Lisa Mitchell’s Back in the Spotlight

It’s no secret that I’m a bit of an Australian Idol fan. One of my favourite performers was Lisa Mitchell. She was too shy and too uncomfortable with the Idol format to ever progress very far in the comp, but what she did was enough to stick in the minds of music lovers like myself.

Far away from the glare of the Idol stage Lisa Mitchell has been quietly working away at her music. And it looks like it’s finally paying off. She scored a record deal with Scorpio Music and she’s currently in London recording her debut album. She’ll work with British producer Ant White, known for his work with Arctic Monkeys and M.I.A., on the release. She’s also written some songs with Clare Bowditch and Kevin “Bob Evans” Mitchell, but she’s unsure whether they’ll make the final cut.

“Some people just write you off after being on Australian Idol, but working with credible artists kind of makes people less doubtful,” she told The Sunday Telegraph.

“I am kind of sick of trying to work out what the album is going to be like because you never know until you get in the studio.”

Her EP, Welcome to the Afternoon, will hit shelves on Saturday to tide fans over. The four-track disc was produced by Evermore’s Dan Hume.

“The first track [‘See You When You Get Here’] is a lot darker than maybe my other songs,” she said. “All the tracks are really different – it is really varied.”

Image source: Toby Forage @ Flickr 

Death Cab For Cutie Announce Aussie Tour

Seattle’s Death Cab for Cutie is making a pit stop in Australia during their massive world tour. It’s good news for all those fans that helped their latest album Narrow Stairs debut at number six on the ARIA chart.

Their last Aussie tour in 2006 sold out, so fans will need to grab their tickets fast. All the venues are fairly small for a band of this stature, so those who do manage to snare tickets are in for a real treat.

You can get yours when they go on sale at 9 am this Friday 30 May. Heatseeker are handling the Fremantle show, OzTix are taking care of Melbourne, and Ticketek are selling the rest.

Here are the dates!

17 August 2008 – The Palace, Melbourne
18 August 2008 – Enmore Theatre, Sydney
20 August 2008 – Metropolis, Fremantle
22 August 2008 – The Tivoli, Brisbane

Image source: Dunechaser @ Flickr

Free Goodies from The Boat People

We all like something for nothing, right? So here’s another free download to add to your MP3 collection.

Indie pop kids The Boat People are now giving away their new single “Awkward Orchid Orchard.” Try saying that three times quickly! Point your browser here to score your free download!

If you’re a music nerd like me, you’ll want to check out the song’s film clip below. It features 52 band names represented by some funky visuals. How many can you spot?

"Lessons to be Learned" – Gabriella Cilmi

After falling in love with Gabriella Cilmi’s playful debut single “Sweet About Me,” I couldn’t wait to hear more. Thankfully her album Lessons to be Learned doesn’t disappoint.

While listening to the album it’s easy to forget that Gabriella is just 16 years old. Her soulful voice sounds so much older, and the tunes she’s penned show a maturity beyond her years. The comparisons to Amy Winehouse are inevitable. Vocally they do sound very similar and they both share the same penchant for quirky soul numbers. But while Ms Winehouse’s songs speak of sadness and tragedy, Gabriella’s songs are brimming with youthful optimism and joy.

The album opens with a burst of energy in the form of “Save the Lies,” an upbeat lead in to her popular first single. Then the album changes pace a little, with the introspective ballad “Sanctuary.” The bubbly rhythms of “Got No Place to Go” are infectious, and the vintage charm of “Cigarettes and Lies” is loads of fun.

Lessons to be Learned is essentially a pop album but it enjoys flirting with genres, and therein lies its strength. Gabriella dabbles with jazz, adds a dash of blues, and spices it up with a good dose of soul, yet this CD is never alienating. Instead this eclectic mix allows Lessons to be Learned to stand up to repeated listens. Every song is strong, and these days that’s a very rare thing indeed.

Image supplied by Warner Music Australia

Aussies Score ARIA Number Ones

Aussie Aussie Aussie! Excuse me, but I just can’t help it. For the first time in ages, Australian artists hold the top spots on the ARIA singles and albums charts.

Gabriella Cilmi is still going strong with his massive debut single “Sweet About Me.” And then over on the album charts Pete Murray has debuted at number one with his third major label release, Summer at Eureka. Good work guys!

Vanessa Amorosi is keeping Gabriella company on the singles charts. Her newest single “Perfect” has climbed to number seven this week.

Gabriella pops up again in the albums charts. Her debut album Lessons to be Learned has climbed to the number two spot this week. Pete and Gabriella lead an eclectic collection of Aussie albums in our top ten.

There’s the electronic Apocalypso by The Presets at number four and Damien Leith’s walk down memory lane Catch the Wind at number five.

Pendulum’s In Silico and Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson’s Rattlin’ Bones round out the top ten. They’re at number nine and ten respectively.

Here’s all the chart action!

Australian Top 10 Singles

  1. “Sweet About Me” – Gabriella Cilmi
  2. “4 Minutes” – Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake
  3. “Low” – Flo Rida feat. T-Pain
  4. “American Boy” – Estelle feat. Kanye West
  5. “No Air” – Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown
  6. “Dream Catch Me” – Newton Faulkner
  7. “Perfect” – Vanessa Amorosi
  8. “Love in this Club” – Usher feat. Young Jeezy
  9. “Better in Time” – Leona Lewis
  10. “Take a Bow” – Rihanna

Australian Top 10 Albums

  1. Summer at Eureka – Pete Murray
  2. Lessons to be Learned – Gabriella Cilmi
  3. Waltzing Matilda – Andre Rieu and Mirusia
  4. Apocalypso – The Presets
  5. Catch the Wind: Songs of a Generation – Damien Leith
  6. Narrow Stairs – Death Cab for Cutie
  7. Hard Candy – Madonna
  8. Spirit – Leona Lewis
  9. In Silico – Pendulum
  10. Rattlin’ Bones – Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson

Nick Cave Wants to be a Bronzed Aussie

For some time now there’s been a rather bizarre rumour that Nick Cave wants to raise thousands of dollars to erect a bronze statue of himself in his hometown of Warracknabeal, Victoria. As the story goes Nick wants a full-size likeness of himself, semi-nude and riding a horse.

Now I’m not sure whether all the details are true, but apparently Nick does want that bronze statue.

“It would feel like a very exotic journey if I did make it back how as a bronze statuette,” he told Q magazine. “I don’t dwell on it. I’m not going to pretend it’s not satisfying in some ways. But there’s a lot of work yet to do.”

Righto! No one’s exactly sure where the statue would fit as the little town of Warracknabeal already has two statues: one of a dog on wool sacks and another of a sheepdog and sheep. Surely we could get rid of one dog for a replica of this Aussie living legend, right?

Image source: Alex Ex @ Wikimedia Commons

Sarah Blasko Does Shakespeare

Not content with winning ARIA Awards and selling bucketloads of albums, Sarah Blasko’s decided to branch out a little. She’s currently composing the score for the Bell Shakespeare company’s latest adaptation of Hamlet.

This is her first foray into the world of theatre, but Sarah told The Sunday Telegraph she’s thoroughly enjoying it.

“I was so nervous about doing it, I came over-prepared,” she admitted. “To sit in rehearsals and watch actors has been really exciting for me.”

And it seems they love having her there.

“It’s just like an angel’s entered the room,” gushed Bell Shakespeare’s associate director, Marion Potts. “When she starts singing at the piano the whole room stops because she’s got such an incredible voice.”

Sydneysiders can hear Sarah’s latest compositions when Hamlet opens at the Sydney Opera House on June 10. Sarah has also been working on her third album, which she hopes to record in October. So it sounds like the rest of Australia won’t be waiting too long before they hear something new from this awesome talent.

Image source: Jalapeno @ Flickr

The Wombats Announce Splendour Sideshows

If you missed out on Splendour in the Grass tickets I’ve got some good news. I can’t get you in to see the whole thing, but I can tell you that The Wombats have announced some sideshows. This addictive British band is one of the festival’s biggest drawcards, so these shows are sure to be huge.

The band are out here to promote their debut album A Guide to Love Loss and Desperation which contains the ridiculously catchy single “Let’s Dance to Joy Division.” These lads have been selling out shows all over the UK, and this is your chance to see what the fuss is all about.

Check out The Wombats at the following dates! It’s nice to see they haven’t forgotten their younger fans with these shows too! Tickets go on sale on June 4 from the usual outlets.

2 August 2008 – The Capitol, Perth
5 August 2008 – Enmore Theatre, Sydney
6 August 2008 – The Hi Fi, Melbourne (under 18s show in the afternoon, over 18s at night)
7 August 2008 – The Gov, Adelaide (all ages)

Image source: Chasingfun @ Flickr

Splendour Tickets Sell Out

If you haven’t got your Splendour in the Grass tickets yet it looks like you might be out of luck. All 17, 500 tickets were snapped up yesterday by enthusiastic fans … or at least the ones who didn’t suffer the online glitches.

Many customers experienced lengthy delays using the ticketing website Qjump, while others got bank error messages when they tried to process their payments.

“Around 70,000 people logged on simultaneously to purchase 17,500 tickets,” Neil Ackland from Qjump told AAP.

“There was an unexpected technical issue with the bank’s payment system and we are contacting any customers that were affected.

“At this point we are working closely with the bank to understand why this occurred. We’d also like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

Sounds like a whole lot of excuses to me. The promoters know demand for these tickets is going to be massive, and they simply should have the online infrastructure to cope with it. Last year there were dramas when OzTix managed things. Now it seems like more of the same.

But event organisers have defended Qjump and said they’re pleased with the site’s service.

“Qjump have done very well managing our complicated ticketing process with its anti-scalping features and carbon offsetting option,” they said in a statement.

“At this point we are pleased to say there are zero tickets on eBay and a healthy uptake of green tickets. From our end, this is a great result, cheers for your patience and continued support.”

But when the fans aren’t happy, that seems to matter little.

“I can’t believe we’ve been so naive for so long thinking Splendour is some magical festival to be enjoyed and put on for lovers of music,” said one music fan known as Sneal. “No, it’s been created by the sadists who think it’s funny to put 30-odd-thousand people through hell!”

Ouch. At the end, if people have attempted to buy tickets all day and still couldn’t get them, I think it’s safe to say there’s a problem. Splendour organisers aren’t going to win any fans by burying their heads in the sand.

If you received an error message at any point you should log a help request at http://help.qjump.com.au and a representative from Qjump will be in touch. I think you’d be well within your rights to yell and scream at them once they do make contact.

Big name acts like Devo, Wolfmother, The Living End, The Wombats, and Pnau will hit Byron Bay’s Belongil Fields on August 2 and 3 for this year’s festival.

Did you try to buy Splendour tickets? I’d love to hear about your experiences!

Image source: Bradii @ Flickr

Krista Polvere Launches Album in Oz

Long-time readers of this blog may remember me writing about Krista Polvere last year. This Adelaide singer-songwriter was hanging out in the USA with the likes of Ryan Adams and Ray LaMontagne while preparing her debut album Here Be Dragons.

Fast forward several months and the album is finally ready to be unleashed. And to celebrate, she’ll play a very special show with her band The Blacklist in Melbourne next week.

Krista will showcase songs from Here Be Dragons, including collaborations with Ryan Adams, and Grasshopper and Adam from Mercury Rev. If you like the sort of dark alt-country music Ryan Adams creates you’re going to love Krista Polvere. She’s playing at The Toff on Swanston Street on Wednesday 28 May. Tickets are just $12 at the door, which makes them absolute bargain in my books!

If you can’t make that show, or you just want to hear more, you can also catch Krista on the following dates:

4 June 2008 – The Corner Hotel, Melbourne
17 June 2008 – The Toff, Melbourne
18 June 2008 – The Grace Emily Record Launch, Adelaide