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Flashback: Found At Sea at Hopetoun Hotel, Sydney (08 May 2009)

Read More Found at Sea Armed with matching ties (sort of), headlining band Found at Sea, rounded out the evening. Formerly called 'Helter' (ring any bells?) these guy have just finished their debut self-titled album, produced by ARIA award winning Paul McKercher (Augie March, Sarah Blasko, You Am I). …

In Australia, many bands play at hotels. That’s not hard to believe, considering that for many, many years, comic book conventions were held at hotels to take advantage of booking guests in their rooms and using the hotel’s ballroom for the show.

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Remember the days when you'd go to your favourite band toting public bar and you'd see one of maybe 20 bands that were doing the rounds? You even saw them so many times that you knew some of the words to their songs? Now there are simply squillions of bands.... who has time to see them all? Not me, that's for sure.

So I thought I might prepare a little digest of bands that have been performing around the shop in the recent-ish past

Found At Sea - astreetlightsong - Days Like Stars - The Shipwrecked - Hopetoun Hotel - May 8th

Firstly, I would like to say that the sound at the Hopetoun was particularly bad last night. Sadly, it made the keyboard of the The Shipwrecked sound way too loud and drowned out a lot of the other sounds. Maybe another listen is in order. Days Like Stars were cute (but obviously not trying to be cute), the songs were your average guitar rock, but with an obvious mum and dad combo recording the set on their video camera in the audience, who could help but chortle as the guys proceeded to "rock out" to songs that simply didn't suit such "rocking outness". Entertaining all the same.

astreetlightsong

I had said previously that astreetlightsong would be worth seeing live, so that was my mission for the evening. I wasn't disappointed. Even though the overall sound was still pretty poor, astreetlightsong put on a super show. There's something about seeing a band live that you just don't get from a recording. Whether it be seeing that they can actually play instruments (it's not their Uncle Barry), looking at the large amount of computerisation and guitar peddles required to get their sound or just to see they are human and how they interact with the crowd. It all adds up. These guys were just that little bit different to the other three bands on the bill. Slightly more electronically weighted, less of a pure guitar sound. Was a nice change. They also seemed to have a swathe of young lady fans, which can't be a bad thing!

Armed with matching ties (sort of), headlining band Found at Sea, rounded out the evening. Formerly called 'Helter' (ring any bells?) these guy have just finished their debut self-titled album, produced by ARIA award winning Paul McKercher (Augie March, Sarah Blasko, You Am I). If you love guitars, if you love the sound they make, if you like that easy listening rock feel, Found at Sea will be right up your alley. It's perfect music to sit down, with beer in hand and tap your foot on the floor. Sadly, the Hopetoun has no chairs.... so we were out of luck.

Found At Sea at Hopetoun Hotel, Sydney (08 May 2009)

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Flashback: Kaiser Chiefs at Enmore Theatre, Sydney (31 Mar 2009)

Setlist Spanish Metal Everyday I Love You Less and Less Everything Is Average Nowadays Na Na Na Na Naa Modern Way You Want History Ruby Never Miss a Beat Can't Say What I Mean Half the Truth Good Days Bad Days Love's Not a Competition (But I'm Winning) I Predict a Riot -- Encore -- Like It Too Much The Angry Mob Oh My God Read More Kaiser Chiefs It had been a long seven years since their last appearance in Minneapolis (the band skipped us in 2012), but Leeds, UK band Kaiser Chiefs re-stormed the city and stage for an animated, back-to-glory performance in First Avenue’s … Razorlight Razorlight were pretty much exactly what I expected they would be. Sold out show. No disappoinments. Good old Johnny Borrell... I developed a negative opinion of him around the same time I developed a negative opinion …

Sally went to see a triple billing of Kaiser Chiefs, Razorlight and Temper Trap… but unfortunately, for whatever reason, Temper Trap never showed up to the show. At $90 AUD, it sounds like a very expensive show.

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After not actually planning to attend this show, thinking $90 was a bit steep for a band that will probably tour Australia a few more times before they vanish off the face of the planet, I went. But honestly... the Kaiser Chiefs with Razorlight and the Temper Trap... of course it was going to be worth it.

I had only seen Razorlight a few weeks previous (click here for review), so no surprises really. Pretty much exactly the same show. Except the drummer seemed to have morphed into a different person (with brilliant facial expressions). On that topic, interestingly enough, the internet has provided me with two interesting pieces of information:
    1. Andy Burrows, Razorlight drummer, has recently quit the band; and
    2. Andy Burrows, Razorlight drummer, has a knitting addiction.

Hmm.... i wonder if these two things are related (or true, for that matter).

Anyway, Johnny was maniacally bouncing around, not a lot of talking... or any engagement of the crowd for that matter. To tell you the truth, it was slightly boring. Specifically, I'm talking about the long, self-indulgent rendition of In The City, which went on for about 7 hours (give or take a couple of hours). It's possible though, that it was because I'd seen it all before.

Overall, despite my short attention span, Razorlight do put on an excellent and entertaining performance.

Kaiser Chiefs

The band i was actually there to see, however, were the Kaiser Chiefs. These guys never disappoint and were true to form. It's simply beautiful, the way in which young (I say young, but secretly hope he's older than me) Ricky Wilson engages the crowd; gets everyone riled up. I thought I was sure to cop a fondle this time (after missing out last time when he "crowd surfed from the stage to the back bar at the Metro theatre) after he was carried him on their shoulders as far as the barrier in the middle of the lower floor of the Enmore and proceeded to "crowd surf" back, but alas... no.

Brilliant show, completely unpretentious. Never Miss A Beat, The Angry Mob, Good Days Bad Days, Everyday I love You Less and Less, Ruby..... all sing-a-long-able tunes. Ricky getting slowly more trollied as the night went on, culminating in dragging one of the shirtless yobs up on to the stage, only to be hoisted onto his shoulders. Gold. The only unfortunate thing about it was the borderline view of the guys front bits (and the not so borederline view of his arse).... oh and that the drum stick that was aimed at his arse crack by drummer, Nick Hodgson, missed it's target.

I don't know about you, or anyone else, but to me, The Kaiser Chiefs transport me out of Australia, back to England, specifically the Northern half of England. Laid back... with a pint and a sausage butty (*shudder*).... or specifically a seedy student bar in Preston.... but we don't need to go there!

So next time, when you think.... "deary me, $90 for a band", if it's the Kaiser Chiefs... say "Yes, please!".

For more info and other treats, pop long to their website

Hang on! What happened to Temper Trap? Ripped off!

See you later.

Sally
[email protected]

Kaiser Chiefs at Enmore Theatre, Sydney (31 Mar 2009)

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Flashback: Primal Scream at the Forum, Sydney (04 Feb 2009)

Setlist Kill All Hippies Can't Go Back Miss Lucifer Suicide Sally and Johnny Guitar Jailbird When the Bomb Drops Beautiful Future Higher Than the Sun Beautiful Summer Deep Hit of Morning Sun Exterminator Suicide Bomb City Shoot Speed/Kill Light Swastika Eyes Movin' On Up Rocks -- Encore -- Uptown Necro Hex Blues Country Girl Accelerator Read More Primal Scream Primal Scream just announced their 2014 U.S. tour; headling Austin Psych Fest & Play NYC. I saw the band at SXSW in 2009 at the annual Scottish Arts Council showcase. Primal Scream were the headliner for that show (even though I had no idea they were Scottish!) …

It’s still Summer in Australia, and Sally finally got to see her favorite band, Primal Scream at the Forum in Sydney, Australia, on February 4, 2009.

It’s actually pretty funny how Primal Scream influenced a whole generation with that Screamadelica album. In fact, if you watch, The World's End, the whole thing started with “Loaded” (which sampled the Peter Fonda movie The Wild Angels)….. but unfortunately, at Sally’s show, Primal Scream did not play “Loaded,” which is a bit of a bummer.

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Primal Scream is one of the bands in a special list in my head. This list is of bands that I know if I don’t see them now, I will never get a chance to see them. Bands that were at their height in the 90s, that went all quiet (or broke up) and have now come back…. just for me (or so I like to think). Dodgy, The Coral, The Jesus and Mary Chain… and now Primal Scream.

I managed to miss the support act Wolf and Cub, which is a bit disappointing, but being a Wednesday night at a venue that really doesn’t have the most direct public transport link from my house, meant that I wasn’t going to be there early. Plus someone was offering me a lift…. Beggars can’t be choosers. Anyway, managed to get a pretty good viewing spot (or so I thought) even turning up as late as I did.

Primal Scream photo: Greg

I’m not sure whether I should be ashamed to admit it, but when the band walked on stage I couldn’t help myself from smiling like a village idiot and nearly weeing my pants. Bobby Gillespie! Mani!.... and the other ones…. I hadn’t really known what to expect.

I must say, and I nearly wish I didn’t have this opinion, that I was more excited about seeing them in person than I was impressed by their music. It was very loud (however we were standing in front of the largest speaker stack ever constructed) and bobby wasn’t really able to carry a tune, but the tight jeans and overall aura of awesomeness of them cancelled it out.

Bobby swung from wild arm waving to standing in a zombie-like state (I could have sworn he was looking at someone at the side of stage for a signal to begin singing again). Trying to determine whether Bobby was just out of it, or if he just naturally looks like a zombie, did occupy a large chunk of my brain. Not a lot of chit-chat, not coherent chit-chat anyway… but whether that was because he was a completely trollied or just Scottish, who can tell?

They played everything I wanted (except for Loaded, but I won’t whine about it)… I even had a bit of a sing-along with Movin’ On Up. Most importantly they played Suicide Sally and Johnny Guitar, because I do like a good song with my name in it.

So I can now cross another band off my list... and another member of the Stone Roses (one day I’ll see them all, I’m collecting them one by one). Brilliant!

Primal Scream at the Forum, Sydney (04 Feb 2009) photo by Greg

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Flashback: Razorlight at Metro Theatre, Sydney (29 Jan 2009)

Read More Razorlight The next track is by the British band Razorlight. I was tempted to include a song by Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen or one of the many great American musicians instead I opted for a poem about America read by one of your American poets. …

In Minneapolis, I personally don’t really like going out to see shows… so for the month of January 2009, it was pretty dead. Thankfully, the weather is hot and sunny for Sally, in Australia. She ended up heading out to the Metro, in Sydney, on January 29, 2009, to see Razorlight with Slow Down Honey.

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I must admit, I was kind of nervous entering the Metro. Only a week earlier I had attended a splendid performance there by My Morning Jacket and at the time it felt like I was standing in a sauna. Thankfully, I'm not sure whether it was because the air conditioning was better or My Morning Jacket fans metabolise alcohol at a faster rate, thus generating more heat..... but anyway... I was cool and comfortable and ready to be impressed.

We got there to catch the support act, for which I'm glad. These boys were called Slow Down Honey and they were pretty bloody good. Pop/rock sounds very fitting for pulling some cute dance moves, worth a listen.

I actually commented to my friend their night that they give me a beach vibe. I actually thought they might be from the northern beaches, but now i see (on their MySpace page) that they are from the Central Coast..... pretty close guess.... sort of! It's not that their music had a Beach Boys sound, it's just... well I don't know.... it was just the vibe.

AND... the most impressive thing is that it was said that this was their first gig played to more than 10 people but man, were they tight. It didn't sound like they were fresh out of their mum's garage at all!

Anyway..... if you're curious, have a look at their MySpace page and it will all become clear AND you might even be able to stalk them in real life. (I mention the Playground Weekender festival as an example - Primal Scream ooh!)

Razorlight were pretty much exactly what I expected they would be. Sold out show. No disappoinments.

Good old Johnny Borrell... I developed a negative opinion of him around the same time I developed a negative opinion of the NME. Cast your mind back to mid-2004....back when i used to lock myself away in my bedroom in Brighton and count the tools on the English music scene (and try to do the NME crossword, but fail miserably every single time). Maybe he's matured, maybe I was delusuional back then, who can tell? All i know is I sure wasn't going to be getting anywhere near him to find out!

But you have to admit.... he sure has a lot of energy and with energy comes entertainment.... and jumping around like a goose is exactly what i want to see. He didn't say a lot, but secretly, I was more interested in his shirt, and the rate at which it would no longer be covering his chest. I was also mesmerised by the fact that about halfway through the show Johnny looked like he had just had a fully-clothed shower, yet the rest of the band looked almost pristine. Spooky.... no, not really.

They played all the hits, new and old. In The Morning, Golden Touch, America, Hostage of Love... the list goes on. And didn't the kids love it! I almost felt ashamed that I didn't know every word to every song.

So where can you see them?

Well, it seems they're all over the shop in the months to come. Starting with Melbourne tonight (January 31st at the Hi Fi Bar - another sold out show), the US, Mexico then back to the sunny UK.... only to return to Australia in March for the V Festival and a side show supporting the Kasier Chiefs (pre-sale tickets go on sale on Feb 5th).

For more information and tickets:
Official Website: www.razorlight.co.uk
MySpace page: www.myspace.com/razorlight
V Festival Website: www.vfestival.com.au

Razorlight at Metro Theatre, Sydney (29 Jan 2009)

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Blur at Qantas Credit Union Arena, Sydney (25 July 2015)

Blur Setlist Go Out There's No Other Way Lonesome Street Badhead Ghost Ship Coffee & TV Out of Time Beetlebum Thought I Was a Spaceman Trimm Trabb Tender Trouble in the Message Centre Parklife Ong Ong Song 2 Pyongyang To the End This Is a Low -- Encore -- Stereotypes Girls & Boys For Tomorrow The Universal Tour Dates 07/26/15 Splendour In The Grass (Sydney) 07/28/15 Melbourne, Australia Rod Laver 07/30/15 Perth, Australia Perth Arena 09/05/15 Electric Picnic 10/07/15 Santiago, Chile Movistar Arena 10/11/15 Buenos Aires Tecnopolis 10/15/15 Mexico City Palacio De Los Deportes 10/20/15 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl 10/23/15 New York, NY Madison Square Garden Read More Blur Blur drummer Dave Rowntree would like very much to prove that adage wrong, as according to NME, he'll run as a Labour Party candidate for the local council election in his Marylebone …

"Sorry we haven't been back sooner, Sydney"...."18 years!". Hang on a second... it has been 18 years since Blur played the Hordern Pavilion (that's 1997 for those who need some friendly Sunday morning maths assistance).

After the release of The Magic Whip (first album since Think Tank was released in 2003), this world tour sees Blur play Australia (including the Splendour in the Grass festival in Byron Bay) for the first time in 18 years!

Playing to a very nearly sold out crowd, Blur played a mixed bag from all eight of their albums, complete with backing singers and a four-piece (at least it looked like four from where I was standing) horn section. There's No Other Way, Trimm Trabb, Trouble in the Message Centre, Parklife, Coffee and TV and of course the crowd pleasing, Song 2; all the hits were played. (No Country House... but not sad about it)

As the tour is off the back of the release of The Magic Whip they unsurprisingly played a handful of songs form the new album. I'm not sure about the rest of the crowd, but although I do love the album, songs like Go Out, Lonesome Street and Thought I Was a Spaceman, really didn't strike the same chord in me as the older songs did.

I could not pick a fault with the show in terms of musicality. Each song played faultlessly.... except for the moment at which Graham managed to land a forward roll (whilst playing guitar), but had to miss a few notes whilst readjusting his strap. Damon was his relentlessly energetic self, Alex (dressed only in a t-shirt and shorts... dude! It's winter here!) was having an amazing time strutting his stuff for the pleasure of everyone right of stage, Graham's guitar playing was executed seemingly effortlessly and Dave... well, he's still Dave (face obscured by cymbal for the whole show, but i assume his only changed minimally).

I would also like to mention how pleasant it actually was being in the crowd. It was a significant difference from my last Blur experience: being 17 and frantically trying to be as close to the front as I could be; almost dying of heat exhaustion (I can only imagine how revolting i must have looked to anyone caught a glimpse - not that I cared); and being intermittently saturated by Damon's endless supply of "crowd water".

These days "crowd water" is still being widely thrown, but I felt no jostling or pushing. Just people happy to be there. There was even a "celebrity" sighting or three; with the dudes from Top Gear hanging side of stage. Didn't Jeremy Clarkson get the boot from that show? Who knows... who cares? Anyway, I digress....

After a mammoth two-hour set, one of two things were obvious from Graham's cheeky smiles and other facial expressions during the encore (where they played some of the classic singles: Stereotypes; Girls and Boys; For Tomorrow; and ending on a slow tune with The Universal) that Graham was either jetlagged and ready for a nice sit down, or he had played those songs so many times before that he had gone into auto-pilot mode and his mind was completely elsewhere. Either way, I was not disappointed (which is clearly evident, because the nanna in me usually gets annoyed during the short wait before an encore and is half way home before the band has finished).

Oh.. and support act? Sorry Jamie T, but I had to drink some beers in a pub down the street whilst you were playing; but by all reports you were pretty good and if time machines were a thing, I'd definitely turn up earlier to watch you.

http://www.blur.co.uk

http://www.splendourinthegrass.com

http://jamie-t.com

[email protected]

Blur at Qantas Credit Union Arena, Sydney (25 July 2015)

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The Griswolds w/ Urban Cone at 7th St Entry, Mpls (26 June 2015)

Griswolds Setlist Right On Track 16 Years The Courtship of Summer Preasley If You Wanna Stay Aurora Borealis Be Impressive Riptide (Vance Joy cover) Live This Nightmare Mississippi Red Tuxedo America Beware the Dog -- Encore -- Down and Out Heart of a Lion Tour Dates 08/21/15 Melbourne, Australia Forum Melbourne 08/23/15 Newtown, Australia Enmore Theatre 08/25/15 Brisbane, Australia The Tivoli 10/14/15 Vancouver, BC The Vogue Theatre 10/17/15 Los Angeles, CA Club Nokia 10/18/15 Ventura, CA Majestic Ventura Theater 10/20/15 San Diego, CA House Of Blues 10/21/15 Tucson, AZ Rialto Theatre 10/23/15 Salt Lake City, UT The Complex 10/26/15 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue 11/03/15 Houston, TX House Of Blues 11/04/15 New Orleans, LA House Of Blues 11/06/15 Jacksonville, FL Freebird Live 11/07/15 Lake Buena Vista, FL House Of Blues 11/08/15 Raleigh, NC The Ritz 11/09/15 Charlotte, NC Fillmore Charlotte 11/11/15 Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall 11/12/15 Nashville, TN Cannery Ballroom 11/13/15 Cincinnati, OH Bogart's 11/14/15 Cleveland, OH House Of Blues 11/15/15 Toronto, ON The Danforth Music Hall 11/17/15 Washington, DC Echostage 11/18/15 New York, NY Terminal 5 11/19/15 Providence, RI Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel 11/21/15 Clifton Park, NY Upstate Concert Hall 11/22/15 Portland, ME State Theatre 11/24/15 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom 11/25/15 Huntington, NY The Paramount 11/27/15 Buffalo, NY Town Ballroom 11/28/15 Philadelphia, PA Fillmore Read More The Griswolds Australia's The Griswolds were recently chosen as one of nine other artists on Spotify's Emerge campaign, which began Tuesday. Past winners includes now-established bands such as Macklemore & Ryan Lewis …

Be Impressive-

A simple motto that is not only a cheerleader chant, and the name of Aussie band The Griswolds’ latest album (on Wind-Up Records), but likely also a credo to their live performance and impressing fans across the globe, many of which are just discovering them.

Urban Cone

Another import band, Stockholm’s Urban Cone opened up the evening with a bouncy and infectious blend of electro-pop that immediately had the sold-out crowd on their side.  The Swedish quintet recently put out their second full-length, Polaroid Memories (Astralwerks Records) that features fellow Swede Tove Lo on one of the singles.

‘Sadness Disease’, a single in Europe, was a perfect example of their sound- high energy, memorable choruses, jangly guitars, an ‘80s nod with the keyboard sounds, and thumping percussion.  ‘Rocketman’, ‘We are Skeleltons’, ‘Treasure’, ‘Weekends’, and ‘Robot Love’ all had people singing and clapping along, before they finished with the aforementioned Tove Lo collaboration, ‘Come Back to Me’- Urban Cone is a fun band (with a strange name) to definitely keep on your music radar.

The Griswolds: Christopher Whitehall-Ray

With a hard act to follow, Sydney’s The Griswolds had no choice but to be impressive, and came out storming to the intro music of fellow Aussies AC/DC’s ‘Thunderstruck’ and established themselves quickly with the sweeping, ‘Right on Track’.

The quartet (Tim John;  Daniel Duque-Perez;  Lachlan West;  Christopher Whitehall-Ray) were clearly having fun during their hour-long set, with singer Whitehall often standing high on the speaker stacks, briefly crowdsurfing, and prodding the crowd to join in on the fun, which the mostly under-21 and female audience, was more than willing to do.  Whitehall looking like a blend of a Hemsworth brother and Michael Hutchence probably didn’t hurt either.

The Crowd

More than pleased to have sold out their first area headlining show, girls shrieked as the band started playing its latest single, ‘If You Wanna Stay’, whose chorus was chanted back, along with the new album’s title track which followed.

An inside band joke was claiming that it was drummer West’s birthday (something they call out almost every night), which still got the crowd to sing birthday greetings to him.  “When we heard this song, we fell in love with it”, Whitehall mentioned, going into a sped-up and more percussive version of Vance Joy’s ’Riptide’.

Setlist

Both bands noted the Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage that was handed down earlier in the day, with The Griswolds being especially happy about it and dedicating ‘America’ as a result.  ‘Beware the Dog’ with its “Crazy, crazy crazy” chorus served to get everyone wound up to bring the band back for a two-song encore- the new ‘Down and Out’ and ‘Heart of the Lion’, from their 2013 EP.

“This has been one of our favourite experiences of the whole tour”, Whitehall mentioned near the end of the show as they achieved their goal- to be impressive.

The Griswolds at 7th St Entry, Minneapolis (26 June 2015)

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Belle and Sebastian at Enmore Theatre, Sydney (29 Jan 2015)

Setlist Nobody's Empire The Party Line Women's Realm Dog on Wheels If She Wants Me Like Dylan in the Movies Perfect Couples The Stars of Track and Field The Loneliness of a Middle Distance Runner The Power of Three Electronic Renaissance Le Pastie De La Bourgeoisie A Summer Wasting The Boy with the Arab Strap Legal Man Me and the Major -- Encore -- Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying courtesy of setlist.fm Read More Belle & Sebastian I've seen Belle & Sebastian twice, but have never made the commitment to tracking them down for autographs. That's got to be tough, as you know the group is large (currently: Stuart Murdoch, Stevie Jackson ...

Sally just saw Belle and Sebastian at Enmore Theatre in Sydney, Australia, as part of their four appearances courtesy of Laneway Presents* and Penny Drop.

Range Anxiety Merge Records

According to the poster artwork, Melbourne's Twerps were openers to all the Australian Laneway Presents/Penny Drop dates. The last news I heard from Twerps was that their new album is called Range Anxiety, which came out this week (January 27, 2015) via Merge Records. Look for Twerps in the United States, touring around SXSW 2015.

As a special side show, B&S are also set to play at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney this Saturday, January 31st, which Sally is also attending. You can hear all the upcoming plan on our Party Line.

Looking over their setlist, there were about four songs from Girls in Peacetime Want To Dance (two of them played at the beginning), but the rest were older songs - which is fine, as I'm sure most fans aren't that familiar with the new songs.

Tour dates:

01/31 Taronga Zoo, Sydney
02/01 Palais Theatre, Melbourne
02/03 Astor Theatre, Perth
02/12 AX Club, Seoul, Korea
02/16 Hostess Club Taipei @ Legacy
02/21 Hostess Club Weekender, Studio Coast
03/30 House Of Blues, Boston, MA
04/01 Massey Hall, Toronto, ONT
04/02 Royal Oak Music Theater, MI
04/03 Riviera, Chicago, IL
04/04 Madison, WI Overture Hall
04/07 Seattle, WA Paramount Ballroom
04/08 Vancouver, BC Vogue Theatre
04/09 Portland, OR Roseland
04/11 Coachella Valley Music
04/12 Berkeley, CA Greek Theatre
04/14 Davis, CA Mondavi Center
04/17 San Diego, CA North Park
04/18 Indio, CA Coachella Valley Music
05/03 St. David's, Cardiff, Wales
05/04 Colston Hall, Bristol
05/05 Guildhall, Portsmouth
05/07 Corn Exchange, Cambridge
05/08 Open, Norwich, England
05/10 Symphony Hall, Birmingham
05/11 Westminster Central Hall, London
05/14 Albert Hall, Manchester
05/16 City Hall, Newcastle
05/18 Opera House, Buxton
05/19 City Hall, Leeds
05/22 Hydro Arena, Glasgow
05/24 Sound City, Liverpool, England
06/09 Upper Darby, PA - Tower Theatre
06/10 New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall
06/11 Washington, DC - Echostage
06/14 Columbus, OH LC - Pavilion
06/17 Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre
06/18 Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theatre
07/02-07/04 ATP Iceland, Keflavik, Iceland

* Not to be confused with the St Jerome's Laneway Festival.

Belle and Sebastian at Enmore Theatre, Sydney (29 Jan 2015) photo by Sally

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Bluejuice @ Newcastle Panthers - April 2nd, 2010

The Holidays

"Don't even.... don't even"...... Aah, the catch cry of a lovely Newcastle lass, wearing but only a few scraps of material and some high heels that would intimidate the most accomplished drag queen, being hoisted over the shoulder of a boy who's visible arse crack could easily hold more than a dozen pens. Don't get me wrong, venturing back to my hometown for a night out always fills me with joy, but wow.... did i feel overdressed! Anyway, enough of the talk about the Panthers clientele. Each to their own, Sally. Each to their own.

Newcastle Panthers (I still call it Newcastle Workers Club - force of habit). Have you been there? It is quite the soulless establishment. Downstairs is like a giant room with the odd partition and approximately a quarter of it taken up by poker machines; sport on every channel and a delightful display window where you can choose from a range of fabulous prizes if you spend several squillion on the poker machines. 

Now i hadn't seen a live show at the place since a certain Hoodoo Gurus / Spiderbait / Peabody show in.... ooh, had to be about 2004. I admit, i was a bit nervous going on past experience (not to mention the several scary nights i'd had in that auditorium watching various jazz ballet concerts.... yeah, I'll say no more).... let's just say i spent the entire duration of Spiderbait's set waiting in the line for the bar.

So the night was set to see Bluejuice on the big stage (yeah, it's not that big). First though, there were a couple of support acts that i should mention. Right! The first band... well, i didn't catch their name. They looked to be, possibly, a young local band? Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong and you were there. Loud and dirty, couldn't really hear a melody as such, but I must admit i didn't give them a good listen. Maybe next time.

 

The Holidays - Moonlight Hours

 The second band, a band you may be familiar with, were none other than The Holidays. A bunch of guys from Sydney; couple of guitars, keyboards, bass and a percussion section with bongo drums. Nice. Now, when i go and see a band named The Holidays I want to be hearing upbeat and uplifting tunes. I want to feel the urge to dance. Did that happen? Well, yeah... i hope it wasn't the vodka talking, but you may have been able to catch me having a little boogie. Quite calypso in their feel, you might say a tropical holiday-esque feel (you probably wouldn't though). After turning up with only knowledge of their single, Moonlight Hours (have a listen to it on their myspace page, very catchy or just clicky on that there youtube clip), I didn't really know what to expect. I can't say that they have a wealth of different sounding songs, but if you like Moonlight Hours, i guarantee you'll also like the rest of their songs. As far as stage presence was concerned, it was pretty standard. No crazy antics to fire up the Newcastle crowd, but i can't say it was boring. They did succeed in making me feel old, however. The Holidays: Nice shoes.

Bluejuice

So, I'm not sure if it was a good or bad thing. Probably good for me (crowd-hater), but not so good for Bluejuice. The auditorium was nowhere as full as i expected it to be (and they'd barricaded off the sides of the room making the area even smaller)... especially based on the fact that the majority of pubs in Newcastle would have closed before Bluejuice went on stage (ie. assumed influx of Good Friday drunkards) ...AND i would have thought Bluejuice would have been right up your average Newcastle persons alley. Not a shabby sized crowd though by any means; and they loved it, which is the main thing. I've never seen a crowd get into the clapping and hand actions to quite the same extreme. It was a bit like a hardcore wiggles concert in that respect.

Adorned in karate uniforms they took to the stage to play every single from their now current album Head of the Hawk as well as quite a few others; all the hits (.... Broken Leg, Ain't Telling the Truth, Vitriol, etc), some old some new. As well as the "hits" there were quite a few new inclusions to the set list. Quite an exciting indication of offerings to come. With the same quantity of energy that you usually get at a Bluejuice show the guys delivered what seemed like about 20 songs with only the odd occasion of microphone disconnection and no injuries to speak of (even with a spot of crowd surfing included).

Special mention also goes out to whoever prepared the lighting/background animal related animations going on during the show (I assume keeping in with the giant animal theme that runs through the album and single art for their current new album Head of The Hawk). Very amusing. Brilliant!

So, you fancy seeing them? Well, there's still a load more tour dates on the list... quite the road trip for anyone with no job and/or a lot of time on their hands:

 

Bluejuice - "Ain't Telling The Truth"

WEDNESDAY 7 APRIL – ROI BAR, ALBURY

THURSDAY 8 APRIL – EUREKA HOTEL, GEELONG

FRIDAY 9 APRIL – PRINCE OF WALES, MELBOURNE

SATURDAY 10 APRIL – KAROVA LOUNGE, BALLARAT

SUNDAY 11 APRIL – THE SOUNDS LOUD ALL AGES FESTIVAL, MOONEE VALLEY (ALL AGES)

THURSDAY 15 APRIL – ANU BAR, CANBERRA

FRIDAY 16 APRIL – UNI OF TASMANIA, TASMANIA

SATURDAY 17 APRIL – HOTEL NEW YORK, LAUNCESTON

FRIDAY 23 APRIL – HI FI, BRISBANE

SATURDAY 24 APRIL – COOLONGATTA HOTEL, COOLANGATTA

SUNDAY 25 APRIL – GREAT NORTHERN HOTEL, BYRON BAY

THURSDAY 29 APRIL – WOLLONGONG UNI, WOLLONGONG

FRIDAY 30 APRIL – KATOOMBA RSL, KATOOMBA

SATURDAY 1 MAY – PANTHERS, BATHURST

WEDNESDAY 5 MAY – THE GOV, ADELAIDE (ALL AGES)

THURSDAY 6 MAY – NEWPORT HOTEL, FREMANTLE

FRIDAY 7 MAY – PRINCE OF WALES, BUNBURY

SATURDAY 8 MAY – CAPITOL, PERTH

Official website: http://www.bluejuice.info/

 

That's all for now.

 

Sally

[email protected]

 04/05/2010 10:37:48 ♥ sally () ♥weheartmusic.com♥twitter.com/weheartmusic♥news.weheartmusic.com  

Kaiser Chiefs - Enmore Theatre, Sydney - March 31

Kaiser Chiefs - The Angry Mob Kaiser Chiefs Read More Kaiser Chiefs http://weheartmus... Kaiser Chiefs - I Heard It Through The Grapevine There is a top floor, which you can overlook a...

After not actually planning to attend this show, thinking $90 was a bit steep for a band that will probably tour Australia a few more times before they vanish off the face of the planet, I went. But honestly... the Kaiser Chiefs with Razorlight and the Temper Trap... of course it was going to be worth it.

I had only seen Razorlight a few weeks previous (click here for review), so no surprises really. Pretty much exactly the same show. Except the drummer seemed to have morphed into a different person (with brilliant facial expressions). On that topic, interestingly enough, the internet has provided me with two interesting pieces of information:
    1. Andy Burrows, Razorlight drummer, has recently quit the band; and
    2. Andy Burrows, Razorlight drummer, has a knitting addiction.

Hmm.... i wonder if these two things are related (or true, for that matter).

Anyway, Johnny was maniacally bouncing around, not a lot of talking... or any engagement of the crowd for that matter. To tell you the truth, it was slightly boring. Specifically, I'm talking about the long, self-indulgent rendition of In The City, which went on for about 7 hours (give or take a couple of hours). It's possible though, that it was because I'd seen it all before.

Overall, despite my short attention span, Razorlight do put on an excellent and entertaining performance.

Kaiser Chiefs - Enmore Theatre Sydney

The band i was actually there to see, however, were the Kaiser Chiefs. These guys never disappoint and were true to form. It's simply beautiful, the way in which young (I say young, but secretly hope he's older than me) Ricky Wilson engages the crowd; gets everyone riled up. I thought I was sure to cop a fondle this time (after missing out last time when he "crowd surfed from the stage to the back bar at the Metro theatre) after he was carried him on their shoulders as far as the barrier in the middle of the lower floor of the Enmore and proceeded to "crowd surf" back, but alas... no.

Brilliant show, completely unpretentious. Never Miss A Beat, The Angry Mob, Good Days Bad Days, Everyday I love You Less and Less, Ruby..... all sing-a-long-able tunes. Ricky getting slowly more trollied as the night went on, culminating in dragging one of the shirtless yobs up on to the stage, only to be hoisted onto his shoulders. Gold. The only unfortunate thing about it was the borderline view of the guys front bits (and the not so borederline view of his arse).... oh and that the drum stick that was aimed at his arse crack by drummer, Nick Hodgson, missed it's target.

I don't know about you, or anyone else, but to me, The Kaiser Chiefs transport me out of Australia, back to England, specifically the Northern half of England. Laid back... with a pint and a sausage butty (*shudder*).... or specifically a seedy student bar in Preston.... but we don't need to go there!

So next time, when you think.... "deary me, $90 for a band", if it's the Kaiser Chiefs... say "Yes, please!".

Kaiser Chiefs and Borderline Man Muff

In case you were wondering, the boys have a few shows coming up...

07/04/09	Singapore, Fort Canning Park
19/06/09	Budapest, Hungary, Papp Laszlo Budapest Sportarena
04/07/09	Arras, France, Main Square Festival
05/07/09	Belgium, Werchter Festival
18/07/09	Norway, slottsfjell festival
24/07/09	Copenhagen, Denmark, Fredagsrock
28/08/09	Reading, Reading Festival
30/08/09	Leeds, Leeds Festival

For more info and other treats, pop long to their website: http://www.kaiserchiefs.co.uk

Hang on! What happened to the Temper Trap? Ripped off!

See you later.
Sally
[email protected]

 

Primal Scream @ The Forum

Sydney, 4th February, 2009 - with Wolf and Cub

Primal Scream is one of the bands in a special list in my head. This list is of bands that I know if I don’t see them now, I will never get a chance to see them. Bands that were at their height in the 90s, that went all quiet (or broke up) and have now come back…. just for me (or so I like to think). Dodgy, The Coral, The Jesus and Mary Chain… and now Primal Scream.

Primal Scream

I managed to miss the support act Wolf and Cub, which is a bit disappointing, but being a Wednesday night at a venue that really doesn’t have the most direct public transport link from my house, meant that I wasn’t going to be there early. Plus someone was offering me a lift…. Beggars can’t be choosers. Anyway, managed to get a pretty good viewing spot (or so I thought) even turning up as late as I did.

I’m not sure whether I should be ashamed to admit it, but when the band walked on stage I couldn’t help myself from smiling like a village idiot and nearly weeing my pants. Bobby Gillespie! Mani!.... and the other ones…. I hadn’t really known what to expect.

I must say, and I nearly wish I didn’t have this opinion, that I was more excited about seeing them in person than I was impressed by their music. It was very loud (however we were standing in front of the largest speaker stack ever constructed) and bobby wasn’t really able to carry a tune, but the tight jeans and overall aura of awesomeness of them cancelled it out.

Primal Scream

Bobby swung from wild arm waving to standing in a zombie-like state (I could have sworn he was looking at someone at the side of stage for a signal to begin singing again). Trying to determine whether Bobby was just out of it, or if he just naturally looks like a zombie, did occupy a large chunk of my brain. Not a lot of chit-chat, not coherent chit-chat anyway… but whether that was because he was a completely trollied or just Scottish, who can tell?

 

 

Primal Scream - Suicide Sally & Johnny Guitar

They played everything I wanted (except for Loaded, but I won’t whine about it)… I even had a bit of a sing-along with Movin’ On Up. Most importantly they played Suicide Sally and Johnny Guitar, because I do like a good song with my name in it.

So I can now cross another band off my list... and another member of the Stone Roses (one day I’ll see them all, I’m collecting them one by one). Brilliant!

Sally

[email protected]

Photos by Greg