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.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
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!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Basement Jaxx @ The Enmore Theatre on Tuesday 3 March, 2009
After headlining this years Future Music Festival tour, it was revealed quite late that the phenomenon that is Basement Jaxx would give their fans some sideshow loving in Sydney and Melbourne exclusively. I had just seen them at the Sydney Future Music Festival at Royal Randwick Racecourse but I was more excited about seeing them in a small intimate venue and what better place to be than the Enmore Theatre in the city’s Inner West.
After battling the queue to get in and to get a drink from the bar, I finally found my way to the dance floor securing a good viewing position for the show. The stage had all the elements of both a rock show and a club dj’s booth with guitars, a drum kit and plenty of percussion surrounding a set of turn tables all for the Basement Jaxx live performance.
To start off the night the crowd was getting warmed up with a house/electro dj set by the half Aussie, half Irish support act The Potbelleez. Even though I personally find The Potbelleez somewhat cheesy, I must admit that I did enjoy their set which featured their three well known hits Trouble Trouble, Are You With Me and a combine electronic/acoustic version of Don’t Hold Back.
Shortly after the support act left Basement Jaxx emerged. With strobe lights flashing and one of the female vocalists dressed in a white wedding dress they launch straight into the opening track Good Luck building the crowd into a frenzy. From that point on it was clear that we were all in for a treat with an extravaganza of dress up costumes, powerhouse vocalists, various musicians, crazy dancing and high levels of energy both on the stage and in the crowd.
After playing a few new tracks they then ripped out an old favourite Red Alert from their debut album Remedy which literally got the place jumping. Following on from this obvious crowd pleaser Ratcliffe and Buxton in their own little dj mix dropped in an unexpected tune, The Kings of Leon’s recent chart topping hit Sex on Fire. At this point everyone was going wild because every track that was being played was brilliant.
Coming to the half way point the tempo was slowed right down with an acapella version of Romeo from the shortest female vocalists with one hell of a big voice. Not only did this allow for a costume change but it also calmed down the highly electrified crowd ensuring some energy was saved for the last part of the exciting show.
The last half hour of the entertainment was spectacularly huge. After the softer part of the evening everyone from the guest vocalists to the room full of Jaxx fans were jumping around to the sounds of the MC belting out the tunes Jump N Shout and Plug It In followed by an interlude dj set with the MC singing a verse of Bob Marley’s Redemption Song.
Then just when you thought it could get no better there it was, that famous question Where’s your head at? Despite the fact that most people think this track is overplayed seeing it live is pretty amazing. With flashing lights, big bass lines and lots of jumping and dancing around this was obviously the song everyone was waiting for and it totally blew the roof off the place.
For the encore they played their playful Broadway jazzy number Do Your Thing and then moved back into more funky territory with the congo’s, drums, piano keyboards and trumpets for the final booty shaken’ showdown with the track Bingo Bango.
All in all it was definitely a fun-filled and entertaining live show that any fan of electronic house music should experience once because Basement Jaxx are not just glorified dj’s. They have truly cracked the interactive music and live performance thing.
After battling the queue to get in and to get a drink from the bar, I finally found my way to the dance floor securing a good viewing position for the show. The stage had all the elements of both a rock show and a club dj’s booth with guitars, a drum kit and plenty of percussion surrounding a set of turn tables all for the Basement Jaxx live performance.
To start off the night the crowd was getting warmed up with a house/electro dj set by the half Aussie, half Irish support act The Potbelleez. Even though I personally find The Potbelleez somewhat cheesy, I must admit that I did enjoy their set which featured their three well known hits Trouble Trouble, Are You With Me and a combine electronic/acoustic version of Don’t Hold Back.
Shortly after the support act left Basement Jaxx emerged. With strobe lights flashing and one of the female vocalists dressed in a white wedding dress they launch straight into the opening track Good Luck building the crowd into a frenzy. From that point on it was clear that we were all in for a treat with an extravaganza of dress up costumes, powerhouse vocalists, various musicians, crazy dancing and high levels of energy both on the stage and in the crowd.
After playing a few new tracks they then ripped out an old favourite Red Alert from their debut album Remedy which literally got the place jumping. Following on from this obvious crowd pleaser Ratcliffe and Buxton in their own little dj mix dropped in an unexpected tune, The Kings of Leon’s recent chart topping hit Sex on Fire. At this point everyone was going wild because every track that was being played was brilliant.
Coming to the half way point the tempo was slowed right down with an acapella version of Romeo from the shortest female vocalists with one hell of a big voice. Not only did this allow for a costume change but it also calmed down the highly electrified crowd ensuring some energy was saved for the last part of the exciting show.
The last half hour of the entertainment was spectacularly huge. After the softer part of the evening everyone from the guest vocalists to the room full of Jaxx fans were jumping around to the sounds of the MC belting out the tunes Jump N Shout and Plug It In followed by an interlude dj set with the MC singing a verse of Bob Marley’s Redemption Song.
Then just when you thought it could get no better there it was, that famous question Where’s your head at? Despite the fact that most people think this track is overplayed seeing it live is pretty amazing. With flashing lights, big bass lines and lots of jumping and dancing around this was obviously the song everyone was waiting for and it totally blew the roof off the place.
For the encore they played their playful Broadway jazzy number Do Your Thing and then moved back into more funky territory with the congo’s, drums, piano keyboards and trumpets for the final booty shaken’ showdown with the track Bingo Bango.
All in all it was definitely a fun-filled and entertaining live show that any fan of electronic house music should experience once because Basement Jaxx are not just glorified dj’s. They have truly cracked the interactive music and live performance thing.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Roni Size Reprazent, the Presets and Fatboy Slim @ Sydney’s Good Vibrations Festival on Saturday 14 February, 2009
Last week on Valentine’s day was the opening leg of the 2009 Good Vibrations music festivals. Unfortunately Sydney was not blessed with the best summer weather with rain, rain and more rain forecasted for the entire day. In genuine UK festival style the rain set in to stay and by late afternoon Centennial Park was riddled with hordes of people dressed in gumboots and plastic rain ponchos ready to dance around in the mud to some great local and international music acts ranging from electro, house, techno, breaks, and drum ‘n’ bass.
The line up included Australian acts such as Van She, Kid Kenobi & MC Shureshock, The Presets and The Potbelleez as well as a range of international guests like headliner Fatboy Slim, Roni Size Reprazent, Q-tip, The Cuban Brothers, Stanton Warriors and Deadmau5 and many more.
Here is a little of what my schedule consisted of:
Roni Size Reprazent – The Roots Tent
After being wet for most of the day it was nice to dry off in the Roots Tent in amongst the body heat of other fanatic drum ‘n’ bass heads. I hadn’t seen Roni Size with his drum ‘n’ bass crew Reprazent live since they was last in Australia promoting the album In the Mode back in 2001. The hour long set was cleverly planned to get the crowd moving with a lot of hard drum ‘n’ bass beats fused with a combination of hybrid hip hop, dub, jungle and jazz. It was definitely an extremely satisfying set with all the MCing, scratching and rewind’s which is exactly what you would expect from the successful drum ‘n’ bass powerhouse.
The Presets – Main Stage
2008 was definitely a big year for Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes of the Presets. With the success of their second studio album Apocalypso the electronic music duo have become widely known and popular throughout the world. After a year of winning music awards and touring all over the globe in a range of both intimate gigs and big name music festivals the boys were back in Sydney for the end of the summer festival season at the first of the 2009 Good Vibrations gigs.
Having seen the Presets a number of times over the past four years I was extremely excited to see their set as they rarely disappoint. I was lucky enough to catch them last year in London at the small intimate music venue Scala. They were touring and promoting their award winning album Apocalypso and I was blown away. Naturally I was hoping for the same experience in festival form but somehow they didn’t quite manage to have the same electric atmosphere.
Opening all their shows with the popular track Talk Like That it was off to a good start. Julian was dressed in a sparkling gold jacket and the crowd was extremely excited and receptive dancing and jumping around ready for a killer set. However there were some sound issues on the main stage and although the Presets didn’t encounter any technical glitches the sound was very low and the crowd became easily distracted. From memory the stand out tracks were Are You The One? My People, Down, Down, Down and Together but apart from that the other tracks seemed to be lost with the combination of low volume and loss of sound in the large open space of the main stage.
Fatboy Slim – Headliner on the Main Stage
There were a lot of people who came to the Good Vibrations festival to see Fatboy Slim. Not playing any side shows around the festivals this particular headliner obviously proved to be highly popular with the Sydney crowd on the day.
Last time Fatboy Slim was in Sydney it was in 2006 for the New Year’s Eve party at Bondi beach. I myself hadn’t seen Fatboy live since his free gig on Brighton Beach in the UK back in 2002, so like many other fans I was also excited to say the least. The only thing that concerned me was could he live up to the high expectations of this Sydney crowd?
As with all live music concerts, gigs and festivals the artists are there to perform and entertain their fans as well as promote their new music, album or sound. At the same time all the crowd wants to hear are the big popular hits or their personal favourite tunes. In a festival setting there should be a happy medium between both parties and on this occasion Fatboy Slim lucked out big time.
Not only did the headliner act disappoint the crowd with a lack of playing his own original tracks as part of his DJ set but he also seemed to struggle to overcome technical difficulties obviously beyond his control with faulty equipment that kept cutting out leaving huge gaps of silence.
Ten minutes into the set and the music completely shut down. All that could be seen was a very annoyed and angry Norman Cook on the big screens frustrated at the poorly supplied equipment and festival crew he had to work with. Finally when it was up and running again we got to hear a few mixed tracks including the Beach Boys, Good Vibrations referring to the name of the festival and the John Paul Young track Love Is In The Air obviously referencing that it was Valentine’s day and then there was silence again.
In an hour and twenty minutes full of technical and equipment difficulties the only Fatboy track I remember hearing was Praise You as it faded out into the White Stripes track Seven Nation Army. Not even an impressive LED laser show could help salvage what turned out to be an unfortunate and disappointing situation for both Fatboy Slim and the fans who had waited all day long in the rain to come and see him play.
In the end a very wet and rainy Good Vibrations seemed to be a musical washout where a potentially great line up on paper didn’t quite manage to get it right on the day.
The line up included Australian acts such as Van She, Kid Kenobi & MC Shureshock, The Presets and The Potbelleez as well as a range of international guests like headliner Fatboy Slim, Roni Size Reprazent, Q-tip, The Cuban Brothers, Stanton Warriors and Deadmau5 and many more.
Here is a little of what my schedule consisted of:
Roni Size Reprazent – The Roots Tent
After being wet for most of the day it was nice to dry off in the Roots Tent in amongst the body heat of other fanatic drum ‘n’ bass heads. I hadn’t seen Roni Size with his drum ‘n’ bass crew Reprazent live since they was last in Australia promoting the album In the Mode back in 2001. The hour long set was cleverly planned to get the crowd moving with a lot of hard drum ‘n’ bass beats fused with a combination of hybrid hip hop, dub, jungle and jazz. It was definitely an extremely satisfying set with all the MCing, scratching and rewind’s which is exactly what you would expect from the successful drum ‘n’ bass powerhouse.
The Presets – Main Stage
2008 was definitely a big year for Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes of the Presets. With the success of their second studio album Apocalypso the electronic music duo have become widely known and popular throughout the world. After a year of winning music awards and touring all over the globe in a range of both intimate gigs and big name music festivals the boys were back in Sydney for the end of the summer festival season at the first of the 2009 Good Vibrations gigs.
Having seen the Presets a number of times over the past four years I was extremely excited to see their set as they rarely disappoint. I was lucky enough to catch them last year in London at the small intimate music venue Scala. They were touring and promoting their award winning album Apocalypso and I was blown away. Naturally I was hoping for the same experience in festival form but somehow they didn’t quite manage to have the same electric atmosphere.
Opening all their shows with the popular track Talk Like That it was off to a good start. Julian was dressed in a sparkling gold jacket and the crowd was extremely excited and receptive dancing and jumping around ready for a killer set. However there were some sound issues on the main stage and although the Presets didn’t encounter any technical glitches the sound was very low and the crowd became easily distracted. From memory the stand out tracks were Are You The One? My People, Down, Down, Down and Together but apart from that the other tracks seemed to be lost with the combination of low volume and loss of sound in the large open space of the main stage.
Fatboy Slim – Headliner on the Main Stage
There were a lot of people who came to the Good Vibrations festival to see Fatboy Slim. Not playing any side shows around the festivals this particular headliner obviously proved to be highly popular with the Sydney crowd on the day.
Last time Fatboy Slim was in Sydney it was in 2006 for the New Year’s Eve party at Bondi beach. I myself hadn’t seen Fatboy live since his free gig on Brighton Beach in the UK back in 2002, so like many other fans I was also excited to say the least. The only thing that concerned me was could he live up to the high expectations of this Sydney crowd?
As with all live music concerts, gigs and festivals the artists are there to perform and entertain their fans as well as promote their new music, album or sound. At the same time all the crowd wants to hear are the big popular hits or their personal favourite tunes. In a festival setting there should be a happy medium between both parties and on this occasion Fatboy Slim lucked out big time.
Not only did the headliner act disappoint the crowd with a lack of playing his own original tracks as part of his DJ set but he also seemed to struggle to overcome technical difficulties obviously beyond his control with faulty equipment that kept cutting out leaving huge gaps of silence.
Ten minutes into the set and the music completely shut down. All that could be seen was a very annoyed and angry Norman Cook on the big screens frustrated at the poorly supplied equipment and festival crew he had to work with. Finally when it was up and running again we got to hear a few mixed tracks including the Beach Boys, Good Vibrations referring to the name of the festival and the John Paul Young track Love Is In The Air obviously referencing that it was Valentine’s day and then there was silence again.
In an hour and twenty minutes full of technical and equipment difficulties the only Fatboy track I remember hearing was Praise You as it faded out into the White Stripes track Seven Nation Army. Not even an impressive LED laser show could help salvage what turned out to be an unfortunate and disappointing situation for both Fatboy Slim and the fans who had waited all day long in the rain to come and see him play.
In the end a very wet and rainy Good Vibrations seemed to be a musical washout where a potentially great line up on paper didn’t quite manage to get it right on the day.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Bloc Party @ The Hordern Pavilion on Tuesday 25 November, 2008
New album: Intimacy
After performing at Splendour in the Grass a year ago, Bloc Party returned to Australia in November to play shows in most of the capital cities. Playing the first of two Sydney shows at the Hordern Pavilion, the London indie rock band dazzled the crowd with an hour and a half set of hits from their three albums ‘Intimacy’, ‘Silent Alarm’ and ‘A Weekend in the City’, including two encores.
To kick off the night, Australian support band Van She did well to engage and amuse the vivacious Bloc Party crowd-in-waiting playing their popular tracks including Strangers, Sex City, Cat & the Eye and Kelly for the closing.
After the Van She set, the lights went out, the crowd started screaming and Bloc Party entered. From the first track, Halo, the crowd went crazy. Right from the get go was a perfectly selected sequence of songs that pumped up the crowd at every turn, especially at the halfway point during obvious favourites such as Positive Tension, Banquet and Mercury. In an attempt to slow down the tempo, frontman Kele pulls out their first ever single, a soft and beautiful tune So Here We Are, before finishing up the set with the popular hit song from the first album, The Prayer.
With the crowd still reeling with excitement from a very clever song arrangement the band was quick to return to the stage for the first of two encores playing Sunday, Like Eating Glass, Flux and Helicopter before running off and coming back to end what could easily be dubbed ‘the perfect sonic evening’ with Ares and Modern Love.
After performing at Splendour in the Grass a year ago, Bloc Party returned to Australia in November to play shows in most of the capital cities. Playing the first of two Sydney shows at the Hordern Pavilion, the London indie rock band dazzled the crowd with an hour and a half set of hits from their three albums ‘Intimacy’, ‘Silent Alarm’ and ‘A Weekend in the City’, including two encores.
To kick off the night, Australian support band Van She did well to engage and amuse the vivacious Bloc Party crowd-in-waiting playing their popular tracks including Strangers, Sex City, Cat & the Eye and Kelly for the closing.
After the Van She set, the lights went out, the crowd started screaming and Bloc Party entered. From the first track, Halo, the crowd went crazy. Right from the get go was a perfectly selected sequence of songs that pumped up the crowd at every turn, especially at the halfway point during obvious favourites such as Positive Tension, Banquet and Mercury. In an attempt to slow down the tempo, frontman Kele pulls out their first ever single, a soft and beautiful tune So Here We Are, before finishing up the set with the popular hit song from the first album, The Prayer.
With the crowd still reeling with excitement from a very clever song arrangement the band was quick to return to the stage for the first of two encores playing Sunday, Like Eating Glass, Flux and Helicopter before running off and coming back to end what could easily be dubbed ‘the perfect sonic evening’ with Ares and Modern Love.
Jeff Martin and the Armada @ The Metro Theatre on Sunday 9 November, 2008
Album: The Armada (self titled)
It was no surprise that devoted fanatics of The Tea Party flocked to Sydney’s Metro Theatre on a Sunday evening to hear the long awaited new epic sounds of Jeff Martin and his new band The Armada.
With a long wait between albums and recent performances the crowd at the Metro seemed less than amused with the one man band support act Henry Wagons who played a barrage of songs he deemed as “death, destruction and the avoidance of the likes of that you’ve never seen”. All played on acoustic guitar, it was an odd arrangement of songs with dramatic banter in between which was perhaps Wagon’s way of trying to connect with the crowd through comedy when clearly they were all just wanting to see and hear Jeff.
As the growing murmurs of conversation started during and after the support act the lights dimmed with a purple tinge giving way to the sound of traditional Turkish music and a belly dancer sensually shaking around on the stage. After ten mesmerising minutes Jeff and the Armada finally appear on stage, launching straight into the highly impressive track Morocco from their debut self-titled album. Returning to the dirty, heavy sounds of rock ‘n’ roll, Jeff and the Armada had the crowd in an absolute frenzy. There were also a few Tea Party tracks thrown into the mix including the sheer brilliance of Heaven Coming Down.
Jeff played a number of different guitars including a custom made, double-necked, 18 strings for the acoustic selection. Amongst them, the power ballad Broken and the heartfelt and more personal tune The Rosary written for Jeff’s late grandmother who, as he points out played an important part in raising him.
The highly anticipated wait for the return of the heavy rock ‘n’ roll music of Jeff Martin and crew totally and utterly delivered to avid followers of the sound. In the words of Jeff Martin “Rock ‘n’ Roll is BACK!!” Can’t wait to hear the next installment.
It was no surprise that devoted fanatics of The Tea Party flocked to Sydney’s Metro Theatre on a Sunday evening to hear the long awaited new epic sounds of Jeff Martin and his new band The Armada.
With a long wait between albums and recent performances the crowd at the Metro seemed less than amused with the one man band support act Henry Wagons who played a barrage of songs he deemed as “death, destruction and the avoidance of the likes of that you’ve never seen”. All played on acoustic guitar, it was an odd arrangement of songs with dramatic banter in between which was perhaps Wagon’s way of trying to connect with the crowd through comedy when clearly they were all just wanting to see and hear Jeff.
As the growing murmurs of conversation started during and after the support act the lights dimmed with a purple tinge giving way to the sound of traditional Turkish music and a belly dancer sensually shaking around on the stage. After ten mesmerising minutes Jeff and the Armada finally appear on stage, launching straight into the highly impressive track Morocco from their debut self-titled album. Returning to the dirty, heavy sounds of rock ‘n’ roll, Jeff and the Armada had the crowd in an absolute frenzy. There were also a few Tea Party tracks thrown into the mix including the sheer brilliance of Heaven Coming Down.
Jeff played a number of different guitars including a custom made, double-necked, 18 strings for the acoustic selection. Amongst them, the power ballad Broken and the heartfelt and more personal tune The Rosary written for Jeff’s late grandmother who, as he points out played an important part in raising him.
The highly anticipated wait for the return of the heavy rock ‘n’ roll music of Jeff Martin and crew totally and utterly delivered to avid followers of the sound. In the words of Jeff Martin “Rock ‘n’ Roll is BACK!!” Can’t wait to hear the next installment.
The Dandy Warhols @ The Enmore Theatre, Friday 31 October, 2008
New album: Earth to the Dandy Warhols
Playing only one Sydney show to a sold out crowd at the Enmore Theatre, The Dandy Warhols seemed to live up to their reputation of being a quirky must-see live band of the times. Unleashing their eighth studio album, ‘Earth to the Dandy Warhols’, this space-themed modern day psychedelic pop rock musical journey clearly did not disappoint.
As the crowd waited in anticipation after the half hour support act Downhill’s Home, the Dandy Warhols slowly entered the room, callously headed straight for their instruments and designated areas on stage. For the first few songs the band played with an almost ‘too cool for school attitude’ until the old favourite Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth, an obvious crowd pleaser, energised keen punters to start grooving to the playful quasi-psychedelic tunes ahead.
With both the band and the crowd now starting to relax and cut loose, frontman Courtney Taylor Taylor eased into some of the new tracks like Welcome to the Third World and Mis Amigos, showcasing his sharp-witted lyrical genius. At the halfway mark the Dandy’s hit hard with the popular track Bohemian Like You, taking the whole performance and the concert vibe to another level.
Towards the end of the two hour set The Dandys hit the home stretch with Courtney Taylor Taylor on percussion for (You Come In) Burned. By the end of the show both the band and the crowd were electrified with excitement, bopping and dancing around as if there were no gravity force to keep them from moving.
Unlike most musical acts The Dandy Warhols did not play an encore, however this live music habitual routine could easily be forgiven by the fact that every song played was so skillfully chosen just to keep the audience on a pleasurable, psychedelic high throughout the whole set. Musically, the band were sound playing right on the mark throughout the whole night, producing a crisp and effortless, fun-fused sound in perfect harmony leaving all who attended wholly satisfied.
Playing only one Sydney show to a sold out crowd at the Enmore Theatre, The Dandy Warhols seemed to live up to their reputation of being a quirky must-see live band of the times. Unleashing their eighth studio album, ‘Earth to the Dandy Warhols’, this space-themed modern day psychedelic pop rock musical journey clearly did not disappoint.
As the crowd waited in anticipation after the half hour support act Downhill’s Home, the Dandy Warhols slowly entered the room, callously headed straight for their instruments and designated areas on stage. For the first few songs the band played with an almost ‘too cool for school attitude’ until the old favourite Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth, an obvious crowd pleaser, energised keen punters to start grooving to the playful quasi-psychedelic tunes ahead.
With both the band and the crowd now starting to relax and cut loose, frontman Courtney Taylor Taylor eased into some of the new tracks like Welcome to the Third World and Mis Amigos, showcasing his sharp-witted lyrical genius. At the halfway mark the Dandy’s hit hard with the popular track Bohemian Like You, taking the whole performance and the concert vibe to another level.
Towards the end of the two hour set The Dandys hit the home stretch with Courtney Taylor Taylor on percussion for (You Come In) Burned. By the end of the show both the band and the crowd were electrified with excitement, bopping and dancing around as if there were no gravity force to keep them from moving.
Unlike most musical acts The Dandy Warhols did not play an encore, however this live music habitual routine could easily be forgiven by the fact that every song played was so skillfully chosen just to keep the audience on a pleasurable, psychedelic high throughout the whole set. Musically, the band were sound playing right on the mark throughout the whole night, producing a crisp and effortless, fun-fused sound in perfect harmony leaving all who attended wholly satisfied.
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