The Butterfly Effect, 11/10/2013, the Esplanade Hotel

They're back! To be honest, even though The Butterfly Effect clearly stated that they did intend to carry on with a new singer, after their final tour with Clint Boge last year, deep down I thought that they would struggle to continue and wouldn't have been surprised if they did eventually give it up. Certainly I didn't expect them to return so soon. But at the start of September they announced this run of shows, with the revealing of their new vocalist Paul Galagher and brand new single Eyes Down coming a few weeks later - and before I knew it, I was at the good ol' Espy Gershwin Room getting ready for an exciting new chapter to begin. So yeah, when a band with three solid albums under their belt makes the very difficult decision to replace THAT VOICE who contributed so much to the band and those albums, you really have to try and go into a gig like this with lowered expectations. And Eyes Down, while undeniably catchy and powerful, certainly didn't quite hit the mark like their previous work. So, what would this gig turn out like then? Well, you only have to look at the tune they opened with to know that tonight, TBE certainly weren't here to fuck around - they wanted everyone to know that despite losing a (bloody great) vocalist, they hadn't lost the magic of their band! Paul's voice certainly isn't a perfect match for Clint's, but in some ways I think that's what you want when these kind of things happen - someone who can do the old songs justice in their own way, rather than just being a carbon copy of what came before. The only thing that was a little disappointing about this show was, well, I'm sure you can see it - just thirteen songs? It certainly seemed a bit short. But other than that, this show certainly felt like the band are ready to move on, and that they're going to succeed in doing so. I can only hope so, anyway.

SETLIST:
Interlude (over PA)
Filling Silence
One Second of Insanity
Phoenix
Window and the Watcher
Room Without a View
(New song)
Gone
Perception Twin
Reach
(New song)
A Slow Descent
Eyes Down
Crave 

DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE

Wild Flag @ Golden Plains Festival (2012-03-10)

These girls we're one of my must sees of the weekend. Being a big Sleater-Kinney fan I got their album as soon as it dropped and have been loving it since first listen. As I was almost front and centre for this the vocals are a little low but otherwise a great show and recording. A couple of new songs in there as well was great.



Setlist:
1. Black Tiles
2. Boom
3. Electric Band
4. Future Crimes
5. Something Came Over Me
6. Short Version
7. Glass Tambourine
8.
9.
10. Racehorse
11. Romance

Length: 46:16

Sound Quality: B

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Two Door Cinema Club @ Festival Hall (2012-12-29)

Not the biggest fan of these guys but this was a pretty fun show. Pretty chilled out considering it was at Festival Hall and the type of music being played. Really wouldn't mind seeing these guys at a festival like Meredith. Would suit the slot Cut Copy did there a few years ago.



Setlist:
1.  Sleep Alone
2.  Undercover Martyn
3.  Do You Want It All?
4.  This Is The Life
5.  Wake Up
6.  You're Not Stubborn
7.  Sun
8.  Pyramid
9.  I Can Talk
10. Costume Party
11. The World Is Watching
12. Next Year
13. Something Good Can Work
14. Handshake
15. Eat That Up, It's Good For You
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
16. Someday
17. Come Back Home
18. What You Know

Length: 1:09:17

Sound Quality: B+

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Dick Diver @ The Curtin Bandroom (2012-09-22)

To be honest the reason it took me almost a year to get this show online is because I don't really remember it happening. I'd been to a wedding prior and made full use of the open bar they had there and only drank further once I arrived at the venue. A bad mistake on my part. At some point I spoke to one or more members of the band because they played The Keys for me and I'm not sure why I would request that song because I've seen it so much and there's other songs I'd love to see over it. But maybe drunk me just said the first song that came to mind.

The recording itself isn't that bad which is surprising. From memory I had the mics hanging over the balcony thingo on the right side while I went and did my thing which is good because I didn't talk all over it.

Also, I'm sorry Mark for being a drunken mess on the night and that you had to put up with it.

Setlist:
1.  Bondi 98
2.  Hammock Days
3.  The Keys
4.  Alice
5.  Water Damage
6.  Seagulls
7.  Lime Green Shirt
8.  Amber
9.  Calendar Days
10. Head Back

Length: 40:58

Sound Quality: B+

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Yellowcard @ Hi-Fi Bar and Ballroom (2012-09-20)

The 3rd time I've seen these guys and just like the last two I'm not overly impressed. I guess had I seen them when I was a teenager I'd be stoked but now as an adult I've just grown past the music. Oh well... at least I didn't have to pay for this one.

The crowd around me were really weird so I moved paces a few songs in but the sound doesn't get affected much. Other than that it's a pretty good recording. Lots of crowd singing on this one.



Setlist:
1.  Awakening
2.  Rough Landing, Holly
3.  Breathing
4.  For You, and Your Denial
5.  Shrink The World
6.  Five Becomes Four
7.  Always Summer
8.  Hang You Up
9.  Sing For Me
10. Empty Apartment
11. With You Around
12. Drum Solo
13. Way Away
14. Believe
15. Only One
16. Lights and Sounds
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
17. Here I Am Alive
18. Light Up The Sky
19. Ocean Avenue

Length: 1:31:58

Sound Quality: B+

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Band of Horses @ Big Day Out Festival (2013-01-26)

I've seen these guys do two acoustic shows before so it was really cool to see them in a different setting and play a handful of songs I was yet to see. I'm pretty sure The Funeral is one of the best songs ever and I was really drunk during this and  yeah...
There is a bit of unavoidable wind noise throughout this. Take it or leave it.



Setlist:
1.  The First Song
2.  The Great Salt Lake
3.  Is There A Ghost
4.  Laredo
5.  Marry Song
6.  Electric Music
7.  Older
8.  No One's Gonna Love You
9.  Knock Knock
10. Cigarettes, Wedding Bands
11. The General Specific
12. The Funeral

Length: 53:39

Sound Quality: C+

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Foals @ Big Day Out Festival (2013-01-26)

3rd time seeing these guys and equally as good as the previous two. Being just a few weeks before the newest album came out this set featured a few songs that were new to me but I really enjoyed them. Looking back I wish they had of played more new stuff. Also, how good is Two Steps, Twice live? I mean come on!!



Setlist:
1.  Prelude
2.  Olympic Airways
3.  Miami
4.  My Number
5.  Balloons
6.  Blue Blood
7.  Providence
8.  Spanish Sahara
9.  Red Socks Pugie
10. Inhaler
11. Two Steps, Twice

Length: 58:40

Sound Quality: B+

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Karnivool @ Melbourne Town Hall, 01/08/2013 - Asymmetry album launch

So I'll begin with apologies for not recording the Northlane set, in the event that there is someone out there who wants to hear it. But in my brutally honest opinion, nobody's missing out at all. The headlining act have been known to choose some excellent supports in the past (last year being a prime example), but sometimes have fallen a bit short of the mark. Oh well, no harm done. And now to the whole point of this post...

Karnivool, Karnivool, motherfucking Karnivool. It has been a long wait between albums, but we all knew the wait would be worth it. Asymmetry dropped into our hands and CD players exactly two weeks ago, and the verdict is very much in - it rules. So much. The build-up for this show was absolutely huge, and it's fair to say that, for the most part, expectations were met. Can I really complain about this setlist? I do feel they played it just a little bit safe, but yeah, that's such a minor gripe in the grander scheme of things. Absolute. Sheer. Awesomeness. And the venue, while a little unorthodox, worked extremely well for such a big show.

It's a Vool show. People are excited, they sing, they talk a little bit, it comes up on the recording if they're standing right next to me. So just be aware of that :) at least it wasn't me this time though!

SETLIST:
Asymmetry
A.M. War
Themata
Nachash
C.O.T.E.
Goliath
Shutterspeed
We Are
All I Know
Deadman
Amusia
The Last Few
The Refusal
Set Fire to the Hive
New Day
Alpha Omega
----Encore----
Aeons

DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE

The Darkness @ Palace Theatre, 08/05/2012

Nothing says "nostalgia" like a good ol reunion tour, and we (Australia) certainly have had quite a few of those over the past few years, haven't we? When this tour was announced I must admit I did, for a brief second, question exactly whether I really still would enjoy the ridiculously overblown rock extravaganza that is The Darkness, then I thought, "Hell, I'm not gonna get another chance" and bought a ticket almost immediately. Well, this could not have been a more fun evening. The UK rock gods were in absolutely top form - Justin sounded fantastic, every song off Permission to Land made it in, new tunes sounded great, what more could you ask for? Sometimes music just ain't meant to be taken too seriously.

Sound quality isn't so great unfortunately. You'll need to turn it up.

SETLIST:
(Intro - Abba - Arrival)
Black Shuck
Growing On Me
The Best of Me
One Way Ticket
Nothin's Gonna Stop Us
Get Your Hands Off My Woman
I Can't Believe It's Not Love
Holding My Own (Justin solo)
Love Is Only A Feeling
Concrete
Friday Night
Every Inch Of You
Is It Just Me?
Street Spirit (Fade Out) (Radiohead cover)
With a Woman
Givin' Up
Stuck in a Rut
I Believe in a Thing Called Love
 ----Encore----
Hazel Eyes
Love on the Rocks with No Ice (SUPER MEGA EXTENDED VERSION)

DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE

The Bronx @ Belly Up Tavern (2012-04-17)

Seriously love these guys. Was really gutted when they were announced as supports for Soundgarden earlier in the year and not having tickets to see them. However, when this show was announced it seemed like the planets aligned so that I could see them... or something. Regardless, here is a typically awesome Bronx show. It was cool to see them work The Hives' crowd from not being overly interested to being much more animated and into it.

I recorded this from directly to the right of the soundboard so the sound is pretty good. However, the vocals are quite low throughout as they were on the night. Not sure what was going on there...



Setlist:
1.  Intro
2.  Knifeman
3.  Rape Zombie
4.  White Tar
5.  Inveigh
6.  Shitty Future
7.  False Alarm
8.  I Got Chills
9.  Six Days A Week
10. Under The Rabbit
11. White Guilt
12. They Will Kill Us All (Without Mercy)
13. Heart Attack American
14. History's Stranglers

Length: 48:20

Sound Quality: B

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