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Live Review: Punkfest @ The Jubilee Hotel, Brisbane

Review: Bec

Handsome Young Strangers   A Punkfest comes with certain expectations: tartan, Mohawks, numerous safety pins as various fixtures, mad dancing, and fast – no very fast – angry music. You wouldn’t expect sea shanties, pirate ditties, old Celtic songs or a “Yo ho ho and a bottle of fockin’ rum!” But that was the musical fare served up at the Punkfest at the Jubilee Hotel.

It’s hard to describe the music because it seems to be a bit of…well, everything. At different times, you can hear rockabilly, hillbilly, the aforementioned pirate, and folk, but sung at serious speed, maybe, three or four times as fast. And that’s what makes it punk. The bands don’t sing about your punk staples like anarchy, anti-establishment and violence and there’s no real fuck-offs or fuck-yous; they sing about old bushrangers, shearing and courting a

girl in Belfast City. They don’t play your usual punk instruments – there are mandolins, fiddles, banjos, trombones, double bass, accordion, tin whistle, and even a lagerphone. They don’t dress like your typical punk bands – they wear ties with vests and your English working man’s cap; some look sea tug boat captains or your typical Aussie bushie.
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Live Review: LIAM GRIFFIN @ The Troubadour 12 July 2009

Review by Bec

Liam Griffin   Sunday night at The Troubadour is a casual affair. “When is it supposed to start?” asks the merch girl.

“About seven?” headliner, Liam Griffin suggests; seems uncertain.

It feels like solo artists, Liam Griffin, Mardi Lumsden and (very late ring-in), Cameron Elliott, have put on a party and are waiting nervously for friends to show. Sure, they’re not huge acts but they’re great local talent and deserve a good turnout.

Continue reading Live Review: LIAM GRIFFIN @ The Troubadour 12 July 2009

Live Review: COG “Between Oceans” Tour @ The Hi-Fi, Brisbane – 11th June 2009

Review by Bec

COG
[Photo: Stuart Blythe]
   Cog fans are a loyal bunch. They’ll come up to you and tell you how great their band is. “Sold out. Melbourne Hi-Fi, and now here,” one fan tells me. (He waits until he sees me write this in my notebook.) They’ll bear the unusually cold Thursday night to happily wait in line. And they’ll keep coming back to see Cog live – for some fans this is their fourth or fifth gig. Little wonder, if you believe what another fan proclaims: “Best live band – ever”. That’s a pretty big call.

Certainly, Sydney-based Cog is a WYHIWUG (what-you-hear-is-what-you-get) band. If you love their CDs then you’ll love their live shows. No disappointment there. Lead singer, Flynn Gower’s vocals, like his stage presence, are deliberate, steady and enunciated. He’s obviously a dedicated musician as are other band members, Lucius Borich, on drums, and Luke Gower on bass who is extremely animated on stage.

Continue reading Live Review: COG “Between Oceans” Tour @ The Hi-Fi, Brisbane – 11th June 2009