Grizzly Bear @ The City Recital Hall

 Thursday 14 January, 2010

When the 4 piece band, Grizzly Bear from Brooklyn appeared on the Sydney Festival 2010 bill, tickets to their shows quickly sold out. It’s not surprising really, with the bands third studio album ‘Veckatimest’ receiving raving reviews and overwhelming attention all over the globe. The live shows were held at The City Recital Hall in Angle Place, one of Sydney’s hidden treasures for live music and a venue vastly under used for mainstream music gigs. This unique acoustically designed auditorium was perfect for this type of event, making the music and the live experience both intense and intimate.

The complexity of this band is amazing. With intertwined vocals, four-part harmonies, counterpart melodies and various members (particularly Chris Taylor and Edward Droste) often playing multiple instruments during songs, Grizzly Bear are truly a rare combination found in a live music setting. Each band member shared the stage equally in a straight line configuration. Even drummer Christopher Bear, was set to the front of the stage giving the audience an easy vantage point.

The set mainly focused on the new album ‘Vecktamist’, opening the show with the thumping track ‘Southern Point’ followed by the more popular song with the most radio air play – ‘Two Weeks’. However, it wasn’t until the foursome sang  ‘Cheerleader’ that we really got to hear the beauty of this band perfect harmonization. Other tracks from the new record included ‘Ready, Able’ , ‘While You Wait for the Others’ and the encore acoustic version of ‘All We Ask’. Older favourites also made the list with a balance between the previous albums ‘Horn of Plenty’, and ‘Yellow House’ featuring, ‘Colorado’, ‘Knife’, ‘On a Neck, On a Split’, ‘Lullaby’ , ‘Service Bell’ (without Feist) and ‘Deep Blue Sea’.

The one thing I’ll say about Grizzly Bear is that they are absolutely breathtaking live. Definitely a delightful, joyous and unforgettable musical experience that left me with that overwhelming, warm and fuzzy feeling you can’t shake for days. This is ultimately what live music is all about.

Thank you Grizzly Bear and thank you to the organiser’s of the 2010 Sydney Festival for bringing them out to Australia.

A night out with the YEAH YEAH YEAHS….

The YEAH YEAH YEAHS are a fascinating band who are forever transforming their sound whilst at the same time, always able to produce a notoriously deadly live experience to their loyal fans.

After headlining a swag of festivals over the Australian summer, the NYC trio finally give into a couple of side shows in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney to perform their universally adored new album, ‘Its Blitz!’

Sam and I went to the sold out show at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion last Friday and the venue was electrically charged with the excitement of the unexpected. The YYY’s are renowned for putting on a crazy show that surprises, enthralls and commands the audiences’ attention.

The stage set up was simple with keyboards to the left and a backdrop banner of silver confetti rings behind a giant eye ball prop hanging over Brian Chase’s drum kit. The right hand side of the stage was set up for Nick Zinner’s fuzzy guitar trickery leaving just enough space, front and centre for Karen O to sing and jump around in her crazy colourful costumes.

The YYY’s open the show with Karen O singing from backstage, then emerging after the first verse of an old track called Shake It. She is dressed in a draped frock with coloured dangly bits and black tights under a red and green poncho cape. Shake It was an odd choice to start with and most of the newly recruited YYY’s fans didn’t seem to know it. This raw, rough and ready track does not appear on any of the recorded albums or EP’s but is a YYY’s favourite for live show sets.

To warm up the crowd with familiarity the next song played was Phenomena from the 2006 album ‘Show Your Bones’. In between songs Karen O swigs her water and then spits it up into the air…she is absolutely wild and likes to pump up the crowd. We’re now at track 3 and the sound on the synth intro comes in.  When Karen sings ‘Off with your head, Dance till you’re dead, Heads will roll, Heads will roll, Head will roll – on the floor…’ everyone started cheering and screaming. This is clearly a favourite from the new album and no doubt one of their most popular tracks this year.

Slowing down the pace at the half way mark is the sound of the 3/4 drum beat intro and the crowd clapping along with Karen O singing ‘Gold lion’s gonna tell me where the light is.’ The rest of the set unfolds into a great mixture of old and new material with tracks like Black Tongue, Y Control and Pin from the debut album ‘Fever To Tell’, 10 x 10 from the ‘IS IS’ EP, as well as Dull Life, Skeletons and SoftShock from the new ‘It’s Blitz!’

Towards the end of the set Karen O screams out “Party tonight Sydney” before ripping into the song everyone had been waiting for – Zero. The audience became hysterical as two giant beach eye balls were released into the crowd. Zero was the first track released on the ‘It’s Blitz!’ record and is definitely one of the bands more poppy and mainstream, art punk/dance tracks. With apparent similarities and influences to the bass line and synth progressions of New Order’s Blue Monday this single has really given the YYY’s some major airplay worldwide, switching this raw garage punk/ska trio to the mainstream forefront.

Cheated Hearts was the last song on the main bill before Karen O, Nick and Brian briefly left the stage pre encore.  On return, in her last costume change, Karen O makes some dedications to the broader YYY crew, producers and promoters before singing an acoustic version of Maps from the ‘Fever To Tell’ album. The show closer was another from the debut album ‘Fever to Tell’ – the heavy, edgy, punk track Date With The Night.

I love this band. I would even go as far as saying that their album ‘It’s Blitz’ is in my top 10 album list for 2009. Karen O’s wild and manic vocal delivery is amazing and her dress up wardrobe is outstanding. She can adapt her voice to be both tough and tender which is an important aspect in the transformation of the YYY’s sound. Nick Zinner’s fuzzy, buzzing guitar mastery makes the YYY’s sound loud, heavy, raw and edgy.

The YYY’s are gritty, trashy, in your face, punk rock… These guys are seriously cool without even trying.

Website: http://www.yeahyeahyeahs.com/

YEAH YEAH YEAHS @ Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion Friday 8 January 2010. Supporting act Circle Pit check them out here.

Set List

Shake It

Phenomena

Heads Will Roll

Black Tongue

10 x 10

Dull Life

Gold Lion

Y Control

Skeletons

Soft Shock

Pin

Zero

Cheated Hearts

Encore:

Maps (Acoustic)

Art Star

Date With The Night

Sooooo slack

Yes, we’ve all disappeared for a while. But just imagine we’ve all been stuck in an endless cycle of parties and silly season festivities, unable to break out to post.

There are many things to discuss (album of the year, song of the year), but we’ll ring in the new year and then start smashing those ones out.

Plenty of gigs lie ahead. So sit back, relax, have an eggnog, a merry Christmas and see you all for another year soon!

Preparing to Bake

In preparation for Homebake tomorrow it’s a mix from a headline act and the newly annointed male performer of the year from the ARIAs.

This remix is pretty good. The beat drop at about 3 minutes is pretty epic.

Daniel Merriweather, Change (Dirty Monkeez mix)

Aussies at SXSW

The 2010 attendees for South by Southwest have been released and 29 Australian bands will be attending the showcase event thus far. It reads like a veritable who’s who of the up and comers on the Aussie music scene, bar perhaps one…

Announced so far:
Art vs Science; Beaches; Bliss & Eso; The Blow Waves; Shannon Bourne; The Chevelles; Children Collide; City Riots; Dappled Cities; Dash and Will; Dead Letter Circus; Paul Dempsey; Nathan Gaunt; Darren Hanlon; Hungry Kids of Hungary; Karnivool; Love of Diagrams; The Middle East; Oh Mercy; Pets With Pets; Philadelphia Grand Jury; Sherlock’s Daughter; Summer Cats; The Temper Trap; Thirsty Merc; Vasco Era; Via Tania; Washington; Whitley.

Did anyone else not know that Thirsty Merc were still around?

SXSW is one from March 17-21 next year (for music) in Austin, Texas.

Official site Australian site

Pearl Jam – Backspacer tour (Sydney)

Sydney Football Stadium
November 22, 2009

“People had told me this kind of heat isn’t meant to start for another six weeks.” Eddie Vedder stated the obvious thoughts of everyone in the Stadium, sweltering as the mercury slowly dropped from a scorching 40 degrees as the evening wore on. I don’t think you’ll find complaining though, as the performance supplied by the veteran rockers was worth every drop of sweat, and really, they’re suffering more than any crowd member in heat like that.

When the “what’s the opener?” question was posed to our posse most sat on the fence, claiming it was too hard to pick. Fair enough too. A back catalogue spanning almost 20 years and a band that aims to please its fans could throw up any number of possibilities. I’d gone the safe route calling their latest single “The Fixer”, but we were all surprised to hear “Why Go” kick things off that lead straight into “Hail, Hail”. That’s how not to disappoint the faithful.

Eddie Vedder in action

Heat aside, it was a sad night for Sydney, as Eddie Vedder apologised on a number of occasions for his strained vocals, suffering from a flu, highlighted perhaps by Stone Gossard taking vocals for one song, as well as Ben Harper helping out on another. We suffered too unfortunately, as a second encore was cut that included classics “Once”, “Alive”, “Better Man”, “Daughter” and “Yellow Ledbetter”. Whisperings as people left the SFS were that maybe their sick of playing them, however it was Vedder who couldn’t go on and an encore of just covers was played instead. A shame as many bought tickets to hear those songs, and those that attended Sydney’s gig will turn green when they read that Melbourne enjoyed renditions of “Jeremy”, “Animal”, “Daughter”, “Alive” as well as the beautiful “Just Breathe” off Backspacer, but Vedder still managed a strong and lastin performance and should be commended for going ahead and pushing through. Of small consolation was that “Mankind” was played for the first time in Australia since 1998.

The Pearl Jam boys do know their audience though, dedicating a song to Nick Cave and inviting local support act Liam Finn out to join in on a version of Hunters and Collectors’ “Throw Your Arms Around Me”. Harper joined for a beautiful version of “Indifference” with Vedder as well as “Red Mosquito”, while Vedder had come out during Harper’s set to crank up “Under Pressure”. Harper was aware of where he was too, belting out “Never Tear Us Apart”. Whatever Australians’ reputation as an audience may be to foreign acts, they all seem to have cottoned on the fact we’ll be won over with some hometown covers.

Only three tracks from Backspacer got a start on the setlist, which included “The Fixer”, “Unthought Known” and “Got Some”, but there were plenty of other well known oldies that people wouldn’t have minded: “Even Flow”, “Last Exit”, “Corduroy”, “Elderly Woman Behind The Counter in a Small Town”, “Garden”, “Porch” and “State of Love and Trust”, which completely surprised me as getting a start.

All in all it was a worthwhile performance, and if Eddie Vedder can follow through on his promise of knocking $20 off the price next time they’re out, there’s no doubt it will be another sell-out. Nothing pleases fans more than a group appreciative of their dedication and Pearl Jam offer that in spades. I’ve quickly forgiven the exclusion of the classics and will be there next time. I’m happy there will be a next time.

Hope is for the Hopers – Philadelphia Grand Jury

I just wanna get out my stick and ride it, such is the feeling that oozes out of Philadelphia Grand Jury’s debut album Hope is for the Hopers. This Sydney duet (a much different sounding duet to Elton John and Kiki Dee, or Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, this one is comprised of Berkfinger and MC Bad Genius) once spent their time banging out sets to appreciative crowds at the Hopetoun Hotel in Surry Hills, which sadly closed its doors in September. However, there’s a distinct northern beaches feel to their music and though I have nothing to confirm or support this, I do feel salty and sandy just listening to this album, especially when you get to “I Don’t Want To Party (Party)“.

The 13 tracks run at what could possibly be the shortest album of 2009, with a total time of just a touch longer than 35 minutes (Pearl Jam’s Backspacer runs a close second at just under 37 minutes). It’s get-in, get-out music and their catchy, plucky sound will leave you a bit short of breath, even at the songs’ short duration. Hope is for the Hopers moves through smoothly and has a nice balance between face-paced, shout-out festival tunes to more even, smoother songs. Berkfinger recorded it on a budget of less than $3000 and he’s done bloody well.

Don’t expect deep love ballads from this album, but Triple J listeners would be familiar with a few tracks already, like the fun and boppy “The Good News” and rawer “I’m Going To Kill You” and those who watched Underbelly would know “Going To The Casino“. If you’re sick of hearing about them on the J’s, never fear, the album is worth it. While I’m sure the Philly Grand J’s are struggling to sit down with all the love they’re getting from the youth station, it is pretty much warranted.

The Good News is (see what I did there?) that the guys are here for the fans and they launched Hope is for the Hopers by playing seven gigs around Sydney in the one day. They’re a pair that get into it up to their elbows – currently without a drummer, as original drummer Dan W Sweat has left to pursue fame and glory with his other group Art vs Science (doing well thus far too), they’re happy to make do and get through.

Without doubt I’d say they appreciate the support they’ve received so far and will, with luck, continue to deliver and become the big comfy recliner of the Australian music scene. Check ‘em out at Homebake, I’m sure it will be one of the highlights of the day.

Good clip for “The Good News” too…

(And to up our hits from searches I need to say: Muse – The Uprising)

Kings and Queens – Jamie T

I went to check out Jamie T back in September this year at Sydney’s Metro Theatre and WOW was I shocked and surprised. The show was amazing and I left the gig buzzing with excitement and wanting more. It’s only been until now that I’ve had a chance to really listen to the new album Kings and Queens and I let me say – I’m liking what I’m listening to.

When Jamie T first came onto the music scene in 2007 with his debut album Panic Prevention, I was a little unsure about what I thought of his music but recognised he had a few catchy tunes that were fast becoming popular to Australian music listeners. Jamie T’s refreshing combination of hip hop, punk and rock mixtures blended with some witty and cheeky lyrics played out in a storytelling format proved to be simple, effective and well received by many in varied music circles. His anthemic tune ‘If you got the Money’ was very popular in Australia and was played on radio at high rotation that year. Jamie T’s fan base and popularity in Australia was clearly growing with the success and positive response to hit tracks on the debut album like ‘If you got the Money’, ‘Sheila’, ‘Calm Down Dearest’ ‘Salvador’ and ‘Back in the Game’. That year, Jamie T was shortlisted as one of the 12 nominees for the Mercury Music Prize which is a prestigious music prize awarded to the best album of the year in the UK.  

Now back in 2009, the 23 year old returns with a band – the Pacemakers, new material and a new album called Kings and Queens which has received much attention and raving reviews  confirming and consolidating his success is by no means accidental. The expectations for this second album were set high but Jamie T and the Pacemakers were more than capable of mastering this by developing and capitalizing on the success of the first album Panic Prevention and taking the simplicity and effectiveness of this music style to the next level.  

The opening track on the album ‘368′ is a song about life’s many perils and influences that can impact on youth slipping into street life and addiction. The percussion, synth chords and electro beats throughout the track create a dark and dramatic atmosphere while Jamie’s razor sharp lyrics of streetwise advice and the high pitched chip monk repetitive voice in the chorus keeps the song at a light hearted and less serious level than the actual lyrical message.

The anthemic single on Jamie T’s new album would definitely have to be ‘Sticks and Stones’. As the first track released to launch the new album, this song features the same formula and crowd reaction as ‘If you got the Money’ from the debut album. With punchy lines about underage drinking and boys picking fights mixed up with guitar and bass hooks and sample beats this track sums up Jamie T’s youthful, mischievous musical and personal style.

A highlight for me and perhaps one of the more sensitive and delicate songs on this album is the slow acoustic sounds of ‘Emily’s Heart’. This tender, heart felt and beautifully crafted, soft acoustic track really show’s Jamie T’s diversity, growth and maturity as an artist stripping back the rawness and cohesiveness of his music and song writing.  

‘Chuka Demus’ is the fun, poppy track on the record and the success of this song lies in Jamie’s talent to pump out clever and witty verses accompanied with a basic catchy tune of blended guitar, bass lines and beat samples.  

Other recommended songs to check out on the album include ‘Hocus Pocus’, ‘The Man’s Machine’, ‘Spider’s Web’ and ‘Earth Wind & Fire’.

As far as second albums go, in terms of success and expectations Kings and Queens would have to be in the highly rated category. Each song has great substance where both lyrics and music is textured and layered, building up the niche of innovative music landscape into something new, fresh and exciting. It is obvious that Jamie T’s unique vocal delivery and storytelling lyrical style is a popular and successful combination with fans along with the Pacemakers genre-fusion of punk, hip hop and rock musical layout.

 Where to next? We all wait in anticipation.

Tricky Tricky (Tits and Clits remix)

I dunno about remixes of fairly easy to remix shit, but this one works. And they can be forgiven for trying their hand at this one because they did it for a competition (have a listen to one of the Australian finalists, Volcanoclub, a really different take on it).

Tits and Clits didn’t make the final cut, but I still rate it.

Winner for the remix comp is announced Nov 9.

Facebook angst

If you’re like me (chances are you’re not) this song will reach you on another level, which is the Facebook-has-the-ability-to-connect-you-with-far-too-many-people-for-your-liking level. That is, that there are some people you weren’t talking to before Facebook for a reason, and that reason still stands even in our fast-paced, social networking-based world.

So Kate Miller-Heidke makes a valid point. Are you kidding me is good for a giggle. Especially because she managed to work pirates into the song.