Tag: "live music review"

Future Of The Left Live at The Corner Hotel
0 Comments. 3,389 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:10am.
With a new line-up, new songs and a new desire to keep the “non-rock” parts of gigging to a minimum, Future Of The Left 2.0 are setting a new precedent. This is a professional fucking rock show, my friends. No flashy lights, no showing off, only a little bit of banter during “enforced gaps in the set (oxygen consolidation/guitar changes)” and a whole lot of nothing... Read More
Cold War Kids Live at The Forum
0 Comments. 2,703 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:20am.
The iconic ceiling of The Forum created the perfect backdrop as Sydney four-piece Parades set up on stage. No one expected the intensity that followed, as nominal frontman Jonathan Boulet juggled some amazing drumming and vocals; lifting everyone to their feet and drawing us towards the stage. The five-track set was short but never dull, and transformed the somewhat relaxed crowd into a... Read More
Rat vs Possum Plus Guests Live at The Workers Club
0 Comments. 2,770 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:17am.
Friday nights in December are supposed to be busy, however Melbourne’s post-modern take on summer, that involves gale-force winds and a tempest’s worth of rain, appeared to have turned the south-side of Brunswick street into a deserted badlands.   With this aesthetic in mind, the dim lighting and musty smell of the band room at The Worker’s Club had the feel of a bunker... Read More
Built To Spilt and The Smallgoods Live at The Corner Hotel
0 Comments. 2,782 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:17am.
There was a time many years ago when New Year’s celebrations meant buying a couple of slabs, a tray of Coles sausages and waking up in the front yard of a friend’s parents house half-way through the first day of the new year. These days, things have moved on, and the entertainment spark of New Year’s Eve is as powerful as a packet of sparklers suffering from rising damp.... Read More
Engine Three Seven Live at The Evelyn
0 Comments. 1,480 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:23am.
Like something out of a movie, the journey of Engine Three Seven so far is a moving tale. A group of small-town boys move to the big city and, unperturbed by the bright lights and plentiful distractions, they quickly become one of Australia’s most promising up and coming bands...   A couple of years ago when I first met Engine Three Seven and saw them live, I was mesmerized by their... Read More
A Day On The Green Live at Rochford Wines, Coldstream
0 Comments. 2,294 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:22am.
I finally found Rochford Wines after taking a scenic tour of the Dandenong Ranges, then suffered through an abominable traffic jam and discovered the road through the car park was particularly spongy after weeks of heavy rain (so by this time I was feeling a little like Indiana Jones on a quest to find the lost stars of the 1980s). I should also mention that this day was rather steamy and... Read More
Black Cab Live At The Northcote Social Club
0 Comments. 888 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:22am.
The music inside The Northcote Social Club tonight was as inspiring as the weather outside was not. The Hired Guns opened to a crowd of friends, partners and the odd Lizard Train fan. By the end of the set, the audience had swelled ten-fold, imbibing The Hired Guns’ laconic brilliance. Each of the members a seasoned player, The Hired Guns are, as guitarist Adam Kyle once... Read More
Sonic Forge Festival Live At The Espy
0 Comments. 1,751 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:17am.
Let’s get the negative stuff out of the way first. The apathy of Australian metal fans never ceases to amaze. This was just about the perfect night to actually come out and throw your support behind the local scene.   30 plus high quality Aussie metal bands in the one reasonably centrally located venue, at a ridiculously low cost, with the proceeds going to a very... Read More
The Queenscliff Music Festival 2010 Review
0 Comments. 2,765 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:20am.
After washing away the dust and grit of the working week with a cleansing drop or two from the Bellarine Brewing Company, we had our spines tingled by the awestruck cheers that greeted Ash Grunwald’s vocal sound check. Perched atop a pedestal and framed by a deep red backdrop, his warm-up alone was sufficient to get the crowd over-excited.   When Ash officially hit the... Read More
U2 And Jay Z Live At Etihad Stadium Melbourne
0 Comments. 2,311 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:20am.
Only a band of U2’s stature could persuade Jay-Z into taking up the position of ‘support act’. It would be impossible to imagine the ‘godfather of rap’ accepting the humbling role in differing circumstances.   The coming together of the two superstars may, initially, seem unlikely, but within the realm of U2’s statement-making... Read More
The John Steel Singers Live At The East Brunswick Club
0 Comments. 1,168 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:23am.
If there is a better cure from yet another rainy, wasted Saturday with bad election results coming in than The John Steel Singers, I can’t think of it. They are a ray of sunshine straight from the sunshine state, in town to launch their equally sunny album Tangalooma.   Shambling on stage after strong support from Love Connection and Deep Sea Arcade, the six guys are an oddly... Read More
Jeff Martin and Terepai Richmond Live at The Corner Hotel
0 Comments. 2,608 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:20am.
I haven’t seen Jeff Martin play since the days of The Tea Party, which disbanded most acrimoniously in 2005. I have no idea why I stayed away so long. Perhaps it was because The Tea Party were so brilliant that I was afraid Jeff couldn’t ‘do the do’ without the other two members? Whatever the answer might be, I’m sure glad I headed to The Corner to... Read More
Manic Street Preachers Live At The Forum
1 Comments. 4,730 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:23am.
Among the Metallica t-shirt-wearing punters filling the streets this Saturday evening, occasional glimpses of glam-attired bodies appear, all en route to The Forum. Tonight it's Christmas for the freaks of Melbourne and their long-awaited gift awaits them at the iconic venue. Long before the our early pressie –Manic Street Preachers – arrival, fans gather and buzz... Read More
Rapids Live at Purple Sneakers
1 Comments. 1,754 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:17am.
Rapids are a Sydney band and Purple Sneakers is a night from Sydney and I don’t always like to admit it but, you know, I’m a girl from Sydney and part of me felt very much at home at this gig and proud of the awesome things Sydney can produce. Purple Sneakers at Miss Libertine is the kind of night that you can really spend many, many hours at – even without live... Read More
Kristina Miltiadou Live at Miss Libertine
0 Comments. 1,060 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:23am.
At 10.30pm on Friday October 29, as I moved from the main bar to the back room at Miss Libertine I honestly thought I’d walked into a ‘happening’. The room was black, there were no lights on except for some very dim down lights and on stage rock band Drunk Mums were brutally contorting as they played their instruments as though they couldn’t hear them. And... Read More
Leonard Cohen
1 Comments. 2,045 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:17am.
From the top of the hill towards the stage stretched a crowd of some fifteen thousand people, melting under a hot afternoon sun which made its way west at an agonising speed; some families and younger folks, but mostly a forty-plus demographic in sensible hats (a lot of fedoras, in fact). Paul Kelly and his usual crew – the Bull sisters, Pete Luscombe, Ash Naylor, etc.... Read More
Hungry Kids Of Hungary Live at The Corner Hotel
1 Comments. 2,049 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:20am.
A few songs into Ball Park Music’s set and I was on the verge of pulling all my hair out. The Brisbane indie-pop group may exude plenty of energy and possess some catchy melodies, but it’s all harnessed erratically and nonsensically... ending up too playful for its own good.   What’s worse is the kindergarten drivel that the band pass off as lyrics. Even... Read More
The Vasco Era Live The East Brunswick Club
0 Comments. 1,298 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:20am.
While the day after the gig may involve ‘the race that stops the nation’, the gig it seems, was the show that stopped a small pocket of Brunswick. (Evidently I was struggling to start this review and went with this. Good times as? Good times as.)   I’ve never been a huge wrap for The Vasco Era. I mean what is there really to like? They’re loud, drink a lot... Read More
The Fumes Live at The East Brunswick Club
0 Comments. 1,973 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:17am.
Wind, hail and bitter cold; Thank you mid-spring Melbourne. What wasn’t windy, hailing and bitterly cold (well, maybe metaphorically) were The Fumes. Having been some time since their last headline shows, it was shaping up to be a lovely Saturday evening, regardless of some horrendous weather.   Canucks Elliot Brood were enlisted as support and as they were from overseas,... Read More
Laneous & The Family Yah Live at The Northcote Social Club
0 Comments. 2,181 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:17am.
After reviewing their album last week, I was really looking forward to seeing a live performance of Laneous & The Family Yah. The mood was set early on, with support act Clairy Brown And The Bangin’ Rackettes getting the crowd on its feet with their ‘60s jazz-band vibe. Dressed in a black burlesque outfit and tasselled arm-length gloves, Clairy wowed the crowd... Read More
Silver Sun Pickups & Birds of Tokyo Live at Festival Hall
0 Comments. 1,605 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:23am.
What a night this was shaping up to be. Two fantastic headline bands on the same bill… rarely does a double header promise so much and deliver at the same time. The Chemist are also quite excellent, but due to the absurdly early start, they were sadly sacrificed for beers. In hindsight, due to the all ages set-up, beers should have been treated with more importance and... Read More
Whole Lotta Love Live at The Palais Theatre
0 Comments. 1,067 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:20am.
"You don't know what a joy it is to sing these songs," Dave Gleeson of The Screaming Jets told the crowd midway through Whole Lotta Love. That much was already obvious in the way he leaped, ran about the stage and swirled his butt in the direction of the audience. He was one of the night's singers brought together by Sydney guitarist and music director Joseph Calderazzo... Read More
Sarah McLachlan Live at The Palais Theatre
1 Comments. 914 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:22am.
I’m a child of the metal, sure. But sometimes, just sometimes, I get this crazy hankering for music that resonates on a different vibration. Call it a melodic backlash.     Anyone who’s listened to Sarah McLachlan’s melancholic dazzler of an album Surfacing knows that in a world of throwaway, jingle-driven commerce this Canadian chanteuse’s... Read More
Silversun Pickups Live at The Corner Hotel
0 Comments. 1,993 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:20am.
Proving that Melbournians are still among the luckiest music fans in the world, Silversun Pickups staged their sole Australian headlining show this year at The Corner Hotel. A sigh of relief was elicited by fervent Melbourne fans (followed by disappointment for some when tickets sold out within a day – though seeing them as support act for Birds Of Tokyo was consolation for... Read More
Angus and Julia Stone Live at The Palais Theatre
0 Comments. 1,836 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:23am.
From the gaggles of young girls hanging out the front of The Palais Theatre you’d be forgiven for thinking you had just accidentally turned up to a Britney concert (does she even exist anymore?). But as I was duly informed on the drive in, and considering it was an all ages show, this influx of the female form was to be expected tonight. For tonight it was Angus and Julia... Read More
Missy Elliot Live at The Palace Theatre
0 Comments. 1,880 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:12am.
Mix Master Mike warmed up an already eager crowd with easy favourites, and cheesy favourites Beverley Hills Cop, Put Your Hands Up For Detroit and even ol’ mate Fatman Scoop got his obligatory inclusion. Major Laser’s Pon De Floor was about as progressive as his brief, but well received samples grew, hell even Blur’s #2 got a jersey, albeit a baggy XXXL one.... Read More
he Bedroom Philosopher and more Live at Northcote Social Club
0 Comments. 843 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:23am.
Go Go Sapien were first in line to support The Bedroom Philosopher, the curtain opening on each member clothed in interstellar-inspired attire. At times a happy middle between Little Birdy and The New Pornographers, the music – though often just stock-standard, methodical rock with a dash of synthesiser – was enjoyable enough. It was the dreadful lyrical content that proved to be... Read More
Kisstroyer at The Croxton Park Hotel
0 Comments. 2,807 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:12am.
Once upon a time, when Australian rock 'n' roll was ruled by a powerful trinity of blues rock, leather flares and ball hugging machismo, Thornbury's Croxton Park Hotel held court to some of '70s Oz-rock's most iconic acts: AC/DC, The Angels, Cold Chisel and more. These days The 'Croc is a shadow of its former pub-rock self, an oasis of pokies and forbidden suburban pleasures in... Read More
Limp Bizkit at Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam
0 Comments. 4,074 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:12am.
Missing out on seeing Limp Bizkit in their prime in Melbourne on their 2001 Australian tour was very disappointing, especially as a metal-hungry 16-year-old. When guitarist Wes Borland left, their music went horribly wrong and I thought that was it for the band. Thankfully Borland returned and now, almost 10 years later, I got the opportunity to see them play the songs that... Read More
Powderfinger at Rod Laver Arena
0 Comments. 3,240 Views. Posted 20 Jan 2011 @ 11:12am.
Well, well, well. Powderfinger have decided to call it a day, before risking being one of those never-ending bands touring every 'Best Of' release… and for that, we shall see. My tip is a reunion concert at some stage down the road. Anyway, with the threat of never playing again, I figured it be an apt time to pay my respects, and with live juggernaut The Vasco Era opening the show,... Read More
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