Category Archives: Music

In Stitches Comedy Festival – Brisbane, 17-29 June 2008

In Stitches
12 nights of comedy, stand up, live music and a free outdoor program… In Stitches at QPAC brings together some of Australia’s most popular comedy performers for two weeks of laughs, music and random acts of weirdness.

Acts include:
Jimeoin, Puppetry of the Penis, Fiona O’Loughlin and Raymond Crowe, Cal Wilson, The Young Guns of Comedy with Tahir, Carita Farrer, The Kransky Sisters, Ahn Do, Julia Morris, Scared Little Weird Guys, The Chasers, The Umbilical Brothers and Sarah Pember.

Links:  QPACqtix

Splendour In The Grass – Final Acts Announced

Clare Bowditch

It is with great pleasure we announce the second and final round of acts playing the sold out Splendour in the Grass taking place in Byron Bay on August 2nd and 3rd.

The Polyphonic Spree, New Young Pony Club, Yves Klein Blue, Lyrics Born, Tokyo Police Club, Albert Hammond Jr, Little Red, Clare Bowditch (pictured above), Bluejuice, Robert Forster, The Drones, Hadouken!, Bliss N Eso, Paul Dempsey, Katalyst, Even, British India, The Galvatrons, Delta Spirit, Slot Machine, The Black Stars, Van She Tech, Bag Raiders, Soft Tigers Food Fight, E.L.F Dj, Kato And Pob

join the already cracking line-up of:

Devo, The Music, Wolfmother, Sigur Ros, The Living End, The Presets
Tricky, Vampire Weekend, Ben Lee, Cold War Kids, The Fratellis
The Wombats, Pnau, Laura Marling, The Vines, The Grates, Operator Please,
Band of Horses, Van She, The Panics, Gyroscope, MSTRKRFT, Lightspeed Champion,
The Brown Birds from Windy Hill, Scribe, The Gin Club

See our original article – Click here.

Tim Minchin

Tim Minchin is an Australian musician, actor, comedian and writer.

Originally from Perth, he completed a Bachelor of Arts in English and Theatre at the University of Western Australia in 1995, then an Advanced Diploma in Contemporary Music at the Conservatorium of WA – part of the WA Academy of Performing Arts – in 1998.

In 2002, he moved to Melbourne, where he began to develop the solo comedy shows which have gained him public and critical acclaim in the last three years. He developed his unique style during an 18-month period when he played regularly in the famous 40-seat cabaret room of The Butterfly Club in South Melbourne, before

   tim-by-dan-dion
[Photo: Dan Dion]

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Racecourse Road Street Party – 20 July 2008

As part of Brisbane Festival 2008, the ultimate street party reclaims Racecourse Road for one massive day only.

Check out the three stages of FREE live music and create your own soundtrack to a perfect day out with the amazing sounds of jazz, world music, funk, pop and rock performances coming to you from all around Australia. The day’s performance includes Australia’s premier original soul/funk outfit Pablo Discobar, roots group Afro Dizzi Act, The Tonights a trio unbounded by genre, indie rockers Kristy London and The Other Halves, singer songwriter Emma Dean, Australia’s hottest latin band Chu‘Kale’ and many more.

This incredible day will also feature heaps of activities for children and families with face painting, workshops in circus, physical theatre, juggling, dance and kite making plus more than 150 stalls offering gourmet produce, community information and arts and crafts for sale. Complete your day by visiting the retail stores and restaurants that make Racecourse Road the hub of North Brisbane.

FEATURING
Pablo Discobar, Kafka, Afro Dizzi Act, Emma Dean, Chu‘kale’, The Tonights, Tim Loydell & the Deckchairs, Kristy London & the Other Halves, 8 Ball Aitken

VENUE
Racecourse Road, Ascot QLD

DATE & TIME
Sunday 20 July – 10am to 5pm

TICKETS
FREE. No bookings required.

TRANSPORT
TRANSLink 13 12 30 or www.translink.com.au

Train: Ascot Station
Bus: Racecourse Road, Kingsford Smith Drive & Lancaster Road
CityCat: Bretts Wharf
Parking: Eagle Farm Racecourse with a gold coin donation to charity and limited street parking available

MORE INFO
Food and beverages will be available for sale from a variety of stalls and cafes and restaurants along Racecourse Road. Umbrella making, kite making, jewellery, circus and dance workshops will run throughout the day.

For information on road closures, alternate traffic routes and parking restrictions visit http://www.brisbanefestival.com.au/.

Kasey Chambers with Shane Nicholson – Rattlin’ Bones Tour

Kasey Chambers
The Frontier Touring Company by arrangement with Premier Artists are delighted to announce that Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson will be touring Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane,Adelaide and Canberra this August.

Riding high on the success of their ARIA #1 album collaboration Rattlin’ Bones (out now through Liberation), Kasey and Shane’s metro concerts will include new songs from this gorgeous album, as well as past hits from Kasey’s impressive multi-platinum back catalogue.

Joining Kasey and Shane on stage will be a full band comprised of Bill Chambers, John Watson, James Gillard, and Mark Collins. Fans will also be treated to a special acoustic segment during the evening.

Rattlin’ Bones has been unanimously declared one of the year’s best releases. Check out what some of the reviews have said:

“.Some might have pondered if Chambers teaming with Nicholson in the studio was wise. Rattlin’ Bones blows any such doubts away.”  Courier Mail, Brisbane

“…the songs are so strong, they sound like instant classics.” Rhythms Magazine

“…a deadset beaut bunch of traditional country tunes that are as honest as a boy scout and as open as a drunkard writing his resignation at 4am.” People Magazine

“…destined to stand the test of time.” Beat Magazine, Melbourne

“…their voices complement each other beautifully.” Time Out, Sydney

Having been fortunate enough to have seen Kasey and Shane perform together in the past, I am able to attest to the powerful rapport between the couple. Likewise as a solo performer Kasey shines as always with her impressive vocals and delivery. With a plethora of old and new hits to choose from, these concerts will have something for everyone.

Tickets on sale Tuesday 10 June 2008.

Sunday 17 August Brisbane Concert Hall, QPAC
qtix 136 246 or www.qtix.com.au

Links:  Kasey Chambers 

Dropkick Murphys @ Tivoli – Brisbane 27 May 2008

Dropkick Murphys
The Dropkick Murphy’s, who have evolved over the past decade into one of the most beloved punk-inspired bands in the world, played to a sell out crowd at The Tivoli.  

Dropkick Murphys Dropkick Murphys Dropkick Murphys Crowd Dropkick Murphys
Review on it way… 

Links:  The Tivoli  –  The Dropkick Murphy’s  –  Sick Of It All  – FasterLouder 
Photos:  LifeMusicMedia photoset 

QPAC Nights Outside Presents Avalon Drive – 24 May 2008

Damion Page - Avalon Drive
Avalon Drive rocked out at the QPAC “Nights Outside” series of concerts.

Saturday saw an outstanding nights entertainment at QPAC’s Cascade Court outdoor venue. As part of the “Nights Outside” series of free concerts, Avalon Drive, Repeat Offender and Little Red Light made their mark.
Ryan Wilson - Repeat Offender Avalon Drive Shane O'Keeffe - Avalon Drive
More Photos

Uncharted winners Avalon Drive will headline QPAC’s free Nights Outside concert this Saturday night.

The award-winning rock band who spent much of last year touring with INXS, The Veronicas and Yellowcard and performing their own national tours will take to the stage in QPAC’s Cascade Court as the lead act in a dynamic night of live music performed by some of Brisbane’s best up-and-coming rock bands.

Formed in 2005, in 2006, the band’s rise was imminent  when they released the EP The City Of Burnt Out Lights which spawned two singles including radio favourite, Get Up which the band went on to perform nationally as Rove Live’s house band and guest performance on Toasted TV.

Joining Avalon Drive on the bill will be the five-piece Brisbane rock band Repeat Offender, who will perform its first all ages concert this year at QPAC. Repeat Offender has shared the stage with some of the country’s best musicians including The John Butler Trio, The Butterfly Effect, The Veronicas, My Chemical Romance and The Killers. Be sure to listen out to songs from the band’s first EP To a Modern Love.

Completing the rocking line-up will be the explosive trio Little Red Light. Incorporating a quirky, funk-rock style to its music, Little Red Light is a relative newcomer to Brisbane’s music scene, but already it is making a big impact with a growing fan base.

Event Details:
What: Nights Outside – featuring Avalon Drive, Repeat Offender and Little Red Light.
When:  Saturday 24 May from 7pm until
Where:  Cascade Court, QPAC, South Bank

Tickets: Free Event

Presented by
QPAC – Queensland Performing Arts Centre

Links:  QPAC Night Outside

Splendour In the Grass – Belongil Fields – 2008

Splendour In The Grass – 2008 SOLD OUT
***  ALL 2008 TICKETS SOLD OUT  ***

The Presets will play Splendour In The Grass

“….the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is an amazing line-up and the type of outstanding performances that have become the festival’s trademark. the two best days in any music lover’s calendar year… Splendour in the Grass!” Faster Louder

SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS will return to warm up your winter this Saturday 2nd and Sunday August 3rd, 2008. Australia’s much loved festival event will take place at Belongil Fields in Byron Bay and will feature a veritable feast of musical treasures from around the globe.

This year all tickets to SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS will be sold online through the ticketing service, Qjump, via www.qjump.com.au. Qjump is a newly launched online ticketing company whose parent company has 7 years experience providing web based ticketing services. Qjump sells tickets for many leading Australian events and venues and its website and custom built hosting environment has been specifically designed to meet the high capacity on-sale demands of events like Splendour. In our efforts to improve and streamline the ticketing process, this year’s tickets will be delivered to buyers by email using Qjump’s print@home e-ticket. The benefits of this include reducing paper usage, greenhouse gas emissions and ticket scalping as well as reducing the cost of delivery for ticket buyers. Tickets go on sale at www.qjump.com.au from 9am on Thursday 22nd May.

From Akron, Ohio and Bristol, UK to Reykjavik, Iceland and the sunny Gold Coast, here’s a taste of the first acts lined up to thrill at SPLENDOUR 2008.

Splendour In The Grass Lineup Announcement (first acts lineup) –
Devo, The Music, Wolfmother, Sigur Ros, The Living End, The Presets
Tricky, Vampire Weekend, Ben Lee, Cold War Kids, The Fratellis
The Wombats, Pnau, Laura Marling, The Vines, The Grates, Operator Please,
Band of Horses, Van She, The Panics, Gyroscope, MSTRKRFT, Lightspeed Champion,
The Brown Birds from Windy Hill, Scribe, The Gin Club…
AND MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED

SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS 2008 TICKET PRICES
Event ticket $199 (inc gst) + bf
Green Event Ticket $206 (inc gst) + bf
Camping ticket $132 (inc gst) + bf

TICKETS ON SALE THURSDAY 22ND MAY AT 9AM
Internet sales only – www.qjump.com.au

 

Links:  Splendour In The Grass site
Faster Louder

 

Paniyiri Greek Festival – Musgrave Park, South Brisbane 17-18 May 2008


***** Paniyiri Greek Festival 2009 Details – Click Here *****


Effie - Mary Coustas
The famous yearly odyssey known as Paniyiri will be on again, when Brisbane experiences Hellenic hospitality at its best. The festival will take place at Musgrave Park and The Greek Club in South Brisbane.

While the historic steps of the Acropolis may be some 15,000 kilometres from the grassy flats of Brisbane’s Musgrave Park, all the sights, sounds, characters and culture from the country which produced Homer, haloumi, honey puffs, Socrates, Plato and the famous Zorba will be celebrated in style during the much anticipated festival. Come along and enjoy the dance, music, food, tavli, lectures, effie, trella and cooking at the Paniyiri Greek Festival.

CONTACT DETAILS
Phone: 07 3844 1166
Email: events@thegreekclub.com.au
Web: http://www.thegreekclub.com.au/


***** Paniyiri Greek Festival 2009 Details – Click Here *****


ENTRY INFORMATION
Open Times:
Open from 1400 to 2200 Saturday and 1000 to 1900 Sunday.
Date: From 17 May 08 To 18 May 08
Frequency: Annual

Venue: Edmondstone Street
Greek Club and Convention Centre and Musgrave Park
Edmonstone Street
South Brisbane,Brisbane City
Queensland, Australia
4101

Simply Red Biography 2009

Simply Red – Biography 2009

simplyredsml
Photographer: Hamish Brown
This year Mick Hucknall celebrates 25 years of unbroken service with the band he founded, fronted and named. Simply Red emerged out of the streets and clubs of Manchester in the post-punk era of 1984 and within 12 months were riding in the British charts.

The original line-up of singer Hucknall, bassist Tony Bowers, drummer Chris Joyce, guitarist Dave Fryman, keyboardist/singer Fritz McIntyre and horn player Tim Kellet became regulars on the thriving club circuit and soon caught the attention of record company scouts on the hunt for new talent.

Executives at the UK arm of renowned US label Elektra were the most persistent – and most generous – and Simply Red found

themselves with a major record deal within six months of starting up and on their way to a recording studio with ace American producer Stewart Levine.
Continue reading Simply Red Biography 2009

The Church

As their 25th anniversary approaches art-rock band The Church, having recently returned from international touring, are continuing to push the boundaries of what a rock band should be.
 
the church   the church
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Lamb of God

lambofgodpromo

15 years ago, Lamb of God began their ascent to the forefront of modern heavy metal. A self-described “pure American metal” quintet from Richmond, VA, took deliberate steps, paid the dues and withstood the knocks as an underground, un-commercial metal act. Beloved by a rabid, grass roots cult of underground thrash fanatics thanks to brutal and technical albums like 2000’s New American Gospel and 2003’s As the Palaces Burn, the band toured North America relentlessly and began their international career overseas in support of the latter. Entering 2004, 10 years after inception, the band had risen to the top of the independent metal scene. Their uncommon work ethic, uncompromising musicianship and intellectual lyrics set them apart – and into un-chartered territory.

Five years ago, Lamb of God surprised the hell out of everyone — including themselves — by attracting the attention of and soon after inking a deal with Epic Records. “How does an extreme band like us even exist at this kind of upper-echelon major label?” remembers guitarist Mark Morton.



Far more commercially oriented bands have buckled under the strain of similar indie-to-major leaps. Skeptical of the outcome of such a relationship, the band took the opportunity to push even harder and in 2004 released the ferocious and technical ‘Ashes of the Wake’ and in 2006 the dark and unrelenting, ‘Sacrament.’ These albums proved that the major label pairing had no negative side effects. Fans and critics alike celebrated both albums, receiving respective album of the year awards from major metal and hard rock publications around the world and the latter landing in the top 10 of the Billboard charts, becoming the top selling metal album of 2006, and a Grammy nomination. Now entering 2009, Lamb of God – guitarist Willie Adler, Willie’s drummer brother Chris Adler, bassist John Campbell, guitarist Mark Morton and vocalist Randy Blythe — have recaptured the attention of the heavy metal world, toting a vicious new album they call Wrath.

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Kaki King Bio

Kaki King

kakiking Thumping bass lines, tapping melodies, and slapping percussion on her guitar, Kaki King is a one-woman force sent to wreak acoustic havoc. She’s a riveting performer, combining jaw-dropping technique with unique compositions. Her playing has a passion and an edge that keeps her tenuously balanced, one foot in the acoustic world, the other in rock’n’roll.
For King, the guitar isn’t just a reverie machine; it’s a percussion instrument, just like the drums she played with her high school band…

“When I was about four years old my parents wanted me to take music lessons, and I chose the guitar,” she says. “But I didn’t enjoy it, so when I was five I put it aside. Then I started playing drums when I was nine or 10. I still play them. That was how I got into playing pop music, and that feel was a big influence when I did go back to guitar.”


Using intricate tunings and neck tapping, Kaki became focused on writing instrumental music. In 1999, Kaki moved up to New York to attend NYU, and emerged three years later with a humanities degree that allowed her to complete only the feeblest of crossword puzzles. “I want to be either a vagabond street performer or a sassy bar rat,” she told a professor inquiring about her future plans, to which the professor replied, “With your handsome looks and ragamuffin charm, I’m sure you’ll be able to do both.” And so she did…

Continue reading Kaki King Bio

Brian Setzer

brianonstagesm
Brian Setzer has made a career of bucking trends, going against the grain, ignoring popular culture, discarding rational thought, and, all the while, blowing people away. In a pop music era dominated by twenty-something contest winners and angst-ridden suburban kids, his latest project couldn’t be any further removed from the mainstream. Recording centuries-old music with his 18-piece Rockin’ Big Band and enlisting the help of a long-retired octogenarian, Setzer has achieved what is surely his finest musical hour with his upcoming Surfdog Records release, “Wolfgang’s Big Night Out.”

As a teenager, Brian Setzer drew inspiration from 50’s rockabilly, fused it with new wave punk, and created a phenomenon with his band Stray Cats. During the 1990’s (when grunge ruled the charts), he assembled his monstrous big band complete with a 13-piece horn section that ignited an international modern swing explosion, sold millions of albums, and racked up 3 Grammy wins. If that wasn’t enough, Setzer found tremendous success in redefining Christmas music for a generation desperately desiring something new and exciting around the holidays.
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Lee Rocker

leerocker
Since the release of his Alligator Records debut Racin’ The Devil, bassist/vocalist/songwriter (and Stray Cats co-founder) Lee Rocker’s solo career has been skyrocketing. Publications from USA Today to Billboard and The New York Times raved about the undeniable power and foot-stomping fun of Rocker’s Americana-based roots rock. OffBeat declared, “What’s most satisfying about Lee Rocker is his ability to graft classic Sun licks and shuffles onto Americana. He bridges the gap between Bruce Springsteen and Hank Williams, Sr.” Bass Player magazine simply said, “He absolutely kills.” Lee’s live shows, fueled by his barnstorming, rocking band, grow wilder each night out. And now, on the heels of the national Stray Cats 2007 summer reunion tour, Lee Rocker is back with his second Alligator album, Black Cat Bone.

The Chicago Tribune describes Rocker’s playing as “muscular and passionate.” The Washington Post says his music consists of “impressive, catchy, driving original songs, frantic romps, finger-snapping swing and brooding slow blues.” Rolling Stone declares, “Lee Rocker’s singing naturally captures the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll. His catchy, well-written songs are very difficult to get out of your head.”


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