Jimmy Barnes was the first performer I ever saw live. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen him since his Soul Deep tour in the early ‘90s, but it’s a lot. However, I’ve never seen a show quite like the one I watched on Friday night with the Jane Barnes Band.
I raved about Two Times Shy’s single “Tearing Up Inside” a couple of months ago. Now it’s found a home with the Meeanjin/Brisbane band’s debut EP. Don’t let its tounge-in-cheek name, It Looks Better Than It Sounds, fool you. These lads are playing coy, because it sounds fabulous.
It’s taken more than four years for Matt Joe Gow to release the follow-up to his last acclaimed album Break, Rattle and Roll. It’s been time well-spent though, with Matt showcasing some of the most accomplished songs of his career in his latest album Between Tonight & Tomorrow.
Leave your expectations at the door and discover Mother Culture’s sophomore EP, Lust for Love. The Naarm/Melbourne duo plays with genre to deliver a collection of songs that keep you guessing.
Most of us enjoy good music every day. But truly great music? The kind of music that gets under your skin and into your heart and permeates every cell? That’s so much rarer. That’s the kind of music Jim Alxndr delivers on his new EP Feelings Worth Living For.
Ever since seeing Carly Rae Jepsen on Tuesday, I’ve been on a bit of a pop kick. As if on cue, I discovered METADRAMATIC, the fantastic new EP from St. Humain.
In 2007, my husband and I started downloading episodes of Canadian Idol to fill the gap between Australian seasons. From the moment we saw Carly Rae Jepsen audition with her original song “Sweet Talker” (such a gutsy move back then!) we knew she was special. She finished in third place, but we never forgot her. Fast forward to 2011 and the release of “Call Me Maybe.” Suddenly she was the name on everyone’s lips, although later singles never broke through the way that monster track did. That’s a good thing for fans like me because it means we can see her in an intimate venue like the Enmore, where everyone is so passionate about this music.
If you hadn’t noticed, I’ve been busy. Really busy. After so many slow years, it seems like just about everyone is touring. And like any music addict, I’m powerless to say no. So even though I already had tickets to a matinee performance of Come From Away on Saturday, I found myself driving back to Darkinjung Country/Central Coast to catch Katie Noonan’s tribute to Joni Mitchell’s seminal album Blue.
My husband and I watched the pro-shot of Come From Away when it dropped on Apple+ in September 2021, 20 years since terrorists drove their planes into the Twin Towers and other aeroplanes en route to the United States were diverted to the small Newfoundland town of Gander. We instantly fell in love with this musical that managed to somehow find the balance between comedy and tragedy. It was so truly heartwarming that when it travelled to Mulubinba/Newcastle, we couldn’t wait to introduce my mother to it.
It’s very rare that I drag myself out to two midweek gigs. But when Richard Marx announced he was playing NEX in Mulubinba/Newcastle, I knew I had to get myself there. I’ve been seeing bands at the site once known as Newcastle Workies (and if you’re a local, forever known as the Workies) since my teenage years. They hosted Teenage Rampages when I was growing up, headlined by acts like Peter Andre and Teen Queens. There were standalone gigs from EYC and Goo Goo Dolls. Of course a lot has changed, and not just the acts. I haven’t been since the rebranding and refurbishment. It’s definitely more sophisticated these days, but it still seemed like an odd choice for the man who’s written more number one songs than anyone else.