More Narwhals and It's A Woelv

I saw this some time ago. It was good. This is Wolev.




Woelv - Live @ The Powerhouse - 30 Nov 2008.mp3 (43.46 MB)

much better looking than The Narwhals


The Narwhals - Live @ The Powerhouse - 30 Nov 2008.mp3 (40.28 MB)

Clockcleaner On Fire at Rosies

Sorry but it had to be said.

Thursday night was memorable for all the wrong reasons.

It started out OK with sets by local bands Z Rays and Slug Guts. Seen Z Rays before and had the same problem again; vocals. The first time i saw them I couldn't see the stage very well and it was about halfway through their set before I realized they weren't an instrumental band. They really should talk to the sound guy.

Missed the first song or two from Slug Guts but their sound was more balanced. I enjoyed their set though the second last song did go on a bit. Will see them again.

Snake Run was 10 minutes of straight up punk. Loud fast and incomprehensible. They are good at it. I just aren't really interested in it. There was a recording glitch at about 7 min and I lost about 20 secs of their set. There is a quick fade in/out so the jump isn't too disconcerting.

For me, Clockcleaner were disappointing. The high pitched guitar sound was promising during the warm up but once the songs started it all turned into a mush especially with the amount of reverb in the vocals. Apart from that I thought the songs just weren't that good.

Mind you most of the crowd seemed to be enjoying themselves. Especially the hard core fans down the front. So much so that during a cover of Divine Hammer [it's not easy to turn that song into a dirge but they were trying real hard] one of them decided that the only way to show his appreciation was to light a fire at Sharkeys feet using the toilet paper another guy had liberated earlier.

Much hilarity ensued until someone thought to use the powder fire extinguisher firstly with a quick shot at the fire, then emptying the rest into the air. Minutes later we [everyone in the building] are on the sidewalk watching the fire brigade enter the not quite towering inferno. I learnt two things; that powder tastes like shit, and people who light fires for fun are beneath contempt whether they have a 'problem' or not.


The Z Rays - Live @ Rosies - 27 Nov 2008 49.24 MB
Slug Guts - Live @ Rosies - 27 Nov 2008 30.98 MB
Snake Run - Live @ Rosies - 27 Nov 2008 14.78 MB
Clockcleaner - Live @ Rosies - 27 Nov 2008 52.82 MB

The Narwhals

Went to the Troubadour with every intention of staying all night but managed to catch The Narwhals only before illness struck and I crawled home to bed. But enough of me. Here's the Narwhals. They play instrumental garage/soulish things.

The Narwhals - Live @ The Troubadour - 22 Nov 2008 [56.85MB]

NintyNine

I had no idea this was on until about an hour before it started. So out in the rain and into Ric's where a small but friendly crowd saw Melbourne based NintyNine deliver a highly enjoyable set. The band is led apparently by one of the two keyboard/guitarist/percussionists but seriously, the spotlight was literally on the drummer and it was hard to take your eyes off someone who so obviously enjoys his work. Unfortunately the vocals were under amplified esp the second mic and can be hard to hear on a couple of songs.

NinetyNine - Live @ Rics - 16 Nov 2008 52.68 MB

Bonus: indiie has video of the gig up on youtube
You'll see what I mean about the drummer.

Mass Migration EP Launch

at the Hanger was a great night featuring post rock band Nikko, singer/songwrier Tom Cooney [with chorus] and Mass Migration. I was surprised that the inclusion of Tom Cooney in the lineup worked so well. I'm not a big fan of singer/songwriters but I admit I did enjoy his set.

As a bonus I include part of a set by Edward Guglielmino from the Hanger a couple of weeks ago. Another singer/songwriter though he had help on the night on keyboard and guitar. I only have part of the set because the Hanger can get really hot sometimes and I was feeling it that night and had to step out for air after about 20 minutes.

Mass Migration was great as is the EP.

Mass Migration - Live @ The Hanger - 15 Nov 2008 54.66 MB
Nikko - Live @ The Hanger - 15 Nov 2008 56.03 MB
Tom Cooney - Live @ The Hanger - 15 Nov 2008 - Broadcast 49.05 MB
Edward Guglielmino - Live @ The Hanger - 01 Nov 2008 39.12 MB

Bakelite Age

came to Brisbane and headed a night of three different types of loud sweaty rock.

The straight garage sounds of The Z Rays

The Z Rays - Live @ The Step Inn - 14 Nov 2008 40.72 MB

the greasy soul rockers Vegas Kings

Vegas Kings - Live @ The Step Inn - 14 Nov 2008 54.61 MB

and the dark pop rock squall that is the Bakelite Age

Bakelite Age - Live @ The Step Inn - 14 Nov 2008 70.47 MB

The Dandy Warhols

certainly give you your monies worth. 2hr 20min of hits and more hits. The band were particularly pleased with the election results and instead of a bucket bong which apparently they have been known to take a mid set break with, toasted Obama's victory with champagne.

The Dandy Warhols - Live @ The Tivoli - 05 Nov 2008 [185.29MB]

This is dedicated to that guy in my left ear. The bands biggest fan on the night. I hope you enjoy it.

The Drones

proved once again that they are the best band in Australia if not the world at the moment. There have been comments that too much Havilah material is crowding out the classic stuff in the current set. Really? You'd think they were trying to sell the record or something. Havilah is where the band is at the moment. To me at least it makes no sense artistically to ignore it when they are touring it. And in any case live, most of it is as powerful as anything from their back catalog.

I have been to concerts by bands with two or three goods tracks on the new CD and a back catalog that everyone wants to hear anyway and about the middle you just wish they would hurry up, get to the hit and you can go home. That is not a problem for me at a Drones concert. If nothing else I find it difficult to get bored by the guitar work of Gareth and Dan.

Enough of that. Support by the great Gin Club in almost full glory. I'm sure I've seen more people on stage before. Not sure what the hell they would actually do...

And The Kes Band. Not many people there to start with but by the end I'm pretty sure everyone in the place was listening and enjoying. I hope they make it back to Brisbane soon.

The Kes Band - Live @ The Zoo - 25 Oct 2008 [41.9MB]

The Gin Club - Live @ The Zoo - 25 Oct 2008 [69.89MB]

The Drones - Live @ The Zoo - 25 Oct 2008 [130.64MB]

Violent Soho

led the pack on Friday night and what a pack. Probably one of the best local lineups all year.

Dick Nasty - Live @ The Step Inn - 24 Oct 2008.mp3 (34.64 MB)



eat laser scumbag! - Live @ The Step Inn 24 Oct 2008.mp3 (45.95 MB)

No Anchor - Live @ The Step Inn 24 Oct 2008.mp3 (34.86 MB)



Turnpike - Live @ The Step Inn - 24 Oct 2008.mp3 (40.07 MB)

Violent Soho - Live @ The Step Inn - 24 Oct 2008.mp3 (55.33 MB)

A Busy Weekend

From punk pop to post punk noise and country class to indie pop finishing with aussie icons . Something for everybody.

Girl With Cake- Live @ The Tabu Bar - 17 Oct 2008 [62.16MB ]

Last show with the current drummer for Table & Chair. Great sendoff.
Table & Chair - Live @ The Valley Studio - 17 Oct 2008 [31.5MB]

Texas Tea - Live @ The Troubadour - 17 Oct 2008 [74.33MB]

The Bell Divers - Live @ The Troubadour - 18 Oct 2008 [58.83MB]

The Fauves - Live @ The Troubadour - 18 Oct 2008 [119.22MB]

Dave McCormack

Every time is like the first time. I guess that's what timeless [in this case] pop is all about.

Dave McCormack - Live @ Ric's - 09 Oct 2008- Set 01
Dave McCormack - Live @ Ric's - 09 Oct 2008- Set 02

Joan As Policewoman

Absolutely beautiful. The Songs, the band, the singer, the voice. And a very nice lady as well.

Joan As Policewoman - Live @ The Globe - 11 Oct 2008

Joan As Policewoman - Live @ The Globe - 11 Oct 2008 [Compressed]

Can I ask a favour. The levels on the 1st untreated version are very quiet and if you just play it out loud you will be disappointed I think. Under phones I think it is like being there. I have included a second set that has been through a multiband compressor to make it a bit more speaker friendly. Please try both but listen to the first using good ear/headphones. It is worth the hassle. But also please let me know what you think/which you prefer.

The Tabu Bar

is already a favourite place to sit back sipping a cool beer and listening to high quality music. Don't tell anyone please.

The Young Liberals
are legend. Here is why.

The Young Liberals - Live @ The Tabu Bar - 04 Oct 2008

guest appearance by The L.E.G.E.N.D.

The Heels
who would do a very good cover of Green Onions if the singer let them.

The Heels - Live @ The Tabu Bar - 04 Oct 2008

The Hits.
I love The Hits. Specifically Tamara The Hits. When these guys play you can feel the love in the room. Occasionally you can even see it but mostly that's just Evil Dick rolling round on the floor.

The Hits - Live @ The Tabu Bar - 04 Oct 2008

The Grates at The Arena

The Grates were wonderful as always. If you listen closely you can hear them through the murk that passes as air in the Arena. The new songs fit perfectly and a couple are already sing along favourites.
The Grates - Live @ The Arena - 03 Oct 2008
Another copy if there are problems with the megaupload link above

The Vasco Era

Never seen before and was more than happy with their take on the blues as a basis for rock. Looking forward to seeing them again.
The Vasco Era - Live @ The Arena - 03 Oct 2008

The John Steele Singers
I hope they are received as enthusiastically down south as they were at home. They deserve it. A great live act.

The John Steele Singers - Live @ The Arena - 03 Oct 2008

Supergrass

and Cloud Control at The Tivoli

Cloud Control were fine and well received but I'd have thought a slightly beefier band might have been a better choice to support Supergrass.

Cloud Control - Live @ The Tivoli - 02 Oct 2008 [52.49MB]

Supergrass are great fun. Lots of material from Diamond Hoo Ha but the old favourites as well.I like the Tivoli as I may have said before. It's a fine recording I think. Best under 'phones but it sounds pretty good on your speakers.



Supergrass - Live @ The Tivoli - 02 Oct 2008 [117.09MB]

Frank Black

with Violent Soho at The Arena

Never been to The Arena. The placde seems to be inhabited mainly by dance people in those flouro loon pants. That stuff might sound fine in the Arena. Rock struggles. Especially anything loud or dense. So Violent Soho struggled. I barely heard the guitars throughout the set. I thought that it might be me but a few complained. The band seemed a little distracted as well so not their best set.

Violent Soho - Live @ The Arena - 01 Oct 2008 [49.72MB]

Frank Black sounded a lot better I think because there were only the guitar, bass and drums. The set was great. Well paced and good variety. But a bit short I thought. Just over the hour mark. The Perth show had a solo set from Frank before the Band joined him and I assumed a similar set here but he came on with the band and went straight through. It meant I had to change tapes just before the end and missed a minute or two.

And did I mention beer is expensive as well.

Frank Black - Live @ The Arena - 01 Oct 2008 [105.75MB]

Mr Maps

At Ric's

some call it Math Rock.

Mr Maps - Live @ Ric's - 25 Sept 2008 [51.43MB]

Laura At The Globe

Instrumental Rock; we has it. Apart from some thank yous and a howl or two and maybe some words to a Laura track, if you need vocals to make it interesting I got nothing for you tonight. But if you like riff laden loudness or bass driven shimmery guitar lines or drone head fucks with cello and a nice melody underlying it a la Mogwai [that wasn't any kind of comparison but it gives you some idea of the type of goods on display] then you are in for a treat.

Secret Birds

Secret Birds - Live @ The Globe - 20 Sept 2008 [36.20MB]

Del Toro

Del Toro - Live @ The Globe - 20 Sept 2008 [67.62MB]

Laura
like to play in the dark
Laura - Live @ The Globe - 20 Sept 2008 [97.67MB]

Technical Notes: At about 26min and 44min in the Laura set there are 2 - 4 sec gaps due to Sony being so crap at engineering. You may not notice the first unless you are listening closely.
These are soundboard recordings so the downside is you get no crowd noise. I like crowd noise but sometimes it just nice to be there and not have to worry about your ears pointing in the right direction all night. The upside is you get no crowd noise. Sometimes the crowd are dicks.
Everyone commented on how great the drum sound was at this gig. And it was good. But for some reason the Del Toro set sometimes sounds like there was no guitarist at all. Fortunately Bree is a fine drummer.

Arrrrgh etc

International Talk Like A Pirate Day Boat Cruise

was way undermanned which was a pity because The Gin Club, New Jack Rubys, and Little Vegas & The Fuzz Parade were all fabulous and the Children With Cancer charity miss out on many monies. Some great costumes. I don't dress like that though. I mean when I go out to waylay ships on the high seas, steal the cargo, and slaughter all the crew and passengers I try to dress down so they aren't tipped off. Rule 1. No parrots. Though the raffle's third prize of a life size inflatable pirate, palm tree and monkey sounded pretty good.

The Gin Club started proceedings and, my bad, somehow I managed to turn the machine off after a few songs. My private collection that one.

New Jack Rubys rocked.

Haven't seen them for a while but they still do it for me. Steve and Paul are two excellent guitarists who complement each other very well.

New Jack Rubys - Live on The Island - 19 Sept 2008

Little Vegas & The Fuzz Parade have the second best front girl in Brisbane. And Brisbane has at the moment some great girls out front.

That admittedly is not her best photo but sometinmes red eye just works I think.

Little Vegas & The Fuzz Parade - Live on The Island - 19 Sept 2008

Off the Boat, Drive Very Fast to Valley. Into Club; The Tabu. I miss The Narwhals who many people tell me were good. Many of these people play in bands I consider very good so I better look out for them. Meanwhile here's Nova Scotia. "Bear Smashes Photocopier" is still one of the top three pieces of musical plastic I have purchased in the past two years. I am buying Havilah tomorrow so it may slip to No 4. but it's not a bad spot still. I love these guys. Nathan on guitar gets better every show.

Nova Scotia - Live @ The Tabu - 19 Sept 2008

The Valley Fiesta 2008

Friday Night
Off to Kim Salmon but have time to catch the very wonderful John Steele Singers before I go.
The John Steele Singers - Live @ The Valley Fiesta - 12 Sept 2008 [43.95MB]

Saturday
Amazing Voice? Check. Riffs Galore? Check. Hit it.
Little Vegas & The Fuzz Parade - Live @ The Valley Fiesta - 13 Sept 2008 [49.18MB]
Blinding set from this local trio. At about 13min there is a couple of recording glitches and one of them cuts out about 1 min of the start of the track. The MiniDisc involved has been retired with extreme prejudice.
Side Effects - Live @ The Valley Fiesta - 13 Sep 2008 [54.84MB]
The Boat People - Live @ The Valley Fiesta - 13 Sep 2008 [55.43MB]
Crowd favourite Ups & Downs bring out the older punters. For some reason I feel odd in a crowd where I'm not the oldest person. I also agree with Ben Salter that a Big Heavy Stuff reunion would be very nice.
Ups & Downs - Live @ The Valley Fiesta - 13 Sept 2008 [68.83MB]
It appears there are now 28 permanent members of the Gin Club. A random selection of them performed some of their hits for us.
The Gin Club - Live @ The Valley Fiesta - 13 Sep 2008 [68.07MB]

Sunday
Australia's finest exponents of country rock and roll. no really he said so. and he's probably right.
The Re-Mains - Live @ The Valley Fiesta - 14 Sep 2008 [63.76 MB]

A rain shortened set by the lovely Kate and the err.. handsome, Ben.
Texas Tea - Live @ The Valley Fiesta - 14 Sept 2008 [37.96MB]

Unless I wear a sign, someone is often going to talk to me at these shows and unless there is strong swearing involved [which I admit I am prone to occasionally] I usually can't take it out without damaging the integrity of the recording which I prefer not to do. It is a audience recording after all so I apologize in advance to any purists out there.

The Last[ish] Rational Academy Show

in the current lineup at least. Meredeth and Ollie leave. Who knows what will happen next. Having said that I check the myspace page to make sure I spell everyones name right and Meredeth and Ollie have already disappeared; sic transit etc. Welcome Amelia, Todd, and Matt. You have a lot to live up to.

I got into the room after the first track had started so the fade in is a few minutes into it.

Rational Academy - Live @ The Judy - 11 Sept 2008[23.15MB]

Qua
They were supporting Qua. I like Qua a lot. His music is playful and he always seems to be enjoying himself. It builds well and while it's precise it doesn't sound calculated.

Probably best to listen to with headphones. The speaker system at the Judy was all round the room and some of it might sound like it's coming from behind even though I was looking directly at the performers.

Qua - - Live @ The Judy - 11 Sept 2008 [53.54MB]

The Surreal Sound

Kim Salmon & The Surrealists at The Step Inn

Sometimes it all comes together. Kewpie Doll and Gentle Ben sounded better than I've heard them for a while. I have to say that the Step Inn sound system is working really well these days from where I stand.

Kewpie Doll - Live @ The Step Inn - 12 Sept 2008 [43.4 MB]
Gentle Ben & His Sensitive Side - Live @ The Step Inn - 12 Sept 2008 [55.66 MB]

The Butcher Birds first gig in Brisbane with the new drummer, Donny, and what he does to the sound is a revelation. A little bit faster so you can't accuse them of plodding anymore, and more drive from behind to fill out the sound rather than just keep the beat. A much more muscular sound. I love it.

Butcher Birds - Live @ The Step Inn - 12 Sept 2008 [50.68 MB]

Kim Salmon is some kinda genius I swear.

Kim Salmon & The Surrealists - Live @ The Step Inn - 12 Sept 2008 [99.34 MB]

Light Entertainment

Nothing serious this weekend [and that is not a joke about Root!]. Just fun. Beer, friends, music.

Punk/Country night at The Troubadour
The Packets - Live @ The Troubadour - 06 Sept 2008 (61.88 MB)
Root! - Live @ The Troubadour - 06 Sept 2008 (117.11 MB)


Vegas Kings Release Live CD.
of gig I recorded so I went along and recorded them playing the songs that are on the CD. Again. yeah...

anyway DZ are quite impressive and I will see them again. Sorta Jay Reatard but younger. While some people say the whole Black Keys guitar/drums duo thing is old I think there is still space for it done well. Mess Hall are still great and DZ shows it can still be fresh.
DZ - Live @ The Troubadour - 05 Sept 2008 (44.37 MB)
One man band from France. Love him.
King Automatic - Live @ The Troubadour - 05 Sept 2008 (71.43 MB)
Not tired of the Kings at all. Will never tire of Flying Jesus Judo Kicks.
Vegas Kings - Live @ The Troubadour - 05 Sept 2008 (77.7 MB)

This Weekend I Went To

GOMA Up Late
Stereo Total - Live @ GOMA Up Late - 22 Aug 2008.mp3 (80.4 MB)

The Troubadour
The Rational Academy - Live @ The Troubadour - 23 Aug 2008 (43.45MB)
Bachelorette - Live @ The Troubadour - 23 Aug 2008.mp3 (48.91 MB)
Beach House - Live @ The Troubadour - 23 Aug 2008.mp3 (67.23 MB)

and now I'm tired and want to go to bed.

Stranded CD Launch at The Zoo

If you don't know what this was about then you aren't taking any notice of the list of other blogs on the right there. You should be visiting Before Hollywood regularly and you would know about their fantastic 3 CD compilation "Stranded" that features 42 tracks by some [not all at all] of Brisbane's finest rock bands. And if you consider it doesn't contains anything other than indie, indie-folk, and garage flavoured bands [with a couple of others thrown in for good measure] but no metal, no hip hop,no jazz, no blues, no reggae; then you get an idea of how broad the music scene is in this small [2 mil people] out of the way city on the edge of the empire. And there's a whole nuther 3 CD compilation waiting to be made by Brisbane metal alone if someone in that scene was interested.

Rumour has it that Gav and Cam's method of finding content was to list their 100 favourite brisbands and email them asking if they would like to be on the compilation. The first batch of emails went out to 40 bands and they got 42 "Yes Please" emails in reply. So they stopped there before it had to be a magazines series with a free cd in each issue. Even if this is not true, it should be.

What is pleasantly surprising is that you could actually have a list of favorite local rock bands that went past the end of one hand. I don't want to sound old but seriously when I was growing up and the Punk scene in Brisbane had bands like The Saints, The Leftovers, The Survivors, The Go-Betweens, Razar, V2 & The Hilton Bombers playing round the traps you could count on 4 limbs the number of actual non-covers bands playing let alone your favorites.

So if you haven't yet, then click now and have a good look before you buy anyway. Buy now, Limited Edition, All proceeds to a good cause etc. But the bottom line is that it's just a great collection of fine songs and if you can't find at least 1 CD's worth of stuff you love then I feel sorry for your children who must be growing up in a house full of crap music.

/end of rant section.

And for those who missed the Launch party, here is most of it. I missed most of the Monster Monster set [sorry Dan] and the start of the Rational Academy set but what I did hear was top stuff.

Ambitious Lovers
The problem with big rooms and small bands is levels. From a whisper to a scream sounds fine if the crowd noise is not at greater than whisper levels to start with. Don't get me started again on people having conversations. Anyway, I've compressed this set so it can be heard more easily. I think it sounds OK but if anyone has a problem let me know.

Ambitious Lovers - Live @ The Zoo - 15 Aug 2008.mp3 (50.45 MB)

Nova Scotia
A set now being referred to by people who heard it as 'one of the best ever' by one of Brisbane's favourite bands. The first song is a little uneven but after that it is pretty much what everyone says.

Nova Scotia - Live @ The Zoo - 15 Aug 2008.mp3 (46.61 MB)

Tragic/Athletic
I hadn't heard these guys before [though I recognized everyone in the band] and overall I was impressed. Some equipment problems on stage with periods of no music, sorry, but persist and you will be rewarded. At the end there is a one song appearance by Yeow Meow which is easily accomplished because the two bands share many members.

Tragic_Athletic - Live @ The Zoo - 15 Aug 2008.mp3 (42.06 MB)

The Rational Academy
Speaking of which, Yeow Meow and The Rational Academy also share many [2 of 3] members so the changeover between bands was about 45 sec. I did not know this was to happen and I had to return to my car to get a new tape so I missed most of the first song. But I'm happy with the rest. Don't know if it's just my memory but the band seems to be shortening their songs and adding more vocal tracks than when I first heard them a couple of years ago. I like the way they are sounding these days in any case.

The Rational Academy - Live @ The Zoo - 15 Aug 2008.mp3 (61.08 MB)

Thank you once again to Gav and Cam for Before Hollywood and their hard work on this project.

Cosmic Psychos at The Step Inn

Cosmic Psychos
What can you say about these guys. They just keep doin' it and we love it every time.

Cosmic Psychos - Live @ The Step Inn - 12 Aug 2008.mp3 (74.02 MB)

6fthick
And one day we will say the same thing about these guys

6fthick - Live @ The Step Inn - 12 Aug 2008.mp3 (52.26 MB)

Lyrics Born at The Step Inn

Packed house. Hot. Very sweaty. Bounced till my teeth came loose. More importantly, till my battery lead came loose [which is why I only got 1hr of the 1h30m set sorry]

I had a great time. His band was tight. His lyrics hardly mentioned how good his flow was or how hard it was for him trying to establish his reputation in a city so down on hip hop culture like the preceding local crew seemed to do endlessly. I suppose it helped coming from the Bay Area but it is a bit tiresome hearing that complaint from every local hip hop band. But he just celebrated life.

Lyrics Born - Live @ The Step Inn - 10 Aug 2008 [85.56MB]

Another Quiet/Loud Night

GOMA Up Late

Mardi Lumsden & The Rising Seas
Mardi Lumsden & The Rising Sea - Live @ GOMA Picasso Up Late - 08 Aug 2008.mp3 (38.63 MB)

Houlette
Just the singer and a guitarist accompanying rather than the full band.
Houlette- Live @ GOMA Picasso Up Late - 08 Aug 2008.mp3 (47.19 MB)

The Hanger

No Anchor
Introduced by a drone from Laurence English the duo launch their CD officially. The Globe is a better recording but every set they do is interesting.
No Anchor - Live @ The Hanger - 08 Aug 2008.mp3 (61.45 MB)

Splendour Part 2

The Polyphonic Spree
Huge. Magnificent. The entire tent moshing to 'Lithium'. This had it all.
The Polyphonic Spree - Live @ Splendour In The Grass - 02 Aug 2008.mp3 (126.26 MB)

British India
Great little Aussie band with a crowd pleasing live set.
British India - Live @ Splendour - 03 Aug 2008.mp3 (57.76 MB)

Laura Marling

Short set but she and Simon were great. If you listen carefully you can almost hear her singing under the girls choir who accompanied her from the audience in the first song.
Laura Mar
ling - Live @ Splendour In The Grass - 03 Aug 2008.mp3 (46.42 MB)

Robert Foster

Robert delivers a set chock full of the best bits of a long career. I am so pissed I left it too late to get tickets to his upcoming show of his latest release at the Powerhouse. Criminally small crowd. Criminally loud conversations from some of that audience who should know better.
Robert Foster - Live @ Splendour In The Grass - 03 Aug 2008.mp3 (79.34 MB)

Yves Klein Blue
I have been ambivalent about these guys in the past but the larger space and addition of brass from the John Steele Singers on the day filled out the sound and I quite enjoyed them.
Yves Klein Blue - Live @ Splendour In The Grass - 03 Aug 2008.mp3 (55.27 MB)

Splendour Part 1

Mostly Saturday Bands.

Lightspeed Champion

Lot of fun. All the good bits of British Pop Rock without sounding like everyone else.

Lightspeed Champion - Live @ Splendour In The Grass - 02 Aug 2008 [66.3 MB]

Brown Birds Of Windy Hill
Pleasant way to start the festival but too Eagles-ish for me.

The Brown Birds of Windy Hill - Live @ Splendour In The Grass - 02 Aug 2008 [62.17 MB]

Bluejuice
Having [over]heard nothing except their hit Vitriol I was happily surprised with the performance.

Bluejuice - Live @ Splendour In The Grass - 02 Aug 2008 [75.44 MB]

Band Of Horses

I like this stuff and Band Of Horses are certainly good at what they do. The Drones are their favourite band so that's got to count as well. Mike Noga and Dan Luscombe join them on stage to hit things and drink beer.

Band Of Horses - Live @ Splendour In The Grass - 02 Aug 2008 [85 MB]

The Drones

My set of the weekend. As far as I can tell The Drones are the best rock band in the world at the moment. Really looking forward to the next album. And to think my plan was to see some of this set then take off to the main stage to see The Fratellis [who were fine apparently].

The Drones - Live @ Splendour In The Grass - 02 Aug 2008 [84.89 MB]

Sigur Ros

Simply amazing. Should be horribly pretentious but it works so well. If what they did was rock it would be a close tie with the Drones :)

Sigur Ros - Live @ Splendour In The Grass - 03 Aug 2008 [94.49 MB]

Grates and Tokyo Police Club @ Great Northern

Later this week a Splendour round up but until then here are the very wonderful The Grates doing pretty much their Splendour set at the Great Northern on Friday night.

The Grates - Live @ The Great Northern - 01 Aug 2008 [67.01MB]

If Pae had been dressed up like this it would have been even more fun.



but you had to wait till Sunday for that.

Also playing were Tokyo Police Club. A variable set that some in the crowd found pale even by comparison to Yves Klein Blue who opened. I thought they got better as the set built. Certainly better than Dr Dog. I heard Delta Spirit were interesting on the Sunday so maybe Dew Process are getting better at picking non-Australian bands. I hope so.

Tokyo Police Club - Live @ The Great Northern - 01 Aug 2008 [68.4 MB]

It was wet and cold out so...

i put it back in. haha. [that was today's joke]

Then I did this at great expense.

Mark Kozelek is not a bad songwriter. I have heard his recordings and they are nice. Maybe when you listen to stuff on a cd because you are doing other things as well you don't notice stuff that become obvious in a club setting like where he stops a song when people come back from the toilet. Granted the Troubadour toilets entrances are next to the stage and everyone was sitting respectfully so it was obvious when people came back to the room after he had started the song. But really mate, harden up.

Then the AC fan above the stage was annoying him and he asked if it could be turned off. I'm pretty sure to do this the AC in the whole room was turned off cause it started getting real hot about then. He also complained about the spotlight but i don't think anyone heard him. It stayed on.

So he and his friend played a few songs for us and to be honest I don't know his work so I can't say if they were old, new, whatever. People received them pretty much the same; a round of polite applause. They all sounded pretty much the same. The guitar sound was good so you could hear every single fucking note. And there were a lot of them, all different to the one before it but each destined to be repeated many times before the night was over. His voice was less discernible under the reverb and sounded like he was phoning it in from the back room. I understood a few words but have no idea what the songs were about but I assume they involved yearning for something. This is a pastime I have not had the luxury of indulging in for about 35 years now so I'm not a good person to ask really.

After 40 minutes of this I longed for a strum. Television did a whole album and there may very well have been not a single strum but Verlaine and Lloyd didn't play the same lines the whole way through.

The sound guy who knows me and who is with Mark on this tour spotted me on the way in and asked me not to record the show and I was happy to oblige him. From where I was standing and given the vocal sound it would not have come out very well anyway. I needed to be a lot closer but the floor was covered with reclining people. Many of them were females.

You ask why then did I go there if I obviously have a problem with singer songwriters. Actually I don't; just most of them. Last year I saw David Kilgour at the Zoo and he was on his own with a second mic with a delay effect and it was probably one of the best musical experiences I have had ever.

Maybe if Mark sang a song called 'I Wanna Fuck A Man With A Beard' it might have picked up a bit. As it was I didn't make it to the end.

Then I did this for free

So I went over the street to Ric's where it was cool as in not hot. And I listened to The Legend! [Everett True] backed by half of The Young Liberals who did sing a song called 'I Wanna Fuck A Man With A Beard'.

In a performance ranging from blues to acapella renditions of Television Personalities songs with all sorts of DIY and garage sounds in between together with stories of his encounters with famous people set to often improvised music from the guitar and drum of Ben and Dan, this was the perfect antidote to what I had just endured. Hear for yourself.

The Legend! - Live @ Ric's - 24 July 2008 52MB

I had a great time. Spot the improvisation that is actually one of my favourite Pink Floyd songs.

Maybe

I'm just too old for this shit.

Tonight I took my wife along to QPAC Cascade Court to see Tex Perkins. Supports were Fi Claus and Mike Noga & The Gentlemen of Distinction. Unfortunately a lot of other people had the same idea. They must have been there since the afternoon. Even I don't think Tex is that good. It's the free entry effect. A bit like the competition winner effect that struck the Grates surprise party on the Island. Lots of people who wouldn't be there if they had to pay which somehow lowers the fun levels. I mean I would pay to see him but I just know most of the people there wouldn't, you can just tell. And so much grey hair. If I want to hang out with old people I'll go to church.

I'm not looking for comfort, just to see and hear the show. So anyway we ended up sitting at the top of the cascade above and behind the stage and got to not see Fi Clause at all but to hear Fi Clause twice, about half a second apart courtesy of the glass wall of the concert hall 50m in front of the stage. After Fi had finished I told her my wife that 'no, her set had only taken 35min at most, not an hour' as she thought. She described the evening thus far as akin to a school concert in which none of your own kids were appearing. So we came home.

New Rule for free concerts; leave the wife at home and go real early or real late.

A Mixed Bag [if i could write good i wouldn't be an accountant]

Last night at the Troubadour. Missed No Anchor but did see SPOD, the raddest man/band alive, and Children Collide who i knew nothing about. Now I know something.

Children Collide - Live @ The Troubadour - 18 July 2008 (90.81 MB)
Spod - Live @ The Troubadour - 18 July 2008.mp3 (62.82 MB)

Not Quite So Loud But Fast

Last night Violent Soho launched their excellent CD 'We Don't Belong Here' with Reptiles [Melb] and locals Side Effects. I liked em all and here are headliners and Reptiles.

Reptiles - Live @ The Troubadour - 12 July 2008.mp3 (57.7 MB)
Violent Soho - Live @ The Troubadour - 12 July 2008.mp3 (95.77 MB)

Slow and Loud. Reeealy Loud.

Night One of Slow and Loud sees me at Ric's for Ur and Del Toro. Del Toro has a new HOG and Adam gets to try it out.

Del Toro - Live @ Ric's - 10 July 2008 (93.18MB)
Ur - Live @ Ric's - 10 July 2008 (88.13MB)

So night two of the slow loud rock celebrations went off at The Globe. No, I have no idea what Roshambo is doing there either but it is a nice break. Candlesnuffer played as well but I missed most of it so didn't record. I finally have a decent No Anchor set. Other times I have tried but the room or the mix just didn't work. This one does. The Grey Daturas really should be listened to with buds. I'm still not sure the full experience can be captured anyway. I think their live experience relies on the physicality of the sound.

No Anchor - Live @ The Globe - 11 July 2008.mp3 (47.48 MB)
Roshambo - Live @ The Globe - 11 July 2008.mp3 (59.54 MB)
Secret Birds - Live @ The Globe - 11 July 2008.mp3 (62.15 MB)
The Grey Daturas - Live @ The Globe - 11 July 2008.mp3 (82.61 MB)

June's Bounty

I stood in line for a long time and was at the front until some dick with a huge Jimi Hendrix tat and an Yves Klein Blue t-shirt strolled in front of me. What the hell, I got in.

Leader Cheetah - Live @ The Troubadour - 24 June 2008 (75.58 MB)
The Seabellies - Live @ The Troubadour - 24 June 2008 (89.9 MB)
The Grates - Live @ The Troubadour - 24 June 2008 (109.13MB)


Featuring Link Meanie, here are The Bakelite Age.

The Bakelite Age - Live @ The Troubadour - 14 June 2008 92.47 MB


This was a night of revelation. I've seen the two headliners many times previously but was excited to see Ouch! My Face for the first time. I will see them again.

i heart hiroshima - Live @ The Zoo - 13 June 2008 134.77 MB
An Horse - Live @ The Zoo - 13 June 2008 81.1 MB
Ouch! My Face - Live @ The Zoo - 13 June 2008 56.91 MB
Table & Chair - Live @ The Zoo - 13 June 2008 67.21 MB