Archive for the ‘Live Reviews’ Category

Slash – Festival Hall

It’s taken the best part of two decades but Slash is going the right way about saving the legacy of Guns N Roses. The bad blood, the constant delays in recording, the side projects and the general air of chaos that surrounded so much of the bands post-Illusion news has tended to obscure the fact that the main reason GnR  rose to the heights they did was that they were a great hard rock n’ roll... Read the full story

Models – The Gershwin Room, The Espy

In all probability the current incarnation of Models will be a fleeting footnote on the bands history, a single entry on the band’s Wikipedia page that says “In 2010 a line-up consisting of Sean Kelly, Andrew Duffield, Barton Price and Mark Ferrie played a single, well received show at the Esplanade Hotel in Melbourne. This was to be the final show in the band’s history.” Yet the consensus... Read the full story

Hope Sandoval – The Forum

Well you could either write a book or say very little about Hope Sandoval’s first ever Melbourne concert and the undercurrents that made it the almost bizarre experience that it became. Anyone who had done their homework would have known that Hope Sandoval does not “perform”. She stands almost motionless in close to darkness and she sings. That’s not “performing” but there wasn’t anyone... Read the full story

Yusuf (Cat Stevens) – Rod Laver Arena

It had been thirty-six years since the Artist formerly known as Cat Stevens (and now known as Yusuf) had toured Australia and he clearly has a large audience of devotees in these parts. Two sold out Rod Laver Arenas stood as testament to that and few of those fans would have left disappointed. I was certainly impressed by his resilience as a vocalist and there’s no doubt that many of his songs have... Read the full story

Rockwiz – Palais Theatre

Translating a television show, albeit a show that has elements of a rock n’ roll gig into a touring show is quite a challenge, but the Rockwiz crew pull it off reasonably well. Playing in the shows spiritual home of StKilda, at the end of the tour was always going to be cause for some sort of celebration and the show did have the mood of a victory lap as the team reached the end of a long tour. The... Read the full story

Paul Kelly & Friends – Hamer Hall

This concert was titled Meet Me In The Middle of the Air and featured re-interpretations of some of Paul Kelly’s lesser known songs by a collaboration of Paul Grabowsky and the Australian Art Orchestra, a six piece gospel vocal group led by Tina Harrod and of course lead vocalists Paul Kelly and Vika and Linda Bull. This show was originally presented by the Adelaide Cabaret Festival back in 2006... Read the full story

Rickie Lee Jones – The Forum

Rickie Lee Jones performance at The Forum was simply mesmerising. It was one of the most pure musical experiences I can recall having the privilege to be a part of. And she didn’t even need to play her two best known songs! It’s difficult to explain just how both joyous and melancholy this concert was – two different but closer than is immediately obvious emotions! Jones wanders on stage in jeans... Read the full story

Roger Hodgson & 10CC – The Palais Theatre

To some audiences the combination of 10CC and Roger Hodgson (formerly of Supertramp) was a match made in heaven – two musically superior and unquestionably clever bands whose hits still enjoy extensive airplay. But I suspect this double bill was actually more a marriage of convenience – two acts thrown together by virtue of them being both in Australia for Bluesfest. It was interesting to note... Read the full story

Robert Gordon – Corner Hotel

The first Australian show of Robert Gordon & the Gang The Couldn’t Hang was kinda wonderful, kinda disappointing and kinda strange. It was wonderful to see these musicians on one stage at one time. Robert Gordon – one of the original rockabilly greats and a man with a voice that could genuinely be compared to Elvis. Chris Spedding – a guitarist with few peers and a versatility that has made... Read the full story

The Pixies – Festival Hall

The Pixies shows were hotly anticipated and they were also bloody hot. It was like being transported back to a sweaty, inner-city public on a hot summers nights – somewhere a good proportion of this crowd had grown up. The show was like a reunion; many happy, familiar, slightly aged faces re-living the days of their altern-rock youth. I had a great time but my mate Ruttsy (Andrew Rutter) had... Read the full story

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