Category: News

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Keith Urban Tops Aussie Album Charts

With extended time in Brisbane my chart report’s coming a little late this week. But with Keith Urban’s latest greatest hits The Story So Far album debuting at the number one slot, I figured it was better done late than never.

It’s a great effort for Keith whose previous best effort was a number three peak for Defying Gravity. No doubt all that exposure on The Voice has something to do with this latest chart success.

The good news for The Voice continues on the singles charts. Contestant Karise Eden is the best performing Aussie this week with her cover of “Nothing’s Real But Love” sitting at number nine. With a result like that, there was no way she’d go home this week. Despite the criticism levelled at her it seems plenty of us still love Delta Goodrem too. Her new single “Sitting on Top of the World” occupies the number ten slot.

Click below for this week’s ARIA top tens.

Continue reading “Keith Urban Tops Aussie Album Charts” →

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Gyroscope Play Benefit Show for Burns Victim

It’s been a bit quiet in the Gyroscope camp this year, but the Perth band are heading out of hibernation for a good cause. The Western Australian rock act will headline The Benefit Show for Dana in September.

The event will help raise funds for 26-year-old Dana Vulin, who was badly burned when a home invader doused her in metho and set her alight. Money raised on the night will help Dana and her family with their medical costs, legal fees, and rehabilitation. It’s a cause particularly close to the band’s heart, as Dana is Gyroscope guitarist Zoran Trivic’s cousin.

“What has happened to my cousin Dana is beyond words, and never in our lives have we felt stronger about doing a benefit show,” Zoran said. “This will be a most special and important night, and the boys and I are really looking forward to tearing the Rosemount apart on behalf of a brave & amazing girl.”

The Benefit Show for Dana hits Perth’s The Rosemount Hotel on September 22. Tickets are just $35. You can get yours from Oztix from 9 am on Monday, May 30. If you can’t make it but still want you give, you can do so via a direct deposit to Westpac Bank/ BSB 036000 / Account: 939549 / Account name: Foundation for Dana Vulin.

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

The Vasco Era Announce Final 2012 Show

It’s not even mid year yet, but The Vasco Era are saying goodbye to 2012 with a final show at Melbourne’s Corner Hotel.

The band’s vocalist Sid O’Neil is planning to recharge his mind, body, and soul with an extended European vacation, so The Vasco Era are giving him a proper send off. They promise some special guest bands will join them so it should be quite a party.

If you want to send Sid off in style make sure you get down to the Corner Hotel on June 22. Tickets are on sale now from the venue.

Image used with permission from Riot House Publicity

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Chet Faker Takes on The World

Chet Faker has just signed a deal with American label Downtown Records which will see his debut EP Thinking in Textures released across the United States. The CD will hit US stores on May 22 with a vinyl release to follow on June 19.

No doubt Chet will be keen to return to the States to capitalise on the release, but right now he’s ready to kick off his United Kingdom tour. The Brits loved his EP when it was released there through Chess Club Records in March. He’ll be back on home soil soon enough too. Chet’s already booked in to support The Temper Trap as part of Sydney’s Vivid Festival, and he’s got some slots at Splendour.

Here are all the places you can see Chet Faker play in the coming months:

8 May 2012 – BBC Introducing @ Social, London
10 May 2012 – YoYo @ Notting Hill Arts Club, London
11 May 2012 – Chess Club & Neon Gold Showcase @ The Great Escape Festival, Brighton
12 May 2012 – Sounds Australia Showcase @ The Great Escape Festival, Brighton
31 May & 1 June 2012 – Vivid LIVE at Sydney Opera House, Sydney (supporting The Temper Trap)
27-29 July 2012 – Splendour in the Grass Festival, Byron Bay

Image used with permission from Remote Control Records

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Mia Dyson Gives Away Long Awaited New Music

Mia Dyson made a big impression on the Australian music charts in the last naughties, but seemed to disappear just as quickly. But it turns out she didn’t give up the dream; she just relocated it to the United States.

After three years touring America with big name artists like Stevie Nicks, Dave Stewart, and Chris Isaak, Mia’s reconnecting with her local fans. The independent artist askedmusic lovers to pre-order her new album through the Pledge Music campaign. These donations will then go towards funding the release. She actually raised enough to make the album in just one week, so Mia wants to say thanks for the support.

Which brings me to “Tell Me,” an achingly gorgeous new track that Mia’s giving away to her fans.

“Tell Me is a track I felt would really resonate with fans of my previous albums,” she explained. “It gives a hint of what I’ve been up to in the studio, so I really wanted fans to hear it first, before we get to the craziness of an album campaign later in the year!”

You can hear the song here, and if you like it just sign up to the Mia Dyson mailing list for the free download. Hopefully that will tide you over until the new album, dubbed The Moment, hits stores in August.

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Those Shock “The Voice” Eliminations

Regular readers may have noted that I haven’t reported on The Voice as I have other reality music franchises. It’s been a deliberate exile to be honest. While I’m tuning in I want to experience this one rather than feeling that pressure to type away each evening. Besides, no one needs to read what I’m writing around those late 10 pm finishes.

But I felt like weighing in now in the face of some shock eliminations. Having watched the first American series I knew what we were in for. I was so excited by the talent I saw, although I was nervous knowing the battle rounds were to come. These are tough, with singers paired up, forced to sing songs that may play to their competition’s strengths more than their own, forced to compete directly against other major players. It’s cutthroat stuff. I can’t say I was happy with every decision made last night, but it’s the nature of a format designed to keep the pace moving.

Much has been made of Mahalia Barnes elimination. Her battle with Prinnie Stevens divided us in the lounge room. I understood why Joel paired them as they were bound to split votes, but it would have been a loss whichever way it fell. For what it’s worth I would have backed Mahalia, but I wonder whether that’s because I’ve seen her live many times before.

Honestly I was most disappointed by the matchup of Adam Hoek and Rachael Leahcar. It was only ever going to go one way, and Adam ended up feeling like a sacrificial lamb. I think the competition will be a lot poorer without him. With a different song and a different partner it could have been so different.

The Mitchell Thompson and Fatai Veamatahau battle also divided us. Frankly the performance was so searing neither of them deserved to depart. But it’s the nature of the beast, and again we lost another talent far too soon.

The Voice is far from an even playing field. I expect more shocks as I watch this evening. But I prefer this cutthroat fast-paced show over those drawn out reality TV shows any day, don’t you?

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

My Thoughts on Prince Ticketing Woes

I’ve just returned home after a few days away, so I haven’t had time to weigh into the Prince ticketing debacle. That might be for the best, as it allowed me a few days to cool off!

You’ve probably already read about the dramas in the news, but I thought I’d chime in with my own perspective. I was nervous about scoring these tickets. It’s unusual for concerts to go on sale without a presale these days, and I was concerned about the volume of prospective purchasers flooding the site. I’d read the stories about Ticketek’s system crashing for other popular concerts, and I was anxoius I’d encounter something similar here. It turned out my fears were true.

The site was painfully slow from the get go, but eventually it spat out some great tickets. I attempted to pay for them, only to be told there was an “unspecified error.” And again, and again as the site’s timer counted me down before logging me out and releasing those coveted tickets back to the masses. And so I remained logged out, seeing only a message telling me of high traffic, for another 15 minutes. I called frantically on the phone at the same time with no success. Finally I was in the site again. And along it crawled until it spat out some nosebleed tickets. Disgusted, I threw them back and persevered until at 10:30, an hour and a half after my Prince concert ticket buying adventure began, I secured two reasonable tickets to the Brisbane show. They’re not as good as the ones I was first told were mine, but after reading some horror stories I feel like one of the lucky ones. My gal pal Lisa and I will undoubtedly have an awesome time at the show.

What troubles me most is the lack of responsibility Ticketek’s taken for the whole affair. Its managing director said “We are aware that some customers experienced a ‘timed out transaction’ and whilst we understand this can frustrate eager fans, it is important to understand that a limit on the time allowed per transaction is one of the key measures put in place to ensure fair access to as many fans as possible.” Fair call, but it says nothing of the way the site crawled and refused to accept the payment of countless fans. We all were doing our level best to complete our transactions in a timely fashion, but the site glitches made it an impossibility.

While Ticketek refuses to take any responsibilitybfor the whole affair it seems little will change. I’m admittedly a tech novice but it seems the site needs an upgrade to cope with those high demand days. Presales help ease the demand, but where there isn’t time to allow one offering different sale times for different cities seems a sensible measure. It’d also be nice to somehow see scalpers stamped out. I hated thinking they were buying the good seats while I was locked out of the site. eBay seems to suggest they were.

Infuriated fans have suggested a boycott, but while Ticketek continues to sell for some of the biggest local and international touring acts such measures seem like cutting off a proverbial nose. And so I’ll persevere, but I really hope Ticketek gets its act together soon. Music fans deserve better.

Image source: Scott Penner @ Wikimedia Commons

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Secretive George Calls it a Day

After two years together and the release of a self-titled EP, Melbourne band Secretive George are calling it a day.

They came, they saw, they rocked with shows up and down the East Coast. And now they intend to go out in a blaze of glory with one final show for hometown fans. See Secretive George’s swan song at The Evelyn Hotel on April 26. With 11 of their closest band pals on the bill, it’s promising to be a very big night!

Image used with permission from Secretive George

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Cold Chisel Go to the Movies

Most of us weren’t lucky enough to score tickets to Cold Chisel’s upcoming show at the Hordern Pavilion, but we don’t have to miss out. The show will be beamed to cinemas around Australia live on April 18.

Fans can see the performance as it unfolds in high definition with Dolby 5.1 sound. Given that the Hordern’s a bit of a shed, I wouldn’t be surprised if it sounds better at the movies! The band promises to play tracks from their brand new album No Plans as well as a healthy arsenal of their hits.

“We’re really proud of this new album and want as many people to hear it as possible”, explained Chisel frontman Jimmy Barnes. “The idea of having this gig beamed out to Cinemas seemed like a great way of getting people to hear a few of the new songs live as well as all the ones they know. We’ve played a lot of gigs around Australia over the last 35 years but this will be the first time we’ve played in over 100 places on the same night!”

Tickets are on sale now through CinemaLive for $39.50. That’s a bit of a bargain as they come bundled with a copy of No Plans. Will you be tuning in?

Image used with permission from Stephen Green Consulting

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

R.I.P. Jimmy Little

I was saddened to hear the news this evening that Jimmy Little has passed away after a long battle with illness. At the age of 75 he slipped away in his sleep.

Like many music lovers of my generation I became aware of his music in 1999, when artists like Paul Kelly, The Church, and Nick Cave covered his songs on the Messenger album. After that I was impressed when he took on the songs of U2, PJ Harvey, and other modern musicians on his Life’s What You Make It record.

However Jimmy had hits from the 1950s, including songs like “Royal Telephone,” “El Paso,” and the Barry Gibb penned “One Road.”

The music is just one part of the Jimmy Little story though. He founded The Jimmy Little Foundation in 2006 and campaigned tirelessly to increase the life expectancy of indigenous Aussies. He’s got an Order of Australia, a NSW Senior Australian of the Year title, and he’s in the ARIA Hall of Fame.

For all these things and more, he will be missed.

Image source: Jimmy Little website