Julianna Barwick @ The Toff in Town (18-01-2012)

Julianna Barwick's 2011 album The Magic Place was one of my favourite releases of the year so I had high hopes for the gig, and wasn't disappointed. Since it is mostly just Julianna's vocals, it was not a loud performance, and you can clearly hear clinking glasses and coughs. But it was a (kinda disappointingly) small and quiet audience and the recording turned out well.

Setlist:
1. The Magic Place
2. Bob In Your Gait
3. Vow
4. -
5. Prizewinning
6. White Flag
7. -
8. -

Download:
MP3 (108MB)
FLAC (279MB)

Explosions In The Sky @ Meredith Music Festival (2011-12-09)

Wow! Been waiting for this one since I last saw them almost 4 years ago. It was one of the best shows I've ever seen and completely changed my appreciation for post-rock. I would love to have a recording of that one to listen to but it got lost in the big PC crash of 2008.
Anyway, flash forward to now and it was finally time to see Explosions again and they were just as fantastic as last time. The Supernatural Amphitheatre is such an ideal setting to see them play in and the sunset spot was just perfect. I can't say enough good things about this one. Download it and listen and appreciate it.

I recorded this on the barrier pretty much dead center. I'm really actually quite surprised it came out as well as it did. If there'd been vocals they would have been completely non-present in the recording but didn't have to worry about that.



Setlist:
1. The Only Moment We Were Alone
2. Catastrophe and The Cure
3. Postcard From 1952
4. The Birth and Death of The Day
5. Let Me Back In

Length: 46:44

Sound Quality: A-

Download Here

Kurt Vile & The Violators @ Northcote Social Club (2011-12-05)

I hadn't listened much to Kurt Vile's records before this gig, but bought a ticket based on rave reviews of his live shows from people I trust, and I'm glad I did. I'm still not crazy about his albums but really loved this performance. There was an intensity, especially in such an intimate venue, and especially with the songs performed solo, that doesn't translate well to record for me. Anyone who was at the gig might notice this is missing the last song of the set, apologies, the mic cable came loose. What I did manage to get turned out well though!


Setlist:
1. Blackberry Song
2. Runner Up
3. Jesus Fever
4. On Tour
5. Freeway
6. Ghost Town
7. Hunchback
8. Freak Train
9. Peeping Tomboy
10. My Best Friends (Don't Even Pass This)
11. Puppet To The Man
12. Society Is My Friend
13. [crowd cheers for encore]
14. Baby's Arms
15. Downbound Train

Length: 1:23:53

FLAC (457MB)
MP3 (V0) (123MB)

Mono @ The Forum (2011-10-07)

So this one was pretty fantastic. Mono playing Holy Ground with a 23 piece orchestra was something I thought I wouldn't get a chance to see but Melbourne Festival made it happen. Really thankful for that. The performance is exactly how you'd expect if you've heard the album but seeing it live is something else. Much more powerful.
On a sour note. This pretty much marked the end of my battery box. Had to scrap the right channel because it was so staticy. I hope someone else comes forward with a recording of this Also, Melbourne festival should get rid of glass bottles. There's so many of them getting thrown in bins in this recording. Really takes away from it.

This was recorded from the front row behind the first row of booths. I was about halfway between the centre of the room and the passageway up the side. It's pretty much my 'go to' spot in the venue and produces quite nice results.



Setlist:
1. Ashes In The Snow
2. Burial At Sea
3. Silent Flight, Sleeping Dawn
4. Are You There?
5. 2 Candles, 1 Wish
6. Where Am I
7. Pure As Snow (Trails of The Winter Storm)
8. Follow The Map
9. Halcyon (Beautiful Days)
10. Everlasting Light

Length: 1:24:15

Sound Quality: B

Download Here

Engine Three Seven @ Victoria Star (boat!), 02/01/12

So, Simon Wright, brother of Engine Three Seven's Jed, had a birthday. How did he decide to celebrate? By getting Engine Three Seven and a few other bands (including his own) to play a gig. On a boat. Though this isn't exactly a new concept, it was the first boat gig I've been to and holy shit, this sort of thing should happen so much more often. The fact that Engine Three Seven have become one of my favourite bands since moving to Melbourne meant that this gig was always going to be amazing, and it was. The boat ROCKED. So much fun was had; what a way to kick off the year. Beers, beautiful weather, a BOAT and Engine Three Seven rocking out like always.

The recording itself isn't that great. I suppose that's not surprising, given that boats are not exactly designed for loud rock bands to play in them. The space was pretty enclosed and you know, lots of people, lots of booze, lots of singing. But I'm uploading it anyway, pretty much entirely unedited. It was so much fun, and I think that's been captured quite well.

SETLIST:
Lady Luck (I didn't record this with my iRiver, but I extracted the audio from this video that a friend of mine shot. Acoustic songs turn out alright with iPhones. Listen closely for the ahh, extra verse.)
The Town
Have it All
Atmosphere
Cops
Jam/Narayan (The Prodigy cover)
Erasure
Easy Graceful Descent
Happy Birthday to Simon
Hysterical Hysteria

DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE