Jul
31
28 Days - The Clubhouse, Maitland
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Although the air was chillier than us city slicks are used to, in the township of Maitland you cannot mistake the relaxed feeling of good old fashioned country hospitality. You would have thought it was a typical quiet night at the local pub with the lack of bodies milling in and the rest of the town blissfully unaware of the rock and roll bonanza to come.
The gig room was small however the crowd was even smaller with a mere 50 people making the effort for what they say was 28 Days final live show.
Kicking off the night around 10pm was local band Head of State, with their double lead guitar, bass and drum mix which were well equipped to be a hard rocking outfit with the lead singer’s voice bordering between Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam) and Ed Kowalczyk (Live). However there style of music was surprising with melodic ballad tracks and exaggerated guitar solos, awakening the crowds hunger for traditional live rock music.
Then there was Amathyst – the all girl heavy rock outfit with a music style of their own. With two strong lead vocals and hard hitting music to back it up they had no trouble getting the bodies up and moving. The intimacy of the gig allowed the lucky few in attendance to experience the full wrath that this powerful band has to offer.
Shortly to follow were the boys from 28 Days with their bad attitudes and targeted remarks trying to get back to the basic rock methodology of alcohol, drugs and non stop partying. They rewarded the fans that traveled the distance with tracks like ‘Goodbye’ and ‘Rip It Up’ not leaving a still body in the place.
The boys played well, hard and fast while trying to drum up support to boycott the “emo culture” so much music has fallen into. It was just a shame not more people were there to hear it – keep an eye on this venue for more good Aussie shows in the future.
Jul
25
The Cops - Cambridge Hotel
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Mercy May impress a growing crowd of punters. Just like the kid brothers of Oasis or the Stone Roses, lead singer / guitarist Dan prowls the stage like a young Liam Gallagher, full of intensity and tambourine battering. Their psychedelic garage rock is refreshing. ‘Pick it Up’ and ‘You Got Me’ display their British influences and Dan’s wonderful snarl. Finishing with the epic ‘Remembering Everything’ it seems a mass of bodies gather towards the front meaning we will surely remember Mercy May in the months to come and for when they return to Newcastle.
Sparkadia soon arrive on stage. Alex’s gift for poppy hooks is the reason why everyone is enthusiastically singing along. The thing about Sparkadia is their sound is so optimistic but they still delve deep into those dark areas we all inhabit sometimes. ‘Morning Light’ opens the set and the poppiness of the guitars is infectious that it feels like everyone is jumping in unison. Kids yell out for tracks from their ‘Behind the Sun’ EP including the gorgeous ‘Too Much Light’ and it looks like the band is taken by surprise by Newcastle’s excitement at seeing the band on stage.
There is something timeless about Sparkadia’s sound and with a debut album due shortly, it should be an impressive package.
With new band members and a new album in tow, The Cops finally make it on stage to a full house. (Special mention goes to the cool looking drum kit lit up with The Cops logo!)
‘Out of the Fridge, Onto to the Fire’ gets the crowd and the band all worked up to what will be a fun night of electro rock done Cops style! Simon jumps around whilst the kids at the front pogo up and down to The Cops beats and guitar fuzz. Radio favs like new single ‘The Message’ and ‘Cop Pop’ entertain the crowd. The band banter with the locals and amongst themselves, which makes it feel like we’re at a house party or something. It’s nice to see bands having fun with what they do, though a little disappointing was the band having to stop midway due to a fight breaking out towards the front. (Thanks to whoever started that……idiots!)
The Cops genuinely seem to enjoy Newcastle’s hospitality and in return the songs are lapped up and we hang onto every word Simon shoots at us.
Of course they can’t leave without playing ‘Call Me Anytime’, it’s one of those songs that is just soooo dam catchy that you can’t help but sing loudly and grab your friends and scream at the top of your lungs! They tease us with an extended intro and the song continues to build and build until everyone is flung towards the final chorus and a massive guitar solo.
Old songs mix in with new songs well and with what seems like five minutes since they banded on stage they finish up with that old favorite ‘Wallet, Puffer, Smokes, Keys’. I gotta find mine so I can get home now.
Jul
18
Mia Dyson - Cambridge Hotel
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Armed with a rather large belly full of home cooking from the family dinner I just attended and a bigger than Ben Hur hangover from the previous night of festivities, I made my way into the Cambridge Hotel last Saturday night and readied myself for what was sure to be a night to remember.
Epicure were the first to grace the stage, and little did we know, the crowd was in for a rare treat. Due to unforseen circumstances, the band’s lead guitarist Michael Hubbard was unable to play the show. Epicure soldiered on however and showed the crowd just how diverse the band can be, with some lovely stripped back versions of their songs. Playing songs from all their LP’s, however most noticeably “the Goodbye Girl” LP, Epicure played a really well put together set and brought the house down with the crowd favourite “Armies against me”, which I have to admit had me singing along in a very bad voice as loud as I could.
Once the boys had gone off the stage, the mood music kicked in and the crowd began to fill the Cambridge even more. To my right were a large bunch of 40 – 50yr olds ready to get their groove on, in front of me were some very eager to get on the piss 18 yr olds and to my right some very big members of the Nomads Bike Gang. Needless to say I was in awe of the diverse crowd that Mia Dyson was able to attract.
Mia and her band crept on to the stage and exploded into one of my favourite songs “Parking Lots”, and from the get go, didn’t hold back on showing off her amazing vocals an instrumental talents to the crowd. Be it her soothing powerful voice or the smooth and silky pentatonic solo’s that seemed to be pure instinct for her, my ears and eyes couldn’t leave the stage for the whole show, even if they wanted to.
This massive set was continually impressive, with plenty of new material from her up coming release, including the title track “ Struck Down”, “Never felt young”, where I was blown away with not one, but two acoustic solos, “Heavy” and the powerful “Rollover” in which Angus Diggs thundered away in an extended jam on the drums.
Just when I thought the night couldn’t get any better, Mia had one last little treat in store for us. A superb cover of Jack White and Loretta Lynn’s “Portland Oregon”. Wasn’t this just the icing on the cake! It’s Artists like Mia Dyson that helps restore my faith in the Aussie music scene.
Jul
12
A family united was the vibe that was filling The Bar on the Hill on Friday night when the Goodbye Mickey Finn tour, aka Something With Numbers, The Inches and The Lazys, rolled into Newcastle for what would be the 2nd last stop on the tour.
The Lazys kicked off the night with their edgy, hard-rock sounding set and their dirty long, or lack thereof hair; these boys had the crowd digging every minute of the show. Mid-way through, the temperature was rising as the crowd was getting bigger and the boys decided it was time to show a little skin; shirts were off and I’ve never seen a crowd so pleased! The lead guitarist of this band had my attention the whole night, with his uncanny resemblance to Slash (Guns N’ Roses) and his I don’t give a shit what you think of me personality. He danced and jumped off everything humanly possible on-stage before getting down with the crowd and running to ‘the cage’ (the bar) with his guitar to give those kids a taste of what The Lazys are all about!
The Inches were next to hit the stage and although these boys weren’t as energetic as The Lazys they surely did not disappoint the highly enthusiastic crowd. These boys played a set loaded with pop-rock melodies and rock driven beats with a hint of comedy as the boys joked amongst each other and the crowd. For the final song, The Lazys’ guitarist and drummer were called up on stage to help sing and get the music pumping, and get the crowd in a down right frenzy.
It was finally time for Something With Numbers to grace the stage and get the crowds blood truly pumping hard.
Opening with ‘Apple of the Eye’, some may think being only five-foot tall in a mosh is a disadvantage yet I managed to make my way from the back to the very front in a matter of seconds due to my insane love for this song (I think it’s safe to say I’m not the only one who feels this way). They continued to dazzle and impress the crowd with their punk-rock set and sexy dance moves (nice, Jake) as they played more from their latest release ‘Perfect Distraction’ including; ‘Zombie’, ‘Bang, Bang, Bang’ and ‘Chase the Chaser’ before throwing in the oldie, but a favourite ‘Crowner of Kings’ for all their loyal fans than closed the night with ‘Goodbye Mickey Finn’ before asking The Lazys and The Inches to join them on stage to say one last goodbye.
This was the second last show of The Goodbye Mickey Finn Tour, and although they kept saying they cannot wait to go home, I bet these boys will miss each other, as over the last three months these boys have become the best of friends, and this helped a lot with the overall success of the night, as it rubbed off on the crowd.
Jul
9
Expatriate - Cambridge Hotel
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The night kicked off at just after 9pm. I was sitting out in the courtyard, beside the band-room as my friend had a smoke in the blistering cold, when this intensively loud voice-over was pumped through the PA. My initial response was, ‘God… Is that you?’ but than soon realized it was the Soft Tigers’ introduction to their set.
The Soft Tigers are a young four-piece from Sydney who have an interesting, and highly original sound. Synthesizers play a key role in this bands unique sound, as they delivered a fresh sound of electro rock that was very, very funky. It was still early on in the night, and the crowd was just getting acquainted with the band, when I noticed something unexpected take place. I didn’t think it was possible for this band to get any cooler, until they began to play ‘switcheroo’ with their instruments. Not only could the bassist play the bass, but he could also belt the shit out of the drums and vice versa. It was quite fun to watch, and try and guess who will be playing what instrument for the next song.
Bit By Bats were next to hit the stage. They were decked out in black and blue, and Owen; the singer/guitarist had the sexiest shoes I have ever seen. Bit By Bats originate from Melbourne, and my experience with Melbourne bands is that of high quality, and sure enough this band did not disappoint. Peter, the bass player was a Ben Kweller look-a-like and Ben the drummer hit those drums so hard he eventually split the symbols in two. They belted out hard-rock with a hint of punk in each song, and had the crowd screaming for more, as a fair sized mosh was beginning to form by the barriers.
When Bit By Bats set had ended, the audience began to find their spot in the crowd for when Expatriate took to the stage.
Expatriate are a four-piece from Sydney, who are known for their new-wave electro/rock/indie fused songs. From the very first beat of the drum they had the audience in a deep trance. The size and enthusiasm of the crowd proved obvious Expatriate have a strong fan-base within the Newcastle music scene as they had the mosh bellowing out to each and every lyric and screaming for them to hurry up and play ‘Space Between’ already.
These lads had style, class and a dash of sophistication as they dazzled the highly enthusiastic audience with their highly energetic set.
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