THE SUPERJESUS MOLO Live (ANU) (Live Review)

Twenty years ago The Superjesus smashed their way into public airspace with debut album Sumo. Fronted by the extraordinary Sarah McLeod, they formed part of the mid-to-late 90s explosion of Australian rock n roll music that included Regurgitator, Powderfinger, Spiderbait, Grinspoon, Machine Gun Fellatio and countless others.
In hindsight, it would probably be easy to contextualise them within the phenomenon that was Garbage, Shirley Manson and the more palatable post-grunge period where women less overtly threatening than the L7 and Bikini Kill types were enjoying some radioplay. Doing so drastically undersells just how well this band understood how to combine heavy riffs with super catchy melodies and addictive vocal hooks.
Returning to the ANU to play the hallowed Refectory’s temporary replacement, Superjesus were on fucking fire. Having gone back through the records before the show one thing became instantly clear from the first track in; the album sound had heavily softened what it is they do when they play live. As a frontwoman, McLeod is so completely compelling; she is vocally on top of her game and her stagecraft renders her larger than life. As a band they are unmistakably tight throughout the entire set. This might in some ways be attributed to the addition of Travis Dragani on drums and the return of Jason Slack on lead. McLeod references some of the band’s internal discontent but none if that is present for this show. The double guitar sound is brutally aggressive and held together by the constancy of Stuart Rudd’s bass.
In tribute to Sumo the entire first half of their whopping two and a half hour set is dedicated to playing that album from start to finish. After a short break they come back and play an eclectic set beginning with McLeod taking a seat at the keyboard and knocking out a ballad, making its way through a track or two from the debut EP Eight Step Rail and settling on a charged cover of Kylie Minogue’s ‘Confide in Me’. It turned out to be one of the most satisfying performances in the Territory this year and really demonstrated just how responsive Canberra can be to acts like this who lay their heart at the foot of the stage.
Uniquely on this tour Superjesus played with a support act for the Canberra show; all girl Sydney based four-piece Rackett. If ever you were inclined to think that gutsy riff driven rock n roll was for nostalgis alone, this was the band to reset your perspective. Fronted by Rebecca Callander, who channels a New-York-in-the-70s, CBGB vibe like nobody else, Rackett do a pop punk dirty rock n roll thing and they do it really really well.  Think Deap Valley with a fuller sound. Musically, it’s raw and gritty; stylistically they’re much less of the serious and more of the fun. Callander’s overt displays of sexuality seem more playful than anything else and do nothing but endear her to every person in the room. If they can maintain the kind of enthusiasm they showed in this performance they’re likely to be a band we hear a lot from.
The nostalgia of the 20 year anniversary tour is great for old 90s heads like me, and there’s been a few in the last few years. Grinspoon did their ‘Guide to Better Living’ tour last year, as did Pennywise with their ‘Circles’ show. But, in truth, I hope this show was more than that. I hope this is a sign tha

Lost Picnic @The Domain (Live Review)

I never thought I’d find myself reviewing a festival, let alone the renowned Lost Picnic Festival at The Domain in Sydney. With a line up so impressive, no wonder it was a sold out event. Upon arriving, there were already queue’s stretching down the streets, a mixed crowd of families with young children, teenagers and elderly couples, all in line and waiting for the long day ahead. Before any acts hit the stage, I decided to have a wander around the site to see what other entertainment they had to offer besides the music.
I had heard that previous Lost Picnic events didn’t have a substantial amount of food or drinks stalls to offer, yet at this event they had a huge variety of stalls selling a mixture of foods and drinks to cater for all (absolute praise to the organisers for fixing the issue this year). The extra entertainment was great too, sticking with a circus theme, there was mini golf, people dressed up in extravagant colourful costumes and a circus tent had been set up and a range of acts were performing in there throughout the entirety of the day (perfect for families with children).

Within half an hour of doors opening, the crowds had flooded through the gates, setting up their picnic blankets and waiting for the first act to grace the stage. Sons of the East opened the event, a three piece band from Sydney Australia; They are a classic Australian country-folk band, with husky vocals and clean guitar. Sons of the East’s sound suited the Sydney crowd perfectly, the band’s audience engagement was great and their set was a perfect way to start the day. The band also debuted brand new music to their hometown crowd, performing their single ‘Come Away’ which was definitely the highlight of their set.

Odette was up next on the Lost Picnic line up; earlier I saw Odette wandering around the Lost Picnic site, minding her own business and meeting her beloved fans, just from seeing this I knew she would be a humble and personable performer, and I was correct. She joined her three piece band on stage, taking her place behind the keyboard before showing off her powerful and extraordinary voice. Personally I was blown away by her talent, especially when she performed songs off her debut album ‘To a Stranger’, demonstrating her incredible vocal range without fault. The English born singer, raised in Sydney’s suburbs had a vibe that suited this crowd, she had the growing audience dancing to her groovy beats and minimalist piano ballads all set long.

Next to enter the stage was Hot Potato Band. How do I describe this energetic 10 piece brass band? Simply amazing in every single way, from their timing, their show performance to their impressive crowd involvement, I felt like I was watching a scene out of a Broadway musical. They gave the Lost Picnic audience a performance so unique and entertaining, personally their set was definitely one of the highlights from the entire event.  Let’s talk about Ben Goldstein’s smooth vocals (and incredible dancing), which complimented the army of instruments which joined him on stage. He’s an entertainer, he knows how to put on a good show, and he had the entirety of Lost Picnic on their feet, jumping along to their humorous lyrics. “This song is about the green stuff we all love….avocado” Goldstein announced before breaking out into the lyrics “You got to spread it on thick” (I couldn’t agree more).
For a 10 piece band they put on a faultless performance, and if you want to be entertained, go and check out the Hot Potato Band, you will not be disappointed.

Marlon Williams and his band brought it down a notch with Marlon’s soothing vocals paired with the bands 50’s inspired instrumentals. The entire set I couldn’t help but think he was a modern-day Elvis, similar vocal style with a contemporary twist. They attracted a certain type of audience and let just say not many kids could be seen in the crowd. Marlon Williams and his band brought a different energy to the stage, I appreciated their musical talent and faultless vocal range, especially during their performance of their new song ‘Make way for Love’. Couple’s could be seen slow dancing and singing along to their heartfelt lyrics.

An act that the audience were undoubtedly looking forward to, was the phenomenal Meg Mac. A large crowd started to form at the barrier, cheering and chanting for the Sydney singer, Meg Mac to come on stage. Despite the weather taking a turn and raining on and off during her set, it did not dampen the spirits of Lost Picnic crowd. Seeing this was my first time seeing Meg Mac live, I did not know what to expect. I have been a fan of Meg Mac’s distinctive vocals and powerful lyrics for a while, and I was curious to see how she would portray this live. In saying this, I have nothing but positive feedback to give about her performance. Meg Mac is simply fascinating, she owned the stage with enthusiasm and confidence. Meg Mac’s lyrics are like listening to a story, each verse and chorus is captivating and pleasant to listen to. Meg Mac gave the audience a range of songs, new and old and even debuting her latest song ‘Give Me My Name Back’ to her hometown crowd.  Meg Mac also performed her Triple J Like a Version cover ‘Let it Happen’ which the audience went crazy for.

The final act that I can safely say everyone was waiting for, a dynamic solo multi instrumentalist who gained world attention from her home made music videos and busking in the streets, Tash Sultana. Often described as a ‘one-person band’, the stage was set up with a variety of instruments, loop pedals and quirky items that undoubtedly represent Tash herself. The crowd were waiting for this moment, to finally hear Tash Sultana create her music live. How would you describe her sound? It’s a strong progression of 70’s reggae, mixed with modern day looping and incredible guitar solos, all combined with her soft and soothing vocals. Her talent and passion for music is powerful, her sound is real, raw and authentic. Watching her perform live is mesmerizing, you can see on her face that she not only creates this music, but she feels it also. Throughout her set she was switching between instruments constantly, and I couldn’t help but think that she has a pure talent, unlike any other musician I had ever seen. Tash Sultana performed a array of her well-known songs, from ‘Jungle’, to ‘Notion’ to performing her latest single ‘Free Mind’. Tash’s hour and fifteen minute set slowly came to an end, and the crowd chanted for “one more song”, It was undeniably the perfect set to finish the night and to conclude Lost Picnic Festival 2018.

OCEAN ALLEY @ UC REFECTORY (Live Review)

Seeing Ocean Alley previously in festival settings, I thought I knew what I was expecting. This rock/reggae rooted 6 piece band was truly memorable to watch and totally blew my mind. From their 70’s/ hippie vibe to the exceptional union of each band member and their instrument, Ocean Alley has easily become one of my favourite bands since the show on Sunday.
Canberra locals Young Monks set the scene at the UC Refectory, although I couldn’t catch them they are most definitely the perfect support choice for the Canberra leg of Ocean Alley’s tour. The indie rock band is fantastic to watch, their music alongside their visuals is a show on it’s own.
Although the experience was so positive, it didn’t start off that way. Ocean Alley started 20 minutes earlier than advertised set times, it was quite a bummer for the attendees like myself still waiting outside getting our id checked hearing the band perform. Finally in, I appreciated having access to the upstairs section of the UC Refectory as it gave me freedom to move, take pictures and enjoy the band without having to worry about the crowd.
The next situation was the fire alarm that caused the entire building to evacuate. Although usually a huge inconvenience in the middle of a show, Ocean Alley and security handled the situation very well. I technically shouldn’t be complaining as I exited through same doors as the boys and managed to take a picture on my film camera of frontman Baden and bassist Nic (if I’m not mistaken).

We made it back inside for some reggae groove. Ocean Alley’s sound is so accurate to recordings –  if not better live. Baden’s voice is so full of emotion which echoes throughout the room, soaring reaching to your soul. The dude on the keyboard is absolutely fantastic, I enjoyed a lot of the brass that was incorporated. All three guitars and bass were of such worked in cohesion and the visuals were also fantastic – complementing the music and setting the scene right for the night. Not too flashy with very calm and ambient lighting.

Highlights were of course ‘Yellow Mellow‘, which starts off with a dreamy synthesizer accompanied by a soft beat that then hits with a heavy reggae beat that instantly got the crowd grooving and ‘Freedom Lover‘ off their Yellow Mellow EP. The song ‘Feel’ was definitely a favourite of mine, Baden’s vocal rippled through everyone’s bodies with this one, you could feel the energy during this song. Ironically during  ‘Feel’, Baden whipped off his guitar to take a moment to put all his passion into this track. Following, was their cover of Player’s ‘Baby Come Back‘ which proved to be the crowd favourite. They covered the 70’s hit on Triple J’s Like A Version earlier this year and like ‘Feel‘, the song had such an impact on the crowd, not one person was not singing.
I feel so blessed to have been apart of the presence of such an incredible group of musicians who take their craft seriously. Their performance and overall energy was so admirable and it made all the little inconveniences literally go away. Incredible show, truly.

WILLARIS. K @ THE TRIFFID (Live Review)

His works have received nothing but praise, with heavy support from Triple J and Unearthed helping to launch him into the limelight. Since the release of his first few singles, his fan base has been steadily growing. Now with (equally as well-received) EP Alchemy under his belt, Jack McAllister has gone from working a trade, to midday festival slots, to selling out sizeable venues across the country as Willaris. K.
Tonight’s first support act, Beatrice, is quick to warm up the stage. She presents a sound that is cinematic in an entirely entrancing way: her soundscapes are wonderfully vivid and wholly encapsulating. It doesn’t take long for Beatrice to impress as she effortlessly adds and strips layers of synths, beats, and bass with a dream-like fluidity bridged over by her own echoed vocals. It’s a delicate set up that has the artist manning several components at any one time as she builds, deconstructs, and rebuilds sound. But Beatrice flaunts her music with a nonchalance that feels much more casual than her work demands. While the venue remains fairly empty, it gives those who came down early room to fully enjoy the show with eccentric movements unencumbered by other bodies.
The constant pulse is soon picked up by DJ Theo Kottis. His set is a slightly more upbeat affair in comparison to the other acts on tonight’s bill, but it provides a subtle contrast to both Beatrice and Willaris. K. Kottis also brings with him a more vocal-focused set, keeping things pacing perfectly as the rest of tonight’s crowd begin to file in. Shoulders begin to rub as punters grow increasingly impatient for tonight’s headliner, the growing suspense for the big reveal becoming increasingly unbearable.
At 10.20pm, the bar is empty and front of stage is tightly packed, so it goes without saying that Jack McAllister’s much anticipated entrance doesn’t go unnoticed. He’s the man who needs no introduction, so there is none. McAllister launches straight into his set, and while our expectations are perched precariously high, he still manages physically take hold of your entire body through the bass reverb alone. Willaris. K has announced his presence, all we can do is hold on tightly as we fly full force into the next hour and a half.
While McAllister only has an EP to his name, tonight he has his entire world on offer. It’s a constantly shifting universe that feels dangerously close to an apocalyptic brink at any given moment, but never quite loses control. Flashing strobes and a constant rainbow of lights keeps the artist’s face illusive, but you can tell from the shapes behind the smoke that no one is going to enjoy the night with as much enthusiasm as WK himself. While he never speaks, Willaris. K is incredibly expressive. You would only notice it if you were looking closely, but McAllister quickly flashes a beguiling smile before dropping the opening sample of Catch Phrase. He doesn’t need to look up to know  that the crowd is going absolutely wild.
The following 90 minute mix of sounds are discernibly techno, but there’s an emotion that runs deep within each track. Even the bridges of extended plays that weave the set together are heavy with an ominous intensity that evokes an almost indescribable feeling: an orphic pleasure that somehow feels foreign yet familiar, all while forcing you to surrender yourself to dance.
It’s all too easy to be washed away by the overwhelming mayhem of it all, but as much as McAllister throws you into the deep end, he also exhibits a sophistication and maturity that stops it all from being drowned by it’s own hand. Whether it’s an intrinsic knowledge of the genre or a stroke of pure genius, Willaris. K’s delicate sense of when to hold back and when to let go has the crowd salivating for his touch. Every beat, loop, and flash of strobe works with surgical precision and purpose: it’s calculated but never forced, heavily textured and deeply layered but never messy or confused. McAllister presents a finesse other artists, regardless of genre, yearn for.
There are seemingly a thousand reasons why Willaris. K has risen to fame with such ferocity—reasons I still find hard to articulate with words the way Willaris. K articulates himself with music. It can take a while to comprehend the full extent of Jack McAlister’s talent, but when you do, it’s overwhelming. By the end of the night, the mosh is soaked with sweat, heads are pounding, and eyes struggling to adjust to consistent lighting. It seems impossible for a single man to inflict so much damage, but it’s the type of pain that given the chance, you would gladly endure over and over again.

THE FLATLINERS Transit Bar (Canberra) (Live Review)

Local label Arrest Records are responsible for some of the country’s most cutting edge music at the heavier end of the spectrum. With acts like Sumeru, Pitt the Elder, Tigers, Death by Stereo, Beaver and Ohm Rune on their roster, Arrest is a label constantly looking for, finding and building exciting and relevant new talent.
Tonight, Arrest went a little further afield and brought Canadian punk stalwarts The Flatliners to the Capital. Flatliners are a band whose sound has evolved over the 15 years they’ve been writing recording and performing together. From a ska-based pop punk act to a much more groove driven, riff heavy rock n roll sound they are a band whose music has matured with them.
They play a solid mix of older and newer stuff with a couple of brand-new songs thrown into the set and a couple of fan favourites rounding it out. Much of the success of the band can be attributed to the charisma and presence of Chris Creswell. Like a lot of bands of the melodic punk variety, what they do onstage is generally a lot more aggressive than what appears on the albums. This is unsurprising. What is surprising maybe, is just how fucking tight they are. As a unit they play together with a kind of workhorse-like professionalism that is striking in its execution. The other thing that endears about this band is that they are able to make serious fucking music without taking themselves too seriously. It’s an ethos a lot of heavier bands struggle with, but which this foursome manage admirably.
They bring with them two supports tonight. The first is a local act going by the name Sketch Method. They’re a three piece who play fucking loud and fucking hard but with just enough melody to maintain a kind of groove in amongst the screaming vocal, contributed to by all three members, and the menacing guitars and almost tribal drum work. They’ve been doing the rounds for a few years now but their debut album ‘Is it a Bird? Who Cares’ is available and worth a listen. They too have found a pretty satisfying way to make music that is tough as fuck but also fun and kind of stupid. It’s good. Look out especially for Self-Appointed Hipster Wannabe.
Sketch Method are followed by Stolen Youth. A hardcore band of the very traditional mould, they play hard from start to finish and are indefatigable. Their frontman/vocalist Sean spends almost all of his time off the stage and down on the floor among the audience who, at one point, join him on vocals for a Propagandhi cover.
The Flatliners have amassed a pretty loyal following in Australia and the Capital is no exception. Transit isn’t a huge venue but it was near capacity and everyone in the place was on their feet with fists in the air. In Canberra on a Sunday night that’s no small feat.

HANDS LIKE HOUSES + PLTS @ MAX WATTS (Live Review)

Usually when one prepares to write a review, whether it be of the live act or their recorded music, it’s pretty universally agreed upon that you need to 1) know the act 2) do your research and 3) -perhaps the most important- take notes of your experience – this is especially important when reviewing a live act, in order to have account of memorable moments, interesting quotes, notes on the atmosphere, all that jazz… this time around the latter was not the case, because I was just having too good of a time…sorry not sorry.
Byron Bay-based boys PLTS (pronounced ‘pilots’) kicked off the night right on time (which, as a stage manager let me tell you, that is a dream come true), with such a well-developed sound it was hard to believe they were live and not playing with a full backing track. At first look, one might expect to hear something of a more surf-rock vibe, but it was clear once they started playing that they’re well and truly established under the alt-rock umbrellas. Lead vocalist and guitarist Kit Bray piloted (geddit?) the performance with bold and confident vocals, with Byron Carney (rhythm guitar) and Harry Deacon (drums) – and some seemingly unnamed fourth member – bringing together essence of the PLTS sound .

“Having worked with JP Fung (Birds of Tokyo, Art VS Science, Josh Pyke) and Nick Didia (Powderfinger, Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen) to produce their take on energetic indie-rock, PLTS have quickly cemented their status through powerful, anthemic song writing.”

It’s honestly no wonder these guys scored support on the Hands Like Houses bill, considering their previous success touring with heavyweights such as The Amity Affliction and The Jezebels, and just how good they are, both recorded and on stage. Their songwriting creates a fantastic, warm and nostalgic feel, keeping you hooked on the lyrics and instrumentals all the while. As an independently releasing group, these guys know how to perform – and just as a side note, can someone give the night’s techies a kiss for me? Because the sound was ON POINT. I can’t stress enough how much of a difference a decent sound guy/gal makes, and they certainly found one.
“Weaving warm melodies over strong and stirring guitar lines, PLTS are converting new friends and fans as they turn studio creations into energetic, nostalgic anthems. 2018 sees the band expand their discography once again with the release of their latest offering ‘Maelstrom’.”

 Having won ‘featured stars’ for one of Triple J Unearthed’s Local’s Stage spots at 2016 Splendour in the Grass alongside Alex Lahey, and playing at BIGSOUND 2017, the alt-indie-rock 4 piece have been slowly but surely gaining limelight interest. I keep finding it crazy that I hadn’t heard of them before now, because seriously, they’re SO good. My personal favourite tunes would have to be ‘On & On’ and their latest single Maelstrom, both holding catchy guitar and lyrics that I can’t get out of my head. Their slight but lively archive has clocked up over 3 million streams online, attracting a steady following both locally and across the country, and rightly so. If you get the chance, definitely go see them.

“Ridiculously huge!” – THE AU REVIEW
“Swelling, anthemic vocals and muscular instrumentation.” – HAPPY
​
“I DIG THIS HARD!” – Bridget Hustwaite, TRIPLE J
“PLTS have crafted an energetic slice of indie-rock that’s another example of their fantastic versatility in the Aussie indie/punk/rock scene.” – Pilerats
And now on to the main event…Hands Like Houses might just be my favourite Australian band – and so, of course, this review is already going to be biased – I’m okay with that, I hope you are.

“Born and bred in Canberra, Hands Like Houses – comprising of Trenton Woodley (vocals), Alexander Pearson (guitar), Joel Tyrrell (bass), Matthew Parkitny (drums) & Matt “Coops” Cooper (guitar) – are one of the most famous rock exports ever to emerge from the nation’s capital.“

As soon as it came time for their set, any plans for note-taking went out the window. As I said, I failed to take notes while being squashed amongst the sweaty passionate fans who accompanied me second-from-barrier, and yet this is looking to be my longest written review thus far. The Canberra-based experimental alt-rock heavyweights started their slot a few minutes late – but if anything, this only amped up the crowd’s anticipation. The band came out on stage to a screaming sold-out room. As always, Trenton and the guys know how to work the stage and the crowd – though sometimes I find myself happily confused and slightly concerned with Joel’s crazy stage-to-crowd antics. Personally, it had been a while since I’d had a proper dirty, sweaty, jump-around and head-bang show experience, and it was SO MUCH FUN.

Hands like Houses very clearly know their crowd favourites, opening with New Romantics and gradually making their way through their most popular songs, past and present – my personal favourites being their recent release Monster and of course older classics including Colourblind, Introduced Species, Perspectives, No Parallels, and I Am (see below for a full ordered setlist). Their stage presence holds up to one of any other, consistently coming out with an engaging, eye-catching, crowd-charming performance, with lyrics and instrumental talent to match.

“Here, the band have a definite Linkin Park influence that is palpable and deliciously enjoyable, but they go funkier, with distorted edges on rocker “Monster,” the album’s second single/video.” -CrypticRock

As I write this (13/10/18) Joel and Matt are doing a live Q&A on Facebook and I managed to ask for their favourite parts of last night’s show, Joel being particularly happy with their first-time-performances of 3 of their new songs – Bad Dream, Sick, and Tilt. I also got the chance to ask Trenton what the idea was behind the imagery of their album artwork for the new album ‘Anon.’ and he gave such an unexpectedly in-depth answer that I didn’t manage to get it all down quickly enough, but I’ll paraphrase;

“We were just thinking about different things that are sorta anonymous. Like with the chrysalis…we were just in a backyard and we saw these caterpillars, but nobody knew what the cocoons were. I think we get so stuck living in our constructed environments that nobody recognizes what a chrysalis is, even though they see and recognize the monarch butterfly everywhere, we often don’t recognize where it comes from, it was a lot to do with the stage in our progression, it just sorta felt right.”

As does every performance Hands Like Houses give. With tickets for the release shows being whisked up within 48 hours, and they boys already preparing to announce their next Australian tour, Hands Like Houses have potentially played these smaller venues for the last time, surely to move on to bigger and bolder for the future.

MICHAEL BUBLÉ @ ALLIANZ STADIUM, NSW (Live Review)

For the first time since 2014, Michael Bublé has made his way back to Australia in celebration of Allianz Stadium in Sydney. Supported by two of Australia’s most loved acts, Guy Sebastian and Busby Marou. It was a show that was not to be missed.
It was a miserable and rainy day in Sydney on Friday the 5th of October. However, that did not impact the excitement of the eager fans awaiting the global superstar, marking the closure of the Stadium.
Despite the intervals of heavy rain, Busby Marou was the first act of the night. The duo entertained the audience with their stunning acoustic sound as guests were entering the stadium. Second to take the stage was Guy Sebastian. As the rain increased, it did not stop the audience from standing up and grooving with Guy and his band.

At approximately 8:45pm, Richard Wilkins entered the stage for an acknowledgement of country as well as to take us on a trip down memory lane with flashbacks to all the events, concerts and memories that took place in the stadium.  Allianz Stadium will be demolished and will reopen in 2022.
Suddenly, there was a change in the weather and the clouds disappeared above the stadium. Michael Bublé entered the stage clearing the skies. Opening his one and only Australian concert with his iconic, well- known cover of Feeling Good, he captivated the audience with the climactic horn introduction. The following song was one of Bublé’s most well- known singles, Haven’t Met You Yet. Singing along to every word, the Bube left everyone awestruck, taking us back down memory lane. As the night progressed, Bublé entertained the crowd with Dean Martin’s original song, Sway. The Latin vibed song had everyone on their feet!

The show was extremely interactive. Bublé constantly engaged and included the audience by grabbing their phones and videoing himself on stage. He also passed the mic to an audience member so they could sing their go-to shower song. The evening was full of laughter and joy. Engaging the audience with an emotional speech at first, it suddenly took a turn as he humorously references the emotional and shocking result of the Bachelor Finale.

MICHAEL BUBLÉ // Photo – Amy Halpin
All eyes on Bublé as he stunned the crowd with Cry Me A River. Everything from his incredible vocals to the talented orchestra completely made this piece unforgettable. To conclude the show, he performed the gentle and heartfelt song, Always On My Mind. Leaving each and every audience member in awe and with goose bumps as he left the stage for the final time.

MICHAEL BUBLÉ // Photo – Amy Halpin.
A night full of jazz, punchy horn lines, an insanely talented band and a firework spectacular. It was a remarkable show to close Allianz Stadium. As fireworks slowly dimmed, everyone exited the stadium wanting more.

THE DELTA RIGGS @ THE CAMBRIDGE (Live Review)

Everybody blabs on about Australia’s Most Ordinary Rig, but I reckon there’s another rig we should be talking about, and that’s The Delta Riggs! Obviously the extra ‘g’ on the name symbolises extra goodness, and that’s exactly what they smashed into my earholes recently.
The fun Melbourne five-piece are on the home stretch of their national ‘Fake That’ Single Tour, with their motherfunkin’ tunes drawing hearty crowds in a bunch of major and regional cities. Their gig in Newy was obviously no different, copping huge bouts of praise from not only I, but also every single human packed into the Sidebar at the Cambo on Thursday night.

The Delta Riggs.
The smell of grog and eager excitement already filled the air before the boys had even come near the stage; a tell-tale sign of some great support acts, so good on yah Surf Trash and The Moving Stills! Everyone was severely enjoying the between-band playlist, especially when the Percy Sledge/ Michael Bolton classic ‘When a Man Loves a Woman’ popped on. It quickly became clear that this wasn’t just a nice pre-gig tune however, and as the song boomed louder, in walked The Delta Riggs.
First on the agenda was song ‘From My Mould’, followed by ‘Perfume and Lace’. Frontman Elliott was rocking a pair of 60’s style white sunnies, which can be viewed as odd considering he was obviously inside, but they looked groovy so I got around it pretty quickly. Any song with expletives usually goes down incredibly well at a gig (except maybe a Wiggles one), so when ‘Baddest Motherf**ker in the Beehive’ came on the room was vibrating with boogying bodies. Despite the fact my friend and I were copping a few elbows in the arms from some pesky people nearby, we were having a great time on the dance floor! Nothing was gonna kill my #vibe; not even the guy who kept accidentally whipping his surprisingly sharp dreadlocks into my precious hazel eyeballs.
The body-shaking bangers continued, including ‘Don’t Be Lonely’ and immensely funky tune ‘Bobby’s Flowers’. The band were giving the crowd a run for their money groove-wise, with every one of them surfing along to their magical music. Elliot’s quirky confidence was really fun to witness, and his constantly jazzy feet encouraged the audience to jive harder! Being the percussion slut I am, I was also super happy when he flung out the tambourine for a few songs, adding extra oomph to their well-played pieces.

The band themselves describe their genre as ‘Zig Zag’, which is actually a great representation of what they produce. Each song has a savoury mix of rock, reggae, pop and funk, giving them the advantage of appealing to all sorts of audiences. You can listen to it in the car, in the shower, at a venue; whether you’re feeling happy, sluggish, or deviant! All the elements are there for a groovy, enjoyable time.
They closed up their main set with popular tune ‘The Record’s Flawed’ and brand new addition ‘Fake That’, giving Newy fans a delicious dessert of old and new music. It was hard to believe the gig was over as the band left the stage… and of course, within moments, the musos returned to the front. A few minutes of grouse jamming and another song ensued, before they FINALLY gave us all ‘Supersonic Casualties’. It pretty much looked like everyone had taken a crapload of hallucinogens when I peered around at the room behind me; even dreadlock guy was whipping his head around more than usual! At last the song ended, the band said goodbye, and off they went into the blinding, artificially lit side stage sunset.

ANNE-MARIE @ Trak Lounge (Live Review)

On Wednesday the 11th of October the dynamic Anne-Marie played a packed out show at Toorak’s ‘Trak Lounge’. Descending the three flights of stairs down to the venue I was pleasantly surprised by the diversity of age in the crowd (within reason of course, it being an 18+ show after all), expecting the whole audience to be variations of me, a 20-something year old girl obsessed with pop & fashion. But alas the amount of young men, and older (we’re talking 40 + years) patrons beaming with excitement for the show warmed my heart, and mildly shocked me.
Opening her set with my personal favourite ‘Cry’ immediately had the crowd going nuts! Donning a full leopard print outfit (pictured below) the entire venue was yelling with excitement and admiration towards the English lass.

Despite the warm welcome from the crowd and Anne-Marie’s unwavering infectious energy my night, and I’m sure many others was dampened by the layout of the venue. Obviously this in no way reflects badly on the performer as is out of her control. However I could not see a damn thing on the stage over the masses of people in front of me & what I’m assuming was a very low stage (assuming because once again, I couldn’t see anything.) The only time I got any kind of visuals of Anne-Marie was when someone around me held up their phone really high to film the singer.

Even though my view was completely obstructed, my friend & I had a wonderful time. The vocals were on point, The setlist was amazing, and the banter between Anne-Marie and the crowd was heard and joined in by all.

At one point roughly mid-way through the set after performing her admittedly quite old hit track ‘Do It Right’ which was filmed right here in Melbourne, the singer brought out Melbourne local Illy to perform their number one song together ‘Catch 22’. Both announcing this is the first time they have publicly performed the song alongside each other. It was unreal, and a really sweet way to acknowledge the city she was in, and her history here.

Anne-Marie made a point of talking with the crowd giving little insights into tracks & making everyone feel included the whole duration of the night. Closing the show with 2x platinum single ‘FRIENDS’ was a perfect end to a near-perfect night.
This was my first time seeing Anne-Marie but I will 100% be in attendance for her shows coming up early next year, to which tickets go on sale Tuesday the 23rd of October. Cant wait to see this wonderful luminous girl again soon, and hopefully next time I’ll be right at the front.

TAYLOR SWIFT @ OPTUS STADIUM, WA (Live Review)

Taylor Swift’s Reputation tour, with its six 747s worth of gear, kicked off its Australian leg in Perth with a breathtaking show that sets the bar higher than her screens for all other Stadium tours to come. For the American, who in the past has found herself embroiled in controversy, it was a love letter to her fans.
No other artist connects with their fans in that way that Taylor Swift does. She has a loyal following, with the singer even commenting how her ‘Swifties’ have grown up before her . During the concert as she stood out on one of her satellite stages she pointed out that the LED wristbands worn by the 45,000 crowd, allowed her to see every single one of her fans. Soon after she gave Perth one her ‘secret songs’ playing “I Knew You Were Trouble”. It’s that fan acknowledgement and her refusal to have her identity defined and manipulated by others that makes her so appealing to females of all ages.
Reputation, Swift’s sixth album, is a collection of songs which show a progression from 1989’s bright eyed naivety to an emerging streetwise woman. The song themselves heavily driven by synth-pop lines and production are a mixed bag but after this concert, one wonders if they were specifically composed with a stadium tour in mind? Opener ‘…Ready For It?‘ is as dirty and rocky as Swift will get and on record, it’s a wonky song but it makes sense when you see it interpreted via 33 metre screens along with dancers, smoke jets and Swift’s brusque gaze.

The show is pure spectacle (should be for the ticket price), with fireworks and pyrotechnics going off from the second song, ‘I Did Something Bad‘. There were also gigantic snakes that rose up from the depths to tower over the stage during’Look What You Made Me Do‘, a song rumoured to address her beef with Kanye West. For ‘Shake It Off‘ confetti cannons showered the crowd and the LED wristbands brought the concert experience to a next level. To the many youngsters and teens in the crowd it would have been dazzling. All that razzle dazzle should however serve the material, and did it? Well for the most part it did.
Her band, playing high up on stage between the screens, sounded gutsy and gave much of her pop songs a welcomed textural grittiness. So songs like ‘Bad Blood‘ and ‘End Game‘ were punchy rebel yells as Swift and her squad hip-popped across the stage. Swift’s voice did get swamped at times by the band and all the extra staging flourishes but it probably wasn’t noticed by most.
Packing as much as she could in, Swift delivered a ‘Style/Love Story/ You Belong With Me‘ medley that reminded us all that the old Taylor isn’t actually dead she’s just discovered haute couture and old-fashions. And as the rain started to drizzle as Swift floated above the audience in a cage for the sweet ‘Delicate‘ it was a beguiling sight you wouldn’t forget.
For all that it was Swift’s quieter moments that connected most with the audience, showing off her incredible talent. Playing acoustic guitar for ‘Dancing With Our Hands Tied‘ and then later as she sat at the piano to play the go-lightly ‘Long Live/New Year’s Day‘ medley, Swift glowed, clearly in her element with an instrument in hand. As the crowd sang along her face would momentarily light up with a gorgeously warm smile that was absolutely charming.

The show came to a close with one of her strongest songs ‘Getaway Car‘, and ‘Call It What You Want‘ with the artist dancing around a working water fountain, showing that beneath the top layer of cynicism of her songs, the old romantic pulses underneath. Another medley, and final songs ‘We Are Never Getting Back Together/This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things‘ were reworked with an industrial edge but would have been more satisfying had she just stuck to one song.
Still, it was a lavish girl-fest affair with supports Broods and Charli XCX that showed exactly what the new stadium could offer not only audiences but other touring artists. For Taylor Swift though, despite all the razzle, there is a sense that this may just be another stepping stone for her to reach her artistic peak – let’s see what her next album brings.

CHEAP TRICK (Enmore Theatre) (Live Review)

Cheap Trick live is uniformly tight, as blistering and raw as it is cunningly melodic”– Rolling Stone
“a very tasty smorgasbord of thick electric-guitar licks with a definite garage-rockabilly vibe and just enough hair-metal in the mix to keep the whole thing appealingly gnarly.”– Business Insider
“Cheap Trick continues to be a model of freakish consistency with We’re All Alright!”
– Paste Magazine
“Combining their trademark power pop with a harder rockier edge…still sounding remarkably youthful…”– Louder Than War

Rock n roll history is littered with iconic combinations of frontmen and lead singers who defined their eras. Jagger and Richards; Tyler and Perry; Osbourne and Iommi; the list goes on. Among those combinations, surely, the team that is Robin Zander and Rick Neilsen must rank pretty highly. They are a band whose sound helped shape the 70s and who, with their Live at Budokan album, revolutionised the way in which live recordings were conceived.
An exhaustive list of the truly great songs Cheap Trick recorded would take up 20 pages on its own, but if you’re the kind of person who wants to hear a band play their greatest hits then this show was tailor made. They played everything from Dream Police, Surrender and I Want You To Want Me to Southern Girls, The Flame, Never Had a Lot to Lose, If You Want My Love and so many others. They played ‘em and played ‘em and played ‘em.
Like you’d expect with a band who’ve been doing it as long as Cheap Trick have, they are a super tight unit. As a touring band it’s become something of a family affair with Neilsen’s son, Dax, joining them on drums and Zander’s son, Robin Taylor Zander, taking up rhythm guitar. Of course, no description of this band and its performance is complete without mentioning Tom Petersson on the iconic twelve string bass, on which he does a spotlit solo which is one of the highlights of the evening.
One of the amazing things about the performance tonight is just how incredibly well Zander’s voice has held up. It is really something else. For a man in his mid 60s both he and his voice are in stellar shape. Neilsen, as is his wont, hams it up for the crowd throwing literally hundreds of picks into the audience throughout the course of the show and giving it everything he has. This really was one of the most satisfying performances of the year. The Enmore is an ideal venue for an Act like this. It’s big enough to feel like you’re a part of something special when an audience really connects with a band the way they did tonight but it’s also small enough that you don’t feel like you’re lost, faceless in a sea of heads.

The headliners were backed up tonight by local dependables Dallas Crane. They do what they’ve always done and they do it well. It’s pretty standard jukebox rock n roll and they do a pretty good job of keeping the audience interested considering how many of them were frothing at the mouth for the main event.
There aren’t going to be a lot of these kinds of shows left. A lot of the older bands are starting to talk seriously about retirement and when they do there will be very few left who remember what it was like to be on stage before sex and drugs and rock n roll needed a consent form and a trigger warning. When that happens, we’re all fucked. So enjoy the party while it lasts because for now, we’re all alright, we’re all alright,  we’re all alright, we’re all alright,  we’re all alright, we’re all alright.

HORROR MY FRIEND + SWEATER CURSE + CRY CLUB + NEIGHBOURS @ THE CHIPPO HOTEL (Live Review)

All the way from Adelaide, Post-Punk band Horror My Friend have brought their Home Life tour to Sydney at The Chippo Hotel. Of course they bring along their Brisbane buddies Sweater Curse for the whole tour. For Sydney we also got some sweet local acts with Cry Club and Neighbours.

Up first was Neighbours, they came out and smashed it from the first note. Playing songs from their debut EP Bubble, which only came out last Friday that included ‘Cowboy’, ‘Soup’ and ‘Mother’.
“This is a brand new one, only came out couple weeks ago” Jorja tells us.
With their high energy, it was like they had been playing these songs for years. Some of the crowd watch them intensely, while others really danced their butts off. All in all with their quick and snappy tunes, the energy was busting.
Next up was rock/pop duo Cry Club. With their awesome blue glitter gel tears make up and bubble gum sweetness. Beginning their set with their song ‘One Step’, the crowd was jigging along, as was Cry Club, dancing around the stage like there was no tomorrow. They also played their song ‘DFTM’ (Don’t Fucking Touch Me).
‘This song is an ode to feeling unsafe at shows’ says Jono, which is unfortunately relative in todays’ era. Cry Club also gifted us with a cover of Decepticons by Saviour. (a rockin’cover).

HORROR MY FRIEND // Photo – Sam Gibson
After them was Brisbane rock band Sweater Curse, who crushed their set with upbeat, quick tunes that sometimes contained smashing instrumental breaks. The connection they had with the crowd was solid who were riding their train. Especially when they slowed down the tempo and played a soft rock tune that you guessed it, builds into a full on rock song. The final song of their set was their single ‘Can’t see you anymore’. 
It was now time to get loud and heavy with Horror My Friend. For the first half of their set, Josh (electric guitar) took lead vocals. Opening their set with ‘Rattled Bones’, they were super into it and pumped to get this show on the road. Josh’s vocals were on point and Sam (drums) was absolutely smashing it.
“All the songs you hear tonight we wrote ourself” says Tom as the switch of vocals occur. “Big ups for Josh’s half of the set” says Tom.
The crowd cheered and clapped for Josh and now it was Tom carrying lead vocals. Heading straight back into it, it was either go hard or go home. Performing their single ‘Pavement’ as the last song in their set, the band were on fire, with that dynamic melody – it just went off. During the whole set the crowd was head banging. Overall, Horror My Friend were killer. Watching them live, just makes you love them more.

FOREIGNER RIVERSIDE THEATRE (Live Review)

The concept of merging rock band and symphony orchestra is certainly not a new one. As far back as the late 60’s when Deep Purple unveiled their Concerto for Rock Group and Orchestra, the idea that the worlds of classical and contemporary music could be fused in a gorgeous collision has inspired bands through the years. Some have succeeded in spectacular fashion, some less so.
But if there was ever a band whose music was born to be augmented by strings and horns, it was Foreigner. The 70’s/80’s rock giants bought their 40th Anniversary Orchestral Tour to Australia recently and played in fine style in Perth last Tuesday evening in front of a full and adoring crowd, bringing their 16-piece orchestra with them in what was one of the most spectacular displays of musical prowess seen on these shores this year.

After a brief Overture by the ANU Symphony Orchestra featuring snippets of some of the band’s biggest hits, Foreigner hit the stage with Monday Morning, Blue Day. Vocalist Kelly Hansen immediately proved to be the consummate frontman, hitting soaring high notes, engaging in some classic rock posturing and in general working the crowd with ease. Cold As Ice had many of this down the front on their feet immediately, despite some early interference from security. However after some friendly admonishment from Hansen things settled down and as the night progressed more and more people piled to the front of the stage until the whole theatre was on it’s feet.
This was definitely a night of ‘all killer, no filler’ as Waiting For A Girl Like You had the crowd singing along. It was one of those songs that benefited immensely from the addition of a classical score, and indeed throughout the show the tasteful arrangements never overshadowed the band’s performance. After a rousing That Was Yesterday, the stools came out and the whole band sat at stage front for a stellar acoustic take on Say You Will ( complete with a very Tullesque intro courtesy of multi instrumentalist Thom Gimbel) that once again showcased the crowd in fine vocal form. A real treat was the inclusion of The Flame Still Burns, a song Mick Jones wrote for the film Still Crazy and its mythical band Strange Fruit (easily one of the greatest rock bands that never was!) and even with some updated lyrics it was truly an emotional highpoint of the night.

After another quick changeover the orchestra gave us a Prelude that lead straight into Double Vision. The sheer energy and exuberance displayed not only by Hansen – himself a 15 year veteran of the band – but the whole group was so infectious, the songs were played perfectly and were performed with the due respect they most certainly deserve. Sole surviving original member Mick Jones , now in his 70’s, still pulled out classic solos and riffs and flitted from guitar to keyboards easily over the course of the set. Foreigner were always a band that see sawed between full-tilt rock and stadium power ballads, and both sides were in the house tonight. After Feels Like The First Time  came an absolutely ripping Stax-charged take on Fool For You Anyway, complete with a screaming horn section, both tracks from the first Foreigner album that showed just how good a songwriter Jones was right from the start.

With Dirty White Boy being the only inclusion from 1979’s Head Games album, it was left to Urgent and Juke Box Hero to lift the roof off the place and close out the set proper. By this stage pretty much the whole place was on its feet, singing and dancing, before the band returned to stage and after a speech from Hansen about connecting with each other and love, gave the crowd the biggest hit of their entire career and one of the biggest selling singles of all time. Joined by members of the UWA Choir, I Want To Know What Love Is was totally over the top enormous, a genuinely massive well of emotion that was just at home in the more intimate setting as it was on the stadium stages of the world. An honest to god singalong power ballad that saw the whole room singing with one voice. It was one of those magical fragments in time when band and audience connect and become one. From there, as the orchestra and choir exited the stage, it was left to the Jones-led septet to leave the crowd with Hot Blooded.
Much has been said of this current incarnation of Foreigner. Critics have likened it to seeing a cover band, with Jones now the only original member left in the lineup. However you may wish to see it, the band still put on one hell of a show that all those present will be talking about for some time to come.

TROPHY EYES ‘The American Dream’ Tour @ The Gov (Live Review)

Australian punk band Trophy Eyes came back to the motherland this month to tour their newest record, The American Dream. Dropping in August, they’ve given us a few months to listen to and become obsessed with this absolute masterpiece collection of tracks. They captivated us and the rest of the world with their previous album, Chemical Miracle, and many have been waiting a whole year to see them again. These Newcastle locals exceeded expectations and created a record that not only matches but almost surpasses their previous works. Celebrating the release with them on tour is Sydney locals Dear Seattle, indie pop-rock outfit Maddy Jane, and indie rock group STUMPS.
Kicking off the night were indie rockers, STUMPS. Hailing from Sydney, these four rockers opened up the show to a small but eager crowd at The Gov. Many people were yet to come but those in the main room were paying close attention to their unique groovy rock ‘n’ roll sound. Frontman and guitarist Kyle Fisher certainly had some pipes on him and belted out words to a bopping crowd. With songs like Conversations Conversations, We’ll Do It Anyway and Piggyback, showgoers who knew the lyrics sang back and newcomers enjoyed their set.

Next up was Maddy Jane, an indie pop rock artist from Tasmania. She’s recently cropped up after blowing up on Triple J Unearthed and supporting acts like Polish Club, Tash Sultana and Luca Brasi. I was more than happy to see Maddy Jane on the bill for tonight, a female artist on tour with Trophy Eyes, one of the biggest bands in the current scene? Phenomenal. She brought so much energy to the show and as the crowd started to pile in I could tell this was going to be a highlight. She has such a unique sound and her drawing voice echoed the room as she sang. Her live band put on a great performance as well, the bassist and drummer grooving out and belting out beats, respectively. The crowd happily danced and sang along to songs like No Other Way and Drown It Out.

Without question Dear Seattle were the most anticipated of support acts tonight and it showed as the room was packed out. If you have never heard of Dear Seattle before then I implore you go listen to them after reading this because it will be one of the best things you do. These four down to earth guys put on an amazing set. Complete with VB cans, hair-tangling head banging, jumping around stage and a guitar held together with duct tape, these guys knew how to rock. Fan favourites Cut You Deep, The Meadows and Afterthought were highlights of the set. I lost count of how many mosh pits were started and crowd surfers went over the front railing. I couldn’t have picked a more perfect band to support Trophy Eyes up next, the energy was up and people were excited for what was to come.

The energy in the room was palpable and a packed room was eager for Trophy Eyes to appear. As they burst onto the stage the crowd erupted in cheers and the quintet jumped right into the set. A sombre A Cotton Candy Sky and Lavender Bay started off the set lit the place up and punters moved and grooved, jumping along and passionately shouting back to an overall-clad vocalist John Floreani. He brings so much energy to every performance and tonight was no different. Bouncing around stage and breathless the crowd shouted the start of the chorus “I won’t sleep until Sydney knows my name” loud enough that he didn’t need to. They continued with songs More Like You, Broken, and Something Bigger Than This being echoed by the animated crowd. Arguably the best on the album, I was happy to be able to scream along to these ones. With Blake Caruso on drums, Andrew Hallet and Kevin Cross on strings, and Jeremy Winchester on bass they rocked The Gov and belted out the tracks. An emotional Hurt, released before The American Dream came out kept up the same energy, before moving into Miming in The Choir. The soft instrumentals lift into hard hitting riffs and heavy vocals, contrasted with clean vocals and dancing feeling of Autumn, everyone stopping to shout “don’t let those sad songs rot your brain”.

I’m sure I’m not the only person to have hoped a few songs from Chemical Miracle would be on the set list. To delighted fans, a whole five songs were included. Starting the throwback was Heaven Sent, and as it transitioned into the heavier portion of the song moshing ensued. Mosh pits and crowd surfing were a constant of the entire show and were a welcome sight. There’s something about seeing a crowd surfer trust the people around them enough to be held up and pushed to the barrier that warms the heart. Continuing with Breathe You In, Suicide Pact and Daydreamer the crowd’s energy was high and people were getting rowdy, moshing was a constant. Giving the band a little time for a rest and a breather, Floreani slowed things down with an acoustic Tip Toe and A Symphony of Crickets. Beautiful soft vocals, light acoustics and the low lighting made for a stunning performance.

Bringing it back we go into Chlorine, the last of the songs from Chemical Miracle and clearly a fan favourite. It was chilling to hear hundreds of people shout in unison “I’m still breathing”, the passion evident on their faces. Moshing here, crowd surfers there, and even people sitting on each other’s shoulders, Chlorine brought us all together. It was nice to hear it live again. Ending the night, we were treated to an upbeat Friday Forever complete with pyrotechnics lighting up the room. After teasing us and the crowd calling for an encore they came back with You Can Count on Me and I Can Feel It Calling, leaving the night on a high.
Trophy Eyes never fail to put on a great show and tonight was no exception. These five guys are one of the most fun, passionate and engaging acts I have ever seen. It’s hard to believe that they’re not already known worldwide and it blows my mind because they deserve so much. Trophy Eyes bring people together with their music. The hardships that they have had to go through, and are still struggling with, is evident in their lyrics. The fact that it resonates so much with listeners just goes to show the power of their words and how much recognition they deserve.

PSYCHEDELIC PORN CRUMPETS @ THE ROSEMOUNT HOTEL (Live Review)

You’d have to be living under a rock to live in Perth and not have heard of the Psychedelic Porn Crumpets. The city has some of the Porn Crumpets’ biggest fans – the band are from Perth, are regulars on the local music scene and Perth ranks #3 for most Spotify listens for the band. This is the fourth time I’ve seen them perform, but the first time they’ve been the main act and I’m super excited.
If you have never been to one of their concerts, the first ten minutes can seem pretty overwhelming – they attract an audience who are here to let loose and they are frankly, wild. They always inspire some serious moshing, so being down the front of their concert is a truly thrilling experience. (Just be sure not to get squished.)
From the first note, the band tear it up with a ferocious energy that has made them an unstoppable musical force.
Recent single ‘Social Candy’ is a slightly wacky, zinging tune with a banging chorus and bold guitar riffs. I really love the vocals on this one too, which in my opinion step it up and take a little more of the limelight. The collision of the higher-pitched vocals and fast-paced instrumentals is exciting and the song feels breathtakingly frenzied.
They play tons of hits from their 2016 first album release, High Visceral Pt. 1, including favourites like ‘Cornflake’ and ‘Marmalade March’. That release was followed a year later in 2017 by High Visceral Pt. 2 and songs like Coffee with its echoing sound effects.

As the set progresses, they spiral deeper into a psychedelic frenzy – and so do the audience, thrashing and headbanging without mercy. (Yes, my neck was pretty stiff the next day) They do have plenty of songs with slower rhythms, like ‘Terraqueous‘, which have some of the most intense impact because the slower parts mean you don’t always expect the explosion of guitar that will inevitably commence towards the end of the track. The band are full of surprises, with songs and hints of influences that tip into other less frenzied genres. This might have something to do with the fact the band members have a very diverse musical background. Singer/guitarist Jack McEwan produced Raga tunes before joining the band, while Luke the bassist is a classically-trained soprano and Ben Caddy on strings has played for the UN’s Symphony Orchestra and performed for Prince Charles. That’s an impressive group of musicians, and makes for a band that has incredibly well-produced songs that never fail to hit the mark.
A Psychedelic Porn Crumpets concert is NOT for the fainthearted, especially if you are moshing it, but boy is it a good time! They take over the space they inhabit with a huge stage presence and are a refreshing addition to the psych rock scene, managing to be both unique and also deeply true to the sound of psychedelia.

LAUREN JAUREGUI ‘Expectations’ (Single Review)

Former Fifth Harmony member Lauren Jauregui has finally spread her wings and landed her first official solo debut release with her new track Expectations. Following in the footsteps of former band member Camila Cabello who has gone on to gain immense worldwide success, Lauren is ready to embark on her own journey and show the world that each member of Fifth Harmony is just as capable. By collaborating with some of the hottest artists in the last few years including Marian Hill, Halsey and Steve Aoki, it’s now Lauren’s time to stand on her own two feet and do it on her own. Lauren rose to fame on the US X Factor in 2012 where she was put in a group with her former Fifth Harmony members where they placed third. The group then went on to release two successful albums and mega smash hit Work From Home, as well as a third album after the departure of Camila.
The instrumental of the track begins with the strums of a bass guitar. As the track begins to progress with the addition of Lauren’s vocals, the tempo stays quite consistent as the starlet uses a simple instrument throughout without any bold or flashy effects. As we get to the bridge, the rhythm begins to pick up as an electric guitar supports the climax of the instrumental and lyrical content. It’s super refreshing to see how Lauren has kept the structure and production of her debut track simple, yet effective. It greatly highlights the raw strong vocals of her talent, as well as a solid focus on her message. We also hear a strong foot drum, as well as her vocals used as a background sound to layer the progression of the track perfectly.

“I wish I had no expectations,
I wish that I could get it through your head”

This track focuses on themes of communication and relationships. Lauren sings about her frustration with her lover as a series of the same events keep occurring. She wishes she had no expectations and that her lover would understand their wrong doing without having to argue about it. However, they’re not giving her the communication and respect she needs or deserves. I feel that Expectations is the perfect example of a classic scenario that is shared between many relationships today and that this track will hit a lot of people in the head, as well as the heart. Lauren truly sheds the idea that without communication or respect in a relationship, there will always be doubt. Along with stellar vocals and riffs, the uprising star engages listeners from start to finish with her powerful tone and demanding attitude.
After hearing a mix of Lauren’s potential sound as a solo artist through previous collaborations, I do have to say that her first debut is the perfect path to explore her own individual sound. It’s simple, it’s memorable, and it’s chucks a lot of fuel to her fire. After being one of my personal stand outs through the Fifth Harmony era, I’m overly excited and I’m sure the world is as well to see Expectations blow up and lead the starlet into solo stardom. With talks of a debut studio album on the horizon sometime in the future, this only marks the beginning of what will probably be an extraordinary debut into the music industry as her own artist. Check out the music video down below; there will definitely be no disappointments.

BRUCE DICKINSON Llewellyn Hall (ANU, Canberra) (Live Review)

“Armed only with his humour, charm and a simple slide show, Bruce Dickinson offers an intimate idea of his dazzling life. There are diligent jack of all trades and creatively exuberant entrepreneurs. And then there’s Bruce Dickinson – who plays in his own league“ – AFTONBLADET NEWSPAPER, SWEDEN
“Bruce Dickinson is a superstar… When you dig deeper, you find that his tremendous sense of humour facilitates the telling of an epic story. This man has an enormous heart and fighting spirit.“ – COPENHAGEN POST NEWSPAPER, DENMARK
“Bruce Dickinson is an eager man, devoted to exploring and learning new things ….a fantastic storyteller” – RADIOROCK, BAUER MEDIA, NORWAY
“Dickinson isn’t your garden variety heavy metal legend…he is arguably THE metal legend” – NOISEY

Bruce Dickinson is a man of a thousand contradictions. A product of the English public school system but at once rejected by it. A world class fencer, commercial airline pilot, cancer survivor, brewer and, of course, frontman for one of the most successful franchises in music history, it’s fair to say that Dickinson has made the most of his 60 years. That’s probably a gross and glaring understatement but in fact understatement is just what Dickinson does for most of the time he spends on stage for his spoken word “A Conversation with Bruce Dickinson”.
He spends at least half an hour talking about pissing on food eaten by his high school headmaster, and then goes through a range of stories about everything from his taste in trousers and his time with the band Samson to trying to defecate on morphine.
These things probably sound like banal topics for a man who is so accomplished and for whom life looks nothing like it does for the vast majority of the population. Perhaps they are, but the point is that they’re humanising. For someone interested in his exploits in the fencing arena or the airspace the information is out there aplenty. For Iron Maiden superfans, and they superfan like very few others, they already know all of that, right down to the wood used in the triplane he flies. This instead was a chance to see what it might be like to sit and talk to him for a few hours.
He’s funny but not hilarious and rehearsed but not polished. Dickinson is one of several artists bringing spoken word shows to Australia. Scott Ian was here recently, Dee Snider will bring his show early next year and of course Henry Rollins, the perpetual tourer, is never far away. Part of the attraction with these kinds of shows is the inside glimpse into what life is like for a person who has spent decades on stages and planes and tour buses. Another attraction is that they’re often people who started out as rabid rock n roll fans and it’s a joy to hear of a life lived in music and performance and art. With Dickinson it’s slightly different because he’s one of the few who has lived a thousand lifetimes inside and outside music and that comes with a certain perspective of distance on the whole thing.
It might have been nice to hear some deeper reflections on some of those things he has lived inside, but the chances are those reflections are inside the book that was included in the price of the ticket to the show and came signed by the man himself.
One thing about which he was prepared to speak at length was his fight with throat cancer. Here too though, he is understated in the most British of ways; stoic and disinclined to the kind of overwrought display of feelings that so characterises American responses to such events.
There are many reasons to get a long to a show like this, but the only one that counts is that this is Bruce Dickinson and Maiden fucking rules.

GANG OF YOUTHS @ THE FORUM THEATRE

On Monday the 29th of October Gang Of Youths played their 2nd of 8 shows at the forum theatre. Walking into the beautiful venue early to see the opener, Charlie Collins, there were already masses of people, young and old packed in tight securing their spot for the main event!
I was perplexed when the unevenly hung wrinkled white sheet acting as a backdrop remained hanging even upon commencement of Gang Of Youths set. The band came out one by one in single file making a beeline to their instruments. They immediately jumped into one of my favourite tracks ‘Fear & Trembling’. It had the crown swaying and singing along. A great was to kick off the evening!

The band seamlessly transitioned into the popular track ‘What Can I Do If The Fire Goes Out’ followed by a heartfelt address stating how good it is to be back in the “Best city in Australia!!!” This statement had the whole crowd hollering! There’s nothing us Melburnians love more than being told we’re the better than Sydney, even if not directly.
Frontman David Le’aupepe went on to talk about how they played this venue 5 or 6 years ago supporting the band Crowd Control, and they were slammed by critiques & ignored by everyone else. He joked that due to this you could argue their entire career has been fuelled by revenge.

After his 10 minute long speech, we were ready to get on with the music we all came here for! The night continued on with a song about not wasting your life and not letting the bastards get you down , ‘Do Not Let Your Spirit Wane’. Just as this song began The ugly white sheet FINALLY dropped. I was so glad, it was such an eye sore.
The band continued to thank Melbourne for all the continued support throughout Gang Of Youths entire career. Even changing the lyrics in ‘Go Farther In Lightness’ from Sydney sky, to Melbourne sky. This track was the first of a few Le’aupepe performed at the piano. David often stopped singing so us in the audience could sing out acoustically. It was pretty amazing to hear.
The show was overall fantastic. Musically the band are phenomenal live. Its east to see how they managed to book 8 full back-to-back shows at the Forum Theatre. The band work so cohesively they are clearly a well-oiled machine! Performance wide, Frontman Dave moves with the best of them. The way he moves his hips seductively to the beat is so charismatic you cant help but smile! As I overheard someone say, “It should be illegal to be this talented”

TAYLOR SWIFT @ MARVEL STADIUM, VIC (Live Review)

Taylor Swift’s record shattering Reputation tour, kicked off its Australian leg in Perth earlier  this month before moving across to Victoria for the home stretch of this unbelievably successful tour. This tour has been smashing attendance records & grossing ticket sales across the world since the very first show in Phoenix, AZ. And since attending the show myself its not hard to see why! This stadium tour has set the bar higher than her 110ft stage.  The singer, who in recent years has found herself immersed in tabloid drama, it was a love letter to her loyal unwavering fans.
Taylor Swift has the ability to connect with fans with her music the way i have scarcely found with any other artist. As we scanned out tickets into the venue every single patron was given a LED wristband. The bands began to flicker and dance in patterns throughout Taylor’s set. The singer made it a point to explain her desire for these light up bracelets. She simply wanted to be able to see each and every single person in the whopping sold out 53,000 cap venue. The LED bands truly added to the shows experience and it was so cool to see the tiny dots even all the way up the back knowing that those little flickering lights belonged to fans as well.

Opening the show with gritty bass heavy track ‘…Ready For It?‘ was perfectly fitting. The spectacle of just a lone Taylor Swift in a black hooded glitter leotard seductively snaking her was across the stage welcoming us to the tour singing out to the masses of ‘Swifties’ “Baby let the games begin”. And just like that we were off!

This tour had some of the biggest stages i’ve ever seen in my years of frequenting stadium concerts. Swift had two intricate cages which flew her across the crowd to her B stage. The mid show stint on these slightly smaller stages were still a huge spectacle, featuring two giant inflatable snakes either side of the stadium. It was here where Taylor sang her ‘secret song’ which for us Melburnians was ‘Im Only Me When I’m With You‘ off Swifts debut album . A song Taylor admitted to writing at they ripe age of 13. Admitting that many of the concert goers probably weren’t even born when she wrote it. It was an exciting throwback for us veteran fans.
Reputation, Swift’s sixth album, is a huge leap from the singers usual bright eyed pop fuelled love songs, branching into a fresh synth-driven body of work that sees Taylor growing up and maturing into a strong unapologetic woman.  Upon release of the album i was wary of the change in sound but after seeing the tracks performed live in concert, it begs the question; were they were specifically designed with this type of stadium tour in mind?

The show is pure spectacle and I wouldn’t expect anything less for the ticket price, with fireworks and pyrotechnics going off from the very beginning of the show throughout. I was honestly wowed at the amount of extra element this tour included, especially the working fountain in the last act. For ‘Shake It Off‘ confetti cannons showered the crowd as openers Charli XCX and Georgia Nott from BROODS joined the singer on stage making it a full girl party!
Taylor managed to squeeze so many songs into the show that i can barely remember everything she covered. Utilising medleys to pack in as many of her hits as she possibly could, I was often left a little disappointed at not getting to hear so many of the full songs, however given the alternative of possibly not hearing some of my favourite song, i cant complain.
The moments in between songs while Swift connected to with the audience, are what make shows like this so special. Being able to see your favourite artist address you as a fan is what we really remember. Taylor showed off her talent playing acoustic guitar for ‘Dancing With Our Hands Tied‘ and her skills at a huge wooden piano for one of the final songs, a medley of  ‘Long Live‘ & ‘New Year’s Day‘. Swift Looked so comfortable up on that stage. Having seen the artist many times before, this tour felt much more genuine and less forced than the previous tours. I even shed a tear when Swift thanked her roadies, her sound technicians, the venue staff, and most importantly (in her eyes), us fans! It was so heartfelt, you could tell she was extremely grateful to get the chance to do these tours.

The show came to a close with my favourite tracks ‘Getaway Car‘, and ‘Call It What You Want‘. These saw Taylor and her dancers splashing around in a huge working fountain, adding back classic elements of romance to the new grunge era of Taylor Swift.
I fell in love with Taylor all over again. This show was next level amazing. I cant wait to see whats next from this superstar. Its going to be pretty hard to one up this tour, but if anyone can do it, it’s going to be Ms Swift!

AWAKEN I AM + PICTURESQUE @ The Evelyn Hotel (Live Review)

Having just started their Australian tour in Adelaide on the 18th after a tour of America with rock/post hardcore heavyweights CKY and Slaves, Brisbane-hailing Awaken I Am are in full swing on their first ever ‘proper’ headlining tour here in their homeland. Along with them for this round are U.S Kentucky-based boys Picturesque, and locals Anyone Anyone and Colour & Shade.

I unfortunately only made it in time to see Colour & Shade finish up and Picturesque open their set, but they surely started strong. Picturesque lead singer Kyle Hollis jumped onto stage repping a Tonight Alive hoodie in true support for the Aussie legends and kicked off the performance with some intense vocals. Having only done the slightest bit of research before the show, it’s safe to say I was blown away by the band’s well-developed sound and the crazy high pitches Hollis was reaching that night – reminiscent of Awaken I Am’s prior vocalist, Adam Roger Douglas. Hollis’s vocals are truly something to be witnessed, with the occasional scream and consistently clear, controlled pitch being consistently confounded. While unfortunately, the sound did seem a little unbalanced, drowning Hollis out on and off throughout the act, this meant the rest of the band were being well and truly heard and man, they know how to play. The gorgeous guitar riffs, the focus of the musicians, and the stage-to-crowd engagement showed that this trip to Australia surely won’t be their last. The smaller sized crowd started out being not quite sure about what to do with themselves, but Picturesque definitely didn’t let this stop them from interacting and engaging with their audience as any great band does. They were able to create a stage presence that kept your eye on the stage and left you feeling satisfied. One particular girl was obviously a dedicated fan and starte filming herself with the band during their performance, singing along, Hollis jumping in shot and singing right to her and her camera – as any fan would know, that’s an AWESOME moment. Picturesque had an onstage sync with each other that meant you were visually delighted as well as aurally, with consistent performance synchronicity between themselves, their songs, and the crowd.
There were occasional technical difficulties throughout the night – no band gets a perfect show every time, but the rest of the performances surely made up for this. Picturesque actually had to ‘borrow’ Awaken I Am’s drummer for their set due to tour expenses that meant they couldn’t fly their own drummer over from the states for the tour, but the performance was not deterred or impaired by this fact at all. If anything, it showed the respect shown between the groups of musicians which I have so much appreciation for.
Picturesque are;
Kyle Hollis – Vocals
Zach Williamson – Guitar
Dylan Forrester – Guitar
Jordan McGreenway – Bass

Awaken I Am started their set 2 minutes early, to the joy of the audience and I’m sure the stage manager alike. About 3 songs in after a fantastic performance of Blind Love, vocalist Jimmy Alexander mentioned he was ‘as sick as a dog’ and couldn’t quite hit his high notes, but adjusted himself near perfectly, even doing the band’s old singer’s vocals justice. Before playing a brand-new song, only previously heard at their previous shows on this tour, Alexander took a moment to talk about the loss of their guitarist Connor Oakley, an emotional but true moment with the crowd before stating ‘If you wanna dance and get fucked up now is the time to do so’. The still small but evidently appreciative crowd were from then on truly showing their love, dancing, swaying, and cheering at any given opportunity. Being their first ‘proper’ headline tour, they also took a long moment to thank their support bands as well as allowing for Alexander to recover between songs, with the oh-so-true starving artist statement;
‘If you like what you see we have merch for sale, and I’m not kidding this is how we eat.’

It is clear that the band are all close, passionate, and dedicated musicians, working beautifully together on and off stage, and creating the same emotional, such well-developed and meaningful music they always have. This definitely showed through during the performance itself, with bassist Ryan Oxford nearly losing his glasses a few times over the night while kicking around and headbanging during the set, the crowd eagerly singing back ‘I need to let you go’ into Alexander’s microphone during ‘Dissolution’, and the entertaining back and forth banter amongst the band members and with their audience.
Before the final two songs for the night, Alexander made point of his sickness situation, mentioning ‘We’re here for a good time not a long time and if I sing more than that my throat might fall out of my mouth’ and the band went on to play their most recent new and first release with Alexander, ‘Dissolution’– my personal favourite in all honesty – with the crowd singing right back and ‘sweating up a storm’, the new track is clearly one of theirs as well. The bassline, the lyrics, their genuine human interactions, everything Awaken I Am are doing is what I love about this music scene – the authenticity of great music and great people doing great things.

The final song for the night was ‘Walk My Way’, ending on a beautiful note to a beautiful night, the whole room holding an excited, satisfied vibe. The crowd tried for a ‘one more song’ chant at the end but this didn’t last long as I think the crowd was well aware of Alexander’s dedication of even performing how he did on the night with his illness at the time. I just hope the boys know that they and their work are definitely much appreciated – but please, get some honey and lemon tea into you and please, keep doing what you’re doing.
Awaken I Am (as currently listed) are:
Jimmy Alexander – Vocals
Luke McKenzie – Drums
Ned Jankovic – Guitar
Connor Oakley – Guitar
Ryan Oxford – Bass

I must say, while I myself was guilty of not making it to the first two local support acts myself this night, the number of attendees for all of the support acts was somewhat disappointing and I do believe they deserved better – we really need to better promote the idea of actually supporting these support acts, for even our biggest and best headliners were a local act one day, way back when. If not for their commitment and passion for what they do, and the support they received they would not be where they are today. Speaking to the bands after the show, Hollis mentioned something that I think surely anyone who understands the nostalgia of listening back to their ol’ childhood tunes can recognise –
‘‘Music is music, it’s what’s engrained in us.‘
That is to say, music is something that has been evident throughout (almost, if not) every age and culture known, as something that brings us together and creates a unity amongst the creators and listeners. Support what you can, while you can, and it can be guaranteed that it will be well worth it in ages to come.