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 Bill Cissna I attended this concert with anyone else who could get a ticket. This small college in NW Pennsylvania (1,500 students at that time) had booked the band's tour stop before the late October, 1975 Time and Newsweek cover articles. The group honored the lower price and gave a great concert. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Mar 26, 2023
 Wolf Alistair With Danny Cordiner Nadia Reid Mar 26, 2023
 Andy J Ryan Wanda Jackson - Gaelic Theatre, 9 June 2007 "In 1954, one woman changed music history." A crowd resembling the extras for American Graffiti lapped up the enduring legacy of the queen of rock.† The souped-up Wes Pudsey and the Sonic Aces provided a smooth, streamlined entree to the evening (and would also return later to be the backing band for the lady of the hour). They got the slick-backed crowd swinging and twisting with abandon. The crowd warmly greeted the 69-year-old Wanda Jackson, who casually introduced herself as "the nice lady with the nasty voice". Jackson had a mischievous twinkle in her eye almost matched by the sparkle in her ears, and was quite happy to chat openly about her astounding career. The show was almost half-talking, half tunes, part performance, part biography, and when she did launch into song she amiably shimmied and shuffled about making slightly reserved - but still lavish - gestures that sent her tassles flying. Everybody was hooked on her every captivating word, and most were simply awed to be in the presence of such an influential and important figure in music. And really, who am I to attempt to review her, when Elvis Presley once praised her musical talents with a passing, "You got what it takes." Jackson unleashed her trademark growl for her breakthrough hit, 'Let's Have a Party', and revisited her time spent touring with Elvis - for whom she was once His Latest Flame - by covering 'Heartbreak Hotel' and 'Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On'. Jackson happily pointed out the folly of her song 'Fujiyama Mama' which was number one hit in Japan despite its mention of the wartime bombings. "I don't think they understood the lyrics," she explained. There was a touching gospel interlude as Jackson described and sang about her best day of all, the day "she saw the light". This pure moment contrasted with her waving off a slight technical hitch with a cheeky, "Oh, I've blown plenty of mics before." It was a night to marvel and admire this living embodiment of music history before us. Every song had a story, and every story contained a defining moment of modern music. Wanda Jackson / Wes Pudsey & The Sonic Aces Mar 26, 2023
 Andy J Ryan Beasts of Bourbon - Metro Theatre, 2 June 2007 The Beasts return to the road and are back at their brooding best unleashing songs from their latest album Little Animals.† The edgy rock sounds of Melbourne's Children Collide got the majority of the crowd on their feet. The guitar-driven 'Brave Robot' was later followed by the slightly more ethereal 'Cannibal', complete with bassist Heath Crawley's emphatic contributions throughout. It only took one line from the Beasts, the bludgeoning "I don't care about nothing anymore", to scatter the chatter and envelop the crowd in a dark and depraved world. The Beasts of Bourbon are a chillingly capable band. Behind the menacing figure of snarling frontman Tex Perkins is a powerful pack of hardened musicians, who can intuitively lead the music down any stylistic path. The new songs interspersed through the set were played with a stinging freshness, as if they were thankful to get back out on the stage again. The band brutally ploughed through the opposing longings to drugs and revenge in 'Chase the Dragon' and 'Make 'Em Cry', going on to the brooding 'Low Road', the downright menacing 'Hard For You' and the intense 'Straight, Hard and Long', which took an extended detour into jazz territory. It felt like a reprieve when the Beasts later served up a dose of reggae, and even got down for some 'chugging' as they got funky. "Are you feeling funky, Spencer?" asked Perkins. "Not particularly," replied guitarist Spencer Jones, "but I've been going along with all your crazy schemes and ideas for the past 24 years, so no point stopping now." For all the brutality and aggression present within the Beasts there is still an almost cartoonish side to them. "We are releasing an exercise DVD," the band quipped. "This song is part of it, so if you want to lose weight just follow these simple 83 steps." Returning to the stage for one last tilt, the Beasts offered a particularly passionate 'Saturated', dedicated to its late co-writer Ian Rilen, and staggered off with ramshackle parting ditty 'Thanks'. It was thanks for the memories and the real good times. Beasts Of Bourbon / Children Collide Mar 26, 2023
 Andy J Ryan Gaslight Radio – Spectrum, May 5 2007 So apparently The Sway on first weren’t the denim-clad crotch fuelled rock gang of a few years back, I wasn’t about to take that chance though. If Starstream could be the answer to a musical cryptic crossword clue it would be something like - third spaceman leaves loveless vapour trail on ride to 500th Galaxie. They peddled and pedal-ed their droning guitar wares quite nicely. Gaslight Radio were pretty much beaten up and roughly ridden out of their home town of Burleigh Heads. The Gold Coast was no place for delicate layers of guitars and poignant purposeful lyrics, the band were pretty much anti everything the brash and superficial land of Surfers Paradise stood for. In fact Gaslight Radio are almost anti everything a normal band should be. The singer is gruff at best and overly curt in his banter and demeanour, then there’s the guitarist who’s performance is directed almost exclusively to his own speaker cabinet. They disappeared from the face of the earth for long spells with nary a peep then turned up with a new album after living on floors, line-ups and labels by the wayside. Their albums are almost impossible to find yet are possibly some of the most definitive Australian albums ever released. Taramac & Lime is merely a narrower, slightly less travelled Wide Open Road. While other bands have made their fame and fortune wistfully capturing the essence of the romanticised idealised version Australian life, Gaslight Radio writes and knows of the grittier, more realistic one. A life involving bus travel, public transport, layabouts, house painting, broken stuff, lost leases, graffiti, radio and t.v. It is music borne from and created within an inglorious and unglamorous life more touched by struggle than success. They play it with an honesty that has a whiff of desperation attached, as if the songs are all they have and they play them with the due respect and need of a life dependant on them. The greatest accolade to the influence and importance of the band is the fact that the crowd largely comprises members of this cities most successful and interesting bands of recent times, all gathered in hushed awkward awe. Gaslight Radio would feature in the Australian telling of that old Velvet Underground myth – only 20 people bought their album, but each of those 20 went on to form a band themselves. (www.yourgigs.com.au review) Gaslight Radio / The Sway / Starstream Mar 26, 2023
 Andy J Ryan Wilco - Enmore Theatre, April 21 2007 Wilco return with a reputation as one of the finest live bands in the world which they did nothing to diminish.† I have never been at a show comprised of so many people so deliriously happy to be seeing a band play. You'd have an easier time finding a flat spot on an echidna than in Wilco's set. From the opening glowing applause meeting their entry to the very last, the band held the crowd in an all-too-rare hushed attentive awe. One of the few interjections from the crowd was an all-encompassing "This Rules!" Wilco's current line-up features greatly accomplished musicians that masterfully enliven the ingenious songs of Jeff Tweedy. Glenn Kotche is one of the most unique and inventive drummers in contemporary music, taking songs in unheralded directions. It wasn't until about 10 songs in that Tweedy first addressed the crowd, inadvertently raising an interstate rivalry after which he soon sheepishly added: "That ends the rapport with you; it's for your own good". It wasn't to be though, in the first encore during 'Kingpin', Tweedy launched into a particularly expressive thought process that culminated in the crowd being prompted to 'Aargh' like a pirate at the appropriate juncture. The highlight of the night was the beguiling 'Misunderstood'. Whether you were in the front row or in the furthest back corner of the Enmore's mezzanine, you could block out the other few thousand odd people around you and feel that this song was being sung to you, and you alone. It was intense, epic and brilliant. While you were left pondering how they could possibly follow that, they unearthed another gem with their wistful interpretation of the Woodie Guthrie-penned 'California Stars'. No one at all minded when they came back yet again and asked nicely if "we could play a few more songs for you?" In fact they could've played all night and I doubt the devoted attention and euphoric applause would have ever wavered as this is a truly great band with a near-unassailable back catalogue. Tremendous. Set list You are my Face I am trying to Break your heart Muzzle of Bees Handshake Drugs A Shot in the Arm At least... One by One Impossible Germany Jesus War on War Via Chicago Walken Theologians I'm the Man Who Loves You Hummingbird ............ Hate it Here The Late Greats Kingpin I'm a Wheel ........... Misunderstood California Stars Airline Poor Places Spiders (Kidsmoke) (www.yourgigs.com.au review) Wilco / Glenn Richards Mar 26, 2023
 Andy J Ryan Southern Roots Festival, Royal Hobart Showground, 7 April 2007 For a festival held on a trotting track, it was almost fitting that there were some late scratchings from the line up. The Magic Numbers and TnT wouldn’t be playing but a bundle of local acts were added to round out the bill. Many events and concerts claim to be “Just about the music” and in the Southern Roots Festival’s case, it was because there was very little else to do. Apart from the three stages of music there was a giraffe shaped jumping castle and two rides – ‘The Hurricane’ and the curiously named ‘Gee-Whizzer’. It was the inaugural Southern Roots Festival and the setting was quite spectacular. The plaintive acoustic shimmering lullabies of singing siblings Angus & Julia Stone went hand in hand with the early afternoon sun breaking through the sheer cloud-shrouded mountains that back-dropped the main stage. The Shitkicks belted out a few honest numbers on the “Atom Gleams Stage” up near the home turn. ‘Stage’ is being generous as it was really a few planks with a PA where the local bands spent the afternoon entertaining a few hardy souls and those lining up to buy a pie. Iain Archer provided to be an affably accented afternoon delight. While he previously performed as part of supergroup collective Snow Patrol, he just bought himself; an acoustic and some percussion on a tape for his first ever visit to Hobart. His delicately strummed tales of Northern Ireland, one he insisted would best be explained using a survey chart, still struck a chord with the crowd a half-a-world away. Xavier Rudd held up the ‘roots’ end of the bargain both musically and historically in his introduction involving the blessing of the traditional owners of the land. Toni Collette has surrounded herself with some wonderfully accomplished musicians ranging from Peter Fenton, the crackingly moustached Peter Farley, formerly of Gelbison, sometime Go Between Amanda Brown and hubby David Galafassi on drums. Look, she is utterly pleasant, very nice and effusive and can sing a bit (just a bit though) but unfortunately her songs, unlike her on screen characters, take no real dramatic twists, turns of journeys. Strangely, considering the calibre of musicians involved, the songs also tend to the sparser side of things leaving Collette’s voice largely left adrift out on its own here it sometimes gets a bit out of its depth. They wind up with a silly cover of T-Rex’s Children of the Revolution which cracks a few smiles. A band that has gone through a revolution of their own lately is The Vines. The stories surrounding the band and Craig in particular are well known and almost old hat as the band have been causing a stir on many a stage. Their first ever gig in Hobart gave the Apple Isle a virtual montage of their career thus far. Their set covered all albums and ranged from ragged profane filled garbled delivery to tight focused bursts. They dusted off the Miss Jackson cover and rounded it all off with a good ole fashioned instrument thrashing filled Fuck the World. Midnight Juggernauts played it hot, steamy and bouncy in the Pavilion Stage and were a most welcome respite from the icy night air. As the temperature further plummeted, through the retina unfriendly blinding array of lights on the main stage you could barely make out maybe a dozen or so people bashing, strumming and wailing some dreary cacophony of noise that was apparently Gomez, thought it was far too cold to stand about to confirm it as I sought the warming glow of the Pavilion Stage where Pnau caused quite a commotion. After a particularly exuberant introduction, by the hyped up announcer Wolfmother needed only to appear on stage to have the crowd baying as one. As the band unleashed their first big bloated monstrous riff the crowd were reduced to Nuremberg-esque unquestioning arm raising hysteria. While they sang of monsters, unicorns and the like Evan Dando and his Lemonheads were singing about love and drugs and girls and good wholesome stuff like that. It was a stark contrast, bright ringing guitars, melodies and harmonies and everyone, especially those on stage having just a great time. Dando was wearing a dandy brown suit accessorised with a construction worker’s helmet, perfect for when the Village People decided to add a slacker stoner member of the group. The ripping set was a perfect introduction for the jewel in the Southern Roots Crown – Pixies. Inexplicably some people left at the conclusion of Wolfmother’s set, but it was plain to see that this was the band that most everybody in attendance was there to see. The 3,000 odd people that had been in the drinking cages all day downed their tinnies and spilled out onto the infield in a Cascade fuelled wave of mutilation. The crowd rose in anticipation for the band some have been waiting a lifetime to see and from their first appearance on stage left the crowd nothing short of rapturous. They played not merely songs but a collection of life changing moments. Pixies refreshingly don’t carry the flag for any cause, flaunt any fashions nor have the need to win us over with any banter, they just play. The legacy and potency of their songs stand on their own. While this distant festival down where you can sense the proximity to Antarctica may’ve seemed quite distant and remote for the Boston band, the feelings their songs raise are incredibly intimate and close. Everyone present reveredly gracious and thankful to be able to see live songs that played a role in or sound-tracked so many influential and important times in their lives. For most it was more than just a set of songs, it was a stirring griping occasion. Music and moments, monkeys gone to heaven, minds lost and men on their way. Then all too soon it was “Goodnight Charles, Goodnight James, Goodnight Joey, Goodnight Dave, Goodnight Kim an Goodnight Hobart. (www.yourgigs.com.au review) Southern Roots Festival 2007 Mar 26, 2023
 Andy J Ryan Deerhoof - Factory Theatre, 3 April 2007 Deerhoof return to Australia after touring as the hand-picked supports for the Flaming Lips and Radiohead with one less member but one more album, Friend Opportunity.† Support act My Disco! combines the moves of the drinking bird toy with the rhythmic turmoil of Rage Against the Machine, except without as much to say. You are more berated by their music than actually listening to it. "They have a formula" was one description I heard, but well, I was never very good at maths. You often hear of bands busting to get out trying to make it overseas or trying to break America. Less often you hear of bands that find such an appreciatively attuned audience for their music in Australia that they couldn't wait to come back. This is the case with Deerhoof. Last time they were in Sydney they played in an inner-city town hall, this time they fairly filled the Factory Theatre with a cheerily devoted crowd. From the outset Deerhoof simply radiated delight. The diminutive Satomi Matsuzaki has an intoxicatingly cute voice, performing oh-so-endearing jigs and pixie-esque (mythical fairy kind, not Boston band kind) dancing. At the other end of the stage is a beaming blur of limbs: John Dieterich on drums. In the middle, guitarist Greg Saunier's face is etched in equal parts awe and enjoyment as he reels off sublime searing riffs. The strength of Deerhoof is the unique and intuitive musicianship and influence each bring to the band. Their playing has almost jazz-like principles to it in the way their songs can evolve as each member's contribution floats to the fore or recedes supportingly. Far be it from the band being more stripped back in their three-piece incarnation, it is more the case that less is more. The songs brim with a spontaneous exuberance as one or the other ride some musical tangent whichever way it takes them while the others keep up. Individualism and intuitiveness are all anchored by that beautifully delicate angelic voice. It all ends far too soon; it took less than an hour to turn me from curious onlooker to fervent fan. The punters' faces told it all, their unanimously smiling faces a testament to a sublime and endless charm that was Deerhoof. (www.yourgigs.com.au review) Deerhoof / My Disco Mar 26, 2023
 Andy J Ryan New York Dolls - Metro Theatre, 28 March 2007 Few bands have left such an imposing and influential legacy as the Dolls, who make it to Australia 35 years after the release of their debut. Hell City Glamours were a rather apt support with their big-on-hair, small-on-shirts rock, and are another in a long list of bands that probably wouldn't have existed if it wasn't for the New York Dolls. The Dolls arrived on stage in a stilted mess of leather, dark sunglasses and hair. After a fleeting delay that allowed first impressions to sink in, David Johansen - who is one of the only two surviving original members, along with guitarist Sylvain Sylvain - got the band rolling with a gregarious "Sydney, when I say I'm in love you'd better believe I'm in love - L-U-V". The Dolls in 2007 could never hope to mirror the incendiary, confronting urgency of performances some three decades prior. Yet there was still an almost cartoonish, ragged charm to them - David and Syl still had an inextinguishable streak of mischief and roguishness. While the band's songs have outlived most of its members, those left holding the flame do so with passion and sincerity. Those lost along the way had songs dedicated to them - 'Private World' for Arthur Kane and 'Lonely Planet Boy' for Johnny Thunders. The band played a clutch of new songs, a curious cover of Janis Joplin's 'Piece of My Heart', and a throttling version of 'Pills'. You can't really call them 'greatest hits', because the band doesn't have any, but if you gazed through the fog of lights, sweat and hair as the band ripped through 'Trash' and 'Jet Boy' you saw a glimpse of the chaotic, unhinged power of the New York Dolls in their prime. The Dolls were chanted back on stage by the remaining crowd and sassily whistled through 'Personality Crisis' before pulling out the showman's favourite line: "we've played all over the world, we played to the Sultan of Brunei and his 736 wives, but Sydney, you are still the best crowd we have ever played to". Then came 'Gotta Get Away From Tommy' and they were done. The New York Dolls are incomparable and of huge significance to music as we know it. While their show of 2007 was somewhat ragged and restrained, the New York Dolls certainly did their legacy no disservice. New York Dolls / Hell City Glamours Mar 26, 2023
 Andy J Ryan Beasts of Bourbon - Gaelic Theatre, 08 March 2007 Swaggering forth from the brink - overcoming broken backs and breaking stones in the big house - the Beasts prowled into town with their latest album.† Gut kicked things off and were the first of many sweaty shirtless men on stage. Theirs is a particularly apt name, as they play large portions of big chunky rock. People talk of things they wouldn't want to encounter in a dark alley; I wouldn't want to encounter Six ft Hick in even the most brightly lit, well-populated public place at midday, unless they were brandishing their instruments, that is. For theirs wasn't a set as such, more an indistinguishable pulverising barrage of screams, sweat, spit and blood flowing over a fierce, raw pulsing din. 'Gentle' Ben, one half of the destructive sibling singing assault, sported a welted and slashed eye (self-inflicted in the second song) that would've stopped a boxer. The Beasts of Bourbon surfaced after the carnage of Six ft Hick and sank the crowd even further into dirty sweaty delirium. Tex Perkins, an ever-imposing figure, announced we were to be slipped some new songs and slapped with some classics tonight. Classics indeed: not the sort that you merrily sing along with on the radio, mind you, but classics in the raw primal way that they can unify a whole room to scream along and surge to the stage fists aloft. Their new material was delivered in typically gritty fashion. One song concerning the saving of the little animals made me wonder if the band had perhaps found a sensitive side, but no, Tex implored at the end: "Save the animals, because they taste really great when you eat them". There was genuine sensitivity in the dedication of the new album to the late Ian Rilen who was honoured with a searing cover of his song 'Saturated'. Allegedly the band's regular drummer Tony Pola was absent as he was back in jail, and bassist Brian Hooper is recovering heroically from a broken back - he was supposedly never to walk again - but the Beasts 'ride on' after more than 20 years and almost as many line-up changes. An assault on the unsuspecting US awaits. But for tonight, thanks for the whisky, thanks for the wine, thanks for the beer - and the good times. Beasts Of Bourbon / Six Ft Hick / Gut Mar 26, 2023
 Andy J Ryan Big Day Out 2007 - Homebush Bay, 25 January 2007 With another successful year under their belt, Big Day Out organisers can give themselves a pat on the back - the weather held out, the kids were happy and the flag issue was a non-issue. The day kicked off and artists took to their stages. Most entertaining of the first acts were The Punishers, with their hilarious lyrics of whores and Asian noodles. Amateur punk sounds and jamming beats were an appropriate backing for choreographed dancing and sexy matching nautical outfits. Trivium was the Big Day Out's equivalent of a Berocca, giving it its b-b-bounce with their fierce and precise, tight-black-panted, devil-horn-inducing thrash metal. The Drones, who followed, maintained the intensity if not the circle pits and spiralling hair. Never being ones to let a controversial opportunity go by, The Streets jumped in with their two cents on the day's hot topic. The stage was adorned with flags from around the world, complete with a Union Jack stuck on the end of Mike Skinner's microphone. The cockney outfit seemed to have a little trouble getting the crowd going until they pulled out recent single 'When You Wasn't Famous' and took off their shirts to cavort around the stage. A hit in the Boiler Room was the cheeky Lily Allen (who was later spotted giving Kasabian the two-fingered salute from side of stage). Doing the right thing by the crowd, she stuck to album tracks and had a thousand or so people singing along to her signature dubbed-out pop single 'Smile'. Never one to keep her thoughts to herself she proclaimed: "I'd like to dedicate this next song to the drummer from a band called Jet. He threw a lit cigarette a' me in the bar the other night, so I threw my glass in 'is face...it's a song about men with small penises". The roar from the crowd upon hearing this was certainly louder than the cheer the actual band Jet got later on in the day. It seems the golden children of last year's festival circuit may have fallen from grace, and being slotted in just before Muse, the crowd seemed somewhat apathetic. Mid-afternoon, My Chemical Romance appeared on the main stage where dapper-emo frontman Gerard Way let loose with shattering vocals. His facial gestures clearly indicated he loved the show and atmosphere. Who wouldn't? Their set packed the arena out; everyone was jumping in time to the beat and singing along to the well-known tracks such as opener 'I'm not Okay (I Promise)'and 'Helena'. Kasabian's singer Tom Meighan burst onstage with a cocksure, arrogant stagger. Kasabian are a raucous, anthemic beast of a band, blending stomping rock grit and swagger with booming sing-along choruses. By the end, you got the feeling they mightn't play on a stage this small again. The Killers curiously introduced themselves with "Hello you fleas, we are the band, let's get it on". The stage was brimming with instruments including a piano, organ and a gong, while their set was packed with more singles than RSVP.com. You know you've made it when a stadium full of people sing along to your song and 'Mr Brightside' was this moment for the Killers, with girls hoisted on shoulders and thousands of phones thrust towards the stage. Lupe Fiasco proved his reputation as the next big thing in hip hop. He held the crowd in the palm of his hand for the entire set with nothing but a DJ for stage support. He kept energy levels up and the crowd moving, especially in sync to his radio anthem, 'Kick Push'. Hoards gathered to hear the epic sounds of UK prog-rockers Muse. As the trio took to the stage, the sea of people surged to the front and threw their fists in the air, pointing and moshing to opener 'Knights of Cydonia'. Their drum and bass-laden tracks, accentuated by singer/guitarist Matt Bellamy's eccentric playing and soaring vocals, had fans in a frenzy. The tense mosh-pit was too much for some and many bailed, leaving their spaces to be filled with other sweaty bodies. New songs earned the band more fans, while classics such as 'Plug in Baby' ignited a massive sing-along. Muse's synth-strong set finished up with the fitting 'Take a Bow', ending the hour-long spectacular. Bringing the night to a close on the Blue Stage, the hotly anticipated Tool took their places as the audience cheered and screamed, turning it up a few decibels higher in appreciation of opener 'Stinkfist'. The ground and grandstands trembled as people jumped to the humming bass and pumping drums. All members of Tool were illuminated with coloured spotlights as they expertly played their anthemic progressive metal to the cult-like audience, while frontman Maynard James Keenan's silhouette was highlighted against visuals of distorted figures. Danny Carey's phenomenal drumming could be likened to automatic weapon firing, while the guitar and bass sounds of Tool were unparalleled. As the set - which included the popular tracks '46 & 2', 'Sober' and 'The Pot' - came to a close, the band was honoured with a lengthy, well-deserved ovation. The Violent Femmes call themselves eternal teenagers, but have actually grown up. While they've undoubtedly written some of the most identifiable teen anthems of our time - cue 'Blister in the Sun' - they have a formidable canon of astute songs, not just filler between hits. The closing lines of 'Add It Up' - "I'll take a bow and say goodnight"- were a fitting end to 12 hours of music. In fact it couldn't have been more appropriate given they headlined 15 years ago at the first ever Big Day Out, but my, how things have changed. (www.yourgigs.com.au review) Big Day Out 2007 Mar 26, 2023
 Andy J Ryan Loene Carmen, Gareth Liddiard & Mike Noga, Annandale Hotel – January 18 2007 Gareth Liddiard of the Drones once said in an interview that "our audience is just alcoholics and depressants". Conversely, I missed the first two bands as I was at home drinking and feeling sorry for myself. The Drones are such a noise-filled and intense band that it is a rare treat to hear their songs laid bare and performed acoustically. The usually frantic front man left behind his manic wailing guitar and trademark howl to reveal a softer, more affable chap. The track ‘I Don’t Ever Want to Change’, which is a most bombastic bruising jolt within the Gala Mill album, was made almost pleasantly hummable. After a couple more pared back songs, including a particularly personal number that was about ...”well none of your business”, he was joined on-stage by Mike Noga, the Drones’ drummer, who had also played a solo set of his own. Noga, not entirely sure of his role, surmised he would do what he did in the band ‘just hit things and blow randomly’. To which Liddiard retorted “yeah that’s all you do in the Drones…blow randomly”. The pair come off as very easy going funny buggers, parrying punch lines and scoring points off each other and our city in between the songs. "That's what you do here in Sydney isn't it – watch Ratcat and The Sharp?" The light-heartedness is almost necessary to counter-balance the raw starkness of the lyrics, as we are exposed to an even more aptly named version of ‘Shark Fin Blues’ and the sprawling ‘Jezebel’. With the layers of noise and sound peeled back, the ramshackle characters and situations at the centre of the lyrical narratives really come to the fore. The acoustic context is perfect for the folk, both lore and tone, of the murderous convict tale of their album and set closer ‘Sixteen Straws’, which is introduced with: "You had better shut up and listen carefully to this song, there are a lot of lyrics, it's the second longest song ever written… after American Pie" "What is it about?" "You'll have to ask Don McLean". Thankfully, for every Toni Pearen or Stephanie McIntosh, a performer comes along with both acclaim and integrity in the fields of acting and song-writing. One such performer is Loene Carmen. With a swag of widely praised acting roles, including various Best Actor nominations already to her credit, Carmen has just completed her third solo album. Not surrounded by stylists or Stock, Aitken and Waterman types, she recorded the album with producer Jorden Brebach, who has previously worked with bands of the stature of The Church and You Am I. In her musical career, Carmen has collaborated and toured with numerous well-respected musicians ranging from the Dirty Three‘s Warren Ellis to Simon Day. This ‘one night only’ set was to preview tracks from the upcoming album Rock ‘n’ Roll Tears. Carmen was joined onstage by Mess Hall guitarist Jed Kurzel, the Holy Soul’s Sam Worrad and Paul Dunn of Slow Hand. The diminutive singer dressed in a stylishly demure shimmering silver dress, a garment more befitting a dim smoky basement. And if such a venue were still allowed, it would be one more attuned to her music. She possesses a voice equal parts sultry and breathy, but also carries the depth and yearning of the best blues vocalists. Imagine Mazzy Starr’s Hope Sandoval after a few too many long nights in the pub. The performance has an almost unhinged charm about it. It was not an entirely well-oiled precise set of polished songs. A few rough edges present reflected the short gestation some of the songs had received, as the album was whacked together in a three-day recording session. The songs sway from urgent to hazy, from the particularly the haunting ‘Nashville High’ to the ramshackle ramble of ‘Don’t Let it Slip Away’. Carmen’s presence was always engaging, ranging from mesmerising soul siren to aloof folk singer. Carmen delivered her new songs with an almost paternal pride and warmly thanked us, and her band, for the chance to let them be heard. Alas, Rock N Roll Tears won’t be released for a few months, but the songs, have stalked me so closely I may need an AVO against them. Loene Carmen / Gareth Liddiard & Mike Noga Mar 26, 2023
 Andy J Ryan Low – The Famous Spiegeltent January 17, 2008 The annual Sydney Festival has afforded the emerald city the opportunity to witness a unique array of acts within the historic Spiegeltent. This is a bit strange, what with all the sunlight and smiling faces. This song is murderer, its about the decision you make to become one of them. *crowd cheers* it seems we have some murderers in the audience today. This isn’t the first spiegeltent we’ve played in. We should really get one of these and just tour around and plonk it down in any old park or field ‘its hard enough touring with all the crap we already have’ I hope the seats aren’t too comfortable. There’s something about standing up that makes things that little bit more exciting. So if you think we are boring its because you are sitting down, not because we are boring. Singer and guitarist Alan Spearhawk is a little bit Jonathan Creek in his appearance and dress, however a bit more Jonathan Rictman in his demeanour, voice and song-writing nous. He is an intense figure, hunched over his souped-up black and gold Epiphone wringing out seven shades of sparse anguish and beauty from his guitar. His offhanded quips almost an antidote to the confronting intensity of the songs. The band seem to play almost purely intuitively. Spearhawk and drummer Mimi Parker, his wife and mother of two children, in particular share many stolen glances and half smiles and seem magnetically bound to each others musical cues. The great majority of their material are pared back, minimal works yet the intimate surrounds and well oiled festival timetable mean the songs remain reigned in. As the title of their latest album Drums and Guns may suggest, they are equally capable of moments of great musical violence. Spearhawk unloads blistering guitar riffs partnered by an incessantly thudding floor tom and Matt Livingston even manages a few degrees of swaying to his stoic and precise bass rivets that hold everything together. Low Mar 26, 2023
 Andy J Ryan The Veils - Gaelic Theatre, 9 January 2007 The Veils have a rather tumultuous past and a wistfully sorrowful set-list to match.† The Veils are for those who like their musical entertainment to match their mournful mood. This band has been known to draw a tear or two from the eyes of unwitting audience members, such is the emotional impact of their lonesome rock sounds. By the time The Veils frontman Finn Andrews was 16, he had already outgrown the Auckland music scene and moved to London. By 19, he and The Veils had created and released a stunning debut album, Runaway Found. After a few bumps on the record deal and band-member road, The Veils returned with a vengeance in 2006 with follow-up album Nux Vomica. On January 9 '07, their international tour bus made a stop at Sydney's Gaelic Theatre. Rather than feeling drawn out, the three - yes, three - supports slots became more of a mini-showcase for a couple of great local bands and frontmen-dabbling-in-solo-performances, such as Bells Will Ring, Whitley and Dave Renick. The fact that The Veils did not take to the stage until well after 10.30 was quickly forgotten by most members of the audience as soon as they picked up their instruments. Andrews's moody voice enthralled all present, kicking off the show with the title track from Nux Vomica. For those not familiar with the sounds of The Veils, imagine the musical love-child of Nick Cave and your favourite countrified-rock band, born of an intense affair that began in the dark alley behind a smoky bar. The track selection continued to strongly represent Vomica, with older material from Runaway Found barely getting a look-in - apart from a jaunty throw-away version of their breakthrough single 'The Tide that Left and Never Came Back'. It remains to be seen whether this was a result of Andrews not liking to play material written with the old Veils (the original line-up disbanded two months after the release of Runaway Found) or whether it came from a desire to keep the set-list fresh. Whatever the reason, after 'Calliope', 'Jesus for the Jugular', 'Nux Vomica' and friends had all been belted out, it began to feel a little like a living-room listening session than a live show. The autocratic nature of the band meant that, for the most part, the show sat squarely on Andrews' shoulders. The band performed their parts exceedingly competently, but often without that tightness of a band in full flight. They all appeared to be taking their cue from Andrews, without adding their own passion. It can almost be said that Andrews has written songs that are simply too good to be effectively re-produced live. The audience left with the feeling that they had heard some outstanding songs but had only seen an adequately good performance of them. The Veils Mar 26, 2023
 Andy J Ryan Eddy Current Suppression Ring - The Hopetoun Hotel, 18 November 2006 Sometimes great gigs just happen on their own. In this case, no expectations, no fanfare, no hype - just three particularly good bands playing the Hoey on a sticky Sydney Saturday night.† The Pink Fits fronted up first. The band has a lineage back to the revered sludgy stoner-fuzz of Tumbleweed but shares no real sonic connection. This is a band with no spare time for guitar solos or extended jamming; they are intense, precise and tight as a duck's arse. Propelled by a drummer whose playing was so frantic that his hands were barely perceptible blurs, the 'Fits fired, each member drawing on a deep well of musical knowledge with the best riffs, hooks, rhythms, fills and beats of all musical time seeping through them and into their bombastic songs. It was primal and urgent and served to perfection with extra volume and beer on the side. Witch Hats were the difficult middle child of the night. While undoubtedly talented and musically accomplished, the songs detoured and deviated like a lost cabbie. The band almost seems to have too much going on at once, with members veering off on plenty of unrestrained tangents. They are angular, jagged and frustratingly interesting. In Melbourne's Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Australia seems to have found its next quality pub-rock band. In a similar vein to Sydney's Peabody (whose members were in attendance to witness the bearers of their legacy), this band is a down-to-earth bunch of mates fantastically attuned and singing about stuff. Real stuff. The everyday battle to get out of bed, not having enough money, wanting ice cream, meeting a lass, having dreams and thoughts about this lass and all the other crap that real people endure during their days. You nod along because you're empathising with it, then you keeping nodding along because the music is so solid. You wonder why the singer is wearing black rubber gloves, but then you don't care because it's Saturday night, you've had a few beers, there's a bloody great rock band playing and there ain't no place you'd rather be. Eddy Current Suppression Ring / Witch Hats / The Pink Fits Mar 26, 2023
 Joe Pitts "COORS" NOT "COLORS" Jazz Festival. Les McCann Mar 26, 2023
 DeadheadDan https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-mystic-knights-of-the-oingo-boingo/1979/the-roxy-west-hollywood-ca-7be0d6fc.html The Mystic Knights of The Oingo Boingo Mar 26, 2023
 Acey68 Setlist- St.Petersburg,Fl. 3/24/23 1. Gaslight 2. Xanadu 3. Captain Love 4. Hot Streak 5. Desire 6. Breakthrough 7. Time Machine 8. Stars 9. Damaged 10. Mad World 11. The Other Side 12. Bass Solo 13. The Red Wine 14. I'm No Angel 15. Oblivion Encore: 16. Regret 17. Elevate The Winery Dogs / Roxx Revolt & The Velvets Mar 26, 2023
 Robin Fleming Nils Lofgren didn't play this show. The Outlaws played with Boston and Starcastle. Boston / The Outlaws Mar 25, 2023
 Richard Troiano I used to volunteer at the Guild Theater. It was a great venue for sure. Diesel Boy / Lesdystics / Bastards / bracket Mar 25, 2023