Bob Geldof Relief Show For Sydney

Bob Geldof will be joined by Jon Stevens and Danielle Spencer for a one-off show in Sydney at the Lyric Theatre, Star City Casino.

All monies raised through ticket sales and donations will help support the Australian Red Cross for their Victoria Floods Appeal, New Zealand Earthquake Appeal and Japan and Pacific Disaster Appeal as well as to the Queensland Premier’s Disaster Relief Fund to provide hope and inspiration to communities affected by recent natural disasters in Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

Joined by his band, Geldof will be playing tracks both from his Boomtown Rats days and later solo material including new songs from his just released album How To Compose Songs That Will Sell.

While he is now better known for his philanthropic efforts in raising the conscience and action levels of political leaders, Geldof was, and remains, a vital live performer, who is well worth seeing even if there wasn’t a charitable angle involved.

Joining Geldof will be Jon Stevens, one of Australia’s most respected rock vocalists. Stevens has recently been playing shows around the country with his band Noiseworks, and has a new solo album recorded and ready for release.

Singer/Songwriter Danielle Spencer will bring her blend of self penned atmospheric, alternative art-pop to the stage when she performs tracks from her debut album White Monkey and new album Calling All Magicians, accompanied by her band.

Sunday May 1 – Lyric Theatre, Star City, Pyrmont, NSW

Chris Isaak Loops Back To Australia

Chris Isaak, who appears to be on a perpetual touring loop that includes Australia, returns in March 2011, with tickets going on sale from 9am Tuesday 30th November 2010.

“Chris has enjoyed a tremendous relationship with Australia over the years. The response to his shows has always been amazing and we can’t wait to have him back on our shores next March. Australia has always been one of Chris Isaak’s most successful markets” said promoter, Andrew McManus.

In addition to being a platinum-selling artist, award-winning singer (including two Grammy Award nominations), acclaimed actor, TV star, charismatic showman and all-round great guy, he even had a race named after him at Melbourne’s Spring Carnival in 2008.

Chris Isaak’s shows are much talked about events, which draw audiences back again and again. His long-time legendary band, Silvertone, featuring Kenney Dale Johnson on drums, will accompany Chris Isaak in Australia for his March tour.

Throughout his impressive recording career, right from his stunning 1985 debut Silvertone to 2009’s Mr Lucky, Chris Isaak has tunefully and artfully explored the good, the bad and the ugly of love, as well as other matters of profound human interest. He has done so with an abiding respect for popular music’s past, but at the same time with clear and vital passion for the here and now. He has given us the hits Wicked Game, Baby Did A Bad, Bad Thing, Blue Hotel, Somebody’s Crying and many more.

He will be joined by special guests Joe Camilleri and The Black Sorrows. Melinda Schneider & Danielle Spencer will also perform at the Hunter Valley, Melbourne and Brisbane shows.

Saturday 12th March

Hunter Valley Wyndham Estate Winery

Sunday 13th March

Adelaide Entertainment Centre Theatre

Wednesday 16th March

Perth Kings Park

Saturday 19th March

Melbourne Mornington Racecourse

Tuesday 22nd March

Sydney State Theatre

Wednesday 23rd March

Sydney State Theatre

Friday 25th March

Wollongong WIN Entertainment Centre

Saturday 26th March

Brisbane Riverstage

Derby Day with Danielle and Gai

The annual arrival of Derby Day in Melbourne always reminds me of a rather surreal moment that I experienced a few years ago.

 At the time I was managing the musical career of Sydney based singer and songwriter Danielle Spencer. Danielle was, and is, a great artist and one whose music transcends the bland, ordinary and mass popular. She writes complex and detailed songs and records them with subtlety and taste.

She’s not the normal type of artist that gets invited to sing the national anthem at a sporting event – that’s usually reserved for Australian Idol contestants!

 But that’s exactly what had happened that year. Danielle, of course, also has another life as the wife of a famous actor and as such qualifies as what some like to term as ‘a celebrity’. Celebrities who are able to sing do get invited to sing the national anthem at sporting events.

 We had been to the track on the Friday prior to the event and all seemed to be in order from a technical viewpoint. Vince Pizzinga, Danielle’s producer and erstwhile live sound engineer had been over the technical details and it was all quite straightforward, as you would expect with a live vocal being performed to a recorded backing track. Danielle would have an in-ear monitor device that allowed her to hear the backing track without any delay or echo.

Danielle had posed for a photo on the eve of the event with Helenus, the Derby favorite, trained by Leon Corstens. That photo appeared on the front page of the Herald Sun on the morning of the Derby and it was actually quite pleasing that the newspaper managed to refer to Danielle in her own right and for once didn’t need to mention her famous partner.

Put this nice bit of publicity together along with a live crowd of over 100,000 people and a television audience in the millions and we had a pretty exciting day in store.

It had been determined that Danielle would have access to to the female jockeys room, prior to her performance in the mounting yard. The female jockeys room wasn’t going to be used that day as there were no female jockeys riding on the card. This was in the time before the likes of Clare Lindop and Michelle Payne were trusted in Group 1 races, a situation that seems to have now changed.

However when we went to enter the room we were told in firm terms that ‘female jockeys room’ meant ‘no men’. Vince and I were left outside while Danielle was joined by my partner Amy, who was going to have to help thread the monitor leads through Danielle’s dress leading to her vital earpiece. Amy was no sound engineer and she was a bit concerned that she would do something wrong, even though I’m sure Vince would have the opportunity to check the connections before Danielle stepped up to sing the anthem.

Another eccentric twist was thrown in the preparations when leading trainer Gai Waterhouse arrived at the door of the room. We were later told that Gai liked to use the female jockeys room as her sanctuary on race days and tended to treat it as her private office. Sensing this, I approached her as she went to enter the room and quickly explained that Danielle and Amy were in ‘her’ room, as Danielle needed to hook up her ‘microphone leads’ before she say the national anthem before the race. I’m not exactly sure what Gai’s reply was but it was not too different to her post-race interviews – enthusiastic, colourful and not all that easy to follow. Along with her companion, who I now realise was leading racehorse syndicator Denise Martin, Gai entered the room and proceeded to entertain Danielle and Amy with her million-words-a-minute repartee. I don’t think this was quite what Danielle was expecting as she prepared to sing before her biggest ever live audience!

As Danielle and Amy and Gai and Denise all started to leave the room simultaneously Vince and I met them at the door. Gai turned around to Amy (yes, Amy not Danielle) and issued her last minute instructions. “Well, sing like a nightingale then, my dear!”

The look on Amy’s face was priceless and I seem to remember Dani got the giggles.

It may have actually helped to calm the nerves, well for everyone but Amy who was having visions of singing in front of 100,000 people!

Danielle sang beautifully, the response was wonderful and Helenus went on to win the Derby by the narrowest of margins. And Gai Waterhouse still remains Gai Waterhouse - one of the biggest characters of the Australian turf.

Brian Wilson Replaces Peter Gabriel

You win some, you lose some.

The bad news is that Peter Gabriel will no longer be headlining the November 1st Concert at Intimate Arena Mode, Etihad Stadium. The cancellation is said to be due to scheduling issues.

But there’s a very bright silver lining to this dark cloud. Brian Wilson will replace Gabriel on the November 1st Concert as the headline international guest. Australian fans can expect to hear Brian Wilson’s greatest hits along with his solo classics and a selection of songs from his new album Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin.

America, Chicago, Peter Frampton, Blue King Brown, Daryl Braithwaite, Ross Wilson, Joe Camilleri, Stephen Cummings, Deborah Conway and Danielle Spencer will continue to perform as scheduled on Monday 1st November at Intimate Arena Mode, Etihad Stadium.

Andrew McManus Presents will refund any disappointed ticket holders in full and tickets are still on sale via Ticketmaster for Brian Wilson fans. Having seen Wilson a couple of times in the last decade you wont want to be getting a refund, trust me!

Brian Wilson is one of popular music’s most deeply revered figures, the main creative force behind some of the most cherished recordings in rock history.   It is no exaggeration to call Brian Wilson one of the most influential composers of the last century.

Beginning as one of five members of the Beach Boys, Wilson’s career took off when the single ‘Surfin’ hit big locally and made ripples on the national charts, the Beach Boys were then signed to Capitol Records. Seven albums later, the Beach Boys became one of the most popular touring acts in the world. Wilson remained a key contributor to their albums, writing some of his most affecting work. Behind the timeless songs of surf, sun, sadness and longing is the quintessential prince of introspection and inspiration, Brian Wilson.

Claimed by Paul McCartney as having written the greatest pop song ever ‘God Only Knows’. In early 1966, while the other Beach Boys were on a tour, Wilson embarked on a trip of his own and created what many today consider ‘The Great American Pop Album.’ With the release of Pet Sounds, Wilson became recognised as a groundbreaking musical force. Anticipation was sky high for the Beach Boys’ next album. However, the Smile album became the most legendary album that never was. Through profound personal setbacks and professional frustrations, Brian Wilson has overcome many obstacles and remains one of the most influential pop composers of the last 50 years.

The Brian Wilson live show is a wonderful example of recreating the magic of the timeless melodies and complex harmonies that made the Beach Boys sound.

Gabriel, Frampton to Headline Cup Eve Concert

Peter Gabriel will return to Australia to headline a huge Cup Eve concert in Melbourne to celebrate the Melbourne Cup’s 150th year.

Gabriel will be joined by a big classic rock line-up that includes Peter Frampton, Chicago and America at the Cup Eve Celebration Concert at Etihad Stadium on November 1.

Local acts, including Kate Ceberano, Daryl Braithwaite, Ross Wilson, Joe Camilleri, Deborah Conway, Stephen Cummings and Danielle Spencer will also perform at the Cup Eve show.

Tickets for the concert go on sale on June 24

The Cup Eve concert will be staged within a new configuration at Docklands Stadium, an intimate concert mode for 19,000 people.

Gabriel will be performing a set that includes all his hits and selections from his latest album Scratch My Back, which sees him covering songs by artists including David Bowie, Paul Simon, Lou Reed, Arcade Fire, Radiohead and Talking Heads. Apparently the album will have a sequel with those artists covering Peter Gabriel songs, entitled I’ll Scratch Yours.

Peter Gabriel was of course the frontman of Genesis before releasing a host of important solo work including hits like Sledgehammer, Solsbury Hill, Don’t Give Up and Games Without Frontiers. He’s also known as the founder of the Womad festival.

Peter Frampton remains one of the most celebrated artists and guitarists in rock history. Raised in London, Frampton taught himself to play guitar while still a child. He studied at the Bromley Technical School with classmate David Bowie (with whom he later recorded and toured). At 16, he was lead singer and guitarist for British teen band, the Herd. At 18, he co-founded one of the first super groups, seminal rock act Humble Pie. His fifth solo album, the electrifying Frampton Comes Alive!, is one of the top selling live records of all time.

Frampton is undergoing a career renaissance in recent times with the release of his new album Thank You Mr Churchill.

“This album is very autobiographical. It starts with my birth, in which I thank Mr. Churchill for bringing my father back from the Second World War,” says Frampton of his new set. “I woke up one morning and I wondered what would have happened if Winston Churchill hadn’t been at the helm and the British and the Allies had not won. Would my dad have not come back? Would I be here? Probably not.”

Mr Churchill is Frampton’s first collection since his innovative Grammy-winning instrumental album, Fingerprints. “Since Fingerprints, it’s been a very creative period for me,” he says. “I wrote over 50 songs between Fingerprints and choosing what will be the 11 on the record. Awards aren’t supposed to enhance one’s creative juices, but they don’t hurt. With the Grammy I feel validated as the musician that I always felt I’ve been.”

Danielle Spencer – Calling All Magicians (Roadshow)

Danielle Spencer’s album Calling All Magicians is interesting. Now calling an album “interesting” is often a back-handed compliment – something like one band telling another band “I can see what you guys are trying to do”, as if it were a  good thing.

But in this case “interesting” is a compliment because it’s meant completely literally. The songwriting is interesting, the melodic changes and turns are interesting, the lyrics are interesting, the instrumentation is interesting, the production is interesting – all in all the creative and artistic choices are interesting.

It’s been mentioned more times than is needed that Spencer sits comfortably in a musical grouping that includes Tori Amos, Kate Bush and more recently Regina Spector and while those comparisons are valid they are certainly not definitive.

She has her own perspective and viewpoint and on the songs where she unshackles this vision she manages to create something quite unlike any other vaguely similar artist. A case in point is Citizens which is an epic journey into the psyche of conflicted emotions. Beyond The Red Door is another expansive song where she inhabits a character that is both immediate and elusive.

There’s obviously a lot of imagery that suggests that she’s been communing with the pixies at the bottom of the garden but scratching the surface of the this imagery and you find some very insightful thoughts on the human condition – well “someone’s human condition” anyway. Around The Corner is a thoughtful song in this vain and Empty Shoes offers a similar reward for close attention.

Even the more “pop” arrangements of songs like On Your Side and Fade To Black offer more than your standard “girl at a piano” stylings.

In comparison to her debut album White Monkey, Calling All Magicians is perhaps less stylistically ambitious but more assured in the delivery. Spencers voice has gained depth in the intervening period  and as a result she’s more willing to rely on her singing that the character voices that featured on the first album. She  still reverts to her ‘whisper’ voice sometimes (and usually effectively, as on Red Door) on this album but she seems more content to sing in a more forthright way.

Interesting.