Reviews
BON IVER - THE TIVOLI, BRISBANE - 17/03/12
Scoring the opening slot for a tour as anticipated as the current run of shows by Justin Vernon and his ragtag bunch of American indie troubadours must be a double-edged sword – obviously you get to play your music to swathes of new people each night, but even for someone as comfortably established as Sally Seltmann it must be nerve-wracking playing to such a large crowd of people so clearly waiting for you to finish. Not to say that the demur singer-songwriter doesn’t do a good job of winning over some new fans – after all her polite, heartfelt songs are surely not miles removed from the musical terrain traversed by tonight’s headliner – but the anticipation for someone else must be stifling on that big stage. Seltmann traverses her entire career, with New Buffalo tunes (Emotional Champ, You’ve Gone My Friend) nestling nicely alongside more recent solo fare (Heart That’s Pounding, Dark Blue Angel) and a couple of new tunes, but unsurprisingly her biggest reaction comes when she unveils the fresh Even Though I’m A Woman< from the recent Seeker Lover Keeper collaboration.
The stage is decked out in strange hessian webbing, giving off a spooky forest vibe which ushers memories of the ‘cabin in the woods’ mythology that kickstarted the career of Bon Iver so intriguingly, but from the opening bars of set opener Perth tonight it’s strikingly clear that this band has moved far beyond the realms of a one-man operation, both literally and figuratively. The ten or so people on stage build the song into a massive semi-orchestral breakdown, noir-ish to the extreme, and it’s obvious that we have a new entity on our hands, especially as they embark on a playful Afro-tinged segue into Minnesota, WI. The crowd are enraptured – people are hugging as if it’s the second coming – but it’s somewhat difficult to see where all of this passion and emotion is coming from. Despite the size of the ensemble, Vernon – the frontman and songwriter who started the band, and who used to be the band – still justifiably commands the lion’s share of the focus, exuding a quiet confidence and laidback charisma, and he seems grounded despite his massive recent acclaim.
CHARLES BRADLEY - FACTORY THEATRE, SYDNEY - 16/03/12
Friday night was totally funked at The Factory, which hosted two acts at opposite ends of the groove spectrum, both in age and sub-genre. Kickin’ off was relatively unknown ten-piece The Cactus Channel, who looked like they were fresh off the stage of their local high school battle of the bands and sounded like they’ve been listening to a shed-load of bands such as deep-funk maestros The Bees and The Bamboos. They showed a lot of energy and chemistry on stage – a rare thing to find between people these days, let alone ten of them. Playing well beyond their years, an enjoyable mix of hold-ups, car chases and cop shows from the late ‘70s had the crowd numbers gettin’ down early on.
Charles Bradley has to be the hardest working man alive and since the Godfather of Funk himself claimed the title way back when. For a man well into his 60s, this is no small feat and to be able to pack your bags with a band in tow and travel a million miles down under, well that’s just someone doing it for the love of music and shucks, what a performance.
FIRST AID KIT - THE ZOO, BRISBANE - 16/03/12
Big Strong Brute, the musical moniker of Brisbane’s Paul Donoughue, opens the evening in appropriate style with an all-singing backing band beautifully filling out the melancholy of his very new debut album Avalanche Of Truth. It’s heart wrenching stuff, and when he tackles Springsteen’s Hungry Heart as just a simple, lonesome bloke with an acoustic guitar, perhaps the audience is glimpsing the shape of things to come for the 23-year-old.
After being quiet on the live front for a while, the gradual keys and percussion build of Little Scout’s In The End allows Melissa Tickle’s sweet yet defined vocal to greet a growing crowd with the charm and confidence of an old friend. The five-piece chalk up a set of polished dynamism, interspersing pop moments including the tropicana rhythms of Know Your Exit with some memorable newbies of the dark folk persuasion.
PAJAMA CLUB - OXFORD ART FACTORY, SYDNEY - 14/03/12
Those of us who saw Neil and Sharon Finn’s Pajama Club play the Oxford Art Factory for their third ever gig last year already had a sense of what tonight would be – informal, relatively unfamiliar, but exciting. Last year Pajama Club succeeded, but tonight’s gig was an affirmation that previous success wasn’t a fluke – this is a tight band with some great tunes. And it might be The House That Neil Built, as emphasised even more tonight as both sons Liam and Elroy also joined the band, but it’s a house built on more than past glory.
Supports Evil J & Saint Cecilia (aka Eliza J Barnes and Ceci Herbert) were sweet if not inconsistent, but thankfully breaking the mould of “two girls with airy guitars and sweet voices who feel they need do nothing more”. The drum machine, loops and the chest pumps were appreciated, even if they didn’t always hit the mark.
ROKY ERICKSON - FACTORY THEATRE, SYDNEY - 14/03/12
The driving guitar sound and thumping beats of The Treatment featuring Rusty Hopkinson from You Am I on skins, filled the reasonably cool air of the Factory Theatre on an unseasonably warm March night. The Treatment put in a passionate if unoriginal set, proudly playing homage to the ghosts of their heroes without shame, which most likely would include the likes of Roky Erickson. While The Treatment undeniably rock, after a while the songs tend to sound a little similar, with no standout tracks to implore your memory to keep a light on. They did leave the best for last, as their parting track was gutsier than the rest of their set.
Bluesy, experimental and theatrical, Jegar Erickson (none other than Roky’s son) had great stage presence, standing eerily still at times, staring at the crowd and making one feel kind of uncomfortable, all in the name of entertainment.
BON IVER - SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE - 11/03/12
It had been just over three years since Bon Iver last visited Australia and the band’s return marked a new phase in the ensemble’s direction, seeing the move from its low-fi beginnings in the cold of a lonely log cabin to the hi-fi concert hall of Sydney’s world renowned Opera House. With nine other musicians accompanying him, lead man Justin Vernon would have had his work cut out for him, not only as the chief vocalist, player and conductor but also as producer, judging by the amount of equipment on stage (Drum counted at least ten different types of guitars).
The first of three sold-out nights at the Concert Hall had the band open (to an applause that bordered on hysterical) with Perth, the first track from the critically lauded and now Grammy winning self-titled second album. Each song that followed was a mini-production in itself, requiring constant instrument changes and switching to various effects, tuning and re-tuning, but the interchange was flawless.
DIRTY THREE - ASTOR THEATRE, PERTH - 09/03/2012
It was clear from the opening of doors that tonight would be a special night, as arguably one of the best venues in Perth played host to one of the most original bands in Australian music, in all their bearded and manly glory. First up, and playing by that aesthetic truly, The Kill Devil Hills provided a rip-roaring set that truly matched the calibre of what was to come later in the night. Meandering between sludgy desert-rock and distortion-fuelled alt-country, the ‘Hills brought freshness and vitality to their tracks through their devoted musicianship. Steve Joines looked like he was about to destroy his steel electric multiple times as he pummelled the strings to produce the edgy, sharp tone that the band is known for. Alex Archer provided melody perfectly, despite explaining to the crowd how difficult it was to “fiddle on this stage, at this gig.” A following intermission provided enough time to get some air, and possibly slightly more inebriated.
Not that it was needed; The Dirty Three were intoxicating enough. With little fanfare, Warren Ellis, Jim White and Mick Turner walked up, plugged in and let rip. Well, not straight away, actually; in typical fashion, Elllis warmly greeted the crowd before going slightly tangential. Dedicating the first song to media magnate Gina Rinehart, Ellis told the crowd to imagine “becoming a boil on Gina Rinehart’s arse” to fully appreciate what he was trying to get at. Luckily, then came the music. The trio have an uncanny knack for playing off of each other, keeping their timing clear and concise, which allows them to improvise live.
NEW ORDER - HORDERN PAVILION, SYDNEY - 07/03/12
Irrespective of the dramas they have faced the last few years with fallouts between band members (read: Peter Hook vs everyone else in the band), New Order are always going to be remembered for their huge contribution to music. Their catchy blend of new wave, synthpop and electronic music forged a path for rave music to eventually follow and many electronic music fans cite them as “originators”. Plus, let’s not forget all the legendary recordings of their live performances from “back in the day”. But are they still as brilliant? Sadly, not really.
New Zealand’s The Naked & Famous actually overshadowed the night’s headliner with a tight, clever live presentation of their signature blend of droney shoegaze, catchy indie rock and upbeat electronica. Of course Young Blood received the biggest reaction of the set, but it was full of classy live reinterpretations of material from their first album, including the haunting The Sun and the super fun Girls Like You.
JESSIE J, PROFESSOR GREEN - FESTIVAL HALL, MELBOURNE - 07/03/12
Britain’s urban scene is exploding and two of its most hyped newcomers, Jessie J and MC Professor Green, are sharing tonight’s bill at Festival Hall. There’s much speculation about whether Jessie J will appear after she withdrew from previous Australian shows, jetlag (and fatigue) affecting her voice. But the plucky Essex girl ain’t giving up, to the relief of the largely female (and teenage) audience here to see her.
First on stage is Professor Green. The rapper may be street ‘n all, but he has a strong female following, partly because of his association with Lily Allen. Green might headline in his own right with a band this tight (he has two backing vocalists – one male, one female). The rapper rollicks through his early singles: the INXS-sampling I Need You Tonight, SOS Band-jacking Just Be Good To Green and stadium-hop Monster. Yet he’s also showcasing his second album At Your Inconvenience and, in fact, the ultra cool drum’n‘bass Trouble rocks. Green’s finale is, of course Read All About It, his biggest song. It seems slower live, but hits the spot. The crowd sings along, always a good sign.
BON IVER - SIDNEY MYER MUSIC BOWL, MELBOURNE - 08/03/12
Houselights dim in anticipation, the crisp breeze carries the audience’s cheers and nine men make their way onto the stage. Upon hearing the very first notes of opener Perth, a feeling of awe disperses throughout the venue. The lights flash in time with two drum kits pulsating and the music fills the cavern that is the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. It’s astounding how impeccable the sound quality is. Different textures and images pertaining to nature are projected onto the artistically mutilated hessian sheets descending from the stage ceiling.
Live, Bon Iver’s songs are magnified, and not just in volume and spectacle; emotions burst forth from the noise to hit you in the chest (it’s apparent that many audience members let the tears flow freely), the build-up from soft to loud is like a vortex sweeping past (as in Hinnom, TX), and the songwriting prowess of Justin Vernon and the enormity of his band’s talent boggles the mind a tad. Nine multi-instrumentalists working in perfect harmony. The vast majority of the band have at least three duties: for example, the percussionist/keyboardist/trombonist/trumpeter or the guitarist/keyboardist/saxophonist. The unsung hero of the night is the guitar tech, who runs around madly rearranging the 12-plus guitars after every song.
PUSH OVER - ABBOTSFORD CONVENT, MELBOURNE - 12/03/12
Nestled amongst a long weekend of high-profile festivities, Push Over casts a distant shadow. With lower profile acts, but displaying devotion to exposing the country’s finest musical talent, this all-ages festival discreetly celebrates its 20th year in existence. Set on the historic site of Abbotsford Convent and spread across three distinct stages, the Melbourne weather shines down warmly offering its blessing.
Eagle & The Worm open proceedings playing an outdated style of music with brash negligence. Their influences of The Beach Boys, The E Street Band and (early) Rolling Stones go largely over the audience’s heads. However, true to their Good Times album mantra, the band engage the crowd from start to finish. Radio favourites Futureman and All I Know get the warmest responses and have the early crowd moving. On what this scribe deems to be largely a safe line-up, Eagle & The Worm’s distinctiveness shines.
FUTURE MUSIC FESTIVAL - FLEMINGTON RACECOURSE, MELBOURNE - 11/03/12
The infamous Stafford Brothers & Timmy Trumpet are first up on Las Venus stage and whip the crowd into a fabulous frenzy. The dynamic between the built-like-a-box trumpet player and the duo works in everyone’s favour. The Staffords bring forth favourite tunes, from Otherside by indie rockers Red Hot Chili Peppers to Matt Corby’s Brother, mixing them with pulsing house beats while Timmy Trumpet adds unique trumpet solos throughout. Apart from executing their own set, the trio come and go on this stage several times during the festival, spicing up the gaps between acts.
Professor Green is next up in the early afternoon on neighbouring main stage, Mazda2 Flamingo, his Brit twang cutting through the crowd. Pro Green fans up near the stage are easily pleased with some old hits and the new Read All About It is recited under our collective breath.
GOLDEN PLAINS - SUPERNATURAL AMPHITHEATRE, MEREDITH, VIC - 10/03/12
It’s becoming something of a ritual now, the Golden Plains lead-in. People converging from all around Australia, lost tribes reunited, the manic last minute preparations, stopping for provisions (always lots of provisions), then finally on the road to Meredith, countless mini-convoys converging on the open wind-swept plains which will be party central for the next 48 hours.
Once through the final stretch of winding country road that links the town of Meredith with the natural amphitheatre and the massive tent community rapidly unfurling in the fields around it we navigate the entrance to the festival and then the race is on to unpack and set-up camp, the prize at the end of the frenzied activity the prospect of getting back into the casually hedonistic swing of Golden Plains, rapidly becoming known as not just one of the best festivals in the Australian circuit, but in the world.
FUTURE MUSIC FESTIVAL - ARENA JOONDALUP, PERTH - 04/03/12
English rapper Professor Green made the most out of the early crowd with his live band in tow. His tweeted weather whinging didn’t stop him from going all out with crowd favourites like Oh My God and I Need You Tonight. Gym Class Heroes’ sound mix proved muddier and muffled. The now massive crowd forgave as arms swayed to Cupid’s Chokehold and recent single Ass Back Home.
In the UK, Kiwi DJ Zane Lowe has become an arbiter of cool, championing tracks that become modern classics. Watching him tweak, twiddle and wrestle his decks like a DNA-coded synthesizer created as much enthusiastic jumping as it did stunned gawping at his mixing skills.
DIE ANTWOORD - PRINCE BANDROOM, MELBOURNE - 07/03/12
Die Antwoord operate on a strange, but very charismatic level. On one hand, they bring a small club, hip hop sensibility with a level of interaction that is totally and utterly engaging. Yet on the other hand, they present themselves musically in a field of high-arousal, bludgeoning rave-like styles, all at a level of confidence one would expect at a stadium-level production; the stage managing is certainly evident of such a level. But throughout, the fallback is consistently one of a curiously addictive weirdness.
The sweaty, undulating mass of a crowd is evidently that of pure die-hards, if not for the mass-memorisation of all the Afrikaans lyrics, purely for the scattered and seemingly insane screams of “ZEF!” Save for the South African accent being a recognisably distant relative to that of Australia, Ninja works the ocker gland for all it’s worth; countless “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” chants, and a slam-poetry rendition of Kevin Bloody Wilson’s Christmas Song. Needless to say, Die Antwoord have the crowd at their beck and call. Afrikaans, but particularly Ninja and Yo Landi Vi$$er’s collective voices are perfectly dialled for swearing, spitting profanities with such serpentine bite. It is simply electric.
BLACK LIPS - THE TOTE, MELBOURNE - 06/03/12
Was this gig held elsewhere, it could be seen as a last-minute effort to cater to the overflow of Black Lips’ sold-out Golden Plains sideshow at the Corner. But history adds sentimentality to the Atlanta, Georgia garage group causing havoc at the Tote: this is the location of their first-ever Melbourne gig in 2007. Back then, we got a drunken, jubilant show complete with vomit (the band’s). Tonight, they return to give us – well, who knows? Even bassist Jared Swilley admits with some pleasure early in their set, “We didn’t think we’d be playing here again.”
The venue fills up as Spencer P Jones plays a knockout solo set to a response of chatter. Fresh (or perfectly mouldy) from a month of Sundays with Kim Salmon at the Old Bar, he cuts a slight figure as he turns Escape Committee grinds into scary-beautiful twangs. The climax of the exercise is Clementine, from 2003’s Fait Accompli – the recorded psych lament would perhaps be a better precursor to Black Lips’ own inner-ear productions, but this simple, breathe-out version is touching, if not a little sobering (but it is Tuesday).
APHEX TWIN - ENMORE THEATRE, SYDNEY - 02/03/12
This reviewer is still having trouble really understanding what the hell actually happened at the Enmore Theatre, but there is one thing for certain – it was epic. For the first time in more than half a decade, Aphex Twin performed his own headline show in Sydney.
Victim kicked things off with some low-down, grimey dubstep, hip hop and breakbeat, readying the crowd for the later onslaught of monstrous basslines and distorted kicks. Mark Pritchard (under his Harmonic 313 alias) then took things a little weirder and more experimental, contrasting Victim’s set beautifully with some jams from Underground Resistance, Carl Craig and DHS.
BONNIE PRINCE BILLY - GOMA, BRISBANE - 02/03/12
The latest exhibition to grace the hallowed halls of the GoMA is the world’s largest collection of Henri Matisse, one which encourages all to inspire the artist within. Likewise, the Up Late music series has been curated in the vein of introspective, emotive artists, with the likes of Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle and Eleanor Friedberger having charged the stage in previous weeks. Today’s man of honour is the ridiculously prolific Will Oldham, otherwise known tonight as Bonnie “Prince” Billy. This is a hotly sought after ticket, as Oldham last toured Australia in some time, and his fanbase are more fervent than most. He is a magical performer, his dulcet tones like velvet chocolate as he hovers over his guitar, and with the Cairo Band, an incredibly tight band, in tow, he cracks the lid on a two hour set that traverses much of the past nine years, yet with particular focus on his latest Wolfroy Comes To Town. The band manages to take many of these sparse numbers and ratchet up the tension, and the sound in here is crystal clear. Quail And Dumplings is a number that benefits from the fleshing out of the musical arrangements, and the sweeping melancholia that infuses songs like A Beast For Thee and I Don’t Belong To Anyone is still strangely affirming. The harmonic interplay between Oldham and Cairo Gang member Angel Olsen is incredibly stirring, much more evocative than on recordings, and elevates the songs to another level.
This all sounds amazing. However, there’s an inherent problem about going to see a GoMA live performance, particularly of an international artist which inevitably leads to tickets selling out. The crowd either becomes bottlenecked into the little stage area, leaving no room to breathe, or ignores the artist altogether, continuing to talk and raising their voices in annoyance as the sounds reach a crescendo. Whilst the crowding issue is fixable with a few constructed tweaks of the area design, the attitude of many of the attending patrons is much harder to address. Many ardent Oldham fans leave ecstatically happy; just as many armed with heart-crushing disappointment. It is a problem that the staff at GoMA need to address, for the Up Late series is an incredible idea that, on sold out nights such as tonight, doesn’t live up to the promise. Sigh…
BLACK LIPS - THE ZOO, BRISBANE - 02/03/11
Cannon are the new guard in a long tradition of Brisbane garage rockers and they’re a group you imagine their forebears would be proud of. Girls is a wonderfully fun romp of a tune and the generally high spirited songs mixed with the fact they actually look like they’re having fun makes them kinda refreshing. As leading man Callan Murray barks out the end of Sorry Dad, you hope they become popular, but realistically would settle for them not fading into obscurity anytime soon.
When Tiny Migrants get moody and laidback, they’re a fine band. But when they’re raucous and lively, they’re a ferociously awesome garage-pop beast. Sadly tonight they’re heavier on the more polished and calculated material and leave the fuzzed-out mania to a minimum. They’re tighter than ever but, while they’re proficient, they’re somewhat lacking in spirit; having said that, new single Fishpond Goldmine is a real winner and a killer end to the set.
FUTURE MUSIC FESTIVAL - DOOMBEN RACECOURSE, BRISBANE - 03/03/12
It’s festival day, and the seemingly obligatory and time-proven Future Music rains are for the moment absent.
Early in the afternoon, Brit export Professor Green remarks on the day’s weather, deliberating at the notion that he may as well be performing in his hometown. Showcasing crowd-pleasers such as Read All About It, Just Be Good To Green and I Need You Tonight, the set list is identical to that of his supporting sideshow two days prior.
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