Archive for the ‘’ Category

Justin Townes Earle – The Prince

Watching Justin Townes Earle play live reminds me of trying to take a baby pug for a walk. He seems to wander off in random directions, speeding and slowing the tempo unexpectedly, stopping and sniffing and something curious and then darting off in some other direction again. And like a baby pug that can be a little annoying but ultimately its also very endearing. Such was Earle’s show at the Prince... Read the full story

Grant Lee Phillips New Album Done

Grant Lee Phillips has written and recorded a new album titled Walking In The Green Corn. This is how he describes it: “It’s personal,intimate and I’ve made it with my own two hands in the quietest hours of the night. Stark as ever, this collection is largely drawn from the deep inspirational well of my own Native American heritage, a reservoir which has long informed my songwriting and... Read the full story

Gemma Ray

Gemma Ray was the first artist that I saw perform at this years SxSW and it was an unusual performance. She was playing on the Monday night – a night that is normally reserved for parties and private events relating to the Interactive part of SxSW; the Music part not officially starting until Wednesday, although many good acts do play on Tuesday night. She was playing in a relatively soulless basement... Read the full story

No Plans – Cold Chisel (Warners)

In a way, in making this album Cold Chisel was on a hiding to nothing. It was inevitably going to be compared to their earlier works, which included albums like East and Circus Animals, which rank among the best rock albums ever made in Australia. A merely good album wasn’t going to rate too well in that company and if they fell short of the mark, the merit in even attempting to match their past... Read the full story

John Hiatt & Combo – The Corner

It’s a Monday night in Melbourne, Lucinda Williams is playing down the road. There are about ten other Bluesfest sideshows in town this week, we are supposed to be in an economic downturn. And it’s the week before Easter. Yet John Hiatt manages to fill the Corner. It’s a testament to the affection this resilient singer and songwriter generates within his fan base that they manage to put aside... Read the full story

The Cult – Chevrolet Sound Garage – SxSW Austin Tx

The Cult were announced as headlining a big outdoor show at the Auditorium Shores outdoor stage at SxSW, in what was one of the biggest stages of the week, with several thousand people expected. Thus it was a bit of a surprise to find their warm-up show at a 6th Street club, accessible a couple of minutes before showtime. Once I was inside the Chevrolet Sound Garage , it was hardly crowded, maybe the... Read the full story

Redd Kross Interview

California’s Redd Kross are coming to Australia as part of the brilliant Hoodoo Gurus Invitational concerts, and hey are welcome additions to an amazing line-up. Mars may need guitars, but there will be no shortage of them at the Dig It Up gigs. In their day albums like Born Innocent (their young teenage debut), Phaseshifter, Neurotica, Third Eye and Show World were landmarks of pop-punk guitar garage... Read the full story

Bruce Springsteen – The Moody Theatre – SxSW – Austin Tx.

When I saw that Bruce Springsteen was delivering the Keynote Address at the SxSW Music convention, I was just thinking about cashing in a few frequent flyer points.  When it became common knowledge that he would be performing an intimate show – with the full E Street Band – at a venue in town during the event, I was sold and on my way to the airport. Tickets for the show were to be allocated by... Read the full story

Fiona Apple – Stubbs BBQ – SxSW – Austin Tx

Fiona Apple’s performance at the Stubbs Outdoor Ampitheatre during SxSW was a mutually terrifying experience. For Apple, her first show outside of (small club appearances) Los Angeles in around seven years was clearly a trauma inducing experience. For the audience, watching her put herself through the ordeal was no less disturbing. There really was the sense that we were watching a woman on the verge... Read the full story

Kevn Kinney Records with Golden Palominos

Two bands that I had a lot of time for in the 80’s were The Golden Palominos and Drivin N’ Cryin’ although I didn’t actually see a lot of overlap between them. The Palominos, led by Anton Fier were a kind of arty collective frequented by the likes of Michael Stipe, Bob Mould and Syd Straw amongst many others, who produced several albums of majestic beauty. Drivin N’ Cryin’ on the other... Read the full story

< Previous Page — Next Page >