Gang of Four Sideshows

Soundwave might be a lot of rock to deal with in one day but it is sure throwing up some interesting sideshows. One of these is from post-punk legends Gang Of Four who have announced a series of additional dates in  February.

After a fifteen year recording hiatus and a few line-up changes Gang Of Four are about to release the seventh album of their thirty-three year career. While not exactly prolific they have been significant. The new album, Content, has been described as “…every bit as powerful and insightful as their classic work.”

A Wikipedia entry describes the band as such: “They play a stripped-down mix of punk rock, with strong elements of funk music, minimalism and dub reggae and an emphasis on the social and political ills in society. Gang of Four are widely considered as one of the leading bands of the late 1970s/early 1980s post-punk movement. Their later albums (Songs of the Free and Hard) found them softening some of their more jarring qualities, and drifting towards dance-punk and disco. Their debut album, Entertainment!, ranked at Number 490 in Rolling Stone’s The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. David Fricke in Rolling Stone said “Gang of Four are probably the best politically motivated band in rock & roll.”

Friday 25th February – The HiFi, Brisbane
Tuesday 1st March – The Gaelic, Sydney
Wednesday 2nd March – The Corner, Melbourne
Tuesday 8th March – The Bakery, Perth

Tickets on sale Thursday 11th November.

Soundwave Is Big and Heavy, Surprised?

The full line-up for the 2011 Soundwave festival has been released and it’s a pretty heavy duty list.

Iron Maiden will headline joined by Slayer, Queens of the Stone Age, Melvins, The Gaslight Anthem, Slash, 30 Seconds to Mars (Full list below)

As usual this website hasn’t heard of many of the more hardcore acts but there are plenty that grab our attention.

With their new album The Final Frontier due out next week, Iron Maiden simply refuse to turn off the creative taps and allow age to take its toll. Iron Maiden will be bringing their full stage show to Australia for the Soundwave festivals and will even be taking in a couple of side shows on the east coast. Having just come off tour in North America where they played to more than 400,000 fans over 25 dates, Iron Maiden should be in fighting form by the time they get here.

Queens of the Stone Age, Primus, Slash, Social Distortion, Rob Zombie, Gang of Four, Pennywise, Monster Magnet and Sevendust are all veteran acts that are still holding their own with the young guns.

The Gaslight Anthem are  a sensational newer band with a couple of outstanding albums to their credit. I’ll be looking for them to do a sideshow.

SOUNDWAVE SHOWS AND VENUES – FEBRUARY/MARCH 2011

SATURDAY 26 BRISBANE, RNA SHOWGROUNDS

SUNDAY 27 SYDNEY, EASTERN CREEK RACEWAY

FRIDAY 4 MELBOURNE, SHOWGROUNDS

SATURDAY 5 ADELAIDE, BONYTHON PARK

MONDAY 7 PERTH, STEEL BLUE OVAL

To be eligible for the Soundwave Festival members pre sale you must be registered as a member on the Festival website www.soundwavefestival.com

Soundwave member’s pre sale:

Tuesday 17 August 9am, Brisbane
Wednesday 18 August 9am, Sydney
Thursday 19 August 9am, Melbourne
Friday 20 August 9am, Adelaide and Perth

Soundwave Festival 2011 Line-up:

Iron Maiden
Slayer
Queens of the Stone Age
Primus
Slash
Social Distortion
Rob Zombie
Avenged Sevenfold
30 Seconds To Mars
Stone Sour
Gang of Four
New Found Glory
Pennywise
Sum 41
Annberlin
The Gaslight Anthem
Third Eye Blind
Devildriver
Sevendust
Less Than Jake
The Bronx
Monster Magnet
Terror
MXPX
Protest The Hero
Melvins
30 Crazyfists
Ill Nino
The Ataris
The Starting Line
Bayside
Madd Caddies
The Maine
Trash Talk
May Day Parade
Foxy Shazam
Never Shout Never
The Blackout
Alesana
Asking Alexandria
All That Remains
High On Fire
Dommin
The Sword
Kylesa
A Skylit Drive
There For Tomorrow
Breathe Carolina
Taking Dawn
I See Stars
Rise To Remain
Nonpoint
Veara
Every Avenue