The Smith Street Band @ The Old Bar (2013-08-09)

Supported by The Bennies, World Cup and Foxtrot.

Sadly I didn't get there in time to see any of the supports for this one. It's a shame because The Bennies are pretty rad and I've heard good things about Foxtrot as well.





The Smith Street Band
This show, like all Smith Street shows was just fun as balls. The Old Bar was packed and everyone was in good spirits. The new EP was played start to finish and it ruled seeing those tracks live. Tom Busby was a pleasant surprise as well. I wish they'd done South East Facing Wall as the encore though :(

Recording wise it's not the best I've done but it was under strange conditions so take it or leave it. We were pretty far back in the crowd and actually pretty drunk at the time so there is a little talking. During Get High, See Mice there is some popping as someone in the crowd distributed party poppers and they were all going off.



Setlist:
1.  Don't Fuck With Our Dreams
2.  Ducks Fly Together
3.  Bigger Than Us
4.  Kids
5.  Self-Control
6.  Get High, See Mice
7.  I Can't Feel My Face
8.  Tom Busby
9.  Sigourney Weaver
10. Young Drunk
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
11. Postcodes (For People Who Will Not Arrest Me)

Length: 1:00:37

Sound Quality: C-

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Meredith Music Festival Day One @ Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre (2013-12-13)

I'll write up a bit about the festival later. For now here's…


Melvins
This set was just awesome. Really, really awesome. I particularly liked how this set was almost nothing like the one I saw them do at Soundwave 2 years ago. That is, with the exception of the awesome close of The Water Glass and Evil War New God. Buzz and co didn't mess around pretty much playing the full 49 minutes without a break. I don't really know what else to say. Just a great set.

This was recorded pretty close to the stage about a meter from the barrier in front of the left big screen thingo. I really enjoy listening to this recording.



Setlist:
1.  Hag Me
2.  The War On Wisdom
3.  We Are Doomed
4.  Sweet Willy Rollbar
5.  A Growing Disgust
6.  Youth of America (Wipers cover)
7.  Let It All Be
8.  The Water Glass
9.  Evil New War God

Length: 48:53

Sound Quality: B+

Download Here

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The Brian Jonestown Massacre
With a band that has as many albums as these guys it's always going to be a bit of a gamble at what they'll play at a show. Thankfully here they played it a little safe which is great because to be honest. I'm not overly familiar with some of their more obscure stuff. In fact, I listen to my recording of them from 2010 more than any album.

I feel this started off a little slowly but by the 3rd or 4th track they guys were in full swing. 2 new songs back to back in the middle was a little ambitious but luckily they both sounded great and from my perspective the crowd weren't lost at all. The last 3 tracks were pretty fantastic too.

This was recorded a bit the left of the left speaker stack not too far from the stage. I couldn't actually see Anton from where I was standing if that gives you an idea.
I didn't take this picture. I actually couldn't find one so I took this as a screen cap from a youtube video. Looks pretty good :)



Setlist:
1.  Whoever You Are
2.  Who?
3.  Got My Eye On You
4.  Anenome
5.  Jennifer
6.  What You Isn't
7.  Days, Weeks and Moths
8.  When Jokers Attack
9.  Sailor
10. Not If You Were The Last Dandy On Earth
11. Servo
12. That Girl Suicide
13. Oh Lord

Length: 57:33

Sound Quality: B

Download Here

Download Key: FQKaUdocioiIKMZ1D0xLErNYHJ6Gfkq4l7PoQOslAEQ

Bosnian Rainbows @ The Corner Hotel (2012-12-02)

Supported by A Dead Forest Index and Fox & Sui.

I actually have no recollection of seeing the support bands for this show. But A Dead Forest Index's name seems familiar so maybe I did. If I did see them I'd have recorded it and if I ever come across the recording I'll put it up here.


Bosnian Rainbows
In comparison to the show a week earlier at CherryFest I didn't really enjoy this one as much. I'd had a really lousy week leading up to it which involved a lot of travel and a funeral and the people at the show were just beyond unbearable. To sum it up if it hadn't of been an Omar gig I wouldn't have gone.

Thankfully though the shitty people don't get picked up much on the recording so listening back to this is actually really enjoyable. I've still never listened to any studio Bosnian Rainbows material so I can't really comment on any differences between these tracks and those found on the albums. I really enjoy Teri in this band more than Le Butcherettes. Her vocals on some tracks are just fantastic. And I'm not sure if I mentioned it when I posted the CherryFest show but I love how restrained and creative Deantoni is in this band. Omar is Omar. He really seemed so happy to be playing these shows which was good after seeing him in ATD-I and not really in a great mood.

This was recorded in my usual spot at The Corner which is kind of in the front left corner very close to the speaker stack. However, some tall ass bastard who didn't even watch the show was in front of me so the sound isn't as great as I'd like it to be.



Setlist:
1.  Eli
2.  Worthless
3.  Kiss My Brown Eye
4.  The Eye Fell In Love
5.  I Cry For You
6.  Fun
7.  Torn Maps
8.  Turtle Neck
9.  Always On The Run
10. Dead To Me
11. Better Off

Length: 58:56

Sound Quality: B+

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The Vaccines @ Festival Hall (2012-12-29)

I caught these guys earlier in the year at the Big Day Out and from memory I said they were a hit of the day. 11 months on and they were just as fun. Both of the sets contained exactly 13 songs and 9 of the tracks were shared across the two. To be honest I didn't expect to hear a vastly different show so the 4 songs I hadn't seen were very welcome.

In hindsight I'm glad that both times I've seen these guys it has not been a headline set. Can't imagine tolerating them for a full hour. They fill the 40-45 minute set perfectly.

This was recorded nearish to the left speaker stack. A good and true recording to the sound on the night which to be honest wasn't that great.



Setlist:
1.  No Hope
2.  Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra)
3.  I Always Knew
4.  Wetsuit
5.  Teenage Icon
6.  Aftershave Ocean
7.  Ghost Town
8.  Post Break-Up Sex
9.  All In White
10. Blow It Up
11. If You Wanna
12. Bad Mood
13. Nørgaard

Length: 43:39

Sound Quality: B+

Download Here

Download Key: RbSmQ7VmRk1JM2UomNHp0eiT3TeoHnz3QO4JykZnlhw

The UV Race @ Meredith Music Festival (2013-12-15)

The UV Race were a surprise hit at the end of a busy weekend. I had never stayed for the last band before but I'm glad I did this time. In typical UV fashion the set was a bit all over the place and unless you know what to expect you probably wouldn't have enjoyed this nearly as much as everyone else.

Lego Man was cool to see as I'd been wanting to for a while but I'm not sure if the song in the middle is a song or just a jam? Anyone able to help out with that one or the 4 other tracks I can't put a name on.

This was recorded up the hill a bit in line with the left speaker stack. There is a little talking between myself and my fiancé in it but hey, what are you gonna do? The sound is good and the set is great so yeah.

I didn't take the photo below but instead borrowed it from a photo set I found on fasterlouder. katie_fairservice took the picture and many more of the festival can be found here: http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/people/katie_fairservice/portfolio/photos



Setlist:
1.  Girl In My Head
2.  I'm A Pig
3.  Set Sail To Fail
4.  Cherry Bee
5.  Can't Go Back
6.  Lost My Way
7.  Burn That Cat
8.  Good Money
9.  Lego Man
10. Mash
11. Be Your Self
12. Gypsy King
13. The UV Know
14. Raw Balls

Length: 34:50

Sound Quality: B+

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The UV Race @ PBS Studios (2013-02-06)

I was interested to see this set mainly because of Marcus. Normally he would be going wild getting in the crowd and acting like a complete fool (which rules by the way don't get me wrong…) but in the sterile environment that is the PBS studios he would be behind glass and forced to act differently. What we got was a very reserved Marcus who sang the songs truer to their recorded counterparts than I've ever seen him do before. In fact, the whole band really played well for this set. Could be my favourite of theirs I've seen now.

This one I didn't record because basically the audio presented to the audience is just a feed of what is being played over the radio. Instead, I had my computer streaming it at home and recording it. As such, it is a very clear and sharp recording.



Setlist:
1.  Unknown Pleasures
2.  Raw Balls
3.  Set Sail To Fail
4.  Baw Baw Blues
5.  Burn That Cat
6.  Mash
7.  I'm A Pig
8.  Girl In My Head
9.  Sophie Says
10. Lost My Way
11. Outta Control Kids
12. Gore Orphanage
13. Acid Trip

Length: 34:26

Sound Quality: B+

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Download Key: SflOxXR04odgrgez9OIcuXxu7bpdC7F2JoeKk_6d8p4

Nobunny @ Hi-Fi Bar and Ballroom (2013-01-31)

Thee Oh Sees always have some pretty good supports when they come around and this show was no exception. Nobunny were a band I hadn't heard of before (much like Hunx at the show a few days earlier) but was impressed with their set start to finish. Stupid fun rock and an overly energetic frontman. Him calling out the 2 girls talking through the set was pretty awesome. Ballsy and awesome.



Setlist:
1.  Not That Good
2.  Mess Me Up
3.  Blow Dumb
4.  Boneyard
5.
6.  Live It Up
7.  Motorhead With Me
8.  I Am A Girlfriend
9.
10. Chuck Berry Holiday

Length: 24:46

Sound Quality: B+

Download Here

Download Key: fq6kR2pFUdDzz1JgZ2HizivSrVdqcOTwx-ovLziWOQI

DZ Deathrays @ Splendour In The Grass (2012-07-27)

Had not heard a single note by these guys prior to this set and in all honesty I'm kicking myself a little for it. This set was fun as balls and DZ are really fuckin' good. The mainstage tent was absolutely packed for this set because pretty much as it started the rain came and it came very thick. So much so that looking outside the tent you could barely see for more than 10 meters. Inside the tent it was still wet. The roof leaked onto the stage which prompted the stage hands to quickly move around some of the bands equipment while they played.

This was recorded towards the left side of the tent not too far from the speaker stack. The sound is quite true to how it sounded on the day. Not sure if there was anything before Cops Capacity but that's where my recording cuts in so yeah...



Setlist:
1.  Cops Capacity
2.  LA Lighting
3.  Teenage Kickstarts
4.  Gebbie Street
5.  Dinomight
6.  No Sleep
7.  Dollar Chills
8.  The Mess Up
9.  Debt Death
10. Teeth

Length: 35:19

Sound Quality: B

Download Here

Download Key: RHdi3GhoK5lZ8uP7Bl0eOCM2LN4Fg6nqHqTq8XuvAJQ

The Smith Street Band @ Meredith Music Festival (2013-12-14)

These guys were on of the surprise acts for me on the Meredith lineup this time around. The thought of seeing them play to the Saturday afternoon crowd was quite interesting seeing as every time I've seen them its to less than 200 or so people so to expand on that 50 times would be quite a step up. I'm very glad to say though that even in a giant setting like Meredith, Smith Street fit right in and played one of the standout sets of the weekend.

Opening with the triple of Sunshine & Technology, Postcodes, and Sigourney Weaver pretty much cemented my love for this band but as always seeing Get High, See Mice just ruled more than anything. Love that song so god damn much. As soon as it came on my boot was held high. The Smith Street Band deserved it. Lets do it again Meredith 2014?

I actually didn't record this one with my microphones on me. I knew I wanted to get a little rowdy so I left them in the care of my fiancé and a friend who were sitting on a picnic rug about halfway up the hill on the left side of stage. The mice were at ground level facing the microphone stack and I'm actually really surprised the sound came out as well as it did. I had to do a little work in post to reduce the lower end but that was it.
This photo below isn't mine but one I found on The Smith Street Facebook that came via instagram.



Setlist:
1.  Sunshine & Technology
2.  Postcodes (For People Who Will Not Arrest Me)
3.  Sigourney Weaver
4.  Don't Fuck With Our Dreams
5.  Ducks Fly Together
6.  I Can't Feel My Face
7.  Get High, See Mice
8.  Young Drunk

Length: 38:06

Sound Quality: B

Download Here

Download Key: R9J4wm5mxIveLwzy5Iqk5Hzyxh9EGspB_F3hvLd4WTQ

Dante vs Zombies @ Amoeba Music (2012-04-13)

I always had the idea that if I ever went to LA I'd go see a band at Amoeba. I'm not overly sure why.. it just became a thing I wanted to do. So, once I got to Hollywood I made sure to drop by on the first day to see if anyone interesting was playing. These guys intrigued me based on their name so I decided to check them out having not heard a single thing by them. To put it bluntly. I was very impressed and happy with my decision.

Their music is kind of a hillbilly garage-rock type thing I don't know. I remember walking away from this saying they reminded me of Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti but that's not close enough. They are something else.

I love when I band can just do whatever the fuck they want and not really care about anything. Case point was 'Dante' grabbing a subway bag with sandwich inside and swinging it above his head for half the set or so. I mean… it's kind of stupid but it was entertaining and that's what's important right?

This was recorded in the second 'aisle' pretty much in line with the right speaker stack. The sound is clear and true to the performance.
The photo used below was taken from the Amoeba website so if they don't want me to use it let me know.



Setlist:
1.  Natural Disaster
2.  Ta Da!
3.  Horror Stories For Whores
4.  The Dump
5.  My Poor Old Parrot
6.  I Donʼt Understand Anything
7.  Yes, I'm Stalking You
8.  Harry Rag (The Kinks Cover)
9.  Watermelon Iodine

Length: 29:50

Sound Quality: B+

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Download Key: fdn_JzTUOcTMZ2hvxqww1VtPtGtuWPz5oKqg-_8PSGc