Category: News

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Brian Wilson To Headline Sydney Festival

The Sydney Festival has a rich tradition of bringing rock royalty to Australia, after delivering Elvis Costello and Lou Reed to the masses in recent years. 2008 won’t be any exception, with news The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson will headline the arts event.

Brian Wilson will play a huge free (that’s right, free) concert in The Domain on January 5 to open the festival. The night promises to offer plenty of Beach Boys hits, including “Surfing USA,” “I Get Around,” “Help Me Rhonda” and “Good Vibrations.” Could there be any better music for a steamy summer night?

He’ll then perform two different shows over the 21-day event. The first will showcase the tracks from the Beach Boys’ influential 1966 release, Pet Sounds. The second show will feature his new album, The Lucky Old Sun (a Narrative). On his official site, Brian said the album “will consist of five ’rounds’ with interspersed spoken word.” Sounds interesting!

Dates for Brian Wilson’s Sydney Festival shows will be announced on November 1.

Image source: Greg2600 @ Flickr.com

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Aussie Artists Climbing The Charts

A diverse range of Australian artists have made their mark on the ARIA charts this week.

Fergie may have kept her stranglehold on the singles chart with her mammoth hit, “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” but she’s faced stiff competition from Shannon Noll. His new single “Loud” has debuted at number three.

Fellow Australian Idol graduate Ricki-Lee has slipped two places with “Can’t Touch It,” but the pop smash is still sitting pretty at number seven.

Jetsetting folksters The Waifs have debuted at number two with their latest album, Sun Dirt Water. But they couldn’t shift the might of British opera star Paul Potts, who holds the number one spot for the second week with One Chance.

The Waifs have pushed Damien Leith’s album Where We Land to number four. The John Butler Trio’s Grand National and Powderfinger’s Dream Days at the Hotel Existence round out the top ten. They’re holding steady at ninth and tenth spot.

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Holly Weinert: Australian Idol’s First Casualty

Victoria’s Holly Weinert was the first Idol hopeful to get the chop last night, after her new punk image failed to impress.

Holly took a big risk singing The Gossip’s “Standing in the Way of Control,” a dramatic departure from her regular alt-country fare.

“I had a feeling,” she told the crowd last night. “I knew sort of all the way along that the song choice was not one that everyone would know, but I think I have to be true to myself and that’s who I am.”

Honestly, I think it was statements like this that saw Holly ousted from the comp. I’m all for versatility, but throughout the competition she presented herself as a mellow indie folkster. Such a major shift, coupled with the insistence that this is who she is, undoubtedly alienated the fans who’d voted her into the competition, myself included. Perhaps Holly would have been better off saving this aspect of her personality for next week’s rock-themed show.

Don’t worry about Holly though. In an interview with Central Coast radio station Star FM this morning, she said she was “relieved” to be free of the competition’s pressure. She was also quick to laugh off rumours of a budding romance between Brianna Carpenter and Matt Corby, insisting the two are just good friends.

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Björk and Sinead Festival Rumours

The festival season is a few months away, and already the rumour bill is buzzing about who will headline some of the biggest events. If the word on the street is anything to go by, we could see some of the coolest female artists in the world gracing our shores early next year.

Björk has played some big festivals lately, and rumour has it she’ll be the headline act at Australia’s biggest, The Big Day Out. Could it be true? Fans must hope so, as the quirky Icelandic star hasn’t visited Australia in more than a decade.

Apparently Sinead O’Connor has had her heart set on playing the East Coast Blues and Roots Festival for ages, and 2008 may just be her year. Word is she’ll be one of the Byron Bay festival’s major draw cards next year. The coolest festival around is still eight months away, but early-bird tickets are already on sale.

Image source: Zach Klein @ Flickr

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Happy Birthday Ivy League!

A killer roster and a great deal of heart have helped indie label Ivy League reach its tenth birthday. To celebrate the milestone the Sydney record company will release a very special compilation, Ten Years in the Trenches.

The album, which spans the label’s history, will feature tracks by some of the biggest artists including The Vines, Youth Group, Red Riders, Josh Pyke, 78 Saab, The City Lights, and The Mess Hall.

It will also include a brand new song, “Out of My Hands,” performed by the all-star Ivy Regiment Band. This Ivy League supergroup features Josh Pyke, Youth Group’s Tony Martin and Patrick Matthews, 78 Saab’s Ben Nash, The Vines’ Hamish Rosser, Red Riders’ Adrian Deutsch, and Neon’s Josh Bitmead. That’s some line-up!

Ten Years in the Trenches hits stores on October 20. Rumour has it an Ivy League concert will celebrate the release, so stay tuned for more details on that!

Image source: Narcissus1x @ Wikimedia Commons

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

No Man’s Woman | Aussie Blokes Get In Touch With Their Feminine Side

In 2001 indie goddess Tori Amos put a feminist twist on some iconic male tracks with her album Strange Little Girls. Now some Aussie lads have turned the concept on its head with their new album, No Man’s Woman.

This tribute to some of the world’s most influential female artists features tracks by Joni Mitchell, Blondie, Sinead O’Connor, and Björk. I personally can’t wait to hear Josh Pyke belt out “Wuthering Heights,” and Powderfinger’s take on “Glory Box.”

If you’re as intrigued as I am, you can grab the album when it’s released on October 20. Sydney music fans can also catch Bob Evans, End of Fashion, Lior, Expatriate, and Dan Kelly play their No Man’s Woman tracks at Legs 11. See our Legs 11 story above for more details!

Image source: No Man’s Woman’s MySpace

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Aussie Idol Takes Out Top Teen Honours

Australian Idol graduates proved they’re tops with teens, taking out several major awards at last night’s Dolly Teen Choice Awards in Sydney.

Dean Geyer was named hottest music act, a title that may have as much to do with his looks as his talent. Last year’s third-place getter was thrilled to attend the awards show with his lady love, Lisa Origliasso of The Veronicas.

“This is the first awards night we’ve been to as a couple – it’s awesome,” he told The Daily Telegraph.

Guy Sebastian’s Close to The Sun was named most popular album, and Anthony Callea’s “Addicted To You” was the most downloaded ringtone. No, I can’t believe there’s an award for that either.

Australian Idol host James Mathison showed up his sidekick Andrew G by taking home the coolest VJ title.

Dan O’Connor showed his move to acting was a wise one by winning the King of Teen crown. Dan was the second top 12 competitor ousted from Australian Idol 2, but he’s stuck around a lot longer on teen soap Neighbours.

But the comment of the night has to go to Aussie Idol judge Dicko’s daughter, Edie. It seems the 14-year-old felt her daggy Dad was far too old for the Dolly awards.

“I brought him with me, he’s got too much grey hair to be here,” she said. Nice one Edie!

Image source: DianeSunshineCoast @ Wikimedia Commons

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

The Butterfly Effect Score Big US Gigs

American fans of Chevelle should make sure they get to next month’s gigs early. Australia’s own The Butterfly Effect will ably support the Chicago hard rockers throughout October.

The Butterfly Effect is one of Australia’s best-kept secrets. While the rest of the world remains oblivious, they’ve been selling out Aussie venues and appearing at some of the nation’s biggest music festivals.

They’re in America to promote the US releases of their albums IMAGO and Begins Here, which are both in American stores now. So make sure you see what all the fuss is about at these very special shows!

Before heading overseas The Butterfly Effect will join Grinspoon, Little Birdy, and Youth Group at Australia’s massive Break Out concerts. Make sure you check The Butterfly Effect’s website for the Aussie dates!

Image source: Michael Spencer @ Wikimedia Commons

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Architecture in Helsinki Build International Fanbase

Melbourne outfit Architecture in Helsinki might not be making waves in their homeland, but after some high profile support slots it’s a different story overseas. The six-piece has won over critics and the punters with gigs at South by South West and support slots for Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah and Death Cab for Cutie.

Their avant-garde brand of pop is brought to the live arena with an eclectic mix of instruments including a glockenspiel, some trumpets, and clapping hands. It’s these unusual combinations that have helped Architecture in Helsinki become cult favourites.

If all that makes you curious, why not catch them live? Architecture in Helsinki is currently touring Europe to support their new album, Places Like This. Then it’s off to the United States and Canada in October before heading back to Australia in November. Talk about busy!

Image source: Philo Nordlund @ Flickr.com

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Australian Idol Top 12 Announced!

Australia, meet your Australian Idol finalists. Last night we welcomed the final four members of the group to the fray, and prepared for the business end of the competition.

Daniel Mifsud and Mark Da Costa were the audience favourites, scoring the highest number of viewers votes after their performances on Sunday night. I was disappointed, but not surprised. I was sweating on Husny scoring one of the spots, knowing Mark could never convince the other judges to back him, but it was not to be. There’s been so much hype around the other boys though, the result was a little predictable.

Not so the judges’ choices, which came after a sublime performance from last year’s oddbod, Bobby Flynn.

Carl Riseley was the first judges’ pick, something I really didn’t expect. I know he did quite well on Sunday night, but surely one good performance isn’t enough. The judges’ second choice was a lot more obvious. Natalie Gauci has been such a consistent performer throughout this competition, and she certainly deserves her place.

So what did you think? I’d love to know your views on the wildcards, and the top 12 generally? Who shouldn’t have missed out, and who doesn’t deserve a top spot?

Image source: jason ilagan @ Flickr.com