The organisers of Parklife have decided to put their famous dance festival on hold to concentrate on a smaller party dubbed Listen Out. The creators have gone to great pains to stress this isn’t a festival; it’s an “intelligent dance music party”.
The 2013 line-up looks good, with Disclosure, Azealia Banks, and TNGHT – a collaboration between Hudson Mohawke and Lunice – all heading up the bill. The philosophy’s even better though. Listen Out’s been created as an antidote to the big music festivals, with a handpicked of lineup that’s the best rather than the biggest. You can also say goodbye to those timetable clashes, long hikes to stages, and the crowds you can’t relate to.
Get your tickets from the Listen Out website for the following shows. They’ll get more expensive as the date nears, so go procrastinating!
28 September 2013 – Centennial Park, Sydney
29 September 2013 – Ozone Reserve, Perth
5 October 2013 – Observatory Precinct @ Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne
6 October 2013 – Cultural Forecourt @ South Bank, Brisbane
Sydney folk songstress Sam Buckingham is back with a brand new album I’m a Bird. It’s a collection of songs about travel, love, and life’s other adventures. The album is the follow-up to her EP Fragile Heart, which debuted at number three on the iTunes singer/songwriter charts.
The album features the single “Follow You”, which might just be one of the sweetest and most romantic tracks I’ve heard in months. There’s nothing grandiose about it, but it’s impossible not to get swept away by Sam’s angelic voice and heartfelt lyrics.
Sam’s been spending time in Nashville and New York City, but she’s back on home soil to launch I’m a Bird with the following intimate shows.
21 July 2013 – The Bird, Northbridge
28 July 2013 – The Workers Club, Fitzroy
1 August 2013 – The Front, Lyneham (Entry by donation at the door)
3 August 2013 – Hibernian House, Surry Hills
7 August 2013 – Lizotte’s, Kincumber
10 August 2013 – Royal Exchange Theatre, Newcastle
11 August 2013 – The Powerhouse, Brisbane (FREE)
28 August 2013 – Lizotte’s, Dee Why
30 August 2013 – The Wheatsheaf, Thebarton (FREE)
Hobart five-piece The Middle Names appeals to our inner couch potatoes with the video for their latest single “Full Friends”. The clip splices together scenes from some of the best TV programs of the past, including The Drew Carey Show, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Seinfeld. The track’s not bad either!
It comes from The Middle Names forthcoming debut album “I Need Space”, a record which almost didn’t happen. Five days before the band planned to head to Brisbane to record it, a fire ripped through their rehearsal space. All that survived was the band and their guitars. To add insult to injury, the band was stranded on the way to Applewood Lane Studios after their tyre was punctured. You know what they say about bad luck happening in threes though. Their producer Magoo suffered the last blow of bad luck when his house was burgled.
If they were a superstitious lot they might have abandoned the project altogether. But then we wouldn’t have this fun single, the album to come, and the tour which kicks off in their hometown tonight. Here are all the places you can catch The Middle Names over the next month.
20 July 2013 –Waratah Hotel, Hobart (supporting Gold Fields)
1 August 2013 – AFTR DARK @ Curtin Hotel, Melbourne
10 August 2013 – KITTENS @ Spectrum, Sydney
23 August 2013 – The Butter Factory, Burnie
30 August 2013 – The Ironhorse, Launceston
31 August 2013 – The Waratah Hotel, Hobart
Brisbane electro-popster Carmichael has created something truly special with his latest musical effort, “Monster Lovesong”.
Carmichael’s mashed up Adele’s take on The Cure’s “Lovesong” and Lady Gaga’s “Monster” to make something truly original and all his own. It’s eerie yet romantic, and complemented beautifully by the music video directed by Kasia Fryckowska.
David Bridie’s released one of the most powerful music videos I can remember watching for his new single “Delegate”. This is the kind of thing that speaks for itself, so I really shouldn’t waffle on. Just take five minutes out of your day to see this.
“Delegate” comes from David’s new album Wake, which he’s touring all around the country at the moment. Here are the remaining dates:
13 July 2013 – Visy Theatre @ The Powerhouse, Brisbane
18 July 2013 – The Loft, Warrnambool
19 July 2013 – The Ararat Hotel Red Room, Ararat
20 July 2013 – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne
25 July 2013 – Clarendon Guest House, Katoomba
26 July 2013 – The Basement, Sydney
27 July 2013 – Lizotte’s, Kincumber
28 July 2013 – Lizotte’s, Newcastle
2 August 2013 – The Memo, Healesville
3 August 2013 – Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh
4 August 2013 – Montrose Town Centre, Montrose
17 August 2013 – Republic Bar, Hobart
18 August 2013 – Brookfield Margate, Margate
For Our Hero are sure to set hearts fluttering with their new single “Young Wolves”, the album of the same name, and its launch tour.
Honestly as I started to listen to the lyrics, which are so poetically sensual that they’re cheesy, I cringed. But as I listened further, my deeply buried inner teenager came out, and I couldn’t help getting sucked in by it all. This is just the sort of thing that would have got me screaming as a teen, and I’m sure it’ll have exactly that effect on Australia’s younger generation.
“Young Wolves” is the title track from For Our Hero‘s latest EP, and the result of a collaboration with Alex DeLeon of The Cab. Alex met up with the lads while in Australia supporting Maroon 5, and his stamp is all over this irresistible track.
In a very smart move, For Our Hero will play mostly all ages shows in August to support their latest album. Bassist Geoffrey Taylor says fans can look forward to “a stadium show squeezed into a sweaty room.” If you want to share a little of this hot band’s sweat, make sure you get yourself to one of these shows.
11 August 2013 – The Old Museum, Brisbane (All Ages)
17 August 2013 – HQ, Leederville (All Ages)
22 August 2013 – Next @ Colonial Hotel, Melbourne
24 August 2013 – Wrangler Studios, Melbourne (All Ages)
25 August 2013 – The Prom, Adelaide (All Ages)
31 August 2013 – The Lair @ Metro Theatre, Sydney (All Ages)
Creating music videos is something of a dying art these days, so it’s exciting to see an artist like Melbourne’s Andy Szikla arriving on the scene. He hasn’t just treated us to a film clip for a single; he’s created music videos for each and every song from his new album Dark Valley, which hits stores tomorrow.
Above you’ll find the clip for “Blood Brothers”, the album’s opening track and one of my personal favourites. I love a story song. That’s something else we don’t see a lot of people crafting, a true folk ballad. It’s got such an old world feel to it and a darkness to the lyrics that’s not apparent unless you’re really tuning in. You can see all the music videos on this website.
Dark Valley is Andy’s first solo album, but he’s far from a musical newbie. He’s actually been in the business for twenty years with stints in bands like Ides of March, 87 Fat Girls, and Mr Fish. The experience that time in the industry and just living life really shines through this accomplished album. If only every debut could be this good.
Midnight Juggernauts are hitting the road to celebrate the recent release of their brand new album Uncanny Valley.
Uncanny Valley features the band’s hot new single “Memorium”. I must admit, I’m much more into the video than I am the song. It’s not that the track’s bad, but this kind of ambient electro-pop’s never really been my thing. But I love the clip, which documents the evolution of CGI. Director Vincenzi Vandella’s created something really impressive here.
Midnight Juggernauts are currently warming up for local fans with a string of European dates, so they should be in fine form by the time they reach our shores. Here are all the places you can see this fine Aussie act performing.
3 July 2013 – La Maroquinerie, Paris
5 July 2013 – Calvi on the Rocks, Corsica
8 July 2013 – Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen, London
12 July 2013 – Razzmatazz, Barcelona
14 July 2013 – Valkhof Affaire Festival, Nijmegen
17 July 2013 – Privatclub, Berlin
18 July 2013 – Paradiso, Amsterdam
19 July 2013 – Super Bock Super Rock, Lisbon
14 August 2013 – Bar on the Hill, Newcastle
16 August 2013 – Metro Theatre, Sydney (All Ages)
17 August 2013 – Zierholz, Canberra
23 August 2013 – Karova Lounge, Ballarat
24 August 2013 – Corner Hotel, Melbourne
30 August 2013 – Hi Fi, Brisbane
31 August 2013 – The Northern, Byron Bay
6 September 2013 – Prince of Wales, Bunbury
7 September 2013 – The Capitol, Perth
13 September 2013 – Uni Bar, Adelaide (All Ages)
I feel like I’ve barely had time to breathe this week. There are worse things that being social, but as I age travelling up the highway and back again more than once in a week really takes its toll. Still, when you’re seeing wonderful things it’s worth all the effort. And Idina Menzel’s concert at the Opera House on Wednesday night was certainly a wonderful thing.
I became enamoured with Idina when I discovered Rent in the late ’90s. Wicked came later, and then Glee, with their roles that showcased Idina’s charisma and incredible vocal prowess. So when I heard she was visiting Australia this month, I jumped at the chance to be in the audience. My expectations were high, but she didn’t disappoint.
In fact, this was one of those shows that was even better than I’d hoped for. What a personality Idina has. She was genuinely humble and so incredible open. She was free with stories of her professional and personal life, even when those memories were painful like the loss of composer and mentor Marvin Hamlisch and Rent creator Jonathan Larson.
The music took the night to another level though. It was eclectic mix touching on jazz standards, musical theatre numbers, and even pop songs. It’s rare to find a set with songs from Lady Gaga, Cole Porter, Joni Mitchell, and Peter Gabriel, but I relished it. It all worked so well. Her tender rendition of “Both Sides Now” was spellbinding, her take on Barbra Streisand’s “Don’t Rain on My Parade” invigorating, her performance of Wicked signature song “Defying Gravity” every bit as impressive without green makeup and levitation.
But personally none of them compared to the joy I felt at witnessing her singing my favourite song from my favourite musical, “Take Me or Leave Me”. As it’s a duet I never expected it to make the set, but I didn’t count on her secret weapon: a ridiculously talented Sydney audience. Normally when singers invite random strangers to the microphone the results are cringeworthy. There’s something special about a musical theatre audience though. All the guest vocalists were stellar. If Idina didn’t look so impressed I’d assume they were plants. Witnessing all these great voices coming together was a true highlight.
I’d be remiss not to mention the Sydney Symphony Orchestra too, who helped elevate Idina’s act as only a full orchestra can. What a combination.
I’m still raving about this show to anyone who’ll listen days later. It was incredible, utter magic. And for nights like that, I’ll happily accept a little post-concert fatigue!
The Sydney Opera House is pretty strict about its no-photos policy, so with that in mind I figured I’d share you one of the clips from the tour video. It’s not Sydney, but it shows how special it is when Idina works with an orchestra. Enjoy!
We’ve still got a couple of months to go, but Sue-Anne Stewart gives us a taste of what we can expect from her latest album Gypsy Blood when it drops in September. The video gives us an insight into Sue-Anne’s life and musical influences to the backing of one of her folky, acoustic-driven tunes. There’s nothing flashy here, but that’s exactly why I find myself drawn to what Sue-Anne’s doing. Do you think she’s one to watch?