Review and Photos by Robert Pugsley
The Darkness are back and dare I say bigger and better than ever. They are pure performers and gave it all at their latest Sydney gig at UNSW Roundhouse.
Bursting on to the stage with ‘Black Shuck’, the crowd went nuts and The Darkness reciprocated with rock god swagger, style and boundless energy for the rest of the gig.
Justin Hawkins is a hell of a personality. Constantly moving, he rocked and jumped around the stage with the energy of a 4 year old drinking straight from the cordial bottle, it’s physically exhausting just watching him. Justin really is one of those rare sexual beasts, who, with his flaming groin tattoo, was rained upon by punters throwing underwear whilst receiving the adulation of topless female worshippers.
Continue reading Live Review: The Darkness @ UNSW Roundhouse, Sydney – 6 May 2012
As Melbourne’s Soundwave week continued into Wednesday night, it was time to head to the beautiful Forum Theatre for a taste of some of the most original music the massive line up had to offer.
It’s fair to say that over the years Californian natives 
There’s a buzz in the air tonight – a full house and the Ball Park Music headlining debut album launch tour tends to give out a special vibe. And it’s been a long, well-worn track to get to this point: singles and free downloads leading to early Triple J recognition, signing to a supportive management company and releasing one of them most anticipated EPs of recent memory, seemingly tour after tour as the perpetual bridesmaids before finally knuckling down to carve out the first full-length offering.
The meteoric rise of Dead Letter Circus in the past 18 months is no secret. Having quickly moved from the small, intimate feel of the Espy to regularly selling out the substantially bigger HiFi Bar and touring the UK and America, its fair to say that DLC are doing all right. Back in Melbourne for yet another jaunt around Australia, this time for their “No Fracking Way” Tour, Brisbane alternative rock darlings Dead Letter Circus were at the top of their game on Wednesday night.
The Evelyn Hotel is one of the best smaller scaled venues in Melbourne, with many a band’s careers having kick started at the pub. Even band’s like Muse have played there before they found stardom. Therefore it was the perfect place for some of the country’s better young rock bands to show their wares to a decent sized crowd.
On Sunday night in Melbourne; Periphery, Tesseract and Twelve Foot Ninja claimed gig of the year. It’s that simple. Upon arriving 20 minutes before the doors opened, in order to get barrier spots, the line to get in was already stretching 75 metres down Swanston St, causing that idea to be promptly dismissed. To put it in perspective, the other shows on this tour were at venues with capacities of 400-500 people and only Sydney managed to sell out. 
It was about time that Ball Park Music headlined their own tour. With presence and personality like theirs it is hard to stay in other bands’ shadows. The sellout crowd at Alhambra Lounge were treated to an exhilarating and upbeat show. 
Monday was another delightful mix of new discoveries and big names, with a good dose of puppetry and performance art thrown in.
It was Easter Sunday, the sun was shining over Bluesfest and the Crossroads tent was gearing up to celebrate with a solid block of gospel, soul and blues, kicked off by the enigmatic, effervescent powerhouse Mavis Staples and Her Band.