Words and Pics: www.hoskingindustries.com.au
Tonight’s all-ages gig meant it was an early start for punters hoping to check out all four bands playing The Big Top at Sydney’s Luna Park. While the eager crowd wrapped its way around the Luna Park grounds in serpentine fashion, patiently waiting for the doors to open, it seems as though most of the other press outlets missed the memo on playing times, with the photo pit looking rather barren for opening act, Buried in Verona.
Playing to a half-full venue, the Sydney sextet appeared a more polished, confident band than when this reviewer last caught them supporting Sweden’s Soilwork at the Manning Bar at the tail end of 2010. They’re plagued by the usual opening-act muddy mix, which is exacerbated by the three-guitar attack that’s the fashion these days. And while the clean vocals (courtesy guitarist Richie Newman) have improved a lot, every time singer Brett Anderson tries to sing along it all falls apart.
Continue reading Live Review: The Amity Affliction, The Ghost Inside, Architects, Buried in Verona @ The Big Top, Luna Park – 29 September 2012
On a darkened stage and with little fanfare, a pretty and bespectacled 
Boldness is not generally an adjective jumping to mind when you think of Kiwi band Shihad. With its skinny black-jeans clad legs planted firmly in the safe melodic-tinged rock scene pushed forth as the genre de jour of the late 90s and early 00s, you’d hardly seek out their albums to push boundaries or explore sonic adventures. Even more so in the past few years, where they’ve rotated around the all-too-familiar downward spiral of record-promote-tour-hope for relevance-rinse-repeat: it’s hardly a recipe for the cutting edge. 
It’s been a long time coming for fans of Finnish band Apocalyptica to finally catch the band on Australian soil for the first time in their 16+ year career – and it was well worth the wait.
There is little more satisfying on a Sunday evening than experiencing some really top-notch live music, and the show put on by Kate Miller-Heidke and The Beards at Brisbane’s Hi-Fi last night did more than fill this need. Theatrical, funny, poignant and breathtaking, the two acts complemented each other perfectly to create an evening of bar-raising, quality music memories.
Thursday night saw the return of SLASH to our shores as he kicked off his Apocalyptic Love Australian tour.
With the annual Splendour in the Grass festival letting loose in Bryon Bay, the sideshow circus around the country was in full swing. Co-headlining Splendour was the infamous 
On the 13th of April last year, 
The Ocean are one of the more interesting bands of the past few decades. The brainchild of guitarist Robin Staps, The Ocean has, over the years, morphed into one of the most forward thinking and innovative metal bands in the world. Their show at Melbourne’s Hi-Fi bar on Saturday night was the second last leg of their maiden tour of Australia, and what a night it was.
Trekking all the way out to Ferntree Gully for a gig is always an interesting experience and Thursday night was no different, with a line up boasting some of Australia’s and America’s best alternative rock bands. With Brisbane natives Dead Letter Circus having been on tour with Texan five piece Fair to Midland in the States for the past few months, it was time to bring the party (and Fair to Midland) back home for their own national tour.
Looking over the crowd at the Metro Theatre in Sydney I was surprised to see that I looked like everyone else – Yes, White Middle Class Suburbia had come out in force to see Public Enemy, DJ Lord and the current S1W crew. Although it shouldn’t really surprise anyone, Public Enemy have been, despite their militant bravado, quite accessible to the average non rap/hip hop public.
Nestled in bushland within the beautiful setting of Belford in the Hunter Valley, The Gum Ball festival was held over the weekend of April 27th-29th.
Word about the brilliance of 
Thursday night got underway at 8pm when early punters began filling into the doors of the Sydney Metro. The darkened room was a hotbed of activity, buzzing conversation as indie fans alike milled around drinking beer and anticipating the first time visit of English indie rockers The Maccabees to Australia. The quintet who are visiting this autumn for the