Live Reviews

Yes, Christian religious institutions have their chequered history, and horrible memories of stories within the Vatican permeate society nowadays. But let’s not talk about that – this is a gig review. Something that religious institutions have going for them is that gigs within their churches are normally good or very good. The simple fact that…

If I had to describe Matt and Kim in one sentence it would be this: they are one of the world’s greatest live bands who you’ve probably never seen. And it’s not like anyone would blame you for it. Sure, you might know a couple of songs, and they’re always fun to listen to, but…

The sight of Enmore Road tonight was a sea of school aged punters showing copious amounts of butt cheeks and puppy fat. “I obviously didn’t get the memo to wear denim hot pants to The Kooks tonight” was my very ‘clever’ status I posted on Facebook. I entered The Enmore Theatre and reminded myself that…

Indie darlings Tegan and Sara have come a long way over the last eight years since their first visit to Australia. It was 2005 and they had come as the support act for Little Birdy. When Katy Steele fell ill and cancelled the dates, the Canadian duo solidered on, becoming accidental headliners. It turned out…

Spring Break forever, or not for forever, that is the question. I had the opportunity to see Spring Breakers last month at the SXSW Film Festival and ever since then I’m been struggling to articulate how I felt about the experience. It’s one of the most divisive films I’ve ever seen. Not only in amongst…

There is a lot that can be said about Stone Music Festival. What happened to the event before tickets went on sale was something quite telling of the nature of the current industry, and what happened after tickets went on sale perhaps showed the organiser’s lack of foresight, albeit a strong ability to adapt. And…

The John Curtin band room is as dark as I have ever seen it. It suited perfectly for some dark chord crunching bands to fill the room with their insanely doomy music. Any god-fearing music lover – is there such a thing? – would turn away at the door if they had no idea what…

Mainstream radio has served the Irish lads from The Script very well in recent years and in turn they have often visited Australian shores to perform; this time with another step up in the capacity stakes playing at the Sydney Entertainment Centre.

The structure of “support-support-headliner” is a common one, so it’s rare for it to produce a well-balanced line up. But Steve Smyth, Gung Ho, and headliners Deap Vally are each as talented as they are stylistically diverse; making their recent show at Oxford Art Factory an unusual delight.

And just like that we’d once again come to the end of the Byron Bay Bluesfest. As the event’s fifth day, it’s fair to say that by now we were both exhausted and used to the exciting lifestyle that the festival offers. It’s never an easy event to say goodbye to, especially after a year…

I’ve been a fan of Emilie Autumn for six years now. I first fell in love with her music at the age of fourteen, and was subsequently mocked for it by my high school peers, who didn’t appreciate her eccentric style. A few nights ago, I had the opportunity to see her live, and as…

Arriving a couple of hours after the music had kicked off (as it seems to be customary for our annual Bluesfest experience here at the AU), Counting Crows (pictured above) kicked things off for our 2013 Bluesfest experience in the beautiful surrounds of the Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm in Byron Bay, now in its 24th…

While I’ll admit to not being a huge listener of country music, I do have an interest. I’ve always found it to have a balanced perspective on life. So when an opportunity arose to see Zac Brown Band, supported by Busby Marou, I was intrigued enough to take it.

British soul-singer-songwriter Michael Kiwanuka was hailed by the BBC as the winner of the BBC Sound in 2012. With his no nonsense, simplified approach to good music, showcasing it in such a beautiful hallowed establishment was sure to be a magical experience.

Fall Out Boy’s hiatus might have only lasted four years, but it was swarming with rumours: was it a permanent break? Or would they be back next week? When their official return was announced earlier this year, I assumed it was a joke. A few weeks later, when I turned up to the Metro Theatre…

With shows like the Sound City Players and Iggy Pop and the Stooges taking my focus at this year’s SXSW, I thought I should probably keep the rock and roll vibes going by checking out one of the finest rock and roll bands in the industry: Eagles of Death Metal. And I wasn’t the only…

Last week, I managed to catch the Sound City Players perform what would be their second last show at the Jimmy Kimmel Show, in which I mentioned I was concerned its experience would soil the anticipated SXSW event. Let it be known that it did nothing of the sort. Opening the concert were The Meat…

Over the last 6 years at SXSW, infamous ‘celebrity blogger’ Perez Hilton has run a series of curated concerts on the last night of the festival called “One Night in Austin”. It’s now one of the biggest events of the week and an official SXSW party, attracting both conference attendees and the general public, with…

With Prince a no go, Justin Timberlake a pipe dream and an overload of fantastic rock and roll making up the vast majority of my SXSW Music experience (and how!), it wasn’t the obvious choice to go see The Smashing Pumpkins, either. I also wasn’t overly willing to stand through a pile of pop acts…

Closing out the NPR showcase on Wednesday night at Stubb’s in Austin, Texas, following highly acclaimed performances from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, amongst others, were none other than one of the most loved bands in Australia at the moment, Alt-J. Usually when a band plays the US versus in…

Performing one of their first concerts together since Billy Joe Armstrong’s infamous breakdown at the I Heart Radio concert in Las Vegas, and subsequent rehab stint, there was a solid anticipation from Green Day fans for Friday night’s concert at Austin City Limit’s Moody Theatre. As the room sung along to tracks like “Bohemian Rhapsody”…

It’s a rare treat to see and hear classic Rock bands playing a bunch of songs you thought you might never have the pleasure of witnessing live. There’s been a bit of that going around recently, and Friday night gave me the chance to indulge in some good old Texas Blues played by the bastions…

God bless the singlet-making industry, because it seemed the whole customer base was at The Future Music Festival this past weekend. An insane amount of arms and biceps were on display for everyone to see, and I wouldn’t be too surprised if any other strays from a muscle convention during the week popped on by….

Listening to live music in an air-conditioned space is a great way to spend a hot Sunday afternoon. Even better is when a veritable smorgasbord of up and coming talent is offered up for the auditory palate in a nurturing atmosphere such as the Sydney Songwriter’s Collective. Chelsea Gibson, with her almost neo-classical lilt was…

Ellie Goulding has made a fool of me. Her recent show at The Metro Theatre so exceeded my expectations that I’m actually embarrassed by how much I misjudged her. I had anticipated a rather laid-back night: a tender performance, lighthearted banter with the crowd, maybe some acoustic renditions of her music. What I got was…

New Yorker’s Fun. have a lot to live up to just in their name alone. If you’re going to blatantly deem yourselves an adjective with a full stop you better deliver the goods. The lads were once again gracing Sydney as part of the Future Music Festival circuit, and after graduating from the Metro were now promoted…

I never expected to have the privilege of seeing Garbage live. They were already on hiatus by the time my teenage self found her way to their section in the record store, so the idea of attending a show was only ever a daydream. Skip forward seven years to when it all changed. 2012 brought…

It was by pure coincidence that I found myself arriving in Los Angeles on the same day that Dave Grohl’s Sound City Players shut down part of Hollywood Blvd – a privilege normally reserved for a film shoot or the Oscars – to put on a massive, free concert for competition winners and those lucky…

I’ve been waiting to see The Tallest Man on Earth live for a while now. I missed out on tickets to his sold out show at the Rosemount Hotel on his last Australian tour, so on the news that he would be heading back down to Australia, and playing the Perth Festival I jumped at…