Jun
25
Groovin The Moo - Maitland Showgrounds
Filed Under Gig Reviews | Leave a Comment
Boasting an exhausted capacity, some of the best acts locally and nationally, that Newcastle and Australia have to offer, and toilet lines whose length were only surpassed by the astronomical length of the bar lines, Groovin The Moo’s crowd was as diverse as its line up.
I’m not quite sure what it is about a festival that possesses people to dress so uniquely. Perhaps it’s got something to do with knowing that everyone attending are there to celebrate and enjoy the triumphs of their favourite artists. However I think its got more to do with knowing that by the end of the evening, everyone there will be too pissed to notice the herds of people dressed as cows or that one cow girl who had somehow managed to lose her horse as well as her marbles.
My day kicked off with Newcastle’s own and freshly signed, Indie / Rock threesome Lover playing in the King Street Hotel tent, where the entertainment level was surpassed only by the several “dancing” and wasted girls who, I was sure, would be throwing up their stomach contents within the hour.
Melbourne rockers Trial Kennedy never fail to impress, they’re currently recording their first record. Meanwhile I spent the majority of their set trying to work out whether or not front man Tim Morrison was always that attractive, and if he has been, why is it I’ve only seen them three times?!
From old school ska punk rockers The Porkers, who are celebrating twenty years together at the Cambridge Hotel in August, to the beautifully mellow tunes of Mia Dyson and hard hitting Melbourne rock gods Airbourne, who were joined by very special guests ‘Drunk groupies at the front of the mosh pit’, those who were there only to see headlining bands such as You Am I, The Presets and Silverchair had plenty to listen to whilst they were killing time.
You had no hope what so ever of getting anywhere near the Drum Media stage as soon as electro geniuses The Presets hit the stage, and if by chance you were lucky to enough to be anywhere near the front of the stage, there’s no doubt in my mind that you would’ve ended up like my workmate who is now sporting severely bruised ribs and a freshly broken pair of glasses. From what I saw however, they were defiantly worth being without eyesight for a little while.
Skip to The Black Keys, who were delayed almost half an hour due to the fact that the barrier was broken (completely the fault of Presets fans’ I might add). Don’t get me wrong I love The Black Keys, I think that the complexity of their music is brilliant for two old guys with only a drum kit, guitar and a voice, but all I wanted to do was see Silverchair, and lets face it 2-3 songs would have given everybody more that a lovely taste of the blues and roots duo.
Finally Newcastle’s own, internationally successful Silverchair exploded onto the Triple J stage and performed one of the most amazing gigs I’ve ever seen them play, so brilliant in fact that I’ll non ashamedly admit that I actually shed a few tears during their time on stage. It was the perfect mix of tracks from their brand new record ‘Young Modern’ and a combination of older songs from records ‘Diorama’, ‘Neon Ballroom’ and ‘Freak Show’. Seeing their performance left me buzzing well into Sunday.
Cattleyard Promotions did a magnificent job of coordinating this years ‘Groovin The Moo’, even down to the smallest details such as managing to convince the dirty grey storm clouds to not burst over Maitland.
Jun
25
Eskimo Joe - Panthers Newcastle
Filed Under Gig Reviews | Leave a Comment
Lets start by saying that I don’t own a single Eskimo Joe record and on a freezing cold Thursday night the last place that I want to be is at a concert. surrounded by the type of people who regularly tune in to commercial radio.
A lot of things have changed since I first saw Little Birdy three or four years ago. For starters the crowed sized has increased significantly and on a less important level, Katy Steele has gone from being a gorgeous brunette to sporting almost transparent bottle-blonde curls. One thing that hasn’t changed however, is the astronomical amount of guitar changes that this band utilize.
With a Bjork-esque obscurity and a stage presence that for one reason or another reminds me more than a little of Marilyn Manson, singer-songwriter Katy Steele is the epitome of a ‘rock chick’. Playing a mix of tracks off both albums, ‘Big Big Love’ and ‘Hollywood’; I would go as far as saying that tracks of the bands second record, ‘Hollywood’ seem to be rapidly approaching the dance genre, whilst still holding onto their rock’n’roll roots. An added bonus was the addition of the ‘Split Enz’ cover, ‘Six months in a leaky boat’, which featured on the tribute record ‘She Will Have Her Way’.
Eight years since catapulting into the Australian music scene, Eskimo Joe have written and recorded three studio albums, have toured thousands of miles and accumulated just as many fans.
After waiting an ungodly length of time for Eskimo Joe to start their set, the energetic pop-rock band from Perth burst on stage. They played hits; ‘Sarah’ and ‘Black Fingernails, Red Wine’ a little too early on, however it was a refreshing change to seeing every other band with a song in the top forty, who you can always count on to save their single to last.
Towards the end of the set, frontman and bassist, Kav Temperley begins to voice some of his musings, telling the audience about a film clip which was filmed in Newcastle: ‘at about 1am in the morning I had to dive into the ocean, and it was really fucking cold, but I did it! And it was your ocean, which makes it so very great, and we got a film clip for this song: ‘Breaking Up’.
It was very much a case of ‘get your encores out’, with Eskimo Joe exiting the stage after playing ‘Breaking Up’, only to return to the stage twice, firstly to play an acoustic encore, showcasing a never-played-before song, ‘Suicide Girl’. The songs overall brilliance and obscurity was accentuated by the over pronunciation of ‘girl’, so that when combining Kav’s extensive upper range, the song could have aptly be renamed ‘Suicide G-Hurl’.
I was thrilled to hear Eskimo Joe cover ‘Take the Weather With You’, a Crowded House hit, and one of my all time favourite songs.
Watching this band live, its becomes quickly evident how close the band are, through hearing them play you can literally feel how much they love doing what they do, and similarly how strong their friendship is.
Whilst I’m not the biggest fan of the pop-rock trio, I can defiantly see why people are continually jumping onto the bandwagon. There were people the age of my parents and older at this concert and I’m not saying that this is a bad thing at all, knowing that such a diverse range of people are listening to Australian music, if anything restores my faith in pop…maybe just a little bit.
Jun
25
Anberlin - Cambridge Hotel
Filed Under Gig Reviews | Leave a Comment
Evidently I’m not the only fan of US acts Anberlin and Copeland. On Thursday night, The Cambridge Hotel was brimming with people eager to see the bands and home soil support act Angela’s Dish on the Newcastle stop of their Australian tour.
After a long delay, the Central Coast’s Angela’s Dish took the stage and commanded the crowd’s attention with their punk-tinged indie rock set. As excited as I was to see the main acts, ‘the Dish’ were a fun addition to the night, and the already hyperactive crowd seemed to agree.
Next up were softly spoken Florida quartet, Copeland. They began with the gentle piano driven ‘Sleep’, working their way through calmer songs like “Eat, Sleep Repeat” from their latest album of the same name. Timid frontman Aaron Marsh’s light vocals and the flawless instrumentation felt like melted butter being poured into my ears (only more pleasant). Aaron then picked up his guitar and the band moved into a more rock-focused group of songs, though still soft music by all means. This is where drummer Jon Bucklew, in particular, showed his ability to add significantly to the music with his creative kitwork.
Songs I favoured less on record such as “Pin Your Wings” and “When Paula Sparks” translated well live, and those in the crowd new to Copeland seemed won over as the set progressed. Highlights of their set were the pseudo-epics “California” and closer “You Have My Attention”, which laid to rest any previous doubts I had about Copeland as a live band as Marsh sustained the biggest note of the night for well over twice the length he does on the album “In Motion”. They gave a brief thankyou to the receptive crowd, and soon enough Anberlin took the stage.
The crowd was at its largest and loudest for the main act, Anberlin. They went headfirst into the poppy “Day Late Friend” from their “Never Take Friendship Personal” album, and immediately proved themselves to be a relentlessly energetic live act. Singer Stephen Christian has clearly had plenty of tours’ experience working with the crowd, and the fans up the very front relished every one of the many times he got up close. Christian, although a fantastic and charismatic live performer, almost seemed too self-aware.
The set was a mix of songs primarily from the alternative Florida band’s two latest albums, with the only song from their debut “Blueprints For the Black Market” played was its lead single “Ready Fuels”, which the crowd excitedly recognised. A remarkable testament to the band’s ability to encourage an enthusiastic crowd was the fact that people even at the very back of the venue were singing and dancing along, questions of sobriety aside.
Overall, Anberlin treated us to a high energy set including highlights such as “The Unwinding Cable Car” and “Adelaide” from their new album “Cities” and classics like “Never Take Friendship Personal” and my personal favourite “Paperthin Hymn” from their sophomore release “Never Take Friendship Personal”. Their energy and performance were excellent, and Christian’s vocals were spot on for the majority of the night, even during the two song encore. Unfortunately the sound guy seemed to get a little excited, resulting in a slightly muddier mix than the preceding acts.
Anberlin have been to Australia a total of three times now, and if their sets are as consistently enjoyable as the night’s show suggested, they are welcome back anytime. As for co-headliners Copeland, my favourite act of the night, we can only hope they prove as fond of Australia as Anberlin.
Jun
25
Stealing Oneal - Cambridge Hotel
Filed Under Gig Reviews | Leave a Comment
This was my very first over 18s gig, so I wasn’t too sure of what to expect, but from the moment I walked into The Cambridge Hotel’s ‘Glasshouse’ I could sense this new vibe.
Where were all the highly emotional teenage girls, or the ‘hard-core’ pint-size mosh kids standing by the barriers between the stage and the floor? I’m not sure whether it was the fact that it was freezing cold that night, or maybe everyone was saving their energy for Anberlin the following night but I felt almost like I was in a room full of zombies who were completely motionless.
I now understand why bands like the all-age shows, because you can actually tell whether the audience is digging what the band is playing or not.
The one thing that did not disappoint me though that night was indeed the music, because whether you’re at an all age show, or an over 18s gig you can always rely on the music to stay the same.
Ziggie Flax was the first band to play that night, I hadn’t heard of this band before this gig, but now I’m wondering why! They’re a three-piece from Sydney, who has this strong orgasmic stage presence. Despite starting half hour late and having a slight guitar problem early on in the set, this band played well, trying to get the audience up and into their music, sadly though this failed, which was a shame, because their riveting guitar riffs and catchy lyrics would have been something great to dance to. The singer/guitarist Liam, dazzled the audience by displaying his multi-talented side towards the end of their set as he joined in with the drummer by drumming a bongo drum, which was a nice touch, to a good set.
The Friday Kill was the next to play, a five-piece from the central coast. I’ve seen this band many times before, and like any other time they surely did not disappoint their audience playing a combination of old and new material. After they’d played Joey (singer) told my friend that they hadn’t practiced in a while, and he felt that he didn’t hit the right notes tonight, but to tell you the truth I didn’t notice, as they played my favourites as their final songs, ‘Ride It Now’, and ‘No More’ I was really tempted to get up, dance and sing-along.
Stealing O’Neal, now my new favourite local band, was the final band to play that night! They’re from Melbourne, and it shows, as these boys have some serious style, not only musically but fashionably too. From the opening song I fell in-love with the singer Chris’ voice, as its soft and ever so sexy sound gave made me shiver. They played a highly energetic set, and they were the ultimate successors of the night, as they broke the zombie curse and brought the audience to life…finally!
Jun
25
Waterview - Triple J Unearthed Winners!
Filed Under Interviews | Leave a Comment
“These energetic lads from Port Stephens in NSW have scored themselves a spot on the Come Together Festival line-up with their roaring vocals and hammering drums and guitars. We reckon they’ll fit in nicely with the other bands and give festival goers an excuse to tap a few toes and nod a few heads. ” - Triple J
Heya guys, lets get the introductions out of the way first.. So who are you all and what do you do, band wise?
Uh okay, I’m Russ, I play bass and sing in Waterview, then there’s Justin, he plays guitar and sings, Mitch plays leads guitar and rips mad licks whenever he gets a chance and Nath is the stix, the drummer.
So I heard you just won Triple J’s Unearthed Competition to play at the Come Together Festival, that’s pretty impressive. So what was your immediate reaction to the news?
Honestly, could not believe it. We were told about making the short list a week before the winners were going to be announced, but never thought in a million years we’d take it out. The phonecall was at 8am and so woke me up, and waking up to a call like that, on live radio around Australia, it’s probably not something thats gonna happen more than once in your life. Definitely got the heart racing.
Is this the biggest thing to happen to you guys?
Definitely. Already we’re recieving more attention then we have in the past 2-3 years we’ve been playing. Haha, its a long time coming if you ask us, which.. you are.
Apart from Come Together, which will be massive, what else have you guys got going on gig wise in the future?
Umm, we play at TPI house with our friends Pasadia and Every Word, two awesome Newcastle bands, we’re also playing with The Amity Affliction, Coma Lies and Every Word at the Cambridge in July. And then later this year we’re playing the Punk’n'Grind Festival in Newcastle, which is part of Newcastle Music Week, so that should be good.
Any plans on getting an album out in 2007?
Ahhhh maybe not 2007, keep your ears out for a new release next year though, already got some new tracks we’d like to put down so hopefully we can get another EP out early 2008.
Earlier this year you guys did a bit of a mini tour, how did you go with that? And any plans on hitting the road again anytime soon?
The tour was awesome. We went Sydney, Wollongong, Central Coast, Newcastle, Melbourne and more. Melbourne was definitely the highlight, we really wanna get back there. We might plan a tour to co-incide with our next EP. We’ll see what happens.
What bands really influence you guys, do you all have similar taste in music? Is there any bands / artist that you’re into but maybe ashamed to admit it publicly, come on share with us??
Mitch loves Australian Idol, e’s got all Guy Sebastian and Shannon Noll’s albums. Haha. Nah, we do all listen to different music, we have a fair few common bands we enjoy, like Strung Out and Thrice, they’re probably our main influences musically, but as far as what we listen to in our own time, the list is endless. Alot of local bands, Nothing Days, Every Word, Pasadia, Wait Til Dark and No Quarter. There’s so much good music out there.
And lastly, any parting words of advice for young bands out there?
Keep at it, if you keep trying and putting effort into what you love, good things will happen. Don’t wait for it to come to you, go looking. You’ll find it.
Recent Comments: