Tag Archives: Australian Music

Mar 15 2012
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Gig Review, The Mouth Adelaide

“I don’t go to concerts baby.. music’s always up too loud. Cigarettes and alcohol get up my arse.. I always lose you in the crowd”

Big Day Out continued, with Regurgitator tops off, wigs on backwards giving their best tongue-in-cheek impressions of the cliché stereotypical hairy rockers…

Flying through the air..

There are some moments when you just have to lay back, bask in the glory of your masterpiece and say; “F*ck I’m good!” I don’t have a good camera, I don’t own an SLR with interchangeable lenses and can take from years of training and Photography classes. I have a decent digital camera which cost me $800, that constantly frustrates me with its slow focusing, medium shutter speed and which is now broken, stuck on either the flash burst or speed burst which compromises the quality of the image. I got into photography through loving it, attending a standard photography class in Year 10, being a person who would buy a 3pack 24 film before a big night out and going through it all before the next morning and having an ex who had a semi-decent camera who cultivated my blossoming eye for taking unique and interesting pictures.

And with all those technical issues with my Lumix FZ35 I am really proud of these Big Day Out pictures.. super, super proud, mad skills proud.. that being said I am now collecting donations for the ‘Mi Nantes Leica M9 fund’ =D

Many more to come…

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Feb 20 2012
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Gig Photography, Partying

“In my life, I have seen people walk into the sea, just to find memories plagued by constant misery.. their eyes cast down, fixed upon the ground, their eyes cast down.. I’ll keep my eyes fixed on the sun”

Big Day Out in the big city.. Sydney city. Excited? yes. Slept in and got there later than I wanted missing two principal bands? Yes. First argument of the day done over something trivial before we even got there? Yes. Had awesome time? Yes. Okay I’ll stop that now. So went to Sydney for the Big Day Out, absolutely nothing to do with an unbridled urge to see Kanye (COUGH*pretentiousoverratedgenius*COUGH) but purely for the fact of already spending two Big Day Out’s in Adelaide and wanting a change. Seeing as it was such a long way away and I didn’t want to deal with the drama of being turned away because of my camera I left my precious at J.’s house. So what follows are my random Vignette moments captured by my mobile and to add a little something special, let’s get personal. Like we were sitting together on a comfy couch, alcoholic beverages on hand, you by my side and myself holding the photos..

..So this was us going in, what you can’t see is that we have just passed barricades and clusters of policeman of every shape, size, dismount, on cycles, undercover, more of the colour blue than you should ever hope to see but interestingly enough.. no sniffer dogs which was refreshing.

..This is waiting in the line for our first drinks, this random shot had the added bonus of butt-cheek which I will explain to the festival-virgins out there is THE staple uniform for all 16-25 females with no imagination, saggy asses, low self-esteem and the belief that this will attract the perfect gentlemen =P.. if you are a female and are not showing half of your ass then that’s just not good enough. At the bar I found it amusing that there were signs saying you were not allowed to tip the bar staff.. dammit

This is the end of Cage The Elephant’s set where lead vocalist Matthew Schultz mounted the crowd after an entire performance of captivating head banging, spine tingling vocals and continuous crowd surfing with a roadie feeding him microphone line while he wailed over the crowd.. literally. This is the moment right at the end where he stood atop people’s hands and waved the Australian flag it was glorious. Not the fact it was an Australian flag as I’m not Australian he could have been waving a Britney Spears poster it was just one of those fantastic moments where you saw a glimpse of something pure and Rock’n'roll, unedited, unpredictable, raw, electrifying and head-bangingly awesome. I said it in my review when I saw them again at the Adelaide Big Day Out a week later (another story for a different post) but they are the amalgamation of Nirvana with The Sex Pistols and are my new obsession..

..Finally figuring out where everything is in that huge place and watching from atop Boy & Bear play. So many people it just looked like too much effort to get in the mix, not that I didn’t want to I guess I just felt slightly restricted..

Our surroundings.. I know it was Australia Day but the amount of Southern Cross tattoos was ridiculous, out in full force I think they let you in for free if you had one…

Amazing…

A high hat that high?? Has to be Battles. Managed to hold out until I heard Atlas which was disappointingly sub-par, no female singer singing the vocals when needed they just had a pre-recording playing and a video that didn’t match up. This was a lonely three-piece who looked fed up it took half of their gig to really get into the swing of things and so when Atlas came on I was happy to move on afterwards because they really were not inspiring..

Yeah.. not impressed..

Royksopp were awesome.. not going into too much detail because I wrote a lengthy review which I will post (amongst others, yes, yes I know I have been saying this forever but I will get round it when someone can teach me how to add pages and do fancy things with WordPress).. but any-time that bands incorporate costumes and mood lighting is a good time by me..

I loved it really…

I’d found a great spot in the crowd waiting for Kasabian to come on with sufficient surrounding space and the minute they came out it was like a tidal wave coming in every nook and cranny filled with people.. c’est la rock’n'roll..

Loved hearing Shoot the Runner, one of the best video clips of all time, great song to get your animal instincts pumping and libido switched on.. one downside was not hearing their magnum opus, their ‘I am the Walrus’, ‘La Fee Verte’.. played it a bit too safe for me

End of the day.. the Kanye triple act spectacular with dancers and everything..

Way too tired.. after Kanye went home like a couple of fuddy-duddy’s and couldn’t be bothered with watching a little bit of Noel Gallagher’s high flying birds. Next day walked straight into the record store and bought Cage The Elephant’s ‘Thankyou Happy Birthday’

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Feb 14 2012
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Gig Photography

“Purple haze all in my eyes, Don’t know if it’s day or night.. You’ve got me blowin, blowin my mind.. Is it tomorrow or just the end of time?”

So a few weeks ago (an eternity in blogger time) I dragged a friend of mine to The Ed to see my local obsession Lady Strangelove, a first for him but I was already privy to the wonder of this band. Having heard them months ago on an island in the sun at the Kangaroo Island music festival for the first time, I was drawn to the stage by the psychedelic sounds of what sounded like the reincarnation of early Santana, funky electro and Led Zeppelin. In my high-on-life state, drawn like children to the pied piper me and my girls gravitated to the front and stood there slack-jawed, transported to a time where music made you feel something; turned you on, made you feel like you could melt away, kiss the person next to you, change the world and be free as a bird. Next came me posting about this life-changing experience, Facebook friending the band, Fox the drummer F-Friending me and the countdown for the next time they were performing in Adelaide.

I have a partner in crime my close friend, P.A (if organisers ask) and fellow gig groupie/bandAid who I drag along to as many gigs as I can courtesy of my reviewer’s pass + 1. But this time it was on me, because I was not missing out on exposing fresh ears to a musical eclipse and I wanted to see if they were really THAT good or it was the potent mix of booze, high-life and good times festival vibe. First was support act URTEKK.. by the way guess which ONE photo was Photoshopped..

Being stone cold sober the only thing I remember about URTEKK was that they were pretty good.. which doesn’t mean that they were average because I have a vague recollection of Stasi the vocalist being quite mesmerizing it’s just that I was so excited to see Lady Strangelove that I blocked out a lot…

..the verdict = they were freaking awesome. My friend who normally boogies and grooves to every gig we go to was just standing there in awe. The freaky, trippy  projections on the wall and the psychedelic lighting all added to the mood and even though the crowd wasn’t big it was just the way I like it.

It’s really weird meeting someone officially after you have chatted through Facebook and already blogged about how amazing they are, I get really shy and slightly starstruck. And I’m the first person to say I don’t understand how people can go ga-ga over celebrities but musicians, and really talented ones that I admire I go all ‘Pamela de Barres’. So it was really cool to have Fox come over like we were old friends and give me a big hug and say thanks for the support.. (I may have fainted ever so slightly).. chatting with me and my bandAid I just had to ask.. “So if the world was going to end in 15 minutes, what three songs would you want to listen to?” .. (those who follow my interviews for The Mouth will understand this question) but I lost the piece of paper that I wrote his answers down on but I remember one of them being ‘Hearts A Mess’ by Gotye because I love that song as well but funny enough he messaged me on Facebook a couple of days later, having truly given my question some serious thought and  ”I have been thinking about my “gonna die in fifteen minutes” song choice. I think that I’d like to make a change! I would like to choose one song only… Claire Delune by the composer Debussy” 

So another two hugs later, I’m floating home after a great gig, talking about the night and smelling of another man’s sweat.. success

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Jan 04 2012
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Gig Review, Partying, Personal, The Mouth Adelaide

“This speech is my recital, I think it’s very vital.. to rock (a rhyme), that’s right (on time), It’s Tricky is the title, here we go…”

As you can see the pictures started to get fuzzy and not so great after many drinks and such. Completed my review which will be previewed on The Mouth soon but a few details that I didn’t include were:

  • My favourite game to play at festivals is the “Southern Cross Drinking Game” when you see a Southern Cross tattoo everyone has to drink.. bonus points for the Australian emblem
  • If you walk around with a half decent camera everyone wants you to take their picture
  • I got wacked unintentionally in the face during Grandmaster Flash and got a blood nose.. cue me, head back, glaring at J. missing out on dancing to some awesome tunes.. luckily the white dress was spared
  • Hung out backstage courtesy of Plastik People DJ’s, watching Justice play alongside Busy P, drinking free booze and witnessed some pretty cool fireworks
  • Nearly got arrested/fined by the police by asking an officer to say ‘Please’ when he told me to get back onto the curb.. in my defence I stopped J. from walking out into oncoming traffic and we were already stepping back onto the curb & he was bloody rude. He then got even more aggressive saying he was ‘Saving my life’ and that it’s ‘hundreds of dollars of fines to step out onto the street’ blah blah f*ck you you fascist,  I can cross the street by myself ,  go stick your self-righteous power play and quota orientated policing  and stick it!
  • Awesome, awesome New Years!!
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Nov 11 2011
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Gig Photography, Partying

“Get your motor running.. head out on the highway.. looking for adventure.. In whatever comes our way”

Last weekend went to the kangaroo Island Surf & Music Festival.. went there a good fan of 3 bands came out loving 7, good effort =D. Never been on a camping music festival road trip so as a newbie my eyes were open and my ears awaiting the sweet sounds of new material. Oh to be poor and stingy, the thrill of smuggling in alcohol was exciting and being in a car full of women odds were; the alcohol was getting through. Stepping out of a stuffed KIA Rio nearly all of us in short shorts and cleavage with only one hot, flustered, overweight security guard who was fed up already.. too easy!

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K.I love their signs.. especially if they’re spelt wrong

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The island’s newspaper.. wanted to buy one as a souvenir. Can’t imagine what would be in it.. everybody talking in first name basis; “Martha baked some great pies at the school fete and uncle bobby’s cows disappeared again” =P

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This little man stayed like that for this bands entire set.. uber-fan pressed up against the metal peering through the holes to be able to see. As much as I hate all ages gigs I think it is awesome to give them a musical education other than hi-5 or some other mind rotting shite…

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Walking the 30 minute walk to the beach in the hot sun once was enough.. after that we travelled in hippie style.. Banging around in the back of a ‘beach taxi’.. sore bums and many dirty looks (from walkers) were the order of the day..

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accidentally made eye contact with the neighbour so in his drunk state he took it as invitation to come into our campsite, sit on the esky and start chatting… 5 minutes and one loud thump later here he is sprawled on the floor completely passed out.. hilarity! I named him ‘Tiny Dancer’ for the graceful pose he landed in… Swan Lake eat your heart out.. so what did we do with him??

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…Borrowed a permanent marker from the guys next door and drew a penis on his face

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This band was absolutely crazy insane and blew my mind. I had heard of them through the grapevine but was 100% on another level when we stumbled to the front of the main stage and were mesmerised by the Psychedelica of Adelaide Lady Strangelove. With no word of a lie or exaggeration they are the modern incarnate of Led Zeppelin and I cannot believe they only have 829 likes on Facebook. (I am number 829 =D) Anytime you see a trippy hippie scarf decorating the synth you know you’re in for some great sound…

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Question 1: How did he get them through his ear lobes?

Question 2: How do they not rip out while he is playing?

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This guy was insane.. (I have researched & researched and have found nothing on the internet that identifies the names with the players other than ‘the four brothers’ so I am sorry but they are aptly named guitarist, drummer, vocalist & synth-er) I have never seen anyone get off on their own music so much while they are playing as my girlfriend quite rightly stated; “I wish he’s play me like he play’s his guitar!”.. it was intoxifying watching them live and I got repeated shivers from the intensity, magnitude and beauty of the music..

And right here is the point in the trip where my father’s crappy camera died on me and I had to use my mobile phone camera… which was also near death…

Great trip… I cried twice once for personal reasons and once for personal reasons plus the music was so beautiful but all in all successful trip! Loved The Salvadors, Hungry Kids of Hungary, Lady Strangelove, Ash Grunwald, Van She, The Holidays, Big Scary, Messrs & Rad Bad Dj’s

Highlights 

  • Discovering fantastic music i.e Big Scary & Lady Strangelove
  • Seeing The Holiday’s again and loving how much better they are and how much they’ve grown since I saw them at Laneway
  • Tiny Dancer passing out and crossing ‘draw penis on drunk person’s face’ off the bucket list
  • Chilling all day and partying at night.. surf + music = perfect hangover cure & fast party recovery
  • Finding a stall that sells the best coffee by far -even beating many places in Adelaide
Lowlights
  • Seeing Van She’s Nick Routledge cop a shoe square in the face during their performance.. trooper still kept singing but was totally f*cked up and not cool
  • Finding out on the first night that the unofficial party van was the huge 4WDrive with massive speakers parked next to us with a bunch of p-platers blasting out music throughout the night.. which brings me to my next gripe
  • Waking up at 7am everyday while we were there because of all the noise and the bright daylight
  • Last night of the festival drunk guy climbs redbull tent and stays up there posing.. cue ground security and many cops appearing and getting aggressive, verbally & physically with innocent patrons escalating to a point where innocent people got pepper-sprayed (including one cop) and physically violent to others.. if they had just left him, he would have got down by himself a lot f*cking sooner and none of that would have been necessary.. freaking nanny state
  • Wish that a certain someone was with me….
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Nov 10 2011
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Gig Photography

“I haven’t had a friend in yeaaaarrsss, I only have sex with myself..I don’t know where it went but all my love is goooonnnnee!”

So ladies, gents and in-betweens; The grand finale, the piece de resistance, part three of the trilogy.. Ball Park Music photos. I was well and truly ready to see them when the time finally came (kind of like this three-part post) three hours of suspense seemed a bit much and then a slim figure wearing skinny white Capri pants,  blue cons and a pink, blue and white multi-coloured Hawaiian shirt with those familiar thin glasses started unassumedly performing sound check and it was time…

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Jennifer really reminded me of a mix between Shirley Manson and Cranberries lead singer Dolores O’ Riordan, aesthetically and vocally even though I was a little disappointed I felt like the mic’s for Sam & Jennifer should’ve been turned up it was a little hard to hear them over the power of the instruments in such a small place….

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Ball Park Music are known for their entertaining shows and Sam Cromack plays the part of showman very well in his own way.. jerky dance moves.. hip thrusting.. knee shaking and all that jazz. I thought it was pretty funny that he had a full bottle of honey at the back which he kept knocking back squirting into his mouth during songs throughout the show. Hey whatever you need to do..!! He also did a pretty good version of Marilyn Manson’s ‘The Beautiful People’ which shot his voice to hell but I enjoyed it…

 

 

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Woo-hoo semi-normal lighting…!!

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Sam H. from The Jungle Giants  jumped onstage when called up by Sam C. complete with tambourine.. love the tambourine!

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They finished the night off with the most hilarious crowd surf from Sam.. Brock Smith picked him up husband and wife style and just threw him onto the crowd who nearly dropped him numerous times. His legs were in the air at one point and his body completely submerged by people’s waists. Very turbulent but he escaped unscathed =D

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Nov 09 2011
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Gig Photography

“I wrote.. a letter.. to my very own.. Cinderella.. and she had.. been taken.. by a good thing to quench his cravings.. THIEF!! RUAAH!! UGH!!

Part two peeps.. (not sure I got the words right to that heading but gave it a go listening repeatedly to their EP that I bought) the third support act Northeast Party House are an Indie/synth-rock/dance/psychedelic group that reminded me of a mix of Bloc Party, Foals and Gorillaz. They create such powerful, funky, attention-grabbing, ear-prickling music that when they played my new favourite song ‘Dusk’ I stopped grooving and just watched, like a statue, completely paralysed and mesmerised at the same time…

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Jack Shoe main-jumper-arounder and guitarist giving it all during ‘Embezzler’.. they really give an amazing high energy show and considering the lack of space they had on that tiny stage I’m surprised nobody got knocked out by any instruments… Here’s my new favourite song;

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The glistening face of vocalist Zach.. so stuffy, so hot in there.. they really need to renovate if they’re so worried about people sneaking into gigs through the window (even though the security at the door is sh*t-house and it’s so easy to just walk in) they should put bars on the windows so then at least everyone can stop sweating on each other and enjoy some fresh air….

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Love this one…….. cool that I could get so many different shots in the same place, on the same night with different bands. I was hoping and I think I did take shots that represented them and weren’t all the same =D.. happy as larry…

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Jack Shoe waiting as they had problems with their sound-check, went on for so long that it cut into their set time… bummer. Never seen a guy rock a dangley earring so well…

Awesome third act.. might I say they were in some ways better than the principal act.. yes blasphemy I know but I’ll tell you why in the next post…

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Nov 08 2011
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Gig Photography

“No I don’t even know these people, but I don’t mind a little unfamiliarity, while I’m politely letting go”

Took a friend to see Ball Park Music and review their show at the Ed Castle and it was a rocking show. Never have I had to wait until nearly midnight to watch the main act but supports The Jungle Giants, Northeast Party House were freaking awesome so I was not counting the minutes. They’ve only been around for no more than three years and they couldn’t have picked a smaller place to play as everyone was squished in as they obviously underestimated their popularity. I made my girlfriend listen to the entire CD and got her addicted the night before and we even joked that we’d be the only people there who knew all the words, lighters in the air… HA!

I’ve taken so many pictures I’m posting in three’s so here is part one: The Jungle Giants…

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Complicated footwear for a gig… but who am I to talk.. they look cool anyway like someone went crazy with cassette tape roll

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Coolest clutch I’ve ever seen..

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It was so hard getting a picture of Andrew he was jumping around the whole time and it was great. Photographers nightmare, fans dream.. his enthusiasm was infectious and it was great seeing this up & coming band really have fun before the grind really gets to them

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Loving the loafers, haven’t seen many people jump around and rock out with these on…

 

 

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Cesira played nearly the entire set like this.. the girl is captivatingly beautiful…

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Oct 24 2011
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New Music

“….I’ll only stay if you stay, I’ll only go if you go”

My new favourite obsession.. The Jungle Giants are getting frequent Triple J airplay and had the pleasure of seeing them perform live Saturday night supporting Ball Park Music.. awesome night. $10 well spent on their current EP… and this is their latest pop single with afro-beat tinge.. feel good song that sounded great live… will post the photos up soon!

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