Tag Archives: January 2012

Big Day Out 2012 – Melbourne – 29th January 2012 | REVIEW

Review by Ben Connolly
Photos by: Naomi Rahim
Photos Credit: Naomi RahimWith 20 years under its belt and a major crisis in confidence, Big Day Out organisers and marketing teams got all introspective in the lead up to the 2012 event. For many, it was time to question the event’s continued validity in the now flooded one day festival market. That questioning, undoubtedly, led the co-founders to part ways and this year’s event to succumb to circumstance and dramatically downsize. And with recent news that the Auckland leg was no more after this year, it’s pertinent to reflect upon what, exactly, the BDO brand has brought to the rock festival table over its two decades.

What are rock festivals all about these days?

Rock festivals are still about discovering.
Early in the baking summer’s day, Melbourne’s BONJAH held the fort at the aptly-named Hot Produce stage. Now with a rockier edge compared to its urban-roots inflected past, the five-piece oozes charisma, with front-man Glenn Mossop’s chiseled looks and studied moves adding to his extraordinary brooding, honey-dipped drawl. A kicker of Portishead’s “Teardrop” adds icing to the cake and pegs this performance as a great way to ease in to the steamy afternoon.
Continue reading Big Day Out 2012 – Melbourne – 29th January 2012 | REVIEW

Big Day Out 2012 – Melbourne – 29th January 2012 | Photo Gallery

Photographer: Naomi Rahim

Photographer: Naomi Rahim
Continue reading Big Day Out 2012 – Melbourne – 29th January 2012 | Photo Gallery

Review: Big Day Out 2012 – Sydney – 26th January 2012

Review by Sibel Kutlucan

Celebrating 20 years since the first ever Big Day Out in Sydney 1992, which boasted incredible bands such as, Nirvana and Violent Femmes, the Big Day Out has had a reputation to uphold with line-ups that every year do not disappoint. This year was no exception.

For 2012, Big Day Out offered an impressive line-up that consisted of a range of rock, dance, pop and hip hop acts, including Kanye West, My Chemical Romance, Noel Gallagher, Soundgarden and Kasabian.

The morning weather was bleak, with rain and threatening storm clouds looming. However, the masses of music fans still poured into the Sydney Showgrounds from 11am, anxious for a sure day of excitement, great music and the ambience of bare flesh, and despite the weather, did not scare away the summer attire of short shorts and bikini tops.

Earlier acts such as Sydney rockers Papa Vs Pretty and Victoria’s Stonefield enticed crowds and brightened up the sky. The busy schedule of all six stages charged on and as the bands played and the crowds grew the storm clouds slowly disappeared and the typical Australia Day sunshine arrived.

Sydney indie-rock band Bluejuice owned the Boiler Room, with their infectious music and attitude whipping their eager fans into a whirlwind of odd dance moves and great times, especially when they erupted with their hit, “Broken leg”.

Boy and Bear were another standout act in the afternoon as they took to the orange stage and showed why they were recent ARIA winners with their amazing cover of Crowded House’s “Fall at your Feet”, which commemorated Australia Day with the crowd enthusiastically singing along.

Kiwi songstress Kimbra had her audience enthralled as she took to the Converse Green Stage thrashing about and singing her lungs out of her waif like frame. Her powerful voice was contagious and her act was a definite standout of the festival.

Jersey alt-rockers My Chemical Romance pulled a huge crowd at the orange stage, with front man Gerard Way sporting new blonde locks and clad all in black, led their set through an impressive range of tracks off their discography including old favourites “I’m not okay” and “Helena”.

Brit indie-rockers Kasabian were welcomed to the blue stage with flashing neon blue lights and smoke slowly filling the stage, as their crowd erupted in cheers, eager to welcome Kasabian back to our shores. “Shoot the runner” as always was a definite crowd-pleaser and resonated with festival-goers long after their set finished.

Kanye West did not disappoint as he took to the blue stage for his hour and a half long set where he dominated the other acts of the night. With his eye-catching back-up dancers to his rather unique dress sense and contagious tracks, Kanye West delivered a fantastic set.

Amongst all the great music on the six stages, the Guvera skate ramp always had their crowd entertained; however it was when Tony Hawk took to the ramp that the skate ramp attracted more festival-goers that even some of the headliners. It was a moment not to be missed, and the epic skating was a nice break between the countless sets to take in.

Celebrating an amazing 20 years of festivals Big Day Out came home to Sydney this Australia day despite earlier problems involving the spilt of co-founders Ken West and Vivian Lees, as well as the announcement of BDO’s withdrawal from New Zealand next year. This dark news however, did not impact the festival and West said that the festival will come back stronger and that Big Day Out’s heart will always remain in Sydney, as it began here 20 years ago.

Once again the Sydney leg of the Big Day Out tour delivered an amazing Australia day to all the music lovers who bared the bipolar weather for a day of great music and experiences.

Review by Sibel Kutlucan


Related:
* PHOTOS! BIG DAY OUT – SYDNEY

* Review our review of: Big Day Out 2012 – Gold Coast Parklands – 22nd January 2012

PHOTOS: Big Day Out 2012 – Gold Coast
PART 1
Soundgarden, My Chemical Romance, Stonefield, Cage The Elephant, The Amity Affliction, Kimbra

PART 2
Kanye West, Kasabian, Abbe May, The Jezabels, Foster The People, The Living End, Mariachi el Bronx, Calling All Cars, Papa vs Pretty, Parkway Drive, Boy & Bear, The Vaccines

PART 3
Crowd Pics

So Frenchy So Chic @ Brisbane Powerhouse – 20 January 2012 | Live Review

Review by Lauren Sherritt
With a long developed reputation of class and French charisma, you could guess that tardy is not high on the list of characteristics organisers of the famed So Frenchy So Chic touring shows would want it to be associated with. Forty-five minutes after the last show of the 2012 tour was supposed to begin, however, Brisbane audiences could have been excused for thinking it while they waited outside the closed doors of the theatre.

After finally inviting us to file in and take our seats the bad news was broken; Asa, one half of the night’s double bill, was very ill and after failing to be able to complete sound check she had regretfully decided to pull out of the show. This left patrons with the choice of leaving, full refund in hand, or staying for an extended set by the show’s other half, French American band Moriarty.

While some did choose to walk and have their seats further toward the front happily filled by audience members who were initially in the back, the majority stayed to greet the well known blues band with cheers and smiles. Lead singer Rosemary Standley introduced the act, emotion evident in her voice as she dedicated their set to sick peer Asa. While it had evidently been a rushed preparation for their now twice as long set, Moriarty joked their way through the mix up in routine as they played a highly entertaining show.

Starting with “She’s Going to War”, the band comprised of a double bass, percussion, bass and electric guitars, the occasional keyboard, brilliantly played harmonicas and strong group vocals, showed off an extraordinary amount of energy for self described “jet lagged and weary travellers”. Standley oozed sensuality as they kicked off the slower song “Cotton Flower”, and the band began to look very comfortable on stage after their unexpectedly early beginning.

It wasn’t only front-woman Rosemary on show throughout the night, Moriarty proved that they are truly a musical ensemble, with each musician showcasing breathtaking talent on their instruments. For the most part, Stephan Zimmerli played the always favourite double bass and also chipped in a joke or jab at any quiet interval. Vincent Talpaert on drums was definitely the conductor of the band, though very much keeping himself inconspicuous off to the side, the rest of the band members looked to him for guidance on everything from the revised set list to keeping the beat. Charles Carmignac wowed the crowd with not only his guitar playing skills but his smooth dance moves and surprise whale noises, while Arthur B. Gillete, who with long sandy hair and a floppy gardener’s hat could easily be mistaken for Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz, exuded cheerfulness and an evident love of making music. The highlight of the night was witnessing the talents of Thomas Puéchavy on the harmonica. Wearing a harmonica belt (similar to a tool belt, his held at least eight different harmonicas in leather pockets around his waist), he masterfully played harmonies and solos, adding a brilliant depth to the band’s sound.

After playing fourteen songs, Moriarty were cheered back on stage for an encore, any disappointment from the earlier events in the evening wiped from the audience’s mind. Finishing beautifully with an unplugged musical rendition of Austrian poet Ingeborg Bachmann’s “Long is the Night”, which Moriarty turned into a soft, crooning lullaby, the band took one final bow in front of a thrilled audience.

Review by Lauren Sherritt


Related:

Read our review of So Frenchy So Chic: Nouvelle Vague, Berry @ The Powerhouse, Brisbane June 14, 2010

PHOTOS!
So Frenchy So Chic In The Park @ Werribee Park Mansion, Melbourne – 15th January 2012
CLICK HERE TO VIEW FULL GALLERY




All photos by Naomi Rahim

Like Moths To Flame – When We Don’t Exist | Album Review

Review by Billy Geary

The problem with Ohio metalcore group Like Moths to Flame’s latest effort When We Don’t Exist is that it brings literally nothing new to a genre already more stale than that piece of cake that’s been sitting on the bench for the last couple of weeks. The passion and energy is bleedingly obvious in the music, but so is fact that the bands song writing is in desperate need of an overhaul.

When We Don’t Exist seemingly takes every single metalcore stereotype possible and rolls it into one big wall of sound. Excessive amount of breakdowns? Check. Angry, tough guy vocals/lyrics? Check. Awkward clean vocals in the chorus? Check. We’ve literally heard it all before. You could pick any one of the album’s 11 tracks and find the same things. Take ‘GNF’ for example, featuring the inspired lyrics of ‘I don’t give a fuck about the way you’re feeling’ before the guitars take the listener into another open string chug fest.
Continue reading Like Moths To Flame – When We Don’t Exist | Album Review

Photos: (Part 2) Big Day Out 2012 – Gold Coast Parklands – 22nd January 2012

Photographer: Stuart Blythe

Photographer: Stuart Blythe
Continue reading Photos: (Part 2) Big Day Out 2012 – Gold Coast Parklands – 22nd January 2012

Review: Big Day Out 2012 – Gold Coast Parklands – 22nd January 2012

Review by Lauren Sherritt
Big Day Out – it’s not just a music festival. It’s a fashion show, the latest summer clothes coming out to play (2012 including girls shortest short shorts, guys screen printed singlets and a whole lot of hair on everyone). It’s a test of the strength of boyfriends’ spines as they hoist their girlfriends high above the crowds on their shoulders. It’s a feat of endurance, a challenge put to the elements that no kind of weather can stop the show, a day of sunscreen and sunburn, of thrills, friendship and fried food. And yes, there is some excellent music as well.

The Gold Coast leg of the festival kicked off at eleven a.m. For those of us travelling from further afield the day started much earlier, a mixture of trains and shuttle buses becoming more and more crowded with others in festival garb as we neared the event.

Ticket checks, bag checks, ID checks done and we were in. The sun shone brightly, the outside glare making us squint to make out the shape of Abbe May and band on the contrasting dark stage, their hard rock carving through the muggy air.
Continue reading Review: Big Day Out 2012 – Gold Coast Parklands – 22nd January 2012

Photos: (Part 1) Big Day Out 2012 – Gold Coast Parklands – 22nd January 2012

Photographer: Stuart Blythe

Photographer: Stuart Blythe
Continue reading Photos: (Part 1) Big Day Out 2012 – Gold Coast Parklands – 22nd January 2012

Interview | Daniel Page – Forever the Optimist

There are a lot of bands to look out for in 2012. You will read various lists and recommendations. One that needs to be added to those lists is from Brisbane. They are from the birth place of many independent and unsigned bands that are making some killer-rock sounds at local and National gigs. They are …..Forever the Optimist.

Forever the Optimist just released their newest single and video clip “My Design” from the their self titled debut EP “Forever the Optimist”. Having played with some great bands in 2011 such as Thousand Needles in Red, Calling All Cars, The Redcoats and Floating Me, the future is looking great for this hard rocking alternative band.

Life Music Media (LMM): I just had a good listen to your self- titled album the other day and it is a fresh and fearsome achievement for your first EP. How has the ride been so far?

Daniel Page: The rides been great. It’s interesting how far we’ve come in the last year since recording that record. We went in the studio with six months worth of songs and it came together, we did the best job we could and we’re really happy with it. This year has been flat out. We’ve been doing a lot of gigs and playing with some awesome bands with great opportunities. We went on a mini East Coast tour with some friends of ours “Stellar Green” and it’s was excellent. We’ve been getting a really good response to our shows and a lot of positive comments towards the record. So we are pretty happy.
Continue reading Interview | Daniel Page – Forever the Optimist

Laura – Twelve Hundred Times | Album Review

Review by Billy Geary
In a day and age where music is being created at such an alarming rate world wide, it is rare to find music of a quality that literally stops you in your tracks. It is even rarer to find said music being created by five humble individuals in your hometown, however, Laura are most certainly doing that at present. While there has been a large amount of outstanding post rock released this year, Twelve Hundred Times will ensure Laura remains in the forefront of people’s minds.

Described by most as an incomprehensible wall of sound, Laura’s moody brand of post-rock is exactly that. Their third album, Twelve Hundred Times, builds on their back catalogue and is essentially a natural progression of the band’s sound. Opener ‘Visitor’ kicks things off in a decidedly mellow fashion, with the band building a beautiful soundscape through the use of strings and keys before a wall of guitars consumes the final minutes of the track. Single ‘This Grey Earth’ follows in a similar way, with whispered vocals adding an extra dimension to the song.
Continue reading Laura – Twelve Hundred Times | Album Review

Artist applications open for Woodford Folk Festival 2011/12

WOODFORD FOLK FESTIVAL OPENS EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST FOR ARTISTS

Expressions of interest are now open to Artists and Presenters for the 26th Woodford Folk Festival. Held annually between the 27th December and 1st January, the Woodford Folk Festival is one of Australia’s largest outdoor music events.

The festival invites interest from musicians, as well as artists, presenters and speakers for specialist programmes such as circus, vaudeville, the high profile environmental and health programmes, comedy, traditional folkloric, spoken word, workshops and visual arts.

Having endured their wettest year on record and sustained significant damage due to the Queensland floods, event producers the Queensland Folk Federation earlier announced that this year’s Woodford Folk Festival will feature a precinct dedicated to the prestigious International Indigenous festival, The Dreaming. Artists wishing to be a part of the Dreaming precinct can apply via the Woodford Folk Festival process.

All artists and presenters wishing to be a part of the Festival must complete an online Expression of Interest, now open online via the Woodford Folk Festival website: www.woodfordfolkfestival.com and will close at 5pm on Friday 20th May 2011. Applicants cannot be considered without a complete online application.