Review + Photo by Elize Strydom
Clare Bowditch is smack bang in the middle of recording her fourth studio album in Berlin. The album isn’t set to drop until next year but Ms Bowditch and her band of merry men have hit the road for a national tour to celebrate the release of the single ‘The Start of War’.
The first stop was Bangalow in northern New South Wales. The set included old favourites such as Lips Like Orange, Divorcee by 23 and Autumn Bone plus new tunes including the single and other fresh offerings ‘Running’ and ‘Bigger Than the Money’.
New to the mix were young singers Sally Mortensen, Annabelle Tunley and Rachael Head of Victorian acapella group, Aluka. The trio provided backing vocals as well of plenty of laughs in response to their zany array of outfits.
Bowditch and the Aluka girls opened the show by coming through a side door and wowing the audience with a rendition of Between the Tea and the Toast.
There’s no denying she’s a born entertainer.
Continue reading Live Review | Clare Bowditch supported by Scarlett Affection at the A & I Hall, Bangalow 27 September 2009
Only having one support act seems a trifle insufficient for a band of Kreator’s standing – insulting even – but that’s what confronts us Thursday night at the Metro Theatre. Still, it looks to be a promising evening. I have never, in fact, seen such a huge line to get into the Metro before, and that’s always a good sign as it suggests that the opening band is worth giving a shit about. That honour goes to Sydney’s Mortal Sin, a band that have been kicking around for nearly as long as Kreator. They do themselves proud. Though, unfortunately, by the time we get past the line and into the venue we’ve missed half their set – and of the half we do see most of it is taken up by that marvel of the rock n’ roll genre, the thrash metal ballad.
Once upon a time, Death Metal bands that toured this great country we call Australia was rarer than rocking horse shit. However, over the past four or so years, there have been more of these groups hit our shores than illegal boat people. It was that time once again for Metal Heads to hold onto their faces, as the legendary Cannibal Corpse was in town to rip it off. 
Entering the venue and approaching main viewing area, I’m tuned in to the sight of a rather tall, masked clown making funnies on the stage. Standing alone, in front of the red and gold, fanned Bronx titled backdrop, it feels somewhat like a circus. Deep red lighting accentuates the atmosphere, as the “clown” begins to chant and stir the audience. Statements like “get those tequila shots into you guys!” come ringing from right of stage. 
It was New Zealand night at the Hi-Fi Brisbane last Friday, and if the accents didn’t give it away then the multitude of girls walking around screaming out for their countrymen did. Irrespective of how bad (and hilarious) the Flight of the Conchords make us look though, there’s no shortage of amazing New Zealander entertainers out there and Shapeshifter are undoubtedly some of the finest. Shapeshifter has earned no small degree of fame after the release of three albums, and you get the sense listening to them that they’ve come close to perfecting an electronically heavy but still organic sound. Unmistakably a drum and bass act on their studio albums, you more often than not see them referred to as a ‘dance’ act in live reviews. This may seem like an oversimplification of their sound but in reality the rising and falling of the beats is energetic and soulful – and doesn’t come across as straight drum and bass at all.
Buick Six are relatively new within the industry, but do not be fooled by the anonymity. They are a three piece local Brisbane band that has a fresh sound, or at the very minimum, is doing what other bands are doing within the genre, but just that much better to gain rapid notoriety. Three piece bands will always have the difficult task of producing a full sound, which is why many three piece bands turn into a four piece. That being said, Buick Six have an incredible full sound for a three piece which carries them throughout their whole set. The strength in their sound lies in the ability to create shades of colour in their music. The bass player grooved, the drummer walked off covered in sweat and the guitarist challenged a punter to jump on stage mid set after being asked to play Daddy Cool. Every member had the confidence needed to survive in this game, but remained humble enough to greet punters that thanked them throughout the night. These guys are very young and deserve much greater recognition which should come if they continue to perform such energetic shows filled with genuine artistic flair. 
Tonight, The Trial Kennedy displayed a level of professionalism that made them the shining star of the night. Firstly, they had to temporarily replace their drummer due to the fact that their original drummer had contracted chicken pox a few days prior. The fill in drummer learnt an entire 45 minute set within one day which, was an amazing achievement given the structure of their songs. He powered Trial Kennedy through their set with 20 inch crashes and an Australian made drum set. Secondly, after their first song their bass amp blew up and had to be fixed on stage before they could proceed. In the interim, their vocalist proceeded with an acoustic song until the amp could be fixed and they could proceed. Even with a shorten set; Trial Kennedy worked their every bit of energy to showcase their music. These guys are in the process of recording their second release and this should see them headline their own set of shows in the not so distant future. 
