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Music news
Frightened Rabbit
Posted 5th Feb 2010 by Sarah Walters
I had the privilege of seeing Frightened Rabbit for the second time
this week at the Beach Road Hotel on Wednesday night - was pretty damn
amazing. Up the front and in awe of these guys, I couldn’t help but be
distracted by the crowd and notice how much they were enjoying
themselves. The happy facial expressions, our bodies moving in sync.
Frontman Scott Hutchinson had everyone in smiles with his Scottish
humour. I’m actually thinking seriously about getting over to Couchella
Festival on April 17th to watch these guys again. Am I a stalker? www.myspace.com/frightenedrabbit
Magichour Launch Debut Album
Posted 4th Feb 2010 by Catherine Milne
Ex-Cactus Children launch their debut this Valentines Day
Magichour, the self-titled debut release from acclaimed songwriting duo, Sydney-based Ian Housten Shadwell and Gemma Deacon, is an intricate tapestry of sounds wrapped into dreamy pop songs. Gemma and Ian are best known as the songwriting team behind iconic Sydney acoustic pop classicists, Cactus Child, the ensemble that played its part in the acoustic revival in the mid nineties. Darlings of the local music scene, they gained national airplay and toured extensively, playing festivals and supporting international acts including Blur and the late Jeff Buckley. Five years, three albums and close to a thousand gigs later, the band called it a day.
Fast-forward ten years and these two creative forces are back under the guise of Magichour - 11 luscious songs - a warm, gentle, vigorous thing of beauty. This is an album invested with the multi-layered folk and pop sensibilities that structured their earlier work, but with a new sense of space and atmospherics. It is cinematic, ambient and widescreen, with a haunting luster, saturated throughout with the delight of Gemma's magical voice, too long absent from the Australian music scene.
Quite simply - it was well worth waiting ten years. See their revival this Valentines Day as the duo launch their self-titled LP at the gorgeous Clovelly Bowling Club in Sydney on Valentine's Day at 7 pm.
Listen to a few tracks from the Magichour album here.
Magichour, the self-titled debut release from acclaimed songwriting duo, Sydney-based Ian Housten Shadwell and Gemma Deacon, is an intricate tapestry of sounds wrapped into dreamy pop songs. Gemma and Ian are best known as the songwriting team behind iconic Sydney acoustic pop classicists, Cactus Child, the ensemble that played its part in the acoustic revival in the mid nineties. Darlings of the local music scene, they gained national airplay and toured extensively, playing festivals and supporting international acts including Blur and the late Jeff Buckley. Five years, three albums and close to a thousand gigs later, the band called it a day.
Fast-forward ten years and these two creative forces are back under the guise of Magichour - 11 luscious songs - a warm, gentle, vigorous thing of beauty. This is an album invested with the multi-layered folk and pop sensibilities that structured their earlier work, but with a new sense of space and atmospherics. It is cinematic, ambient and widescreen, with a haunting luster, saturated throughout with the delight of Gemma's magical voice, too long absent from the Australian music scene.
Quite simply - it was well worth waiting ten years. See their revival this Valentines Day as the duo launch their self-titled LP at the gorgeous Clovelly Bowling Club in Sydney on Valentine's Day at 7 pm.Listen to a few tracks from the Magichour album here.
St Kilda Festival: 7 - 14 February
Posted 4th Feb 2010 by Catherine Milne
Now heading into its 30th year, St Kilda Festival is Australia's largest street party, devoted to supporting Australian music on the streets of beautiul St Kilda.
This year's festival will sizzle with a lineup of stand-out acts and events including
You Am I
,
Mark Seymour
,
The Bamboos feat Kylie Auldist, Katie Noonan & The Captains, St Kilda Laughs, Poetry Idol, St Kilda Busking Festival
and the
Pride March Victoria.
The fifth
Yalukit Willam Ngargee
: People Place Gathering festival will kick off the St Kilda Festival on
Saturday 6 February
. The huge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander collaborative program of events includes art exhibitions, a world class contemporary dance program, musicians including
Bart Willoughby
and the Koorie Night Markets selling unique arts and wares.
Live N Local
will run from Sunday 7 February until Saturday 13 with a smorgasbord of local bands, events, DJ’s, comedians, poets and buskers.
Download the program here or visit the website
http://www.stkildafestival.com.au
Laneway Sydney 2010
Posted 1st Feb 2010 by Sarah Walters
It was a day of difficult decisions. Eddy Current Suppression Ring clashed with Florence and the Machine. Mumford and Sons and The XX shared a timeslot, and if I spent anymore reciting what amazing acts were on at the same time as other mind blowing artists, this review would end up looking like the event flyer. To cut it short: It was all killer, no filler.
What was one to do? What choices to make? The answer was just to cruise. Enjoy the sandstone building and green garden surrounds, and just go with the flow. While the energy was enthusiastic and loud, there was a distinctive lack of aggro shirtless dudes you might find at other festivals and very little trouble in sight.
And even though Sydney’s Laneway Festival betrayed its backstreet alleyway roots, it managed to maintain its discerning indie cred with new Callan Park venue and bulging line-up. Cheers Laneway, see you next year!
Sacha Vukic
What was one to do? What choices to make? The answer was just to cruise. Enjoy the sandstone building and green garden surrounds, and just go with the flow. While the energy was enthusiastic and loud, there was a distinctive lack of aggro shirtless dudes you might find at other festivals and very little trouble in sight.
And even though Sydney’s Laneway Festival betrayed its backstreet alleyway roots, it managed to maintain its discerning indie cred with new Callan Park venue and bulging line-up. Cheers Laneway, see you next year!
Sacha Vukic
Blood..
Posted 1st Feb 2010 by Lucy Star
On Tour With Paul Dempsey
Posted 27th Jan 2010 by Barbara Parks
Barbara
Parks was the winner of our Paul Dempsey competition. She became a rock
journalist for two days, flying to Geelong then Hobart to watch Paul play and
meet him backstage. Thanks to EMI for making this happen!
So how do a podiatrist and a fire-fighter become transiently thrust into the world of the jet-setting rock press in the space of a few short days? There is an element of the surreal as the midnight horror thunders down the runway at Perth airport. Melbourne-bound I think of when I last saw Paul Dempsey. A solo acoustic set, Dempsey shared intimate glimpses of his early years interspersed with classic Something For Kate tracks, his latest solo album and a selection of inimitable covers. I can’t shake the image of a bleary-eyed little boy sitting on his mother’s lounge in the pre-dawn hours of a cold Melbourne morning. The way Dempsey tells it, it wasn’t unusual for his mother and her fellow musicians to return home post-gig and regale the household with a reprise of the evening’s performance; young Dempsey roused from sleep, sitting on the sidelines absorbing each note…
Friday - Geelong
Fuelled on two hours sleep we arrive at The Bended Elbow in Geelong. There is a heavy security presence which seems to belie the laid-back vibe of the crowd. Dempsey agrees: “You hear things about Geelong on a Friday night… but you’re nice!” He opens with “Fast Friends,” followed by the plaintive “Have You Fallen out of Love.” The crowd fall into a communal swoon and by the time “the blessed bells strike” and Dempsey’s voice soars to its magnificent best, it is quite obvious that there’s no falling out of love going on here.
The set list is peppered with easy dialogue, Dempsey is clearly enjoying himself. “That’s really disconcerting,” he says referring to posters of a minstrel-like Dempsey strumming a ukulele. “Down with Dempsey!” he jokes as the posters are ripped down.
Tracks from “Everything Is True” are interspersed with Something for Kate classics such as “You Only Hide” and “De Ja Vu” which transform the gig into a blissed-out sing-along. “Time to Pretend” (the MGMT cover) is delivered with gutsy enthusiasm and gets the crowd further pumped and hungry for more.
“Bird in a Basement” (dedicated to Dempsey’s grandmother Doris) is a joyous explosion of emotion. For reasons unknown, she referred to the young Dempsey as “Shite Hawk”. Another small insight into the rich characters that have shaped and nurtured Dempsey into the artist he is today.
Saturday - Hobart
The Saturday morning post-gig buzz is only heightened by the realisation that we are sharing our flight to Hobart with the man himself. I steel myself and cross the terminal to say “hi.” My reception is warm and welcoming, as I bumblingly reel through my prize list he is genuinely excited for us, which makes me more excited about tonight’s gig at Hellenic Hall.
Bad start: Fluoro lighting and cask wine. We are momentarily as dazed as the reindeer which adorn the stage as we take in our surroundings. Our alarm soon dissipates as support act Mike Noga’s grungy laments soothe our concerns. The mood is set and the lights dim. “This reminds me of my 21st,” says Dempsey as he launches into an even more relaxed reprise of last night’s set. I buzz the crowd for feedback on the night’s performance. “Emotional.” “Cleansing.” “Gob-smackingly wicked…” Take us to your leader Mr Dempsey: we want to be part of your tribe!
Great end: Dempsey’s manager Clinton Kraus has asked us to wait near the front of the stage after the gig, we wonder what exactly a “meet and greet” is… it sounds suspiciously like a “hi and bye.” The reality proves anything but and after introductions we settle in for a bit of quality time with our man of the moment. Dempsey’s welcome surpasses expectations; we discuss the night’s gig, books, wine and future plans… still so surreal. He graciously signs our cache of paraphernalia (to placate our Dempsey devotee friends back home) and we take a few snaps we know we will treasure. Despite the awe of an audience with Mr Dempsey, we can’t help but feel at home. For somewhere beneath his striking presence, young Shite Hawk hides just beneath the surface, doing his grandmother Doris proud.
So how do a podiatrist and a fire-fighter become transiently thrust into the world of the jet-setting rock press in the space of a few short days? There is an element of the surreal as the midnight horror thunders down the runway at Perth airport. Melbourne-bound I think of when I last saw Paul Dempsey. A solo acoustic set, Dempsey shared intimate glimpses of his early years interspersed with classic Something For Kate tracks, his latest solo album and a selection of inimitable covers. I can’t shake the image of a bleary-eyed little boy sitting on his mother’s lounge in the pre-dawn hours of a cold Melbourne morning. The way Dempsey tells it, it wasn’t unusual for his mother and her fellow musicians to return home post-gig and regale the household with a reprise of the evening’s performance; young Dempsey roused from sleep, sitting on the sidelines absorbing each note…
Friday - Geelong
Fuelled on two hours sleep we arrive at The Bended Elbow in Geelong. There is a heavy security presence which seems to belie the laid-back vibe of the crowd. Dempsey agrees: “You hear things about Geelong on a Friday night… but you’re nice!” He opens with “Fast Friends,” followed by the plaintive “Have You Fallen out of Love.” The crowd fall into a communal swoon and by the time “the blessed bells strike” and Dempsey’s voice soars to its magnificent best, it is quite obvious that there’s no falling out of love going on here.
The set list is peppered with easy dialogue, Dempsey is clearly enjoying himself. “That’s really disconcerting,” he says referring to posters of a minstrel-like Dempsey strumming a ukulele. “Down with Dempsey!” he jokes as the posters are ripped down.
Tracks from “Everything Is True” are interspersed with Something for Kate classics such as “You Only Hide” and “De Ja Vu” which transform the gig into a blissed-out sing-along. “Time to Pretend” (the MGMT cover) is delivered with gutsy enthusiasm and gets the crowd further pumped and hungry for more.
“Bird in a Basement” (dedicated to Dempsey’s grandmother Doris) is a joyous explosion of emotion. For reasons unknown, she referred to the young Dempsey as “Shite Hawk”. Another small insight into the rich characters that have shaped and nurtured Dempsey into the artist he is today.
Saturday - Hobart
The Saturday morning post-gig buzz is only heightened by the realisation that we are sharing our flight to Hobart with the man himself. I steel myself and cross the terminal to say “hi.” My reception is warm and welcoming, as I bumblingly reel through my prize list he is genuinely excited for us, which makes me more excited about tonight’s gig at Hellenic Hall.
Bad start: Fluoro lighting and cask wine. We are momentarily as dazed as the reindeer which adorn the stage as we take in our surroundings. Our alarm soon dissipates as support act Mike Noga’s grungy laments soothe our concerns. The mood is set and the lights dim. “This reminds me of my 21st,” says Dempsey as he launches into an even more relaxed reprise of last night’s set. I buzz the crowd for feedback on the night’s performance. “Emotional.” “Cleansing.” “Gob-smackingly wicked…” Take us to your leader Mr Dempsey: we want to be part of your tribe!
Great end: Dempsey’s manager Clinton Kraus has asked us to wait near the front of the stage after the gig, we wonder what exactly a “meet and greet” is… it sounds suspiciously like a “hi and bye.” The reality proves anything but and after introductions we settle in for a bit of quality time with our man of the moment. Dempsey’s welcome surpasses expectations; we discuss the night’s gig, books, wine and future plans… still so surreal. He graciously signs our cache of paraphernalia (to placate our Dempsey devotee friends back home) and we take a few snaps we know we will treasure. Despite the awe of an audience with Mr Dempsey, we can’t help but feel at home. For somewhere beneath his striking presence, young Shite Hawk hides just beneath the surface, doing his grandmother Doris proud.
VCR
Posted 22nd Jan 2010 by Lucy Star
The new video for 'VCR' from the London group 'The XX'. The group recently became a 3 piece after their keyboardist left in November last year citing exhaustion. However the band have continued with their world wide show dates in support of their debut album 'xx' and they are another international act gracing our shores for the Laneway Festivals.. Loving the new video..!
