Sydonia @ Ding Dong Lounge (2011-05-06)

I said last time I saw Sydonia (at Rock the Bay Festival) that it wasn't the most enjoyable set I'd ever seen from them. I still can't explain why, but I'm sticking to my reasons as being tired, somewhat intoxicated, and displeased with the setlist. I suppose in this way Sydonia gigs are a bit like the old Mammal shows - when they're on their game, they're fucking awesome, but sometimes there's just nothing that makes it stick out from the last show you went to, and you wonder whether it was worth going. All week I was sort of in two minds as to whether to attend this show, as I can't even really afford many good shows at the moment, so what if they had played a bad one? Well. They opened with Adornment, good sign. And the rest of the set just went up from there! A brand new song that finally has the additional percussion in full flight, plenty of old favourites, new favourites, a good crowd, it all went Sydonia's way tonight. Even a few technical difficulties (that infamous Ding Dong speaker crackle that, if I remember correctly, has happened on more than a few nights I've been there) couldn't ruin another great show from Melbourne's finest. Oh, and Taste More LIVE! I've seen Dana play it at a solo show, but at a Sydonia show... WOW. You can hear someone singing during it, whoever it is sounds pretty bad. I have a feeling it's me; I need to remember that such things are inevitably going to end up on a bootleg blog that I contribute to :) on the other hand though, I was standing right behind Jack... Anyway, this was a pretty tops Sydonia show. Didn't even matter that they didn't play Incoming or Bateria, although if they had've made it in this would have easily been the best Sydonia gig ever.

SETLIST:
Adornment
Ocean of Storms
Shame
No Woman's Land
Crash Here Tonight (FIRST TIME EVER! ...Well, apparently not. I've been informed by a good friend of mine that they actually played this at Rock the Bay 2010. But this is most likely the only time since then.)
Taste More
Here (with Zack Murray)
3 Tongues
(in between here there's a bit of a speech from the dude whose birthday this gig was celebrating)
Elbow
Rubber Bullet

DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE

Engine Three Seven and Twelve Foot Ninja @ Esplanade Hotel (2011-04-23)

A free Saturday night in the front bar at St Kilda’s famous Esplanade Hotel always gets quite a big turnout, but when the two headlining bands are Twelve Foot Ninja and Engine Three Seven, there’s guaranteed to be good times ahead for all concerned! These acts have found their way into the hearts of many Melbournians since they released their first EPs in 2008, first appearing at live shows alongside other more established acts, and then gradually making their way to the point they’re at today, where they can easily hold their own at small-medium sized venues. Hell, if this gig had have had an actual price tag, I’m sure they still would have got just as many punters through the door!

Here’s a unique oddity in the history of my recordings (and I’m assuming probably in FMR’s history) – a recording of a gig where I wasn’t actually present! To cut a long story short, I was actually at the Arthouse watching Frenzal Rhomb while Engine Three Seven’s set was taking place; I’d planned to hopefully be back in time for E37 but this turned out not to be the case. Luckily, I’d given my magic box to a friend so he could record the set anyway, and he was actually very lucky on this evening to have permission to plug into the mixing desk! Thus, this is quite a good quality recording. Listening back, I can tell I missed quite an awesome show, although this band never put on any other kind! I can’t really say much more about a gig I wasn’t even at, however, there’s something VERY special at the end of this set. During the St Kilda Festival earlier in the year, the guys put on a special acoustic show in the Gershwin Room. In the leadup to the show, drummer Shane Evans broke his foot, I’m not sure when exactly, but it was obviously close to the show and he was of course unable to play. So what did the guys do? They brought in a large couch, sat down in suits, and played the acoustic set, including the first live performance I have ever seen of Retrospect, a Pearl Jam cover featuring Tim McMillan, and at the end, frontman Casey Dean delivered a song by himself, saying he was hoping to do a solo album in the future. It was quite a special moment and one that I thought would never be repeated, at least in the near future, as I assume his commitments to E37 are quite strenuous these days. However, when I arrived at the Espy about five minutes before Twelve Foot Ninja were due on and got a quick rundown from my mate about E37’s set, I was delighted to hear that Casey had done the song again! Anyway. Here it all is. Enjoy.

SETLIST
(Intro on recording)
Easy Graceful Descent
Automatic Everything
Over Capacity
Adults Only
Atmosphere
Cops
Have it All
Hysterical Hysteria
Lady Luck (Casey Dean solo)

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Well, luckily I had arrived with just a few minutes to spare before Twelve Foot Ninja got onstage and did their usual. I realised it’s actually been a bit longer than usual since I’ve seen the guys in action (about five months between shows actually can be considered a long time for a band that gigs with such frequency) and I was looking forward to see what they’d deliver. Turns out the answer to that was, “A DAMN GOOD SHOW!” They managed to play everything they’ve recorded and even a couple of songs that they haven’t. However, I was a little bit turned off at the whole “heavy” thing – I really enjoy them as a band that balances out their rock with the odd reggae verse and all that, but with the crazy strobe lighting, the relentless crashy-cymbal pounding beat thing and the crowd behaving the way they were, they just seemed to lean a little too far toward the “metal” side of things on this occasion. I like metal, but Twelve Foot Ninja are better off when they keep things balanced. Anyway, the crowd loved them and the band were getting into the spirit of things so I guess that’s the important thing. It was still enjoyable. The sound on this one could be better, despite the fact that it's a desk recording! Could use a little less vox and more guitar. But oh well.

SETLIST:

Mother Sky
War
Molotov Brother
Apocolypstik
Beneath the Smiles
Child With No Enemy
Manufacture of Consent
Portrait #1
Endless
Clarion
F.E.A.R.
Portrait #2
----Encore----
Dark Passenger

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Gareth Liddiard @ East Brunswick Club (2011-04-07)

For the uninitiated, Gareth Liddiard is the frontman for widely acclaimed Australian band The Drones. Following the album launch tour in November, another run of shows around the country was announced earlier in the year. Having missed shows at Thornbury Theatre, there was no way I was going pass up another chance (after having always seemed to miss his semi-regular solo performances at the Annandale Hotel when I lived in Sydney).

The banter before, between and after songs is almost as entertaining as the songs themselves. The obvious comparison he draws in this regard is another bearded stringed instrument player in a Melbourne based band, Warren Ellis of the Dirty Three. His bitter ramblings rarely miss the mark and in the odd instance that they do, they always provide a laugh.

To the music, there isn't a whole lot to fault. If you've listened to last years Strange Tourist, you know he's just as power and poetic without the backing of his fellow Drones. And there lies the only (minor fault). After hearing that the album launch tour was the LP start to finish, it was to be expected that he would change it up a bit. But I was still a little disappointed to only hear half of it live. What makes this minor more so is the fact that Strange Tourist closer, The Radicalisation Of D, was still includeded in the setlist, on of the most powerful songs I've ever had the privelege of hearing, both live and on record.

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Justice Yeldham @ KIPL (2011-03-28)

So yeah, more of a show that you actually need to be there to get the full effect but I thought I'd record anyway.

The first band (I believe it was Wife?) was two dudes standing on either side of a miced up ladder both using saws to hack at the top rung. I recorded but it went for about 5 minutes and it kinda sounds like nothing. You had to be there.

Fucked

Pretty great. Drums/saxophone/vocals trio. Not much else to say.

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Miles Brown & Shags Chamberlain

Duo consisting of synths and a theremin. Some bits were better than others but yeah, worth a listen.

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Justice Yeldham

First time seeing him solo. No bleeding was a bit of a letdown but I'm just a sicko.

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Rock The Bay 2011 @ Esplanade Hotel (2011-03-12)

Another great day out at the Espy, thanks to Crutey and Saltar Hype for delivering the goods once again. Now in its third year, Rock the Bay has provided us with some great up-and-coming local acts taking to the three stages in the Espy, at a very reasonable price. I hope to see this return next year; the event certainly looked like a success from a punter's point of view.

I'll admit I was a little more focused on just making sure I had a good day and not recording everything I saw. I think this is always going to be a bit of an issue with me, sorry Chris :) Nevertheless, I have a full set of Anna Salen, most of The Khyber Belt's awesome first performance ever, about half of Engine Three Seven and of course a full Sydonia set!

Anna SalenI've repeatedly sung the praises of this excellent young prog-math-heavy-rock (a little verbose on the genre but I feel that's the only accurate way to describe them) trio and this performance was just as great as the others. I'm a little bit disappointed that they've skipped over my personal favourite song Vacuous in recent sets, but it was bass player Paul Risso's birthday on the night and therefore he got to pick the setlist. Most of the usual favourites are in there and some of the band's newer material gets an airing as well. They certainly seem to be getting a bit heavier. Thanks to drummer Shaun Scott for helping out me out with the names of the new songs, and for giving me "official" permission to put this set online :)
SETLIST:
Falsified
Vehicles
Winter
How to Be a Man
Karate
Dinner's On
DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE

The Khyber BeltThis was the first ever performance from this new Melbourne five-piece, and the band hadn't released any studio material prior to this gig, yet the Gershwin Room was pretty damn full. The reason for such a large turn-out? The lineup of the band is ex-Rook vocalist Forbes McKail and guitarist Tyson Fish, ex-Sleep Parade bassist James Livesy, and ex-Bushido guitarist Guy Shenfield and drummer Alex Dinic. Well! There was certainly a lot of expectation in the room with fans of the members' previous bands curious to hear what the mixed bunch would sound like. Well, there were really no surprises in store for us; The Khyber Belt sound pretty much like you'd expect them to. There were some unfortunate technical difficulties which meant that Shenfield's guitar was non-existent for a large part of the set. You'll hear them trying to fix it after Seed; I was going to removed this bit but then I thought I'd leave it in for authenticity. Other than that, for the most part, it was a really impressive debut performance from the band. They've obviously rehearsed quite a bit and the chemistry between them was good. It's also great to hear McKail singing in a band again. That voice should not be left unused. I left toward the end of the set because I wanted to make sure I didn't miss any of Tim McMillan, who was playing in the front bar. Oh, and there's a bit of mic crackle in this.
SETLIST:
(intro on recording)
Sun
London
Plant the Seed
Don't Look to the Sky

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Engine Three SevenHaven't really got a lot to say about this one; I've seen them a fair bit over the past year or so and their set isn't really changing all that much. That's not to say I didn't enjoy them; they're a bloody talented kit and there was quite a lot of appreciation in the room. Frontman Casey Dean introduces the first song by saying "Feel free to sing along at any point - or at all points", which you can certainly hear throughout the majority of the recording. The ever-present Melbournian muso extraordinaire Ezekiel Ox got onstage to help out with Have it All too, which was pretty cool. Again, I leave a bit early to go and catch the next front bar band. (THE BEARDS! Wish I had've recorded them but Shaun and I were just too drunk and having way too good a time by that point!)
SETLIST:
(intro on recording)
Atmosphere
Cops
Have it All (with Ezekiel Ox)
Hysterical Hysteria (extended intro version, woo!)
(and here the recording dies at the end, I think the rest of the setlist was a few older tunes)
DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE

SydoniaWell, what can I say about Sydonia that I haven't said already? They've rapidly become one of my favourite Melbourne bands, actually, make that favourite bands of any country, and they put on another good set this time around, but I didn't enjoy it quite as much as their recent East Brunswick show, or the previous Espy gig before that. I'm going to chalk that up to a solid day of awesome bands resulting in me being pretty exhausted by the time they got onstage, and also this setlist wasn't as enjoyable as the last few times. It's disappointing that Adornment came back and then got dropped again so quickly. But then again, it was nice to hear Sorry. Seems like it's been a while since that got an airing. On another note, from memory this is the only Sydonia gig I've been to that they didn't play Incoming. I can imagine that is a pretty rare occasion.
SETLIST:
1. Ocean of Storms
2. 3 Tongues
3. (unknown) (I initially thought this was a song called Nobodies, as it was on a setlist at a show prior to this one so I thought it would be logical for them to play that song again, and a friend of mine agreed. However, I've since heard (and recorded) that song, and it isn't this one. So I have no idea what this song is called.)4. Here
5. Bateria (guest drummers Zack Murray and Rod Whitfield) (with a Happy Birthday to Zack at the end)
6. Shame
7. No Woman's Land
8. Elbow
9. Sorry
Download MP3 here

Primus and Melvins, Palais Theatre, 03-03-2011

I never in my life thought I'd get the chance to see Primus, so I was pretty excited when they were announced in the first round of acts for the Soundwave bill. Then this sideshow came along and, being that I am also quite a big Melvins fan, I knew I had to attend.

Melvins played first, starting a bit early at 7:30. Last time they came here, well, it wasn't really a proper Melvins show, more of a convenience show while Buzz Osbourne and Dale Crover were here with Fantomas. With Trevor Dunn filling in on bass, they played as a trio at Ding Dong Lounge, doing the entirety of the Houdini album, which was pretty enjoyable. This time around it was the full band, with Big Business members Jared Warren and Coady Willis playing bass and second drum kit respectively. The whole two drum kits thing is always a point-scorer in my books. They played a really good set, but unfortunately they were playing mostly tracks off their newer albums, which I'm not all that familiar with. Nevertheless, Melvins are awesome; I highly recommend seeing them if ever they come back to Australia or you have some other opportunity. This proved quite a challenge to split the recording into the different songs as the moments of silence between tunes were few and far between; after one song finished, they literally went straight into the next one. Combine that with my unfamiliarity with some of the material and it was quite a battle! I've used Chris's SW recording as a guide as the setlist was identical except for the extra two songs and outro cover at the end because of the extra time they had.
SETLIST:
(Intro on recording)
The Water Glass
Evil New War God
AMAZON
The Talking Horse
The Bloated Pope
The Kicking Machine
Billy Fish
Anaconda
Electric Flower
Civilized Worm
Blood Witch
The Bit
Goodnite, Sweetheart, Goodnite (The Spaniels cover; a very humourous end to the show as they sung it entirely a cappella)
DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE

From the moment the curtains pulled back on the Palais Theatre stage to reveal two giant inflatable spacemen, with projections displayed on their visors, I knew this was going to be a memorable set. Primus only just started touring again last year after a long time away from the scene, but they appear to have lost none of their magic. It was clear the fans were absolutely loving it, with the familiar joking heckle of "PRIMUS SUCKS!" being heard many times throughout the evening. Les Claypool is an absolute bass guitar wizard. And that whamola jam - WOW. Shame you can't hear the Whamola all that well in this. Sound could be a little better overall really, but it is the Palais, a big echoey old theatre for those that haven't been. And at least both channels came through! I should say the set was quite heavy on the jams too, of course. I'm not sure whether I've got the split right between The Eyes of the Squirrel and a very extended version of Seas of Cheese, as it all tended to blend together sometimes. Then there's Les going off on a tangent during Over the Falls, explaining why he has two microphones before finally handing things over to Larry LaLonde for an extended guitar solo. All in all, it was a pretty special gig.

SETLIST:
Intro
To Defy the Laws of Tradition
Golden Boy
American Life
The Eyes of the Squirrel
Seas of Cheese
Over the Falls
Drum and Whamola Jam
John the Fisherman
Duchess and the Proverbial Mind Spread
The Last Salmon Man
Jerry Was a Race Car Driver
Over the Electric Grapevine
Tommy the Cat
----Encore----
Harold of the Rocks

Download MP3 here

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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