Aussie singer-songwriter Missy Higgins is doing huge things in America at the moment. All her U.S. shows have sold out, but American fans can still catch Missy at her free instore appearances at Borders stores around the country.
Missy kicked off her Borders tour last night in New York. She’ll be in Chicago on Monday, before visiting Seattle, Northglenn, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Hollywood. All the dates and times for these very special performances are available on Missy’s site.
These instores are a great chance to see one of Australia’s great modern songwriters before she makes it big in the States.
Borders is the only place that American fans can get their hands on Missy’s second album, On a Clear Night. The triple-platinum will be officially released through all American record stores next year.
The wait is almost over for Kylie Minogue’s hotly anticipated album, X. Kylie’s tenth studio album, and her first since recovering from breast cancer, will hit stores around the world on November 24.
The album features 13 new tracks, including the hot new single “2 Hearts.” The disc should have an international flavour as it was recorded in London, Stockholm, and Ibiza.
Fans who can’t wait quite that long for their Kylie fix can check out her new film, White Diamond. The movie features behind-the-scenes footage from the 2006 Showgirl Homecoming Tour. In it, Kylie talks candidly about her feelings, worries and aspirations for this amazing tour.
The film will premiere in Vue cinemas across the UK on October 16. Aussie fans can catch it in selected Greater Union theatres on October 19. Presale tickets are available online for the Australian exciting premiere.
If you miss it at the movies you can buy White Diamond on DVD in December. The Australian release will feature the White Diamond movie and a second disc with footage from the Melbourne Showgirl Homecoming Live shows.
I have such fond memories of singing along to Peter Combe film clips on the ABC, so I was thrilled to see he’s touring the country.
It’s not kids going to his shows either. Once The Wiggles came along the younger set sort of forgot about Peter. No, Peter Combe’s current gigs are filled with twenty-somethings eager to recapture their childhood. They don paper hats and reminisce as they sing along to “Newspaper Mama.”
Peter promises this old favourite and more in his new show, Newspaper Mama Revisited.
Peter discovered his adult fanbase when he played a German beer festival in Adelaide seven years ago.
“[The crowd] sort of went mad,” he says. “They danced, they sang, they crowd-surfed to ‘Toffee Apple’ and ‘Spaghetti Bolognaise’,” he told The Sydney Morning Herald. “It was almost like what I imagine the Rolling Stones and the Beatles might have been like 40 years ago … I couldn’t help but feel like a bit of a rock star.”
So what can fans expect from a Peter Combe show today?
“I sex the music up a bit because they’re adults now,” he said. “I do more singing and less talking because they want to hear the songs. It’s deeper than just nostalgia; they sing the songs with such incredible joy.”
If you’d like to relive your childhood memories, and sing along to “Wash Your Face in Orange Juice” with the man himself, check out Peter Combe on his Australian tour. He’s playing Canberra’s ANU Bar tonight before visiting the rest of the country. Check out his website for all the dates.
And until then, why not check out this awesome clip for “Newspaper Mama”?
But the Icelandic songstress isn’t the only big name set to play Australia’s biggest music festival. She’ll join international megastars Rage Against the Machine, Arcade Fire, Billy Bragg, LCD Soundsystem, Dizzee Rascal, and Battles.
There’s also a strong local contingent, with Grinspoon, Hilltop Hoods, Paul Kelly, Sarah Blasko, Faker, Midnight Juggernauts, Something With Numbers, and Cut Off Your Hands all on the bill.
With such an extraordinary line-up, these tickets are likely to be the hottest in town. Make sure you get yours when they go on sale on October 10 for Sydney, October 11 for Auckland, Melbourne, and Adelaide, and October 12 for Perth. To keep things fair Sydneysiders will be restricted to two tickets, while everyone else can buy four.
The Big Day Out festival starts in Auckland on January 18 before flying to Oz.
It’s no secret: Australians are really good at sport. So I don’t understand why so many athletes decide to tarnish their good reputations by launching singing careers.
Paul “The Chief” Harrogan recently scored a top 10 hit with this Spandau Ballet inspired song “That’s Gold.” Just because it was a hit doesn’t make it any good. While this may be terribly corny, I can forgive him because it raised money for children’s charities.
Anthony Mundine wasn’t helping any good causes when he released “Knock You Out.” The song just gave The Man a chance to big note himself even further. To be fair, musically this isn’t a bad effort. His rapping’s a bit weak, but Joel Turner does enough to cover that up. Just make sure you listen to the words for a really good laugh.
It may have been a big hit in India, but cricket legend Brett Lee’s “You Are The One For Me” is just tragic. The cheesy film clip, those lyrics, the questionable singing talent make this worth watching for all the wrong reasons. Listen out for lyrical gems like “I know I’m different, I’m not from here, I know I’m not an Indy … I’ll make you laugh, I’ll even learn some Hindi.”
Just think yourself lucky that I’ve spared you from the musical offerings of Mark “Jacko” Jackson, Warwick Capper, and members of the Brisbane Broncos.
You might not want to read about their musical efforts (I promise this will be the last time!) but if these guys interest you make sure you check out b5media’s new sports channel. There are 24 brand new blogs here, with news about hockey, soccer, basketball, fishing, poker, and more!
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Visit this post to read all about the prizes, the trivia questions, and the competition’s terms and conditions. Entries close on October 12. Good luck!
Home and Away star Tim Campbell will have big shoes to fill when he plays Johnny O’Keefe in a new version of the stage musical Shout!
David Campbell made the role famous in the original stage production, but Shout’s! co-producer Dennis Smith is confident Tim will make the part his own.
“I think this is going to be the show that establishes Tim as a brilliant new star on the Australian stage,” he told The Sydney Morning Herald.
Shout! was first performed in Australia in 2001. The biographical work charts the life of flamboyant Australian music pioneer, Johnny O’Keefe. Fans can expect plenty of sing-a-long tunes like “She’s My Baby,” “Wild One,” and “Rock Around the Clock.” However, the musical does not shy away from the darker aspects of O’Keefe’s life, including his nervous breakdowns, and personal rifts.
Aussie music veterans Glenn Shorrock, John Paul Young, Colleen Hewett, and Mark Holden will bring a dose of rock cred to the musical.
Shout! will open in Melbourne in January, before heading to Sydney in March.
No sooner had Mark Da Costa unplugged his amplifier than the Australian Idol rock god was eliminated from the show.
The show’s oldest competitor became the first male to get the boot after his bluesy reworking of “Yellow” on Sunday night.
The verdict seemed the shock the judges and other contestants, but it came as no surprise to Mark.
“It’s like the first audition for Idol, I had this bug saying ‘Go and audition you’ll do really well’. But tonight I had this bug that’s like it ended, I had this bug that it’s gonna end,” he told the crowd.
No doubt next week’s Brit-pop theme will suit Jacob Butler. The Melbourne lad will be looking for a better reception after finding himself in the bottom three along with touchdown king Daniel Mifsud.
It’s a new theme for Idol, and one that I have mixed thoughts about. I only hope our contestants look beyond Coldplay, Oasis, and Blur and cover some older, and much cooler, British music.
I’d been really looking forward to Australian Idol’s acoustic night, and it definitely didn’t disappoint. There was only one touchdown but several other performances that probably deserved them. One even moved me to tears! Of course, all this isn’t surprising considering the Idols had some help from Australian music legend, Ian Moss. If you’re going to perform acoustically, you can’t ask for a better mentor than Mossy.
Mark Da Costa was first up with his country-blues inspired interpretation of Coldplay’s “Yellow.” I must admit, this one lost me early. The moment he sang “thang” instead of “thing” I cringed, and I didn’t really recover. We certainly don’t say “thang” in Australia, even Chris Martin doesn’t say “thang.” It just came across very affected. I admire what he tried to do in terms of making the song his own, but I don’t feel he even came close.
Natalie Gauci helped to remove the bad taste in my mouth with her rendition of “Man in the Mirror.” It’s easy to forget exactly how good Michael Jackson’s music was, isn’t it? It was a great song choice and a beautiful interpretation. Natalie seemed so at home behind the piano, and that translated into a really breathtaking performance.
Carl Riseley was back in swing mode with his cover of the Cole Porter classic “It’s Alright With Me.” I really enjoyed hearing Carl play the trumpet, but I can’t say the singing grabbed me nearly as much. It was quite weak in a lot of places, and that distracted me from how much fun he seemed to be having.
Jacob Butler received a lukewarm response to his rendition of Keane’s “Somewhere Only We Know,” but I really enjoyed it. It was so refreshing to see him just stand there and deliver a song without the theatrics. This was definitely Jacob at his most honest and believable.
It was Matt Corby that made me cry with his amazing version of “The Blower’s Daughter.” The song choice already had me on side – it’s one of my favourites – and I was so impressed by Matt’s interpretation. He really does have a maturity beyond his years, and an uncanny ability to live in the lyrics of the songs he chooses. How last week’s performance was touchdown-worthy and this wasn’t I’ll never know.
Matt may have missed out on a touchdown this time around, but Daniel Mifsud didn’t. His surprising take on Kiss’ “I Was Made for Loving You” struck the right chord with Mark, earning him the ultimate compliment. I was so impressed by this arrangement – it really allowed the song’s romantic lyrics to shine. I also feel Daniel tends to imitate the original recordings, so it was lovely to hear him being himself.
Ben McKenzie managed to match the intensity of his cover of “Mad World” this week, with his take on Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek.” I was spellbound by this one, and probably would have cried again if my cat hadn’t started to play up! Like Matt, Ben also has such a gift for interpreting lyrics. He also manages to be mature, but still innocently childlike. A massive wow factor here.
While Ben wowed me, Tarisai Vushe underwhelmed me. I’ll be honest and say I’ve always found Des’Ree’s “Kissing You” a little on the boring side. Tarisai didn’t really bring anything to her performance to change my mind on that score. Yes she sang it very well, but I didn’t really care about it.
Marty Simpson has been hanging out to play with his guitar, and he didn’t disappoint with his cover of Snow Patrol’s “Open Your Eyes.” He seemed so much more relaxed on stage, and this made the whole performance very enjoyable. He really does need to watch his timing, but I could forgive that simply because he was doing the kind of performance he wanted to do.
Tonight’s verdict is going to be a really close call after so many outstanding performances. I’d like to think Mark will go, but that’s probably wishful thinking as his fan base seems to be very strong. The same goes for Carl, although I do find him a lot more likeable. I’m going to stick with those predictions though because I’m not ready to say goodbye to the others just yet!
Lior’s debut album Autumn Flow did big things in 2005, scoring a handful of ARIA nominations and achieving gold status. Now he’s set to replicate this success with album number two, Corner of an Endless Road.
“These new songs are intensely personal and candid,” says Lior. “Corner of an Endless Road is a true representation of my musical landscape; think Led Zeppelin jamming with Nick Drake at a teahouse somewhere in the Middle East.”
That’s some description! Sadly we’ll have to wait until February 9 to hear the new disc, although the first single “Heal Me” is out in November.
But fans will have a sneak peek of the album when Lior takes the new songs on the road in November. He’ll play some very special intimate shows, starting at the Governor Hindmarsh in Adelaide on the 16th. From there he’ll visit Melbourne, Sydney, Fremantle, Brisbane, Port Douglas, Cairns, and Byron Bay. Full details of the shows are available at Lior’s website.
The Adelaide Advertiser ran a fascinating article today where (mostly) Australian artist spoke about the albums they couldn’t get enough of.
It’s little surprise to know our own talented troubadour Ben Lee is a big Bob Dylan fan, or that Silverchair dumming whiz Ben Gillies took his cues from Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham.
But I was a little more shocked to read that softly spoken singer/songwriter Josh Pyke can’t get enough of the Gunner’s rock classic Appetite for Destruction. And who would have thought that our newest pop princess Amy Pearson loves the grit of Oasis’ (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
Like the local stars featured here, my favourite album isn’t an Australian one either. I still can’t go past Matchbox Twenty’s Yourself Or Someone Like You for a front-to-back compelling listening experience. I bought it as an angsty teenager (that’s showing my age) and more than a decade later I love it just as much.
But what about you? I’d love to know what album really rocks your world, whether it’s Australian or not!
