My Disco @ Hi-Fi Bar and Ballroom (2010-12-03)

Better late than never hey? I should point out this was my first recording, and I was using a set of microphones that have, well, let's just say they've been through a lot of gigs over the years. Plus being my first time, I was a little nervous about drawing attention to myself and being caught recording, so I was standing at the back of the floor simply holding the mic lead in my hand. All this means the recording didn't turn out too well but it's still listenable I guess. Some pops and crackles occur sporadically throughout the set but nothing major. I should point out this was a really great gig. It was the first time I'd seen a headlining My Disco set (after catching them twice in a row supporting ...Trail of Dead the year before) and I enjoyed them a lot more this time, being that they were playing their Little Joy album from start to finish, which I know better than their earlier two albums. The whole minimalistic approach is tough to get into but it really worked at this particular gig. The extended jams on some songs were awesome, it's been nice to listen back to this and realise how long some of them actually went for. You'll notice that Liam Andrews, the one member of the band with a microphone, doesn't say anything between songs. I didn't edit it out, he just doesn't talk. Which I found a little disappointing; the room was almost full, which is a pretty good achievement for a Hi Fi Bar gig, and I don't think it would've hurt to show a bit more appreciation of the people that took time out of their Friday night to come and see his band. Then again, it kind of suited their whole no-nonsense approach.

Setlist:
1. Intro
2. Closer
3. Young
4. Turn
5. Sun Bear
6. Sunray
7. Lil Joy
8. With Age
9. Rivers (extreme extended version!)
10. A Turreted Berg

Download MP3 here

(Support acts were Marco Fusinato, KES Big Band, and Robin Fox. KES and Robin Fox were great, and I recorded both of them. Might upload later if they sound alright.)

Dead Meadow @ The Forum (2010-10-14)

So it turns out I don't really know much about Dead Meadow. But regardless I thought this was an amazing show and I'm really glad I went. The sound was amazing and The Forum is by far the best venue for a band like this to play in. It really set the mood.
The weird creature that came out for the last two songs was pretty lol. Not sure what the inspiration for that one was.



Setlist:
1.
2. Good Moanin'
3. Let's Jump In
4. Dusty Nothing
5. To The One
6. At Her Open Door
7. Green Sky Green Lake
8. The White Worm
9. Everything's Going On
10. Beyond The Fields We Know
11.
12. Sleepy Silver Door
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
13. Rocky Mountain High

Length: 1:21:45

Sound Quality: A+

Download Here

Download Key: L9cxSzCPuVeukC85sOmfJ2MEbS5M4qwUqp7cJN8UEe4

Boadrum 10 @ The Forum (2010-10-10)

For the unfamiliar, Japanese band Boredoms have conducted their Boadrum series since 2007, when 77 drummers played a concert in NYC on July 7th, starting at 7.07pm (of course). It's happened every year since and this year was the first time it had taken place in the Southern Hemisphere.

Bum Creek

I got there part way through so didn't record. Was kinda interested in them after seeing their collaboration with Snawklor at Overground earlier in the year but this was pretty uninspired. I'm sure naysayers will label me as being too serious but there just wasn't much I could take out of the performance.

KES Band

Finally managed to catch at least on incarnation of the KES name. Not bad but with my main knowledge of Karl Scullin's work coming from Mum Smokes, I was a little surprised. Perhaps a little uneven, it was still pretty enjoyable.

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Boredoms

Starting right on midnight, just as 10/10/10 began, Boredoms, along with a couple of local and international ring-ins to make up the numbers, began. A lineup that included Eveyln Morris of True Radical Miracle, Pikelet and Baseball, Cameron Potts, also of Baseball, as well as Zach Hill from Hella (!!!!!), it was an eclectic mix to what turned out to be a strange and amazing show. 9 drummers began on stage, working up for a few minutes before the 10th was carried onto the stage like a king from the back of the floor.

Having only experienced it in a tired state and having not had a proper listen to the recording, I can't remember a whole lot from the show apart from the fact that I knew I was witnessing something very special, something I'll most likely never see again.

The encore dragged on and seemed a little superfluous and some dickhead crowdsurfed and cracked a poor girl right in the face but those are minor flaws from an otherwise extraordinary show.

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The Stabs @ The Old Bar (2010-05-22)

So Grong Grong actually headlined this show but I wasn't too familiar with their stuff and I had to leave early anyway.

ZOND
The second time I had seen ZOND, the first time being at last years Flip Out Festival in Sydney. Maybe it was the difference between the superb sound set up at the Manning Bar and the so-so one at The Old Bar but the volume and clarity just weren't there. The sound did improve as the set went on but I'll be looking forward to seeing them again when they support Naked On The Vague in July.

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The Stabs
Another great show from The Stabs. Not that I was expecting anything less. A few new songs in amongst some old ones. I quite enjoyed the new stuff and look forward to a shorter wait between albums but with the amount of side projects each member is involved in in Melbourne's very incestuous scene, I don't hold out a whole lot of hope.

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OVERGROUND: A Festival Within A Festival (2010-05-02)

First of all, thanks to Chris for letting a complete stranger borrow his gear. This was my first time using it and I'm pretty happy with the results.

Usually I would write up about each performance but with improvisational nature of each set and the fact that I was rushing between each set and didn't have time to take it all in (as well as worrying about the recording gear), I thought I'd just post up the links and let you be the judge.

There's only one set I recorded that I didn't put up because I thought it was pretty sucky so I guess that means that all those below are at least half decent.

Part of the 2010 Melbourne International Jazz Festival

Brian Chase & Seth Misterka 22:40, 26.09MB

Embers Big Band 27:10, 31.25MB

Golden Fur & True Radical Miracle 18:45, 21.57MB

Han Bennink & Anthony Pateras 15:52, 18.26MB

Han Bennink & Peter Brotzmann 16:47 19.32MB

Mick Turner, Evelyn Morris, Erkki Veltheim & Francis Plagne 21:05, 24.27MB

Oren Ambarchi, Brian Chase & Marco Fusinato 14:08, 16.27MB

Pure Evil Trio & Occult Blood 19:45, 22.71MB

Sean Baxter & Paul Grabowsky 13:27, 15.49MB

Simon Baker, Bum Creek & Snawklor 16:10, 18.61MB

PHOTOS
PHOTOS
PHOTOS + REVIEW

My Disco @ The Grace Darling (2010-04-30)

This is probably the best I've seen My Disco out of the 6-7 times I've seen them. All the material is completely new and fresh and really awesome. There should be vocals in the first 2 songs but the mic wasn't working. You can hear them a bit though. There was about 3 minutes of nothing after the second song I sneakily removed. Based on this show the next album sounds like it's going to be a ripper.
I was super surprised and super happy when Brendan and Mikey (aka half of Eddy Current Suppression Ring) came up for the last song. It's a shame Mikey's guitar died and he didn't really get to play. Next time eh?



Setlist:
1. Young
2. Turn
3. With Age
4. A Turreted Bug
5. Sunray
6. Rivers
7. Sun Bear
8. Closer
9. Lil' Joy
10. Live Wire (AC/DC Cover) (w/Brendan Huntley and Mikey Young)

Length: 1:06:31

Sound Quality: A-

Download Here

Download Key: Oa-O_FKT8ezhc1ymc7dj30P7v4kLGpdfjYjKNz1lrqA

Alexisonfire @ Melbourne Soundwave (2010-02-26)

I caught the first couple of songs last time Alexisonfire played Soundwave so it's only fitting I catch the last couple this time. They didn't sound as good to me this time but they still put on a great show. I missed the first two songs which I believe were 'Drunks, Lovers, Sinners and Saints' and 'Boiled Frogs' as I was at The Weakerthans. As such the sound on Born and Raised fades in as I find a position.



Setlist:
1. Born and Raised (Fades In)
2. We Are The Sound
3. Old Crows
4. Accept Crime
5. Accidents
6. Young Cardinals
7. This Could Be Anywhere In The World

Length: 29:54

Sound Quality: C+

Download Here

Download Key: dlBCUWN31j8NgDhG2EvbgCo82JpBPUPeJYaptNhvA6o

The Brian Jonestown Massacre @ Billboard The Venue (2010-02-21)

Like many people I don't know all of this bands material. In fact, compared to most I know very little. So in the end I only knew about 5-6 songs that were played. But fuck me they were played well. They really are a tight unit when they are getting along. The recording is clear as well and I'm very happy with that.
Apparently last time they came out there was heaps of banter between songs but there was nothing like that this time. Instead there were very long silences between songs. I've edited out 6 minutes in total so the show flows better. Only the silence though: all band noises are still present.
I wish I'd of gone to the show the night before as well now. Or that it went onsale first. I'd of much rather seen them at the Hi-Fi Bar than Billboards.



Setlist:
1. Intro
2. Super-Sonic
3. Vacuum Boots
4. Servo
5. Cabin Fever
6. Yeah-Yeah
7. Wasted
8. That Girl Suicide
9. Anenone
10. Not If You Were The Last Dandy On Earth
11. When Jokers Attack
12. Sailor
13. B.S.A.
14. This Is Why You Love Me
15. Prozac Vs. Heroin
16. Evergreen
17. Got My Eye On You
18. Wisdom
19. Who?
20. Oh Lord
21. Satellite
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
22. Whoever You Are

Length: 1:40:27

Sound Quality: A-

Download Here

Download Key: Ffmv0TAUOXCQRRdyaZxRIUvqncJF_ArF6YnCLgqntbU

The Horrors @ The Corner Hotel (2010-01-27)

I'd only heard a few Horrors songs that Tab had put on some mix's for me and I went to this show with her so I wasn't really over excited about it. I walked away from it however a big fan. They put on a really good show. New Ice Age and Count In Fives were my two highlights of the night. But all the songs impressed me. I wasn't really bored at any point in the show.
It was great to be back in a more intimate crowd after the previous two weeks worth of festivals and hall shows. I'm really happy with the sound on this one. The Corner always provides me with good sounding recordings. Love that place.



Setlist:
1. Intro
2. Mirror's Image
3. Three Decades
4. Primary Colours
5. I Can't Control Myself
6. New Ice Age
7. Scarlet Fields
8. I Only Think of You
9. Whole New Way
10. Who Can Say
11. Sea Within A Sea
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
12. Ghost Rider (Suicide Cover)
13. Count In Fives
14. Sheena Is A Parasite
15. Gloves

Length: 1:07:01

Download Here

Download Key: ZvN5kHhxrbHSM3VuNguM8CUX6N1Fw8C2mq6yennbZlU

Full Scale Revolution @ The Evelyn (2010-01-09)

I never thought I'd get a chance to see Full Scale (Revolution) but after weeks of disappointment at Mammal's break up it finally happened. I thought they would be rough and out of practice but the guys really pulled it together playing an epic set. The amount of energy in the room was incredible. Every punter was loving it.
Zeke once again took control when he aborted Billy mid song due to some idiot getting on stage trying to find another guy who I assume he wanted to bash. He set the guys in their place and as a treat to us requested the song be started again.
I'm surprised that we got 2 tracks off the FSD album. I had never heard it but the change in sound is very noticeable. They were really good live and I'll be getting a copy of the CD soon.
As predicted Party Political was the last song played and it went off. The crowd went nuts for an encore for at least 5 minutes even though the band was already mingling with everyone. I didn't care though. I don't think an encore would have topped Party Political's radness.
While I loved the show and am glad to have experienced FS(R) live I don't think I will be as devoted to them as I was Mammal. Mammal just had that something which I couldn't dismiss and always drew me in.



Setlist:
1. Smiles
2. Empty Texas
3. Feel It
4. Billy (Say What Your Feeling) (Aborted)
5. Billy (Say What Your Feeling)
6. Sixteen Today
7. Sickness
8. Rapture
9. Download The Destruction
10. $75 An Hour
11. 200 Years
12. Where's Your Energy?
13. The Heimlich Manoeuvre
14. Five-Six
15. Party Political

Length: 1:07:40

Sound Quality: A-

Download Here