This Thursday we celebrate the launch of the 21st annual Byron Bay Bluefest – one of Australias most loved music festivals. We’ll be there covering the event, but before we do, I wanted to take us back to 2006 – I was 18 and it was my first ever Bluesfest. I wrote a blog about…
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When I started my final night adventure, there was only one band on my mind: She & Him – the quirky duo that is Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward. They’d been playing all over town throughout SXSW, yet I kept missing their appearances. Well, tonight was my final chance, as they headlined Auditorium Shores –…
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At the SXSW Stimulus day party at The Parish, I was introduced to Dave Schulz – perhaps best known for his work on the keyboards with the Goo Goo Dolls. He’s here in Austin promoting his debut solo album Connect, and I had the chance to chat with the artist before he hit the stage….
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While the posters say the music goes until March 21st, it’s on the 20th that 90% of the music in Austin comes to an end, so with that in mind, welcome to my fourth and final day from Austin. SXSW really was something truly amazing – an event that’s quite hard to fathom – let…
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It was a steamy Friday night in The Workers band room. Sweat seemed to be dripping off the ceiling as first act for the evening The Hello Morning took to the stage. The little known Melbournians played a standard pub rock set with an alt country twist. Musically, this band knows how to play and…
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As rumours were indeed correct, the UK three-piece and powerhouse that is Muse managed to fit a last minute SXSW appearance into their schedule – an hour long set at Stubbs – an outdoor venue which holds little more than 1,500 people. If that. I arrived during the encore break and found myself surprised when…
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Heading next to the Cheapo’s record store for an interview, I caught a bit of Batusis, a tongue-and-cheek rock group who are quite the supergroup, featuring Sylvain Sylvain (New York Dolls) and Cheetah Chrome (Rocket From The Tombs/Dead Boys) they were a guaranteed good time. And with little more than 150 people watching the icons,…
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Friday brought with it one of the craziest days in my role as a journalist. I took care of many of the interviews you’ll soon be reading and watching on the AU review. Thankfully, it also happened to be stunningly beautiful weather. I began the day sitting down with An Horse by the beautiful Austin river, as…
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To have the opportunity to see a great like Ray Davies is not something that comes around too often – let alone in a room with a capacity of around 1,000 people, and supported by the great band The 88. So it was to this showcase I headed to half-way through The Soft Pack’s set…
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Next-door to Sounds of Spain, a 42 below sponsored New Zealand party was pumping along, and the one woman machine that is Bachelorette was enjoying the stage. Recently supporting Animal Collective on their Australian tour, I have had the opportunity to witness Annabel Alpers in action, and was wholly impressed in the encounter. As such,…
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It took a great deal of effort to get me out of my bed on my second day of SXSW. After heavy drinking, eating and almost 40 hours of no sleep, I had a good deal of catching up to do. You feel bad when you sleep in at SXSW – there’s always so much…
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I ended my first day at SXSW at Emo’s Main Stage, catching the end of the only hard rock band I’d have the chance to see at the festival – New Jersey’s Dillinger Escape Plan (pictured below). Those who know me will know that they’re not my sort of band, but I felt myself sucked…
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At the Warp Records showcase at The Pheonix, I caught the end of Pivot (pictured above and below), their set jam packed with new material. Yes boys and girls, the Sydney/Perth via London three-piece are back, and you better believe they sound better than ever. They ended the night with “O Soundtrack to my Heart”…
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As the afternoon moved along, I next checked out the Canadian Blast BBQ in Brush Park, catching the Montreal electro-hip-hop outfit Radio Radio. Singing in Acadian French, the trio were in town promoting their third LP Belmundo Regal. Their take on hip-hop is modern and inspired, and I found myself connecting with their music through…
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Austin, Texas. Not a place most people outside of North America would attribute to being one of the world’s leading cultural meccas. Not a place I ever expected to visit. But sure enough, stuck in the middle of a state known the world over for is pro-war, pro-death penalty and pro-Bush stance, is a little…
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Let’s face it, lately we’ve had more than our fair share of folk-indie cutesy type bands than we need to, and it’s become difficult to distinguish between the groups and the songs and the endless quirk that is constantly shoved down our throats by the popular culture media. Tunng are no different. They are by…
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Nestled away in the hippest place in LA – Silverlake – is a little concert hall called The Echo, where on March 14th, 3 days before the start of SXSW, much of the Aussie contingency came together for the LA Aussie BBQ – 9 Hours. 1 Stage. 13 Bands. 10 Minute Changeovers. Now in its…
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In advance of the release of their third LP, The Winter of Mixed Drinks (available in stores now), and their return to the SXSW Festival in Austin, TX, I had the opportunity to sit down with brothers Grant and Scott Hutchinson of Scotland’s Frightened Rabbit. Taking a seat with them in the Beach Hotel at…
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Future Music Festival. A day synonymous with fluro-wearing hipsters dancing off their drug intakes on a racecourse. But it turns out it’s a pretty fun day, too! Well, that’s once you actually get into the venue. By the time I arrived at Central, lined up for the bus to get to the venue, gotten to…
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With another new Mountain Goats LP under his belt (that makes, what, 17!?) – John Darnielle is bringing the Mountain Goats back down under for a highly anticapated April tour. We spoke to John in advance of this tour about the new album “The Life of the World to Come”, his love of Vegemite and…
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Following on from many years of supporting local music from afar – showcasing Aussie bands to US audiences in conjunction with SXSW – the Aussie BBQ has made its local debut, first in Melbourne last week, and now, finally, in Sydney. It was an immediate pity that the show couldn’t have been on a non-work/school…
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Very few bands enjoy the luxury of success from first international single – so much success, in fact, that they would find that first single, the still stellar “Take Me Out”, hit the top of the charts and even the number one spot on the Hottest 100. Some 6 years and 3 albums later, Franz…
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Once one half of Lamb, Lou Rhodes has now taken a bold step forward since the group’s dissolution in 2004. Her debut album, 2006’s “Beloved One”, probably surprised many Lamb fans. Gone were the dance beats and signature trip-hop ambience; in their place was a much more organic, acoustic-based and folk-ish sound. The new musical…
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It’s a rare occasion to be greeted to legends of hip hop in one of the smaller clubs in town. Sure, it might happen overseas, but not so much in Australia. Thankfully, thanks to the launch of Bitch Beer at the Trademark Hotel, the rarity occurred, with Naughty By Nature hitting the stage to a…
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