Archive for the ‘’ Category

Joseph Arthur – Emerges In Australia

So where have I been for the last decade or so? I’ve recently discovered an artist named Joseph Arthur. He’s extraordinary. Maybe you have heard of him and already know what I am talking about. I hadn’t until recently. The whole world should. Listening through his extensive back catalogue of music, virtually all of which is on independent labels, I’m hearing traces of numerous other artists... Read the full story

Little Feat – On Their Way To Australia

Little Feat are one of the most revered, but somehow, under-rated bands in American rock n’ roll.  With albums such as Dixie Chicken, Sailin Shoes, Feats Don’t Fail Me Now, The Last Record Album, Time Loves A Hero and Let It Roll, they have a remarkable catalogue of material. Little Feat’s founding keyboard player Bill Payne is still a mainstay of the band, but he’s also a highly regarded... Read the full story

Eddie Vedder – The Palais

Eddie Vedder’s first Melbourne concert was both strangely beautiful and beautifully strange. No-one knew exactly what to expect from the show – other than it was going to be solo, largely acoustic and, certainly, a lot different to a Pearl Jam concert. And while it was all of those things, it was also a lot more. The very nature of Pearl Jam as a stadium rock act means that everything about... Read the full story

Joe Pug – The Toff In Town

Joe Pug wound up his second Australian tour with a sold out show at the Toff in Town. The audience consisted of a gathering of the faithful and some curious first-timers and both groups would have left amply gratified. While Pug’s outstanding debut album Messenger casts him as a latter day cross between Steve Earle and Steve Forbert, as a solo live act he comes across more in the Dylan mold. Now,... Read the full story

Collapse Into Now – R.E.M. (Warner)

Much will be written about how this is “the best R.E.M. album since (insert reviewers favorite R.E.M. album here)”, and that’s fine. But in the end that’s going to be more about the reviewer’s view of the back catalogue and their personal point of entry into it, rather than this actual album. This actual album is a cracker – and it would be a cracker whether the band had a hallowed history... Read the full story

Dancing Backwards In High Heels – New York Dolls (429 Records)

Dancing Backwards In High Heels is a different album to the first two albums of the New York Dolls second coming – 2004’s One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This and 2009’s Cause I Sez So. Those two album’s seemed to pick up where the early Dolls left off, with big riffing guitars and sleazy sounding glam rock meets power pop songs. But there was always more to the New York Dolls than... Read the full story

Uriah Heep – Younger Than Me!

Uriah Heep is one of the world’s most enduring rock bands. The English band, named after a character in a Dickins novel, have stood the test of time through a combination of superior musicianship and strong songs delivered consistently across a 40 year career. They may not ever have been as fashionable as a lot of bands that have come and gone but they are still around playing to loyal audiences... Read the full story

Roxy Music – Rod Laver Arena

I guess there are two types of Roxy Music fans. There are those who know singles like Same Old Scene, More Than This and Avalon; songs that, although impressive in their construction and performance, are essentially stylish fodder for commercial pop radio and which probably still feature on many ‘gold’ format radio stations. It’s not to say that they aren’t very good songs, because they are,... Read the full story

Adalita – Adalita (Liberation)

I don’t know Adalita personally. Despite my “street press” years in the 90’s and her band Magic Dirt being a staple in those publications, somehow our paths didn’t cross. There was always someone else at InPress who passionately wanted to do the Magic Dirt interview or someone else that wanted to review their show. It would be a reasonable assumption that I’d know Adalita, but I don’t. But... Read the full story

Kinky Friedman and Van Dyke Parks Tour Together

Two of the USA’s songwriting legends Kinky Friedman and Van Dyke Parks will be performing together on stage for the first time in Australia. This is nothing short of an extraordinary combination of two cultural icons – and two very unusual, arguably unhinged, individuals. Parks’ career started in the 60′s, famously collaborating with Brian Wilson on the classic “lost”... Read the full story