night also saw Icelandic techno duo Kiasmos play their first West Australian show at The Rosemount Hotel. Thanks in part perhaps to the late…

Hitting the stage ahead of our UK headliners were local outfit Breakaway. Think The Used and Lights and Sounds-esque Yellowcard and you get a band with talent and passion that soar to new heights. After catching them in a few gigs last year, there’s no denying that the Sydney group have what it takes to crush a setlist with pulsating energy….

The sun was out for the Perth leg of EDM boutique festival Listen Out this weekend, and with a long weekend on and a lineup that made it the first city to sell out it seemed as if everything had aligned. Triple J Unearthed winners for Perth GRRL PAL opened the festival on the 909…

Last night, the legendary singer of Skid Row, Sebastian Bach, hit the stage in Sydney for the first time in seven years as part of his “18 and Live” tour. The flaxen-haired front man performed at Sydney’s Metro Theatre, playing, in his words, a “sold out motherfucker.” Backed by guitarist Brent Woods, Bach was welcomed…

After a couple of regional shows down in Western Australia’s South West, The Rubens national tour, in support of their new record Hoops, hit Perth over the weekend for a sold out show at the Astor Theatre. Joining the group on tour and kicking off the evening’s proceedings were Central Coast folk duo Winterbourne. I’ve…

Perth Concert Hall, normally home to the likes of Schubert and Beethoven, was transformed into Perth’s largest and grandest folk club on Tuesday night for the return of hometown favourites The Waifs as they continued the West Coast leg of their national tour in support of new record Beautiful You. There was wolf whistling, mass…

Pictured: Aldous Harding Earlier this month, I headed over to Auckland, New Zealand, to talk at the Going Global music conference. Coinciding with the event was Flying Out’s inaugural festival The Others Way (Friday 4th September), which showcased the best music from New Zealand across seven stages over six hours, with some 32 bands selling…

“Do you guys want an album?” Safia’s loved vocalist Ben Woolner screamed out to a sold out Factory Theatre. In reverse career mode, the Canberra three-piece is now a household name in Australian music with just five official singles. They brought stadium level dynamics to a medium-sized venue (read: strobe lights and moving visuals) and…

Duran Duran have been part of the pop music scene for thirty years. Recently they recorded their latest album Paper Gods in London with producers Nile Rodgers, Mark Ronson, Josh Blair, and Mr Hudson. Visceral and daring, the album mixes hard-edged, contemporary pop with the band’s darker more experimental side to create a body of…

Sunday evening saw Joshua Radin kick off his Australian tour with an intimate gig at Perth’s Rosemount Hotel. It might have been a Sunday night and it might have been father’s day but that didn’t stop a sizeable crowd come out for Radin’s first ever gig in Perth; “the chillest place on earth” apparently. Opening…

They’ve been coined “the next Tame Impala” and aside from sharing a home city of Perth, Methyl Ethel are experiencing a similar national hype with the former. The three-piece played to a packed room at Sydney’s Newtown Social Club, following a performance at the weekend’s Volumes Festival. Despite the crowd, they remained humble and ran their…

It’s always nice to see that, regardless of time, there are some Australian artists who continue to perform and remain mesmerising to watch each time you see them. Whether you saw Darren Middleton onstage with his former band Powderfinger. Or during the short-lived days of his earlier side-project band Drag. Or more recently flying solo under his own name….