Month: October 2008

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Rolling Stone Founder Loves Powderfinger

Powderfinger are tipped for success in the United States after they impressed Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner. He was in Sydney last week to relaunch the Australian version of the rock bible, and was wowed by the Brisbane rockers.

“We will be working a little harder on Powderfinger in the US,” he told The Sunday Telegraph. “They sound a little U2-ish, which is a sound I love.”

You couldn’t ask a lot more than the backing of Rolling Stone, could you? Looks like Bernard and the boys could be set for big things!

Image source: Jeaneeem @ Flickr

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Katie Noonan Does The Beatles

Katie Noonan has breathed new life into the evergreen tunes of Lennon and McCartney in her new album Blackbird. To celebrate the landmark release, Katie will perform four very special intimate shows.

Highlights of the album include versions of “Across the Universe,” “Eleanor Rigby,” “Michelle” and of course, “Blackbird.” Katie is ably supported on the album and tour by her all-star jazz quartet featuring Joe Lovano, John Scofield, Lewis Nash, and Ron Carter.

These once-in-a-lifetime shows go on sale this Monday, October 6 from the venues.

9 December 2008 – The Studio @ Sydney Opera House
11 December 2008 – Prince of Wales Hotel, Melbourne
19 & 20 December 2008 – QPAC @ Cremorne Theatre, Brisbane

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

New Song Obsession: "The Show" by Lenka

Like many of you, I was first introduced to Lenka’s brilliant song “The Show” through Channel Seven’s latest lot of ads. This irresistably happy tune makes the network’s self promotion immensely more bearable, but I much prefer listening to it in its entirety. It builds slowly before exploding in a cascade of sunshine. Aussie girls are releasing some fantastic songs at the moment, and this is one of the best.

The official music video has embedding disabled on YouTube so instead I bring you this awesome live performance on an American radio station. It’s so nice to see Aussies doing well abroad, isn’t it?

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Moshcam Offers Free Online Concerts

With the cost of concert tickets on the rise, most of us music lovers don’t get to all the live gigs we’d like. So I was pretty excited to discover Moshcam, a new website offering on demand concert footage. Best of all, it’s all free.

So far the Moshcameras have captured around 250 Aussie gigs including shows by local artists Josh Pyke, Sneaky Sound System, Faker, John Butler, and Gyroscope, and international acts like The Wombats, The Frames, and The Brian Jonestown Massacre. And that’s just the start.

“We aim to create the world’s largest collection of on demand live music video,” said John Reddin, the site’s managing director.

“The web has evolved into a key broadcast channel and music video is one of the largest segments of that market. Where we differ from other music video channels is that we broadcast a complete live music experience of an entire gig.”

Head to Moshcam.com and check out all the great shows on offer. It’s the next best thing to being there!

Image source: Moshcam.com

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

The Go Set Go Around Australia

Melbourne’s The Go Set are heading on the road to celebrate the release of their fourth album, Rising.

This unique band proudly wear their eclectic influences on their sleeve, finding inspiration from such diverse musical genres as traditional celtic music and and early seventies punk rock. The result is completely original, and totally unforgettable. Where else can you hear the bagpipes, accordion, and mandolin playing alongside some distorted heavy guitars?

Rising shows the band rediscovering their punk roots while adding new flavours of reggae and ska. It was recorded with famed US producer Jonathon Burnside (Melvins, NOFX, Sleepy Jackson) in Melbourne. It will be in stores this Saturday.
2008 has a been a busy year for the boys, who also found time to tour Japan and Europe, where they signed a deal with punk label Coretex. But now they’re back to wow local crowds. Check them out at the following dates.

10 October 2008 – ANU Bar, Canberra
11 October 2008 – Annandale Hotel, Sydney
17 October 2008 – Corner Hotel, Melbourne
18 October 2008 – The Pub, Bendigo
19 October 2008 – National Hotel, Geelong (all ages)
23 October 2008 – Bon Amici, Toowoomba
24 October 2008 – Pig and Whistle, Maroochydore
25 October 2008 – Queen Street Mall, Brisbane (all ages)
25 October 2008 – The Jubilee, Brisbane
31 October 2008 – National Hotel, Geelong
1 November 2008 – Portland Bay Festival, Hobart
6 November 2008 – Brisbane Hotel, Hobart
7 November 2008 – Batman Fawkner, Launceston
8 November 2008 – River Rocks @ Barwon Club, Geelong

Image used with permission from AAA Entertainment

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Rob Guest Dies After Stroke

The Australian stage has lost one of its greats. Musical theatre star Rob Guest died last night at the age of 57.

He suffered a massive stroke on Tuesday night, and was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital suffering bleeding from the brain. He never recovered.

The English-born entertainer started his career as a pop star in New Zealand in the 70s before moving to Las Vegas in the 80s. But it was in Australia where he made his home. He came to play Jean Valjean in Les Miserables in 1991 and never left.

But he will be remembered most fondly as The Phantom of the Opera, a role he played a world record 2289 times over a nine-year period.

Before he passed away, Rob was playing The Wizard in the Melbourne production of Wicked.

Rob Guest is survived by his partner Kellie Dickerson and teenage children Christopher and Amy. He will be sorely missed.

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

New Song Obsession: "Pennywhistle" by Augie March

Augie March are back again, and it’s been worth the wait. Their new song “Pennywhistle” is a jaunty little ditty which gets better with every listen. Glenn Richards is in fine voice here, and you’ll soon find yourself singing along. The film clip is also brilliant. If this doesn’t put a smile on your face this Humpday, nothing will!

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

RuinGloria Prepare for American Assault

Congratulations to RuinGloria! The Sydney rockers just signed deals with American labels Red Dragon Booking and Maelstrom Music PR.

This awesome achievement will see the lads heading to Los Angeles in the New Year. Once there they’ll woo crowds with a 63-date three month tour to support their latest single “I’m Pretty Sure My Ex-Girlfriend Is a Vampire.”

But before wowing the United States, they’ve got a couple of local dates. Make sure you head out to check out Australia’s latest success story!

3 October 2008 – Caringbah Bizzos, Sydney
18 October 2008 – Sonar @ Luna Park, Milsons Point
14 November 2008 – Frogstomp, Windsor

Image source: RuinGloria MySpace

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Olivia Newton-John Headlines Star Studded Charity Concert in Sydney

Olivia Newton-John showed she’s still got it last night, leading a star-studded bill for a charity concert at Sydney’s State Theatre.

“It’s a bit of a dream to be on stage with someone who’s had such an impact on the musical world,” said Guy Sebastian who did his best John Travolta on the night, joining Livvy for a duet of Summer Nights.

“And I can’t believe she is 60 years old – she’s beautiful and still an amazing performer.”

Some of the artists – including James Reyne, Melinda Schneider, and Chantelle Delaney – walked the Great Wall of China with Olivia earlier this year. Others including Todd McKenney, Kate Ceberano, Christine Anu, and Ian Moss were old friends.

All money raised from last night’s performance was donated to the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre Appeal.

Image source: Leahshia Gaston @ Wikimedia Commons