Whether you’re a football fan, a music lover, or both there’s no other place to be on Thursday than Melbourne’s Prince of Wales.
The pub is hosting a massive fundraising night, dubbed Roo-sistence, for the North Melbourne football club. If you’re out of the loop, the Kangaroos may have to move to Queensland if they can’t raise some cash pronto. Frankly that’s just un-Australian, so the local musos are going to lend a hand.
You really couldn’t ask for a better line-up. Where else can you see supergroup The Wrights playing alongside You Am I, Something for Kate, Tex Perkins, and Mick Thomas? And that’s just for starters.
Tickets are just $40 plus booking fees from the Prince Bandroom.
Image source: Wikipedia.org
I’ve got to tell you, I’m more than a little bit excited at recent news that Michael Bublé is heading back to Australia next May to promote his third album, Call Me Irresponsible.
I’ve seen Michael on his last two visits to Australia, and he never fails to impress me. It may have something to do with his amazingly pure voice, it may be about his old-school charisma, or it may just be those gorgeous brown eyes. Either way, his return is good news.
It seems the man himself is also pretty chuffed by it.
“I love coming to Australia,” he told AAP. “You are all so nice. Sort of like Canadians, but with good suntans.”
Awww, doesn’t it just make you all warm and fuzzy inside? Also heartening is the news that unlike most artists, Michael’s keeping his ticket prices low. The best seats in the house will only set you back around $100, which is a whole lot less than most of the big stars charge these days.
Of course, at these prices they’re going to go quick. Sydney and Perth fans can get theirs on December 3, while shows in Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Brisbane will go on sale on December 6.
You may not have heard of Melbourne indie outfit Borne just yet, but after they scooped the pool at last night’s MusicOz awards that’s all set to change. MusicOz is the largest awards recognising Australia’s unsigned and independent artists.
The group picked up the awards for best acoustic/singer-songwriter, the Garth Porter producer award, the Nova unsigned initiative award, and the big one, artist of the year. This prestigious title saw them take home a $70, 000 prize package, more than enough to help them get a leg up in the industry.
Past Australian Idol contestant Amali Ward and metal outfit Anjeliina were handpicked by rock photographer Tony Mott to win the Tony Mott photography award.
Sydney’s Super Massive took home the best alternative artist gong, and Melbourne quintet The Shades won the best schoolies artist.
Other winners on the night included songwriter Simon Shapiro, country outfit Jonah’s Road, pop act IRiS, and dance/electronic group The Vangarde.
To see what they’re all about, check out Borne’s new video for “The Guide.”
A statue of Australia’s pop princess Kylie Minogue will be unveiled in Melbourne today. It will join statues of John Farnham and Dame Nellie Melba as part of the Variety Entertainers of the Century art installation at Docklands.
The installation will feature 100 plaques commemorating the names of Australian artists, similar to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It will also include a giant mosaic mural celebrating the stars, and the life-sized bronze statues.
The Kylie is the work of acclaimed Melbourne sculptor Peter Corlett. He’s the guy responsible for the Weary Dunlop statue on St Kilda Road, the Phar Lap sculpture in Flemington, and the Teddy Whitten piece in Footscray.
His Kylie piece took three months to complete and it is an exact replica of the Aussie diva, right down to the size of her waist. Peter liaised with Kylie’s management and dressmakers in London to get the body measurements, and then used a real-life Kylie clone for the finishing touches.
“I actually found a young woman working in a cafe in Brunswick St who had virtually the same measurements as Kylie,” he told the Herald Sun.
“I hope the final Kylie will become a popular place to visit for all her fans.”
If you can’t make it to Melbourne to see it, there are some photos here.
Kylie Minogue is entering the digital age in a big way. Last week I told you about her cool social network site, Kylie Konnect. Now she’s launched a brilliant new Facebook application which allows fans to create their own little Kylie characters.
Facebook users can browse more than forty Classic Kylies wearing some of the divas most iconic outfits, or create their own from scratch. I think my favourite is this cute little Intimate Kylie, but there’s also the”Can’t Get You Out of My Head” Kylie wearing that famous white pantsuit, and the “Spinning Around” Kylie complete with sexy gold hotpants.
Once you’ve created your mini-Kylie you can download it to your computer or send it to a friend. Check it out at http://apps.facebook.com/kylierobotics/home.
Image source: Kylie Facebook page
Next year’s Big Day Out lineup was already bursting at the seams, but with the most recent announcement it’s bigger than ever.
Silverchair had a massive year in 2007, taking home five ARIAs and receiving worldwide acclaim for their fifth album Young Modern. They’re set to start 2008 with a bang appearing at Big Day Out gigs around Australia and New Zealand.
They’ll join other local sensations including Augie March, Regurgitator, Josh Pyke, Gyroscope, and Operator Please.
There’s also more international acts, with American rockers Spoon, DJ Carl Cox, Brit darling Kate Nash, and electronic outfit Unkle joining the bill.
They’ll play alongside Rage Against the Machine, Bjork, Hilltop Hoods, Billy Bragg, and more at these massive events.
The Gold Coast, Sydney, and Melbourne shows have already sold out, and with these recent additions the Adelaide, Auckland, and Perth shows won’t be too far behind.
Image source: Schair_junkie @ Flickr
If you missed Silverchair and Powderfinger’s massive Across the Great Divide Tour, or if you just want to relieve the magic all over again, then you’re in luck.
A special three-disc tour DVD is on sale soon. The first two discs will feature each band’s performances, and the third will include bonus interview footage and a 90-minute tour documentary.
The DVD was filed from the Melbourne shows on September 18 and 19, so if you were there make sure you look out for yourself in the crowd.
You can preorder the DVD now from the Across the Great Divide Shop ahead of its December 1 release.
Image source: Across the Great Divide shop
This year’s Australian Idol season is drawing to an end, but the fun doesn’t have to end there. For the first time ever, the winner will embark on a massive “Winner’s Journey Tour.”
This year’s winner, either Matt Corby or Natalie Gauci, will perform their favourite Idol tracks and some of the songs from their new album. The winner will also be joined on stage by other Idols from this year’s competition.
But that’s not all. Fans will have the chance to meet the Idols during signing sessions after the shows.
The Winner’s Journey will take in capital cities and major regional centres around the country. The tour kicks off at Wollongong’s Regent Theatre on January 2 and wraps up in Cairns on February 24. Tickets will go on sale at 9 am next Monday, the day after the winner is crowned.
Speculation about Missy Higgins’ sexuality has been rife since the Aussie songstress sang about a woman who “smelled like sugar and spoke like the sea” in “Scar.” Well Missy’s put an end to the whispering by appearing on the cover of popular lesbian and queer women’s mag Cherrie.
“I think sexuality is a fluid thing and it’s becoming increasingly more acceptable to admit that you’re that way,” Missy said in an interview with Cherrie’s editor, Katrina Fox.
“I’d like to say if you’re comfortable with who you are inside it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks,” she added.
“I don’t think it’s necessary to have to define yourself by any label. If you’re comfortable with who you are and you know who you are on the inside, people will love you for it.”
“We were very pleased at Cherrie magazine that Missy felt comfortable in being our cover girl and for admitting that she comes under our broad moniker of not-so-straight girls,” Katrina Fox told The Sunday Telegraph.
Good on Missy for being so comfortable in her own skin!
It’s another week, and there’s another Aussie act on the top of the ARIA charts!
Kylie Minogue’s new single “2 Hearts” has debuted at number one, knocking The Veronicas’ “Hook Me Up” down to fourth spot. This is Kylie’s tenth Aussie number one!
Ricki-Lee’s back in the charts with her new summery single “Love is All Around.” Ricki-Lee’s number five debut pushed Delta Goodrem down a few notches, but “In This Life” is still hanging on at number ten.
The Spice Girls and The Eagles kept him away from the top spot, but Guy Sebastian’s Memphis Album made an impressive debut at number three this week. The original Aussie Idol is just ahead of Delta Goodrem’s Delta, which has slipped one spot to number four.
The new Veronicas’ album Hook Me Up fell from number to two to number seven, and David Campbell’s Swing Sessions 2 is sitting at number 10.
Click the below to see the complete Aussie charts.
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