Author: Elize Strydom
Imagine a festival on the set of Dirty Dancing. Or the Shining. Or a combination of both. Imagine a festival where there is no branding or on-site sponsorships. Where the crowd only reaches 3000 people, max and you don’t have to line up for hours and purchase a beer with a drink ticket. Where there are no VIP areas or back stage hangs and the artists mix it up with the punters. Where all shows are indoors and the weather doesn’t matter. Add to that sets from three Australian bands (The Drones, The Dirty Three and Bridezilla) as well as Animal Collective, The Jesus Lizard, Sufjan Stevens, Suicide, Deerhunter and the Feelies. It’s not a dream, it’s All Tomorrow’s Parties New York. Elize Strydom and a bunch of other Aussies managed to score cheap flights and experience the magic.
Photos of the live performances: The Drones, The Feelies, The Dirty Three feat. Nick Cave on piano, Panda Bear, Iron and Wine, Suicide, The Jesus Lizard and David Cross.
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. 
LMM – Hi Simon, I’m just looking at your tour schedule for the next few months, supporting Grinspoon as well as touring for your new cd “Hope is for Hopers” – you’ve got a lot coming up, are you looking forward to all the travelling?
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. 