When four piece band, Grizzly Bear from Brooklyn appeared on the Sydney Festival 2010 bill, tickets to their shows quickly sold out. It's not surprising really, with the bands thrid studio album 'Veckatmist' receiving raving reviews and overwhelming attention all over the globe. The live shows were held at The City Recital Hall in Angel Place, one of Sydney's hidden treasures for live music and a venue vastly under used for mainstream music acts. This unique acoustically designed auditorium was perfect for this type of event, making the music and the live experience both intense and intimate.
The complexity of this band is truly amazing. With intertwined vocals, four part harmonies, counterpart melodies and various band members (Chris Taylor and Edward Droste in particular) often playing multiple instruments during songs, Grizzly Bear are truly a very rare combination found in a live music setting. Each band member shared the stage equally in a straight line configuration and even drummer Christopher Bear, was set to the front of the stage giving the audience an easy vantage point.
The set mainly focused on the new album 'Veckatmist', opening the show with the thumping track Southern Point followed by the more popular song with the most radio air play - Two Weeks. However, it wasn't until the foursome sang Cheerleader that we really got to hear the beauty and full extent of this band in perfect harmonization. Other tracks from the new record included Ready Able, While You Wait for the Others and the encore acoustic version of All We Ask. Older favourites also made the list with a balance between the previous albums 'Horn of Plenty' and 'Yellow House' featuring Colorado, Knife, On a Neck, On a Split, Lullaby, Service Bell (without Feist) and Deep Blue Sea.
The one thing I'll say about Grizzly Bear is that they are absolutely breathtaking live. Definately a delightful, joyous and unforgettable musical experience that left me with that overwhelming, warm and fuzzy feeling you can't shake for days. This is ultimately what live music is all about!
Thank you Grizzly Bear and thank you to the organiser's of the 2010 Sydney Festival for bringing them out to Australia.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ Hordern Pavilion on Friday 8 January, 2010
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are a fascinating band who are forever transforming their sound whilst at the same time, always able to producce a notoriously deadly live experience to their loyal fans.
After headlining a swag of summer festivals in Australia, the NYC trio finally gives into a couple of side shows in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney to perforem their universally adored new album, 'Its Blitz!'.
I went to the sold out show at Sydney's Hordern Pavilion last Friday and the venue was electrically charged with the excitement of the unexpected. The YYY's are renowned for putting on a crazy show that surprises, enthralls and commands the audiences' attention.
The stage set up was simple with keyboards to the left and a backdrop banner of silver confetti ring behind a giant eye ball prop hanging over Brain Chase's drum kit. The right hand side of the stage was set up for Nick Zinner's fuzzy guitar trickery leaving just enough space, front and centre for Karen O to sing and jump around in her crazy colourful costumes.
The YYY's opened the show with Karen O singing from backstage, then emerging after the first verse of an old track called Shake It. She was dressed in a draped frock with colourful dangly bits and black tights under a red and green poncho cape. Shake It was an odd choice to start with as this raw, rough and ready track does not appear on any of the recorded albums or EP's but is a YYY's favourite for live shows sets.
To warm up the crowd with familiarity the next song played was Phenomena from the 2006 album 'Show Your Bones'. In between songs Karen O swigs her water and then spits it up into the air... she is absolutely wild and likes to shock and pump up the crowd. Coming into track 3 and the sound of the synth intro leads in and when Karen O sings "Off with your head, Dance til you're dead, Heads will roll, Heads will roll, Head will roll - on the floor"... the audience starts cheering and screaming. This is clearly a favourite from the new album and no doubt one of their most popular tracks from 2009.
Slowing down the pace at the halfway mark is the sound of the 3/4 drum beat intro and the crowd clapping along with Karen O singing "Gold lion's gonna tell me where the light is". The rest of the set unfolds into a great mixture of old and new material with tracks like Black Tongue, Y Control and Pin from the debut album 'Fever To Tell', 10X10 from the 'IS IS' EP, as well as Dull Life, Skeletons and SoftShock from the new 'It's Blitz!'.
Towards the end of the set Karen O screams out "Party tonight Sydney" before ripping into the song everyone had been waiting for - Zero. The audience became hysterical as two giant beach eye balls were released into the crowd. Zero was the first track released on the 'It's Blitz!' record and is most definately the bands more poppy and mainstream, art punk/dance tracks. With apparent similarities and influences to the bass line and synth progressions of New Order's Blue Monday this single has really given the YYY's some major airplay worldwide, switching this raw garage punk/ska trio into the mainstream forefront.
Cheated Hearts was the last song on the main bill before Karen O , Nick and Brian briefly left the stage pre encore. On return in her last costume change for the night Karen O makes some dedications to the broader YYY's crew, producers and promoters before singing an acoustic version of Maps from the 'Fever To Tell' record. The show closer was another from the debut album - the heavy, edgy, punk track Date With The Night.
I love this band. I would even go as far as saying that their album 'It's Blitz!' is in my top 10 album list for 2009. Karen o's wild and manic vocal delivery is amazing and her dress up wardrobe is quite impressive. She can adapt her voice to be both tough and tender which is an important aspect in the transformation of the YYY's sound. Nick Zinner's fuzzy, buzzing guitar mastery and Brian's mad drumming makes the YYY's sound loud, heavy and raw.
The YYY's are a gritty, trashy, in your face contemporary punk puck outfit who are seriously cool without even trying.
Supporting Act - Circle Pit http://www.myspace.com/circlepit
YYY's Setlist:
Shake It
Phenomena
Head Will Roll
Black Tongue
10X10
Dull Life
Gold Lion
Y Control
Skeletons
SoftShock
Pin
Zero
Cheated Hearts
Encore:
Maps (acoustic)
Art Star
Date With The Night
After headlining a swag of summer festivals in Australia, the NYC trio finally gives into a couple of side shows in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney to perforem their universally adored new album, 'Its Blitz!'.
I went to the sold out show at Sydney's Hordern Pavilion last Friday and the venue was electrically charged with the excitement of the unexpected. The YYY's are renowned for putting on a crazy show that surprises, enthralls and commands the audiences' attention.
The stage set up was simple with keyboards to the left and a backdrop banner of silver confetti ring behind a giant eye ball prop hanging over Brain Chase's drum kit. The right hand side of the stage was set up for Nick Zinner's fuzzy guitar trickery leaving just enough space, front and centre for Karen O to sing and jump around in her crazy colourful costumes.
The YYY's opened the show with Karen O singing from backstage, then emerging after the first verse of an old track called Shake It. She was dressed in a draped frock with colourful dangly bits and black tights under a red and green poncho cape. Shake It was an odd choice to start with as this raw, rough and ready track does not appear on any of the recorded albums or EP's but is a YYY's favourite for live shows sets.
To warm up the crowd with familiarity the next song played was Phenomena from the 2006 album 'Show Your Bones'. In between songs Karen O swigs her water and then spits it up into the air... she is absolutely wild and likes to shock and pump up the crowd. Coming into track 3 and the sound of the synth intro leads in and when Karen O sings "Off with your head, Dance til you're dead, Heads will roll, Heads will roll, Head will roll - on the floor"... the audience starts cheering and screaming. This is clearly a favourite from the new album and no doubt one of their most popular tracks from 2009.
Slowing down the pace at the halfway mark is the sound of the 3/4 drum beat intro and the crowd clapping along with Karen O singing "Gold lion's gonna tell me where the light is". The rest of the set unfolds into a great mixture of old and new material with tracks like Black Tongue, Y Control and Pin from the debut album 'Fever To Tell', 10X10 from the 'IS IS' EP, as well as Dull Life, Skeletons and SoftShock from the new 'It's Blitz!'.
Towards the end of the set Karen O screams out "Party tonight Sydney" before ripping into the song everyone had been waiting for - Zero. The audience became hysterical as two giant beach eye balls were released into the crowd. Zero was the first track released on the 'It's Blitz!' record and is most definately the bands more poppy and mainstream, art punk/dance tracks. With apparent similarities and influences to the bass line and synth progressions of New Order's Blue Monday this single has really given the YYY's some major airplay worldwide, switching this raw garage punk/ska trio into the mainstream forefront.
Cheated Hearts was the last song on the main bill before Karen O , Nick and Brian briefly left the stage pre encore. On return in her last costume change for the night Karen O makes some dedications to the broader YYY's crew, producers and promoters before singing an acoustic version of Maps from the 'Fever To Tell' record. The show closer was another from the debut album - the heavy, edgy, punk track Date With The Night.
I love this band. I would even go as far as saying that their album 'It's Blitz!' is in my top 10 album list for 2009. Karen o's wild and manic vocal delivery is amazing and her dress up wardrobe is quite impressive. She can adapt her voice to be both tough and tender which is an important aspect in the transformation of the YYY's sound. Nick Zinner's fuzzy, buzzing guitar mastery and Brian's mad drumming makes the YYY's sound loud, heavy and raw.
The YYY's are a gritty, trashy, in your face contemporary punk puck outfit who are seriously cool without even trying.
Supporting Act - Circle Pit http://www.myspace.com/circlepit
YYY's Setlist:
Shake It
Phenomena
Head Will Roll
Black Tongue
10X10
Dull Life
Gold Lion
Y Control
Skeletons
SoftShock
Pin
Zero
Cheated Hearts
Encore:
Maps (acoustic)
Art Star
Date With The Night
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Jamie T and the Pacemakers @ The Metro Theatre on Wednesday 16 September, 2009
Two years after the release of his debut album Panic Prevention, Jamie T is back in Australia with his band the Pacemakers promoting and touring his highly anticipated second album Kings and Queens.
With the first show of the Australian tour kicking off at the Metro Theatre in Sydney you wouldn't have thought it was a wednesday night with so many keen, hyped and boisterous locals buzzing with excitement inside and outside the venue on George street. The popularity of Jamie T amonst the Australian audience is obvious and proven by the high rotation radio play of his songs and the sold out shows in all the capital cities around the country.
Inside, the crowd was swarming and eargerly waiting for the energised Jamie T's set. Not much attention was being paid to the support act Ernest Ellis as everyone was too busy getting into a good position or trying to buy beers in the four to five deep bar lines before the show.
At 10pm the highly enthusiastic and restless crowd roar to welcome Jamie T and the Pacemakers onto the stage. Jamie t looks every bit the typical English lad wearing a denim jacket on top of a hoodie pulled over a baseball cap, smoking and swigging a VB.
Getting stright to it the set was a great mixture of old and new material kicking off with a playful version of the lead track from his 2007 debut album Panic Prevention, " Brand New Bass Guitar'. Backed by the Pacemakers, the range in music genres and styles including hip hop, punk and rock blends really complimented and reshaped Jamie's original format of bass beats and samples. A couple of songs in after '368', the crowds energy ramped up to which Jamie T and Pacemakers were able to maintain and carry through the rest of the night. In between tracks Jamie would chat to the crowd expressing his gratitude and how glad his was to be back in Oz.
Next on Jamie T's set list was a dedication - putting the song 'Earth, Wind & Fire' out there to his father for being a 'double hard bastard', followed by the poppy, light hearted new single 'Chuka Demus', which proved to show that even though the new album had only been released in Australia for a short time the local crowd of fans were up on all the new tracks and lyrics.
At the half way mark, the crowd sing-a-long participation continues to increase and the front section turns into a moshpit when Jamie T and the Pacemakers fall back to some of the golden oldies like'Back in the Game', and 'Sheila' just before the roof is ripped off with that old faithful and obvious favourite 'If you got the Money'. By the end of the night everyone was dancing and singing to every song until Jamie T and the Pacemakers left the stage for a short berak pre encore.
Waiting for the encore, the crowd became loud and crazed, stomping the floor and chanting Jamie T's return to stage. He finally appears alone and to slow down the pace he opens with the sensative and delicate slow acoustic sounds of 'Emily's Heart'. Unfortunately this song failed to captivate the highly charged crowd which was a real shame, because as large cohorts of the audience talked over this sweet, heartfelt song they missed the softer side of one of the new records more tender and beautifully crafted acoustic tracks showing Jamie T's growth and maturity as an artist. Last but not least and working the crowd into an absolute frenzy of dancing and screaming out lyrics was the final epic track 'Sticks and Stones' which was the song everyone seemed to be waiting for.
It is obvious that jamie t's unique vocal delivery and storytelling lyrical style is a popular and successful combination with his fans. In addition with the Pacemakers genre-fusion of punk, hip hop and rock musical layouts Jamie T's new direction and material is clearly on a winning streak in the music world. In a live setting Jamie brings incredible energy to his shows and feeds off the enthusiasm and excitement of the audience backed up by his band. Was definately one of the most fun, exciting and surprising gigs I have been to all year and I would highly recommend everyone to check him out if given the chance.
With the first show of the Australian tour kicking off at the Metro Theatre in Sydney you wouldn't have thought it was a wednesday night with so many keen, hyped and boisterous locals buzzing with excitement inside and outside the venue on George street. The popularity of Jamie T amonst the Australian audience is obvious and proven by the high rotation radio play of his songs and the sold out shows in all the capital cities around the country.
Inside, the crowd was swarming and eargerly waiting for the energised Jamie T's set. Not much attention was being paid to the support act Ernest Ellis as everyone was too busy getting into a good position or trying to buy beers in the four to five deep bar lines before the show.
At 10pm the highly enthusiastic and restless crowd roar to welcome Jamie T and the Pacemakers onto the stage. Jamie t looks every bit the typical English lad wearing a denim jacket on top of a hoodie pulled over a baseball cap, smoking and swigging a VB.
Getting stright to it the set was a great mixture of old and new material kicking off with a playful version of the lead track from his 2007 debut album Panic Prevention, " Brand New Bass Guitar'. Backed by the Pacemakers, the range in music genres and styles including hip hop, punk and rock blends really complimented and reshaped Jamie's original format of bass beats and samples. A couple of songs in after '368', the crowds energy ramped up to which Jamie T and Pacemakers were able to maintain and carry through the rest of the night. In between tracks Jamie would chat to the crowd expressing his gratitude and how glad his was to be back in Oz.
Next on Jamie T's set list was a dedication - putting the song 'Earth, Wind & Fire' out there to his father for being a 'double hard bastard', followed by the poppy, light hearted new single 'Chuka Demus', which proved to show that even though the new album had only been released in Australia for a short time the local crowd of fans were up on all the new tracks and lyrics.
At the half way mark, the crowd sing-a-long participation continues to increase and the front section turns into a moshpit when Jamie T and the Pacemakers fall back to some of the golden oldies like'Back in the Game', and 'Sheila' just before the roof is ripped off with that old faithful and obvious favourite 'If you got the Money'. By the end of the night everyone was dancing and singing to every song until Jamie T and the Pacemakers left the stage for a short berak pre encore.
Waiting for the encore, the crowd became loud and crazed, stomping the floor and chanting Jamie T's return to stage. He finally appears alone and to slow down the pace he opens with the sensative and delicate slow acoustic sounds of 'Emily's Heart'. Unfortunately this song failed to captivate the highly charged crowd which was a real shame, because as large cohorts of the audience talked over this sweet, heartfelt song they missed the softer side of one of the new records more tender and beautifully crafted acoustic tracks showing Jamie T's growth and maturity as an artist. Last but not least and working the crowd into an absolute frenzy of dancing and screaming out lyrics was the final epic track 'Sticks and Stones' which was the song everyone seemed to be waiting for.
It is obvious that jamie t's unique vocal delivery and storytelling lyrical style is a popular and successful combination with his fans. In addition with the Pacemakers genre-fusion of punk, hip hop and rock musical layouts Jamie T's new direction and material is clearly on a winning streak in the music world. In a live setting Jamie brings incredible energy to his shows and feeds off the enthusiasm and excitement of the audience backed up by his band. Was definately one of the most fun, exciting and surprising gigs I have been to all year and I would highly recommend everyone to check him out if given the chance.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Doves @ The Metro Theatre on Wednesday 29 July, 2009
It’s been four long years since the Manchester indie band Doves released any new music and recently they’ve been back in Australia to promote their new album ‘Kingdom of Rust’. Doves played as one of the international acts on the Splendour in the Grass festival line up, and also managed to squeeze in a few exclusive sideshows in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. I was lucky to catch these guys at one of the two sold out Sydney shows at the Metro Theater on the 29th of July, 2009.
After touring and promoting their last album ‘Some Cities’ in 2005, this three piece band featuring Jimi Goodwin (bass/guitar/vocals) and twin brothers Jez Williams (guitar/vocals) and Andy Williams (drums) took a break before moving to a farm in Cheshire in the north west of England to write, play and record songs for their new 2009 album – ‘Kingdom of Rust’.
Doves first came to my attention in 2002 when they released their second album ‘Last Broadcast’. Since then, I have followed their musical journey and was particularly interested in hearing their new album live and seeing the audience’s response to the natural progression and maturity of a band that in my opinion, excels in producing robust earthy tunes of melancholy that are both soulful and sentimental.
To open the night, the supporting act was an Australian band from Townsville, QLD called The Middle East. After releasing their debut EP ‘The Recordings of The Middle East’ earlier this year, this relatively new 5 piece band have managed to get some radio airplay with 2 of their tracks Blood and The Darkest Side.
The Middle East is an indie/rock band with a distinct folk feel and influence in their musical performance. Their stage was set with a wide variety of instruments consisting of both electric and acoustic guitars, banjo, drums, a keyboard, flute, trumpet, piano accordion, tambourine and xylophone. Their song lyrics and sound is quite sweet and enchanting, playing all the songs featured on their EP as well as spontaneously jamming in between. Their most recognisable song The Darkest Side was calming and magical, making a room full of muffled murmuring silent. The gentle guitar hooks with the combined harmonized blending of all the other instruments and soothing voices really mesmerised the crowd. All the band members lend a hand in vocals by singing a verse each followed by the break out of a musical jamming frenzy. As a supporting act, The Middle East were a good choice in preparing and introducing the crowd to the new tangent yet distinctive trademark sound crafted by what we were about to hear in the Doves new material.
At 9:45pm its time for the Doves set. The stage is dark with a simple black banner in the background with the band’s name ‘DOVES’ written in bold gold capital letters – (mimicking the artwork and gold text on the new album’s cover). To open the show the electronic track Jetstream and first song on the new record immediately starts. This definitely takes you back to the bands early roots in dance music of the 1990s, when the Doves originally formed as a dance act called Sub Sub. However, this track has more of the alternative rock edge infused with electro synth lines representing the evolution of what is now the Doves unique signature sounds.
The set was evenly structured with the band playing a string of the new tracks like ‘Winter Hill, Kingdom of Rust and The Greatest Denier then mixing in some of the old favourites like Snowden, Pounding, Words and Almost Forgot Myself from previous albums 'Some Cities' and the 'Last Broadcast'.
The new Doves sound incorporates hints of country/folk music, indie rock and subtle electronic elements. ‘Kingdom of Rust’ is a great album that demonstrates just how much the Doves have matured as musicians and songwriters.
Jimi Goodwin is definitely a musical purist. He is obviously very passionate about music and aims to perfect every song played to the crowd. He even restarted the track The Outsider at the sound of an off beat to which I am sure no one in the crowd would have noticed. Goodwin later became annoyed with some incredibly rude patrons who were talking over his slow acoustic version of Northenden in the encore. Last but not least, the night ends with what I consider to be the Doves best track and clearly the well known favourite to the majority of the crowd There Goes The Fear.
What impressed me about the Doves set was that they played a vast range of stand out tracks from all their albums with a comfortable ease that was both captivating and pleasing to the faithful audience. As a band that are already reasonably successful, from the response and positive reception of their last two albums ‘The Last Broadcast’ and ‘Some Cities’ it is obvious that the ‘Kingdom of Rust’ album consolidates the fact that the Doves are brilliant at producing incredible music of wonder which will almost certainly increase their fan base significantly.
After touring and promoting their last album ‘Some Cities’ in 2005, this three piece band featuring Jimi Goodwin (bass/guitar/vocals) and twin brothers Jez Williams (guitar/vocals) and Andy Williams (drums) took a break before moving to a farm in Cheshire in the north west of England to write, play and record songs for their new 2009 album – ‘Kingdom of Rust’.
Doves first came to my attention in 2002 when they released their second album ‘Last Broadcast’. Since then, I have followed their musical journey and was particularly interested in hearing their new album live and seeing the audience’s response to the natural progression and maturity of a band that in my opinion, excels in producing robust earthy tunes of melancholy that are both soulful and sentimental.
To open the night, the supporting act was an Australian band from Townsville, QLD called The Middle East. After releasing their debut EP ‘The Recordings of The Middle East’ earlier this year, this relatively new 5 piece band have managed to get some radio airplay with 2 of their tracks Blood and The Darkest Side.
The Middle East is an indie/rock band with a distinct folk feel and influence in their musical performance. Their stage was set with a wide variety of instruments consisting of both electric and acoustic guitars, banjo, drums, a keyboard, flute, trumpet, piano accordion, tambourine and xylophone. Their song lyrics and sound is quite sweet and enchanting, playing all the songs featured on their EP as well as spontaneously jamming in between. Their most recognisable song The Darkest Side was calming and magical, making a room full of muffled murmuring silent. The gentle guitar hooks with the combined harmonized blending of all the other instruments and soothing voices really mesmerised the crowd. All the band members lend a hand in vocals by singing a verse each followed by the break out of a musical jamming frenzy. As a supporting act, The Middle East were a good choice in preparing and introducing the crowd to the new tangent yet distinctive trademark sound crafted by what we were about to hear in the Doves new material.
At 9:45pm its time for the Doves set. The stage is dark with a simple black banner in the background with the band’s name ‘DOVES’ written in bold gold capital letters – (mimicking the artwork and gold text on the new album’s cover). To open the show the electronic track Jetstream and first song on the new record immediately starts. This definitely takes you back to the bands early roots in dance music of the 1990s, when the Doves originally formed as a dance act called Sub Sub. However, this track has more of the alternative rock edge infused with electro synth lines representing the evolution of what is now the Doves unique signature sounds.
The set was evenly structured with the band playing a string of the new tracks like ‘Winter Hill, Kingdom of Rust and The Greatest Denier then mixing in some of the old favourites like Snowden, Pounding, Words and Almost Forgot Myself from previous albums 'Some Cities' and the 'Last Broadcast'.
The new Doves sound incorporates hints of country/folk music, indie rock and subtle electronic elements. ‘Kingdom of Rust’ is a great album that demonstrates just how much the Doves have matured as musicians and songwriters.
Jimi Goodwin is definitely a musical purist. He is obviously very passionate about music and aims to perfect every song played to the crowd. He even restarted the track The Outsider at the sound of an off beat to which I am sure no one in the crowd would have noticed. Goodwin later became annoyed with some incredibly rude patrons who were talking over his slow acoustic version of Northenden in the encore. Last but not least, the night ends with what I consider to be the Doves best track and clearly the well known favourite to the majority of the crowd There Goes The Fear.
What impressed me about the Doves set was that they played a vast range of stand out tracks from all their albums with a comfortable ease that was both captivating and pleasing to the faithful audience. As a band that are already reasonably successful, from the response and positive reception of their last two albums ‘The Last Broadcast’ and ‘Some Cities’ it is obvious that the ‘Kingdom of Rust’ album consolidates the fact that the Doves are brilliant at producing incredible music of wonder which will almost certainly increase their fan base significantly.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Karnivool @ The Metro Theatre on Thursday 25 June, 2009
It has been a very long time but finally Perth’s five piece progressive heavy rock band, Karnviool have returned to Australia to tour the release of their long awaited and highly anticipated second album – ‘Sound Awake’. The last time I recall seeing this band live was at Homebake in December 2008 before heading off to tour in the US. I distinctly remember Ian Kenny’s soaring vocals and the heavy sound of their set with a small sneak preview of the new Karnivool material to come which has obviously proven to be well worth the wait.
It was no surprise to see that the Karnivool shows at the Metro Theatre in Sydney were all sold out. Luckily for me I came across a friend with a very late, last minute spare ticket to the Thursday night gig and I was more than happy to take the opportunity. I arrived quite late that night which meant I missed the support act Sugar Army whom I’m told were actually quite good. It would have been interesting to check out this support act as I have recently been hearing their tracks Tougues in Cheek and Acute frequently played on Triple J and was keen to see how they played and sounded to a live audience. From what I am told the response to this support band was very positive and they are most certainly bound to get some recognition and a following from touring around Oz with Karnivool.
It was after 10pm when I finally got inside and Karnivool had already started their set. As I weaved through the thick crowd to find my friends the new track Set Fire to the Hive began and from that moment on I knew this was going to be a big concert on so many levels. The band obviously has a very strong and loyal following and this became frightfully apparent as you looked around the room to see every person singing every word to every song both old and new. Although most fans were excited to hear the new material with tracks like Goliath and New Day it was evident that the fans long love lie with the first album hits from ‘Themata’ with highlights including the title track Themata, Shutterspeed and Roquefort.
In my opinion Ian Kenny is one of the best front men on stage at the moment. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. His charisma and mesmorising stage presence is amazing and quite similar to that of Nick Cave’s performances. His soaring vocals and brilliant harmonies are never lost within the music and are equally as powerful as the heavy sound produced by the guitars, drums and bass that also share the limelight. The technical precision of these five musicians is outstanding as each track is perfectly intertwined with dueling guitar melodies, deep bold bass lines, aggressive drum beats and harmonising vocals. The combination of all these elements is what makes Karnivool so great live.
Even the encore track Change left the crowd in awe with the fusion of Ian Kenny’s power house vocals in between playing an acoustic guitar as well as perfectly complimenting the heavy, loud and progressive sounds of the full band in electric. This was definitely an impressive show from a band that is destined to go far with their music and live stage performances. Perhaps if Ian Kenny were to take a back seat from his other band Birds of Tokyo, the year 2009 could quite possibly be a big one for Karnivool.
It was no surprise to see that the Karnivool shows at the Metro Theatre in Sydney were all sold out. Luckily for me I came across a friend with a very late, last minute spare ticket to the Thursday night gig and I was more than happy to take the opportunity. I arrived quite late that night which meant I missed the support act Sugar Army whom I’m told were actually quite good. It would have been interesting to check out this support act as I have recently been hearing their tracks Tougues in Cheek and Acute frequently played on Triple J and was keen to see how they played and sounded to a live audience. From what I am told the response to this support band was very positive and they are most certainly bound to get some recognition and a following from touring around Oz with Karnivool.
It was after 10pm when I finally got inside and Karnivool had already started their set. As I weaved through the thick crowd to find my friends the new track Set Fire to the Hive began and from that moment on I knew this was going to be a big concert on so many levels. The band obviously has a very strong and loyal following and this became frightfully apparent as you looked around the room to see every person singing every word to every song both old and new. Although most fans were excited to hear the new material with tracks like Goliath and New Day it was evident that the fans long love lie with the first album hits from ‘Themata’ with highlights including the title track Themata, Shutterspeed and Roquefort.
In my opinion Ian Kenny is one of the best front men on stage at the moment. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. His charisma and mesmorising stage presence is amazing and quite similar to that of Nick Cave’s performances. His soaring vocals and brilliant harmonies are never lost within the music and are equally as powerful as the heavy sound produced by the guitars, drums and bass that also share the limelight. The technical precision of these five musicians is outstanding as each track is perfectly intertwined with dueling guitar melodies, deep bold bass lines, aggressive drum beats and harmonising vocals. The combination of all these elements is what makes Karnivool so great live.
Even the encore track Change left the crowd in awe with the fusion of Ian Kenny’s power house vocals in between playing an acoustic guitar as well as perfectly complimenting the heavy, loud and progressive sounds of the full band in electric. This was definitely an impressive show from a band that is destined to go far with their music and live stage performances. Perhaps if Ian Kenny were to take a back seat from his other band Birds of Tokyo, the year 2009 could quite possibly be a big one for Karnivool.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
The Grates @ The Forum – Sydney on Friday 8 May, 2009
Yes, those crazy kids known as The Grates are back touring around the country promoting their second album ‘Teeth Lost, Hearts Won’ and on Friday night they rocked a full house at the Forum in Sydney. With the reputation for being one of Australia’s most fun loving, flamboyant and active live bands this was definitely a show not to be missed.
The gig opened with two support acts; the first being the Triple J Unearthed High winners Tom Ugly, formerly known as IS followed by the heavy sounds of the well established Melbourne band Children Collide. Not knowing too much about the band Tom Ugly, I did recognise two tracks in their short set which were Roll Again and Cult Romance which was the song that won them the Triple J Unearthed high school band comp. Next on the bill was to be the heavy rock tunes of Children Collide. They opened their set with a track from their 2006 EP We Are Amphibious follower by a barrage of tracks from their debut album ‘The Long Now’ including Across The Earth, Farewell Rocketship, Skeleton Dance and ending with Social Currency. After the rockin’ performance from Children Collide the crowd was well and truly hyped up and ready to sing along to the catchy songs of The Grates and bounce around the place with the energetic and enthusiastic front woman Patience Hodgson.
In the midst of waiting for the main act I focused my attention to the random props scattered on the stage. There was a wagon wheel and some hay, a few fence palings as well as the head of a deer and a wild boar. It was quite bizarre and didn’t really make any sense until Patience Hodgson appeared on stage dressed in a cowgirl suit launching straight into the first track Carve Your Name.
I’ve seen The Grates live before and I am so amazed at the energy and stamina of the leading lady Patience. The effervescence she brings to the performance is immediately infectious. She bounced and danced around the stage for the whole concert without any hint of loss of breathe or tiredness. Her crowd interaction is amazing. She likes to involve and talk to the crowd as well as encourage crowd participation for example and I quote ‘breaking out your spirit fingers’ in the songs Burn Bridges. At one point she jumped off stage and into the crowd climbing onto the shoulders of fans to sing the song Trampoline.
The next half of the set continued with more boot scooting and dancing to Milk Eyes, 19 2020, Science is Golden and the last track Inside Outside. After a short break the band returned to the stage for the encore joined by the lead singer from the support band Tom Ugly. Patience and Tom sang a duet before closing the night with Aw Yeah which was well received by the crowd.
The Grates are always so much fun to see live. If you’ve never seen them before I highly recommend you do. Definitely a show not to be missed and I guarantee you’re in for a fun filled ‘grate’ time.
The gig opened with two support acts; the first being the Triple J Unearthed High winners Tom Ugly, formerly known as IS followed by the heavy sounds of the well established Melbourne band Children Collide. Not knowing too much about the band Tom Ugly, I did recognise two tracks in their short set which were Roll Again and Cult Romance which was the song that won them the Triple J Unearthed high school band comp. Next on the bill was to be the heavy rock tunes of Children Collide. They opened their set with a track from their 2006 EP We Are Amphibious follower by a barrage of tracks from their debut album ‘The Long Now’ including Across The Earth, Farewell Rocketship, Skeleton Dance and ending with Social Currency. After the rockin’ performance from Children Collide the crowd was well and truly hyped up and ready to sing along to the catchy songs of The Grates and bounce around the place with the energetic and enthusiastic front woman Patience Hodgson.
In the midst of waiting for the main act I focused my attention to the random props scattered on the stage. There was a wagon wheel and some hay, a few fence palings as well as the head of a deer and a wild boar. It was quite bizarre and didn’t really make any sense until Patience Hodgson appeared on stage dressed in a cowgirl suit launching straight into the first track Carve Your Name.
I’ve seen The Grates live before and I am so amazed at the energy and stamina of the leading lady Patience. The effervescence she brings to the performance is immediately infectious. She bounced and danced around the stage for the whole concert without any hint of loss of breathe or tiredness. Her crowd interaction is amazing. She likes to involve and talk to the crowd as well as encourage crowd participation for example and I quote ‘breaking out your spirit fingers’ in the songs Burn Bridges. At one point she jumped off stage and into the crowd climbing onto the shoulders of fans to sing the song Trampoline.
The next half of the set continued with more boot scooting and dancing to Milk Eyes, 19 2020, Science is Golden and the last track Inside Outside. After a short break the band returned to the stage for the encore joined by the lead singer from the support band Tom Ugly. Patience and Tom sang a duet before closing the night with Aw Yeah which was well received by the crowd.
The Grates are always so much fun to see live. If you’ve never seen them before I highly recommend you do. Definitely a show not to be missed and I guarantee you’re in for a fun filled ‘grate’ time.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Kings Of Leon @ Sydney Entertainment Centre on Thursday 19 March, 2009
Ever since the release of their fourth studio album ‘Only By The Night’ the Kings Of Leon have become one of the most popular international rock bands of our times. The commercial success of their new album featuring the number one hit Sex on Fire has gained the band a very large fan base worldwide. In Australia alone, it is clear that the King Of Leon are fast becoming the nations favourite international band with sold out shows all over the country - two at the Sydney Entertainment Centre and a third show at Acer Arena.
I have been following the Kings Of Leon since their first album ‘Youth and Young Manhood’ and I am amazed at how these four young men from Nashville, Tennessee have evolved musically from the once shy indie rock misfits into a major mainstream top selling alternate rock band. With some fans jumping on the Kings Of Leon popularity train after the success of new tracks like Sex of Fire and Use Somebody seeing hordes of people packed out in the Sydney Entertainment Centre grandstands made me realise just how popular these four American’s have actually become in such a short time.
For such a big time band in one of Sydney’s larger music venues the stage set up was quite small and modest with the distinct KOL branded drum kit front and centre. At 915pm as the lights faded to darkness there was an instant wave of excitement throughout the crowd as the Followill boys came on stage. With no introductions they went straight into the first track with the haunting echoes and creepy bass line of Closer - my personal favourite of the new record.
It is a well known fact that the Kings Of Leon are not a band that interacts much with the crowd. With no breaks, pause or words the boys just let the music do the talking with the tracks My Party, Molly’s Chambers, and King Of The Rodeo before front man Caleb said ‘Hey we’re the King Of Leon.’
Next on the list was Crawl, Revelry and Red Light Morning and at this point the crowd seemed to be bored. I couldn’t help but think that it may have been the fact that most of the fans were ‘new recruits’ from the commercial success of the latest Kings album. Then all of a sudden the crowd came back to life after Caleb Followill’s quick words ‘Hey guys this is a rock concert so please don’t be shy to sing along if you want too’. After this came big cheers and then the number one track Sex on Fire, which was obviously the song everyone was waiting for.
Hit after hit was to follow taking us to the half way mark with Use Somebody, On Call and the feel good songs Fans, Manhattan and Wasted Time. Slowing the pace down a little with Milk we were now entering the closing of the part of the main set. To finish the show the boys played California Waiting and Taper Jean Girl before bidding the crowd farewell and leaving the stage for a quick rest or drink before the encore.
After a short wait, it was all down to the grand finale of the encore and what better way to end the night by whipping the crowd into a final frenzy with the tracks Knocked Up, Charmer and Slow Night So Long. Before departing the stage altogether front man Caleb Followill confesses to the fans ‘We love Australia and it is one of our favourite places to be. Thank you for supporting us right from the beginning.’ The crowd then cheered and screamed wildly as we saw the backs of Caleb, Nathan, Matthew and Jared walking away until next time.
Coming on from a slow starting evening with a lack of interaction from both the band with the crowd and visa versa it is safe to say that by the end of the night the crowd was buzzing and the Followill boys had warmed up and finally relaxed. As a long time KOL fan, I have to say that is was refreshing to hear all the popular tracks from the new album but even better to hear a vast selection from the back catalogue. No wonder these four young men have become Australia’s most loved rock legends. I’m sure you’ll all agree; Kings Of Leon, you’re welcome back anytime!
I have been following the Kings Of Leon since their first album ‘Youth and Young Manhood’ and I am amazed at how these four young men from Nashville, Tennessee have evolved musically from the once shy indie rock misfits into a major mainstream top selling alternate rock band. With some fans jumping on the Kings Of Leon popularity train after the success of new tracks like Sex of Fire and Use Somebody seeing hordes of people packed out in the Sydney Entertainment Centre grandstands made me realise just how popular these four American’s have actually become in such a short time.
For such a big time band in one of Sydney’s larger music venues the stage set up was quite small and modest with the distinct KOL branded drum kit front and centre. At 915pm as the lights faded to darkness there was an instant wave of excitement throughout the crowd as the Followill boys came on stage. With no introductions they went straight into the first track with the haunting echoes and creepy bass line of Closer - my personal favourite of the new record.
It is a well known fact that the Kings Of Leon are not a band that interacts much with the crowd. With no breaks, pause or words the boys just let the music do the talking with the tracks My Party, Molly’s Chambers, and King Of The Rodeo before front man Caleb said ‘Hey we’re the King Of Leon.’
Next on the list was Crawl, Revelry and Red Light Morning and at this point the crowd seemed to be bored. I couldn’t help but think that it may have been the fact that most of the fans were ‘new recruits’ from the commercial success of the latest Kings album. Then all of a sudden the crowd came back to life after Caleb Followill’s quick words ‘Hey guys this is a rock concert so please don’t be shy to sing along if you want too’. After this came big cheers and then the number one track Sex on Fire, which was obviously the song everyone was waiting for.
Hit after hit was to follow taking us to the half way mark with Use Somebody, On Call and the feel good songs Fans, Manhattan and Wasted Time. Slowing the pace down a little with Milk we were now entering the closing of the part of the main set. To finish the show the boys played California Waiting and Taper Jean Girl before bidding the crowd farewell and leaving the stage for a quick rest or drink before the encore.
After a short wait, it was all down to the grand finale of the encore and what better way to end the night by whipping the crowd into a final frenzy with the tracks Knocked Up, Charmer and Slow Night So Long. Before departing the stage altogether front man Caleb Followill confesses to the fans ‘We love Australia and it is one of our favourite places to be. Thank you for supporting us right from the beginning.’ The crowd then cheered and screamed wildly as we saw the backs of Caleb, Nathan, Matthew and Jared walking away until next time.
Coming on from a slow starting evening with a lack of interaction from both the band with the crowd and visa versa it is safe to say that by the end of the night the crowd was buzzing and the Followill boys had warmed up and finally relaxed. As a long time KOL fan, I have to say that is was refreshing to hear all the popular tracks from the new album but even better to hear a vast selection from the back catalogue. No wonder these four young men have become Australia’s most loved rock legends. I’m sure you’ll all agree; Kings Of Leon, you’re welcome back anytime!
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