Alright, here's a late one, but a good one. One certainly can't accuse Australia of having a lack of high-quality post-rock bands around at the moment, and on this chilly winter's evening, four amazing acts did their thing at the East Brunswick Club. The headliners were well-respected Sydney four-piece sleepmakeswaves, launching their highly-anticipated debut album - something that their small but loyal and steadily increasing fanbase have been excited about for quite a long time now. They were supported by a great collection of likeminded acts from around the Melbourne scene, namely This Is Your Captain Speaking, These Hands Could Separate the Sky, and Lunaire.
So Lunaire kicked things off; I'm surprised to find that these guys are from Warrnambool, as it isn't exactly the kind of area you'd expect post-rock bands to come from. Then again, these guys proved to be a little more uptempo than the other bands on show tonight; they delved into My Bloody Valentine-esque shoegaze on some numbers, complete with the constant whammy bar strumming action that Kevin Shields was so known for. All in all, Lunaire's sound was a pretty enjoyable start to the evening, albeit slightly unfocused. They seem like a pretty young band who haven't really found "their" sound so to speak, but what was on show tonight was pretty promising. I do regret not recording them. Oh, and they were giving away their demo for free, which is always nice. Well worth checking out, and I think/hope we'll see a lot more of them in 2012.
sleepmakeswaves... wow, what can I say? I remember this whole night like it was yesterday. I remember being so excited to hear these tracks for the first time (though it was the album launch, the album itself was only available the day before, so yeah, I hadn't heard it yet). I remember being even more excited during the week when Tim Charles from Ne Obliviscaris announced that he would appear with the band during their set to reprise his amazing violin parts on their immortal song one day you will teach me to let go of my fears, which I, being a newish fan of the band, had never had the opportunity to witness before. But most significantly, I remember hearing some really sad news from two friends who rocked up just before sleepmakeswaves got onstage, and that cast a really emotional shadow over the whole evening. And then when they played one day..., fuck. Such an intense set from the Sydney post-rock gods; probably my favourite Aussie gig of the year. I really must apologise for my inebriated friends conversing during some of the quiet bits.
SETLIST:
our time is short but your watch is slow
a gaze blank and pitiless as the sun
(hello) cloud mountain
to you they are birds, to me they are voices in the forest
now we rise and we are everywhere
we sing the body electric
in limbs and joints (with vocals!)
one day you will teach me to let go of my fears (with Tim Charles)
DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE
(recordings of These Hands Could Separate the Sky and This Is Your Captain Speaking to follow... when I can be bothered...)
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Overground 2011
This is the second year running I've attended the mini festival held inside the Melbourne Town Hall which is part of the Melbourne International Jazz Festival.
Overall I think I enjoyed last years slightly more but it was still a great event.
Most of the recordings are complete sets, some are not. Yep.
Nic Tammens, Marco Fusinato, ZOND - 23:10
Scott Tinkler, Oscar Noriega, James Rushford - 11:57
Blank Realm & Andrew Tuttle - 17:23
Time Berne, Anthony Pateras, Gareth Thompson - 17:19
Yoshida Tatsuya, Clayton Thomas, Lloyd Honeybrook, Angus Leslie - 10:56
Shags Chamberlain, Laurence Pike, Jean-Herve Peron - 6:48
Nekrasov - 19:20
Will Guthrie, Lucas Abela, Emma Albury - 9:21
Fabulous Diamonds & Naked On The Vague - 21:24
Sean Baxter, Jerome Noetinger, Faust - 7:16
Tony Conrad & Chris Abrahams - 37:55
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Two rounds of Floating Me...
Well, last year it wasn't a good year for Cog fans, with that giant question mark over the band's existence seemingly answered in the negative by the end of the year. However, as a small consolation prize of sorts, later in the year we got the formation of a brand new band by the name of Floating Me, which involved former Scary Mother members Andrew Gillespie (vocals), Antony Brown (guitar) and Tobias Messiter (keys) joining up with Jon Stockman of Karnivool, and of course, Lucius Borich of Cog. With a lineup like that, it was fair to say expectations were set pretty high even before the group released any material, but when debut single Sugar hit our eardrums, the result was quite pleasing indeed! The band's debut album was released in April this year, and I highly recommend buying yourself a copy, as it's pretty damn incredible. Anyway, Floating Me have been hitting the touring circuit quite a bit lately, and in the space of a month, I saw them supporting Dead Letter Circus's April tour, and then their own headlining show in May.
02/04/2011 - Corner Hotel, Richmond (supporting Dead Letter Circus)
So, first off it's the first Floating Me show I ever saw, at the Corner Hotel supporting the mighty DLC. As expected, I was mightily impressed by their efforts on the night, even though I had no idea what half the songs were - their album was only onsale at their shows at that point, and I'd obtained a leaked copy only two days before, which of course wasn't enough time for the music to sink in. But they were still awesome. The band were really tight and there was good chemistry between the members. Watching Lucius Borich was of course a real highlight, check out his epic work on Bezhumous. At the end of their set, they paid tribute to their past and did a Scary Mother cover, which I didn't record because, well, at that point I decided to head to the bar for some refreshments before the main event :) Anyway. At the end of this show, I was thinking to myself that I didn't mind the loss of Cog so much if this is what we're getting as a replacement. Also, this was my last ever show recording on those slightly dodgy mics. It's not the best recording; there's a bit of the old crackle which unfortunately shows up most prominently during the best song! But as Chris says, any recording is better than none.
SETLIST:
Piano
Deathless
Spirals
Narke
Sugar
Breaking to Breathe
Bezhumous
Tai Laeo (Scary Mother cover; not recorded)
DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE
Pretty soon after that show came the announcement of a headlining set at the Northcote Social Club. Despite the distance of that particular venue from my house I was still very keen to give them another go, especially with a solid month between the shows to fully absorb their new album. By the time May rolled around I'd been enjoying the album a whole lot and with Sleep Parade supporting I was willing to make that epic journey to Northcote to check out Floating Me again. AND I HAD NEW MICS :) How appropriate that from the last gig I recorded on the old mics, my first outing on the new mics would be the same band.
05/05/2011 - Northcote Social Club, Northcote (first headlining tour!)
Sleep Parade, hmmmm. I'm not quite as interested in this band as I used to be; they've just taken too long to get a new album out there, and some of the songs that they've been playing live just haven't done it for me. Plus it's kind of distracting that they seem to change lineups every second show or so. I wasn't sure whether they were going to be good or bad this time around. Turns out they were actually quite alright. Red Black from A State of Flux was doing his thing on the second guitar and keys again (apparently he's not a permanent member of the band anymore), so whenever he plays it's always a better show. As usual, due to the lengthy nature of Sleep Parade's tuneage they could only squeeze five songs into a half-hour set. But they were good ones. The two newest songs (Collision and Home) were better than some of the others I've heard at their last few shows. I just wish they'd finish their album already; they have so much potential as a band.
SETLIST:
Mr Identify
Everyday
Collision
Home
Weeping Walls
DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE
So, with the album pretty much dominating my earspace over the ensuing month, I had a lot of expectations for this show and I'm happy to say they were met. The band played every track except one off the album and of course, the Scary Mother cover again, which went down pretty well with a few crowd members. Apparently there are still some hardcore Scary Mother fans out there that have made the transition to this band. The band looked a lot more comfortable on the stage this time around and Andrew Gillespie seemed like he wanted to interact with the crowd a bit more than last time. When one punter shouted "LORD OF THE FLIES!" (another Scary Mother track), Gillespie wasn't bothered, simply saying, "Maybe next time, we'll have to practice that one!" The sound wasn't the best but I'm pretty sure that's because this venue's never been known for being amazing in that department. Anyway, the band did their best and their best was more than enough to satisfy a packed bandroom. Bezhumous was a highlight again; Lucius Borich is just amazing to watch. Also, Across the Gulf is an amazing song and it worked so well as a closer. In summary, I suggest you should all see this band the next time they come to your part of town, which will be in July on the Thousand Reasons tour with Thousand Needles in Red. I see a bright and exciting future ahead for them. ALSO, if someone reading this knows where I can get a copy of Scary Mother's album, PLEASE let me know. I'm very curious to give them a listen.
SETLIST
(Intro on recording)
Deathless
Spirals
Narke
Xtoto
Sugar
Short Cuts to Feeling
Piano
Breaking to Breathe
Bezhumous (with epic jam)
Tai Laeo (Scary Mother cover)
Across the Gulf
DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE
02/04/2011 - Corner Hotel, Richmond (supporting Dead Letter Circus)
So, first off it's the first Floating Me show I ever saw, at the Corner Hotel supporting the mighty DLC. As expected, I was mightily impressed by their efforts on the night, even though I had no idea what half the songs were - their album was only onsale at their shows at that point, and I'd obtained a leaked copy only two days before, which of course wasn't enough time for the music to sink in. But they were still awesome. The band were really tight and there was good chemistry between the members. Watching Lucius Borich was of course a real highlight, check out his epic work on Bezhumous. At the end of their set, they paid tribute to their past and did a Scary Mother cover, which I didn't record because, well, at that point I decided to head to the bar for some refreshments before the main event :) Anyway. At the end of this show, I was thinking to myself that I didn't mind the loss of Cog so much if this is what we're getting as a replacement. Also, this was my last ever show recording on those slightly dodgy mics. It's not the best recording; there's a bit of the old crackle which unfortunately shows up most prominently during the best song! But as Chris says, any recording is better than none.
SETLIST:
Piano
Deathless
Spirals
Narke
Sugar
Breaking to Breathe
Bezhumous
Tai Laeo (Scary Mother cover; not recorded)
DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE
Pretty soon after that show came the announcement of a headlining set at the Northcote Social Club. Despite the distance of that particular venue from my house I was still very keen to give them another go, especially with a solid month between the shows to fully absorb their new album. By the time May rolled around I'd been enjoying the album a whole lot and with Sleep Parade supporting I was willing to make that epic journey to Northcote to check out Floating Me again. AND I HAD NEW MICS :) How appropriate that from the last gig I recorded on the old mics, my first outing on the new mics would be the same band.
05/05/2011 - Northcote Social Club, Northcote (first headlining tour!)
Sleep Parade, hmmmm. I'm not quite as interested in this band as I used to be; they've just taken too long to get a new album out there, and some of the songs that they've been playing live just haven't done it for me. Plus it's kind of distracting that they seem to change lineups every second show or so. I wasn't sure whether they were going to be good or bad this time around. Turns out they were actually quite alright. Red Black from A State of Flux was doing his thing on the second guitar and keys again (apparently he's not a permanent member of the band anymore), so whenever he plays it's always a better show. As usual, due to the lengthy nature of Sleep Parade's tuneage they could only squeeze five songs into a half-hour set. But they were good ones. The two newest songs (Collision and Home) were better than some of the others I've heard at their last few shows. I just wish they'd finish their album already; they have so much potential as a band.
SETLIST:
Mr Identify
Everyday
Collision
Home
Weeping Walls
DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE
So, with the album pretty much dominating my earspace over the ensuing month, I had a lot of expectations for this show and I'm happy to say they were met. The band played every track except one off the album and of course, the Scary Mother cover again, which went down pretty well with a few crowd members. Apparently there are still some hardcore Scary Mother fans out there that have made the transition to this band. The band looked a lot more comfortable on the stage this time around and Andrew Gillespie seemed like he wanted to interact with the crowd a bit more than last time. When one punter shouted "LORD OF THE FLIES!" (another Scary Mother track), Gillespie wasn't bothered, simply saying, "Maybe next time, we'll have to practice that one!" The sound wasn't the best but I'm pretty sure that's because this venue's never been known for being amazing in that department. Anyway, the band did their best and their best was more than enough to satisfy a packed bandroom. Bezhumous was a highlight again; Lucius Borich is just amazing to watch. Also, Across the Gulf is an amazing song and it worked so well as a closer. In summary, I suggest you should all see this band the next time they come to your part of town, which will be in July on the Thousand Reasons tour with Thousand Needles in Red. I see a bright and exciting future ahead for them. ALSO, if someone reading this knows where I can get a copy of Scary Mother's album, PLEASE let me know. I'm very curious to give them a listen.
SETLIST
(Intro on recording)
Deathless
Spirals
Narke
Xtoto
Sugar
Short Cuts to Feeling
Piano
Breaking to Breathe
Bezhumous (with epic jam)
Tai Laeo (Scary Mother cover)
Across the Gulf
DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE
Saturday, May 7, 2011
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
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
Sunday, April 24, 2011
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.
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)
(Intro on recording)
Easy Graceful Descent
Automatic Everything
Over Capacity
Adults Only
Atmosphere
Cops
Have it All
Hysterical Hysteria
Lady Luck (Casey Dean solo)
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
DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE
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
DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE
Friday, April 8, 2011
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.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
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.
Miles Brown & Shags Chamberlain
Duo consisting of synths and a theremin. Some bits were better than others but yeah, worth a listen.
Justice Yeldham
First time seeing him solo. No bleeding was a bit of a letdown but I'm just a sicko.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
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
DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE
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
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
DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE
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
Friday, March 4, 2011
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
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
Saturday, December 4, 2010
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.)
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.)
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