The Mountain Goats @ The Toff In Town (2012-05-09)

Since seeing The Mountain Goats twice at the end of 2008 I've been wanting to catch them again since. I missed the 2010 tour but I wouldn't miss them another time so I got myself a ticket to the smaller of the two Melbourne shows.
As expected the show was fantastic! Not only was it a hefty setlist but the selection of songs played were great. A bunch of new ones off Transcendental Youth which is shaping up to be a standout album from these guys. And a bunch of my favorite older ones by them. Really happy to have gotten You Were Cool and Fall of The Star High School Running Back, but it was more popular ones like Pigs That Ran Straightaway Into the Water, Triumph of and This Year that really pleased me despite them not being overly rare. Johns banter is always hilarious and this show was no exception. I especially liked the story about his son and scarface.

This was recorded from almost directly in front of the left speaker stack. The sound is very true to how it sounded on the night and is actually much clearer than I thought it would be.



Setlist:
1.  For Charles Bronson
2.  Old College Try
3.  Birth of Serpents
4.  Damn These Vampires
5.  Jeff Davis County Blues
6.  Counterfeit Florida Plates
7.  Hast Thou Considered The Tetrapod
8.  Hawaiian Feeling
9.  Fall of The Star High School Running Back
10. Woke Up New
11. You Were Cool
12. Transcendental Youth
13. The Diaz Brothers
14. White Cedar
15. Palmcorder Yajna
16. International Small Arms Traffic Blues
17. Night Light
18. Pigs That Ran Straightaway Into the Water, Triumph of
19. Love Love Love
20. Game Shows Touch Our Lives
21. You Or Your Memory
22. This Year
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
23. 1 Samuel 15:23
24. Quito
25. The Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton

Length: 1:37:42

Sound Quality: B+

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Progfest, 08/09/2012 @ the Esplanade Hotel

Not much else to say about this event other than "fuck yes!" Tim Charles and his Welkin crew really delivered one of the best mini-festival local lineups in this city last year at this very venue, and when the 2012 lineup was announced, I knew there was no way I'd be missing out. I think from memory the only thing I recorded last year was Sydonia, and it turned out pretty much unpostable, so I was keen to get some more stuff this year!

Ne Obliviscaris
It's fair to say that for a significant number of attendees, their attention was squarely on Melbourne's melodic/progressive black metal heroes Ne Obliviscaris - I know mine was. What can I say about these guys that hasn't been said already? Since they (FINALLY) released Portal of I it's just been a stellar year for them, and this was the icing on the cake. I was a little surprised they didn't make any mention of Dan Presland being back behind the drumkit; he left just prior to the release of the album, and other than a low-key underage gig the night before, if I'm not wrong this would have been his first show back with NeO for nearly two years. Thought that might have warranted a bit more of a mention, but ah well, it was great to see, and hear, him back. Dude's an awesome drummer. Alas, the recording didn't turn out so well. And I left after I heard Xenoflux (my favourite song) because I was already missing way too much Jericco. But it was worth it to stick around for this awesomeness.

SETLIST:
And Plague Flowers the Kaleidoscope
Of the Leper Butterflies
Forget Not
Tapestry of the Starless Abstract
Xenoflux
Of Petrichor Weaves Black Noise (not recorded)
DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE

Other sets to come from A Lonely Crowd, Okera, Mushroom Giant, Chaos Divine and Jericco... I think? I was moving around a lot, kinda forgotten exactly what I recorded haha.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor @ Coachella Festival (2012-04-21)

This was something special. I never thought I'd get to see Godspeed play a show and even listening back to this recording I'm in disbelief. It was just perfect in every way. Come and play for me every other week please Godspeed ok?
Watching the band play in darkness and seeing the mountains behind them was really cool and while I am seeing them again in a few months I don't think it will compare to this show. I had also never heard Albanian prior so that was a welcome surprise in the set. I closed my eyes at one point during the start of World Police and when I opened them the set was finishing up. I just completely lost myself in the moment. Man.... this was just so good.

I recorded this set on the left side barrier (behind the VIP area bit) in line with the left speaker stack. I was actually really surprised there wasn't any soundbleed from the stages either side (SBTRKT and David Guetta) where I was standing. I'd been worried about that leading into the show.



Setlist:
1. Hope Drone
2. Albanian
3. Rockets Fall On Rocket Falls
4. World Police and Friendly Fire

Length: 56:28

Sound Quality: B+

Download Here

Explosions In The Sky @ Splendour In The Grass (2012-07-27)

With the obviousness of At The Drive-In, Explosions In The Sky were pretty much the other band I booked a ticket to go to Splendour. I had seen them 3 times already in the space of a few months and to be honest, I was hooked. I can't express how much I enjoy seeing them live so naturally it was a no brainer I was going to see them over Jack White.
I'd really hoped that they would pull out a song I hadn't seen yet but that wasn't the case. Regardless though the set they did play was pretty spot on.

This was recorded pretty much right in front of the left speaker stack. I figured that would produce a good recording and I wasn't wrong. Luckily the tent wasn't too busy and my mics had clear sight to the stack.



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

Length: 55:26

Sound Quality: B+

Download Here

Karnivool, 05/07/2012 @ Hi Fi Bar and Ballroom

When a band I love as much as Karnivool announces a tour, it's usually a very celebratory occasion, with tickets being purchased immediately, and since last year, usually to multiple shows. This year was no different, and just to add to the awesomeness, they decided to call it the "Melodias Frescas" tour. What does that mean, you ask? NEW SONGS! And continuing their history of (almost always) picking great and interesting support bands, we had Sydney post-rock favourites sleepmakeswaves, and Melbourne stoner rockers Redcoats joining in for the festivities. This was set to be a great night right from the word go, and I'm happy to say it lived up to expectations.

I was a little disappointed that sleepmakeswaves were only given a 30 minute opening slot, considering they have more released material, and longer songs, than Redcoats. Nevertheless, seeing sleepmakeswaves a sixth time (and fourth for the year), I was hardly complaining. They were awesome as they always are. Bassist Alex Wilson has written an extremely entertaining and detailed blog of the tour, and it sounds like it could not have gone better for them. Not only did they get to play opener for an extremely popular band, but the people that were watching them actually enjoyed it and they made loads of new fans on the tour, by the sounds of things. As for this actual set, this was definitely the biggest rooom I've ever seen them play in and it sounded amazing. Cannot say enough good things about these dudes.
SETLIST:
to you they are birds, to me they are voices in the forest
in limbs and joints
we sing the body electric
(hello) cloud mountain
a gaze as blank and pitiless as the sun
(recording to follow)

Redcoats were up next, and I was looking forward to them quite a bit, after impulse buying their EP a few months ago and really enjoying it. Guess it's fair to say I'm a big fan of the stoner/psych rock sound, and they fit nicely under that. However, for some reason they just didn't do it for me as much as I thought they would on the night. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed them. But I think they just lack a little something when it comes to performing live. Hopefully I'll enoy them a bit more next time. Anyway, they played a whole lot of new songs from their upcoming debut album, so that's why a majority of these don't have titles. I am looking forward to hearing the album too.
(Working) SETLIST:
Kaytrucker
Giants

House of Luna
Evergreen

Raven
Dreamshaker
(recording to follow)

And then, the mighty Karnivool. What an absolute belter this was. I was excited in the lead-up to the show, but there was also a part of me that thought, "Oh well, it's not the BEST gig I'll see, they tour every year, they're only an Australian band". Then I remembered, "Hang on, these guys are actually one of, probably THE, best live act in Australia". Right from the word go, this show just ruled. And true to their word (and the name of the tour), they played NEW songs. Four in total, or three if you want to exclude The Refusal as it was played last year. All of them quite different to each other, all of them awesome. But yeah, it was the old favourites that got the biggest response, quite a lot of singing and moshing going on on this particular evening. My only complaint was about those old songs, actually - they were almost exactly the same as what was played last year. It would have been great to see something from Themata make it in that they hadn't played for a while. Or even The Caudal Lure. But yeah, other than that, this show was a perfect 10/10. Actually, it was still 10/10. Some of the songs are affected by movement, I was encouraged by a friend to get right in the front, and although I won't deny I had an absolute blast, it means the recording isn't so good. Sorry about that.

SETLIST:
(Intro on recording)
The Refusal
Goliath
Simple Boy
C.O.T.E.
We Are
All I Know
Deadman
Umbra
A.M. War
Set Fire to the Hive (with amusing false start)
Roquefort
----Encore----
Aeons
Themata
New Day
DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE

Dirty Three, 28/07/2012 @ Splendour in the Grass, Byron Bay

So I have a few recordings from the awesome (and muddy) weekend that was Splendour in the Grass, but I haven't listened back to any of the others yet and I have a feeling that some of them might not sound all that great. Plus the Dirty Three are always an absolute joy to watch, and I just wanted to get this up as soon as possible, so here it is. Mick Turner, Jim White, Warren fucking Ellis. In the GW McLennan Stage tent on a cold, muddy Saturday night, they brought pure brilliance to those who wanted something other than Bloc Party. I got a barrier spot for two sets over the weekend, this being one of them, and wow. I think it speaks volumes of how awesome this band is when, at least 27 minutes before they were scheduled to begin, there was a massive cheer from the crowd simply because Warren came out drinking coffee and checking a few technical bits and pieces. But yeah. It's hard to be the highlight of a festival where At the Drive-In are playing, but I have to say, this came damn close. I will never get tired of listening to Warren's stories - which, this time around, just happened to cover such topics as bears on ketamine, varicose veins in Gina Reinhart's arse, Justin Bieber and dead comedians. Not necessarily in that order. Oh yeah, unfortunately towards the end of the set there's some serious crackling in my microphones. I've been noticing it in some recent recordings (which I haven't posted yet) and my only conclusion is that my mics might be on the way out, which saddens me. It's not too bad if I stand completely still, and being Dirty Three I was doing that for most of the show, but toward the end of the set I was having to move around a bit to keep warm and yeah, you can definitely notice it. Sorry about that.

SETLIST:
Intro on recording
Rain Song
Furnace Skies
Sometimes I Forget You've Gone
The Pier
Some Summers They Drop Like Flies
Everything's Fucked
The Restless Waves
The Zither Player
Ashen Snow / Ends of the Earth
Sue's Last Ride 

DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE

Explosions In The Sky @ The Glass House (2012-04-18)

Wow! I walked away from this show utterly speechless. Completely blew away all my expectations. I'd seen Explosions do a headlining show back in 2008 and then again at Meredith a few months earlier but this was something else. That coupled with a near perfect setlist (in my eyes) made this a show I'll be sure to listen to again and again. I can't believe they played Tired Eyes and Six Days! Fantastic!!
Come back to Australia more often please.

This one was recorded towards the left side of the venue in line with the speaker stack. I was about halfway back on the floor and the sound was incredible. Really happy with how this turned out.

 

Setlist:
1. Memorial
2. Catastrophe and The Cure
3. Last Known Surroundings
4. Six Days At The Bottom of The Ocean
5. The Birth and Death of The Day
6. Human Qualities
7. With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept
8. Let Me Back In
9. The Only Moment We Were Alone

Length: 1:29:17

Sound Quality: A-

Download Here

The Butterfly Effect, 08/06/2012 @ Hi Fi Bar and Ballroom (final show with Clint Boge)

So, it's the end of an era. After seeing The Butterfly Effect on their ten year anniversary tour last year, I couldn't help but feeling that something wasn't right within the band, and I was definitely not surprised with the announcement earlier this year that vocalist Clint Boge was leaving after all this time. Thankfully, the boys gave the fans a chance to say goodbye and announced one last tour with Boge. So despite the fact that I didn't enjoy them all that much at the last show, I knew I'd regret it if I missed this chance, so I bought myself a ticket to the Palace show - and then this show at the Hi Fi was announced. I thought I'd probably give it a miss, as there was another gig I wanted to attend and I thought the setlist would probably be much the same; eventually the gig sold out so I didn't have much choice in the matter. However, on the night I decided I wanted to give my recording gear to a friend for this show, because you know, it was The Butterfly Effect's LAST SHOW with their singer of ten years and I thought it'd be good to have it captured, as the other gig I was planning to attend all involved bands who are still very much active. So I was on the train on my way to the Hi Fi to drop off the magic box before going elsewhere, when my friend messaged me saying that Hi Fi had put some tickets on the door, and I instantly knew that I would be going there instead. And I am so very glad I made that decision. There WERE two extra songs added to the set, it has to be said that the support bands were so much better than those at the Palace show, and well, who would really want to miss such a special evening? I won't deny it, there were tears in my eyes at the end of it.

The first of those aforementioned awesome support bands were Perth's The Siren Tower, a newish band formed by former Heavy Weight Champ frontman Grant McCulloch. I'd never really got around to checking out HWC but I had heard very good things about them, and from what I'd heard, The Siren Tower were also a band worth giving a listen. Suffice to say, I had high expectations of them before going into the gig! I wasn't really sure what to make of them as the set was happening on the night, but once it was over, I realised I had really enjoyed them and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing where they go next. Also, on their Facebook during the day, they posted a photo of them on the plane on the way over, and I was quite surprised to see former Birds of Tokyo bassist Anthony Jackson! And yep, turns out he's the live bassist with the band at the moment. So it was great to see him back in action. But as for the band as a unit, I think, after preordering the album the next day and going to see them at the Espy on that night, that it's safe to say I'm a new fan!

SETLIST:
The Banishing of William McGuiness
Letter from the Edge of the Earth
City of Light
I Could Tell You Things That Would Break Your Heart
Floods
Last Apple in the Big Man's Orchard

DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE

So it's been a little while since I've seen The Khyber Belt, and I'm happy to report that they are still pretty damn awesome. I was a little bit sleep-deprived on this particular evening but I knew that as soon as I saw Forbes McKail onstage being his usual bouncy self, that it'd give me the boost I needed, and thankfully I was right. It took me a little while to warm to these guys since their first shows last year, but the EP is a solid listen and they're a pretty rockin' live act. After The Siren Tower's chilled out start to the evening, it was good to have this act pick up the pace a bit in anticipation of TBE. Great set; loved the two newies too.
SETLIST:
Sun
We The People
(Unknown new song)
(Another unknown new song; the same one they played at Creepshow though)
Don't Look to the Sky
London

DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE

And then, it was time for the big one. The tour had come to an end, but it was the end of far more than that. The shows on this tour have clearly shown the band at their best (in contrast to last year, as I mentioned), and really, what better way is there to go out? Can't really fault the setlist for this tour either, though it's been identical in each city until tonight. When Clint came on for the second encore and announced "this is the last three songs you're gonna see", my friend and I looked at each other with the biggest smiles on our faces, because though we were hopeful that there would be some extra/different songs, we weren't really expecting it to happen. There's not much else to say. Hope everyone really enjoys this as much as I did; it's only the third time I've seen them, and this is definitely the way I wanted to remember them. So, this is it. If The Butterfly Effect are hanging up the axes after this, then they went out on top. But I'm still curious to see if they will replace Clint.

SETLIST:
Beautiful Mine (Clint solo with piano backing track)
Window and the Watcher
A Slow Descent
Phoenix
Perception Twin
Final Conversation
Aisles of White
Crave
Wilma's Rainbow (Helmet cover)
Room Without a View
Reach
Consequence
Everybody Runs (acoustic)
One Second of Insanity
Worlds on Fire
----Encore 1----
Gone (acoustic)
The Cell
The End
----Encore 2----
Sweet & Low
Take It Away
Always
Goodbye (I thought it would be better if I put Clint's last words as a separate track to do them proper justice.)

DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE

Explosions In The Sky @ Coachella Festival (2012-04-20)

Explosions In The Sky
Loved this set. Absolutely loved it!!
After the disappointment of The Rapture this was exactly what I needed to turn my mood around. Arriving just as they started we took a spot pretty far back on the field and sat down to watch. About 20 minutes later we moved to the right and much much closer to the stage. There my girlfriend and I took the chance to lay down and appreciate the band. Well, I did.... Tab doesn't like post-rock so I think she was trying to sleep through it. So while she tried to fall asleep I used her as a pillow to watch the band. And quite frankly, it was one of the best times I had that weekend. It's amazing how much I enjoy watching this band and it just felt so nice to relax and watch them after the heat we had to endure earlier in the day.
You may here some sound bleed from The Black Keys in this one because they were on mainstage and stupidly loud and boring. Other than that though it's a pretty good recording.

I recorded this from pretty far back towards the right side. Microphones were actually on the ground resting on a hat facing the stacks. At the beginning of Your Hand In Mine I moved much closer to the stage but kept the same microphone configuration. Sorry but I was tired and just wanted to lay down and relax.



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

Length: 45:55

Sound Quality:

Download Here

Boy & Bear @ Forum Theatre, 16/05/2012

It really doesn't seem like that long ago that I was seeing some little-known Sydney folk quintet opening for Mumford & Sons at the Palace Theatre in 2010, but here we are two years later and Boy & Bear are pretty much, in Australia at least, on a level playing field with that band. Their debut EP With Emperor Antarctica was a huge success, no doubt due to the unbelievably catchy pair of tunes Mexican Mavis and Rabbit Song, and the songs that followed it, and the Moonfire album in 2011, have earned Boy & Bear plenty of love from the musical community in this country. After a successful run of shows in 2011, both prior to and following the Moonfire release, and a well-received slot at this year's Big Day Out, the Sydney gents evidently thought, "Another tour? Why not!", and are currently trekking across the country on their Remembering the Mexican tour, in homage to that song that helped to make them so damn popular. And damn popular they are; tonight was the first of three sold-out shows at the Forum. So anyway, what a gig! Shows at the Forum are always awesome, and this was no exception. I would have liked to see another song or two from With Emperor Antarctica make it in, but all in all it was a solid setlist; I had no idea prior to the gig they were putting new songs in the set too, so that was awesome to hear. My only other (very minor) complaint was that I'm not sure if such a large venue is suited to this kind of music; with a lot of very slow and chilled out songs, it seemed a bit weird to see so many people standing around doing absolutely nothing. They had the same problem at Big Day Out too. But they got the crowd moving with the "big hits" and on the whole, it was just a great show from a great band. Can't wait for album number two!

SETLIST:
Rabbit Song
Lordy May
Milk & Sticks
My Only One
Three Headed Woman
Fall at Your Feet (Crowded House cover; with additional snippet of Neil Young - Heart of Gold)
Part Time Believer
(Unknown; new song)
Beach
Feeding Line
Big Man
Mexican Mavis
Golden Jubilee

DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE