LIVE REVIEW: Dig It Up!: The Hoodoo Gurus Invitational @ Enmore, Sydney (22/04/12)
by Chris Familton Artist curated events like this have been extremely popular overseas in recent years, primarily due to the success of All Tomorrow’s Parties. Unfortunately here in Australia similar festivals have been few and far between with the most notable being the 2009 ATP shows in the hands of Nick Cave. The Hoodoo Gurus … Read more
LIVE REVIEW: My Morning Jacket @ Enmore Theatre, Sydney (03/04/12)
by Chris Familton My Morning Jacket did the early attendees a great service in bringing Dawes down to Australia with them and it was a real shame more people weren’t there to get a taste of their straightforward Americana that caught the ear with its plentiful use of space and some nice power pop dynamics. … Read more
LIVE REVIEW: Charlie Horse, Suzy Connolly @ Sandringham Hotel, Sydney (19/04/12)
written by Chris Familton Despite some sound issues/delays Charlie Horse and Suzy Connolly both played great sets at The Sando last night. Charlie Horse seemed to convert their frustrations into some fiery playing with Paul McDonald throwing rock shapes on guitar and Matt Brown almost overpowering the PA with his superb drumming. Out front Crystal … Read more
LIVE REVIEW: Duran Duran @ Sydney Entertainment Centre, 27/03/12
written by Chris Familton The Entertainment Centre had a reduced, curtained off capacity, no doubt due to the lack of a sellout yet those in attendance compensated with deafening screams and applause all night. Up first were local duo Radio Ink who are firmly in the commercial dance pop realm, mixing songs from the likes … Read more
LIVE REVIEW: WOODEN SHJIPS @ OAF, SYDNEY (24/03/12)
written by Chris Familton Newcomers DCM (Wolfmother’s Chris Ross and Daniel Stricker of the Midnight Juggernauts) set up their keyboards and effect units on the dancefloor in front of the stage and opened the evening with some glorious kraut-tinged electronica that was the perfect sonic calm before the storm to come. They showed a nice … Read more
LIVE REVIEW: Charles Bradley @ Factory Theatre, Sydney (16/03/12)
written by Chris Familton Warming up the arriving punters was ten piece band The Cactus Channel, fresh out of Princes High School in Melbourne. Even before I knew their history their young appearance and demeanor felt like that of a school band but as soon as they started playing any notion of a curriculum music … Read more
LIVE REVIEW: Michael Rother @ OAF, Sydney (17/03/12)
written by Chris Familton Melbourne’s Baptism of Uzi opened the night with their heavily krautrock influenced take on instrumental rock. With busy and propulsive drumming and wonderfully swirling psych synths they took the music into a decidedly human realm rather than the robotic nature of much of the music of that genre. Guitarist Bojan … Read more
LIVE REVIEW: Mastodon, Gojira, Kvelertak @ The Hi-Fi, Sydney (01/02/12)
written by Chris Familton To get an idea of the current state of metal you’d be hard pressed to find a better club gig like this. Featuring three bands each representing a different strand of intelligent, hard and heavy guitar music the evening above all showed that there are many divergent threads to a genre … Read more
LIVE REVIEW: Youth Lagoon & Oliver Tank @ OAF, Sydney (16/02/12)
written by Chris Familton The ease with which anyone can attempt to record guitars, synths and drum machines and then send the results into the world via the internet has enabled bedroom geniuses to emerge and find niche markets that may or may not translate into wider success. Two such acts were on display at … Read more
LIVE REVIEW: The Horrors @ Metro Theatre, Sydney (03/02/12)
written by Chris Familton Jack Ladder was in solo mode in the early opening slot and he showed that the songs from last year’s excellent Hurtsville LP can work just as well when stripped back to that rich, melodramatic voice and a fantastic effect laden guitar sound. He only managed to play a handful of … Read more
LIVE REVIEW: Eleanor Friedberger @ The Famous Spiegeltent, Sydney (28/01/12)
written by Chris Familton Eleanor Friedberger only recently stepped out from her regular role in The Fiery Furnaces with last years solo debut Last Summer yet there were no solo nerves evident when she stepped into the late afternoon light of the Spiegeltent stage. Not even a delayed start due to a malfunctioning guitar lead … Read more
LIVE REVIEW: Soundgarden @ Sydney Entertainment Centre (25/01/12)
written by Chris Familton Arriving at the soulless Entertainment Centre felt like a Delorean trip back to the early 90s with Sydney’s alternative/grunge/rock/metal community out in full force. Faded flannel shirts were scattered through the gathering hordes while the black t-shirt seemed to be the default dress code for the evening. Inside as the melodic … Read more
