CD Review: Buick Six – Common Arms EP

buick six   Review: Lana Harris

Despite the never-ending death and birth cycle of live venues, amid licensing restrictions and noise curfews, bedrooms and garages on both sides of the Brisbane river continue to deliver quality acts to the Australian music scene. Buick Six owe their beginnings to the soggy grounds of 2007’s Splendour in the Grass festival. By 2008, a debut EP had appeared which captured the force of Buick Six’s Brisbane based gigging through live recording.

Their new EP, Common Arms, is garage rock at its dirty, window shaking best. It is only their second release, but the songs on the record sound like the outpourings of a band well used to working and recording together. Guitar work throughout is excellent. The overall feel of the record is urgent, potent, bursting – an achievement to capture on a recording, and suggesting that when viewed live, Buick Six would be a sonic explosion of grinding, grungy rock. The simple bass-guitar-drums line up works in their favour, a pure outlet for their untamed energy left uncomplicated by extra musicians or fussy elements.
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REGINA SPEKTOR returns to Australia & New Zealand – April/May 2010

The Frontier Touring Company announces the return of Regina Spektor to Australia and New Zealand in April this year.

When Regina Spektor’s family moved from her birthplace of the Soviet Union to America’s Bronx, her musical interests and talent expanded from the genre of classical music toward the vibrancy of pop and rock. These transitions of location and taste are reflected in the classical artistry within her piano composition and distinctive eclectic fusion of sounds. Adding to her repertoire of skills is her ability to play not only the piano but the guitar and occasional percussion as well, rendering her a truly versatile musician.
Continue reading REGINA SPEKTOR returns to Australia & New Zealand – April/May 2010 →

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Tour: New Found Glory Australian Tour – April 2010

New Found energy, New Found purpose; New Found Glory is back in the ring.

New Found Glory   As opposed to the majority of their stale contemporaries, New Found Glory attacks each album with a breath of fresh air in a genre saturated with vocoder and neon. With an impressive catalog that hosts some of the most memorable pop punk songs of the past decade, their Epitaph Records debut ‘Not Without a Fight’, shows just how well they put their competition in a finishing headlock, “there’s no need to put up a fight, because New Found Glory takes the title by default.” – Absolute Punk

Continue reading Tour: New Found Glory Australian Tour – April 2010 →

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The Idea of North: Radio Show @ Brisbane Powerhouse 27 March 2010

They say video killed the radio star… well we’re not so sure. Come and decide for yourself and be part of a “live studio audience” as Australia’s own award winning vocal quartet, The Idea of North present “Radio Show” Step back in time to an era of simple pleasures when the entire family would gather around the old transistor radio on a Saturday night to listen to their favourite show, excited and intrigued by what was happening at the other end. It’s now your turn to find out what goes on behind the scenes. Join in the fun of a live radio show where you’ll hear The Idea of North perform golden oldies to the top of the pops. They’ll be your very own radio hosts and who knows what else! This show is bound to have just about everything. The only difference is it probably won’t make it out onto the airwaves… it’ll just be for your ears (and eyes) only!
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Festival Review: Playground Weekender 2010

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Review: Brahbrah Oscar

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Playground Weekender
[Photo: Arfy Papadam]		   Within only a matter of moments after disembarking the ferry, it becomes immediately apparent why Playground Weekender (PW) has been the recipient of the “Best Crowd & Atmosphere” award for the last two years running.

PW organisers pride themselves on compiling a line-up that will attract a friendly and laid back crowd, and they know their craft well. The result is, quite bluntly and refreshingly, a music festival without all the jerks.

Over the four long and hot days festival goers remained pumped, happy and, as far as intoxicated crowds go, fairly mature. Even during the headliners when the main stage crowd was in full force, there was little pushing and shoving, people seemed pretty considerate of each other.

With little requirement for much control, the friendly crowd seemed slightly at odds with the size of the police force throughout the weekend. Officers walking sniffer dogs through festival grounds among the punters simply enjoying their lunch was an unusual sight. Though despite their numbers and high visibility, police were friendly and relaxed. Security were equally laid back in general.
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Asa Broomhall – Brisbane Powerhouse Resident for March 2010

Brisbane Powerhouse, Brisbane Marketing and Brispop Present
The Residents MUSIC
They’re fresh, they’re free and they’re moving in. Fridays are about to get a lot more interesting as some of the best Indie-Pop bands around stake their claim on the Turbine Platform. No ‘one night only’ gigs here. Each band will have an entire month to capture the hearts of Brisbane music lovers with a set every week. So, if you’re liking what you hear, come back again and again.

March Resident: Asa Broomhall
Continue reading Asa Broomhall – Brisbane Powerhouse Resident for March 2010 →

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Photo Gallery: Playground Weekender 2010

Photographer: Arfy Papadam
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Playground Weekender
Playground Weekender - Bluejuice
Playground Weekender
Playground Weekender
[Photo: Arfy Papadam]
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Playground Weekender

Related:
Festival Review: Playground Weekender 2010
Interview: Damian Kulash of OK Go

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Live Review: Orbital @ Family, Brisbane, 24 February 2010

By Denis Semchenko

Family can be a strange place. Despite this being a school night, a somewhat uneasy and restless vibe is easily palpable as dilated-pupil clientele wander about, while one clearly “under the influence” punter tries to strike up a conversation with me about how it’s going to be “a good night” and later passes by and wonders whether I’m “trying to be cool” as I check my phone for messages. Peaking too early is never fun, dude.
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Tour: Gossling to tour in support of debut EP – ‘If You Can’t Whistle’

To celebrate the success of her debut EP ‘If You Can’t Whistle’, Gossling (aka Helen Croome) will take to the stage with headlining shows in Melbourne, and offering support to The Whitlams and Whitley in Canberra.

Gossling’s debut EP ‘If You Can’t Whistle’ has garnered plenty of attention, with the track “Days Are Over” becoming part of Triple J’s staple play list in recent times, and “He Knows My Love” being used in the Triple J ‘Unearthed’ promos. Gossling’s tracks were discovered by Triple J after she drew attention as an Unearthed artist. Gossling started 2010 supporting Lamb for their side shows during their visit for Peats Ridge Festival.
Continue reading Tour: Gossling to tour in support of debut EP – ‘If You Can’t Whistle’ →

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Photo Gallery: Faith No More and Jane’s Addiction @ Soundwave Festival, Brisbane 2010

Photographer: Stuart Blythe
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Soundwave Festival 20 February 2010, Brisbane

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Faith No More – Faith No More available at iTunes
Jane's Addiction – Jane’s Addiction available at iTunes

Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Faith No More

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Photo Gallery: AFI, Alexisonfire @ Soundwave Festival, Brisbane 2010

Photographer: Stuart Blythe
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AFI
Soundwave Brisbane 2010
Alexisonfire
Soundwave Festival 20 February 2010, Brisbane

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AFI – AFI available at iTunes
Alexisonfire – Alexisonfire available at iTunes

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CD Review: The Break – ‘Cylinders’ Single

Review: Lana Harris
The Break was formed from three of the previously in-your-face-political pub rockers Midnight Oil (Rob Hirst, Jim Moginie and Martin Rotsey) plus the bassist (Brian Ritchie) from the grungy, always a bit teen-angst Violent Femmes. The love child spawned is nothing like its parents. Instead, it is a fun loving, apolitical coast dweller called The Break.

‘Cylinders’ is the pre release, first impression of the new creation. What is presented is a three and a half minute instrumental surf rock track. Surf rock? If you have ever seen a movie with teens at a beach shack party, circa 1960’s, you’ve heard surf rock. Remember ‘Wwwwwwwwipeout!’ Surf rock. It was repopularised for a while in the 1990’s – the opening credits to Pulp Fiction are overlaid with a revamped version of surf rock in the form of song ‘Misirlou’ and put the genre back into the population’s consciousness.

The Break’s postmillennial take on the genre has a heavier, deeper feel. Darkness washes across the laid back and loose vibes from the sixties, as though a man with sinister intentions is hiding amongst the palms that surround the beach shack party. There is a strong energy to the track, which explodes in your face like salt spray from a crashing wave. The Break thump straight into up-tempo, driving, full band participating music that ebbs and swells as the song progresses. The beach theme and vibes will continue with debut album Church of the Open Sky (released by Bombora Records) promising to be a mostly instrumental surf rock record with tracks named after famous surf breaks.

The Break – The Break available at iTunes

Midnight Oil – Midnight Oil available at iTunes
Violent Femmes – Violent Femmes available at iTunes

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Live Review: Soundwave Festival 2010 – Brisbane

Review: Hannah Collins

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Jane's Addiction
[Photo: Stuart Blythe]		   For the many festival’s we’ve attentively followed in the last year or so, I hope I’m not going to cop to much backlash for saying that Soundwave is now, pretty much, the festival to be at, particularly if you indulge in music of the ah, heavier nature. They’ve marked their territory well, and will be hard to compete with in coming years after continually displaying such high levels of organization and forward planning, with larger than life line ups to match, last year

featuring headliners Nine in Nails, and Alice in Chains, this year the newly reunited outfits Jane’s Addiction and of course, Faith No More.

Ticket sales at the door had prices marked up by over 50 dollars from the original price, but it didn’t see people back away from the queue. With a line up like today’s, I wouldn’t have been backing away from those prices either, had I’d have been stupid enough, not to buy a ticket during one of the previous releases.

Walking the streets of Brisbane’s fortitude valley on the morning of the event is galvanizing. The streets are flooded with waves of charismatic show goers of all age’s shapes and sizes. The crowd’s equal to what you may see before the opening day of the Ekka; Brisbane’s annual Royal show.
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The Lost Weekend festival – Cancelled!

The Lost Weekend festival, set to host the likes of Dinosaur Jr, The Drones and Brian Jonestown Massacre at the Riverstage in Brisbane on March 6-7, has been cancelled.

The statement on the website reads:
The Lost Weekend has been cancelled.

After moving from Ivory’s Rock to the Brisbane River Stage, The Lost Weekend has had insufficient time to achieve critical mass and we have been left with no choice but to cancel the event.

As local promoters it was our dream to run an event similar to other regional events like Meredith in Victoria and to bring such an event to SE QLD.

This is one of the saddest and most difficult decisions we have ever had to make.

We apologise to the real music fans that have supported The Lost Weekend and purchased tickets.

A FULL REFUND will be available to all of you from the point of purchase next week.

We also apologise to the bands who had committed to our dream.

All other information has been removed from the website.
www.thelostweekend.com.au

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