The Radiohead Experience (at last.)

If you're not a Radiohead fan or a Radiohead Fan fan, then this post is not for you! Be warned as I am deeply both of these things and the amount of fangirl harping will be greater than you can handle. 

Last November (freaking 6 months ago, thanks to being a Procrastinating Polly) was the time that Radiohead finally made their way to Australia after 8 years since their last Australian tour. The last time they were in Brisbane prior to this was 1998, when I had first began to take notice of them, thanks to the hype around 1997's 'OK Computer' and Triple J Hottest 100 Volume 5 Compilation. So, this tour has been a long time coming. I was so excited that I agreed to go down to Sydney to see their Monday (12th Nov) night show  after seeing their Brisbane gig on the 9th. One of my more expensive but better decisions. 


The Brisbane Entertainment Centre wasn't going to be pleasant, but I arranged to get there as soon as humanly possible, and with brother, sister, and friends in tow, had one of the
most exciting waits of my gigging life.
Support act Connan Mockasin was pretty decent for someone having to support Radiohead, and I ended up quite enjoying their set. Then again, I was in a pretty fucking good mood.

oh my fucking god its radiohead

So the actual show. I don't want to harp on, but fuck. Radiohead live up to their cult status and expectation as a live band worth seeing. This isn't blind fandom talking, this is legitimate and honest critique; they did everything perfectly. To the point that I weirdly felt like I was just listening to their recording and Thomas Yorkus and co weren't actually in the same room as me, which in a lucky way, prevented me from screaming like a little girl. Once I got over that I relished in watching each band member do their amazing thing, from serious Phil Selway's drumming (with Portisehead's drummer Clive Deamer lending a hand) to nonchalant Johnny Greenwood with his mop top bent down low. 

The Johnny  Mop

I got the same feeling at the Sydney show, although in some ways I enjoyed it more as an opportunity to just sit back and take it all in mindfully, rather than agonise over what they were going to play next. And there was a surprising shift between playlists, making a double viewing all the more worth it.

Ed O'Brien in perfect pose

They started off both sets with a different song from the new album 'King of Limbs', and there was quite a bit of the new one in the set; songs like "Feral" and "Bloom" taking on their own new vibe as each layer of melody and rhythm built up to its full execution. Each night had a different set of favourites (e.g. "Airbag", "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" and "The National Anthem" in Brisbane; "Lucky", "Planet Telex" and "Weird Fishes (Arpeggi)" in Sydney) which were a joy to hear live. It's impossible to pick a single highlight, but one overarching positive was how much better less preferred songs became in live form, helped also by the intense accompanying light show. The epileptic chaos of "The Gloaming "was spectacular in a way not conveyed on 'Hail to the Thief', as well as explosive "Myxamatosis", with Thom spitting out the words and throwing himself around the room like a punk. And I really hadn't comprehended the power of "You And Whose Army?" until the band, with Thom on piano, trickled it out into its dramatic climax. 

Lights and music and also Thom Yorke

The bit that gave me a bit of a tear was the signature segue between encores, where Thom sidled up to a keyboard to play a small solo excerpt of Unravel, a gorgeous song by Björk (and you all know how I feel about Björk). As a fellow fan-friend exclaimed/squealed/screamed in recognition, the song slowly became "Everything In It's Right Place", with "Idioteque" finalizing the encore. This was the same both nights (except the improvised Björk) but was just as powerful a second time. Other highlights were the huge bass drums played on each side of stage by Johnny and Ed for "There There", Thom's solo vocal looping in the haunting "Give Up the Ghost", my latest favourite "The Daily Mail", and also a new song "Ful Stop", a special treat in the Sydney set.  

An upside down dancefloor for 15 Step

Each time I left on an indescribable high. Little did I know, the night after the Sydney show, that my high was about to increase. It was at a geekvention that I caught wind that Thom Yorke was djing at Good God Small Club, a short walk from our hotel. Thus our wee group of crazy fans got to experience the tail end of the man in his little rat tail and black jacket, spinning some tracks, looking like he was having a ball. We got close enough to take a few sneaky pics, and notice celebs such as Toni Collette having a dance in the VIP section. On his exit, he surprisingly walked directly past all of us. I touched his back and said something dumb, probably "good job Thom", and my brother looked paralyzed at the proximity of his long time musical idol. We couldn't believe it had happened and didn't get to sleep for a while that night.

SNEAKY PIC!

Since November, Thom has released the Atoms For Peace album 'Amok', which I have listened to quite a bit since its release. It is a meticulously put together album with a lot of repeated listening value; like Radiohead, each listen uncovers something new. While it's quite a hauntingly cold and crisp world of music within this album, there are lyrics of warmth and emotional questioning, and the clip for "Ingenue" is a playful, enjoyable watch. By the way, Thom danced up a goddamn storm on that stage, true to his performances on that Atoms For Peace clip as well as that for Radiohead's "Lotus Flower". It must also be noted how pleasant Thom appeared onstage and how much he appeared to be enjoying himself at the dj set, something I'm sure he would have shied away from 10 years ago. This wonderful interview with Alec Baldwin, along with this pleasantly puzzling 'Ask a Grown Man' video with Nigel Godrich, is further proof of how Thom is enjoying himself at the moment, not quite as afraid of being seen around town as he once may have been. Usually when artists get happy they get stagnant, but Thom is able to be in a good place and still make amazing, sensually challenging music. I am only speculating all this and have no place to make these claims of Thom's wellbeing, but my respect for this man is pretty deep. 

RADIOHEAD AMIRITE? Rating? All the minotaurs in the world out of 10! The end!

POP NOISE VS NOISE POP GIG OFF: My Bloody Valentine (Tivoli, 20th Feb 2013) VS. Deerhoof (Zoo, 1st Mar 2013)

It's a gig off everyone! Who will win between two bands I don't know enough about: veteran adored noise shoegazers MBV and quirky noise pop tunesters Deerhoof? GUITAR SOLOS OF ANTICIPATION!

My Bloody Valentine

source: thequietus.com

Every indie music fan has to respect and hopefully love this band to have any credibility (it seems), since Kevin Shields and co. propelled the shoegaze genre with their airy, wall of fuzz creations. I've only listened to Loveless a handful of times and of course the song in Lost In Translation; all enjoyable listens, all with something to come back to. Shoegaze as a genre is something a tiny little lost on me, as repetitive fuzz is a little....repetitive and fuzzy, for me. Nevertheless, I was happy to see them for their first live Brisbane show in  a million years, joining my companion after a day of excess due to my uncle's wedding.
We arrived not long before the band came onstage, greeted by a Tivoli audience not as filled out as I expected. Kev and the Gang, all looking a little old and weathered but not distastefully so, started their set with the blaring feedback filled drones of "I Only Said". We were given earplugs when we went in, and I didn't really expect to have to use them as we weren't very close, but Great Odin's raven I came close. All I could really hear was the distorted reverberating guitars, and really not much else. Even as "When You Sleep" started, the only song I proudly recognised off the bat, I still could only imagine the vocals rather than actually hear anyone sing. I know MBV is a noise band and there was definite noise, and in that manner they delivered, but due to the distortion, whether you want to blame it on the Tivoli or the band, it was difficult for this casual listener to differentiate song from song. After a tiring day, I needed more to stimulate me than just blare. 
I kept my feelings quiet until my companion shared the same ones... and sadly, during the repetition of one thunderous note during "You Made Me Realise" which could only be described as eardrum rape, we caved into our feelings and made to leave a little early. Ahh, quiet bliss. I know it's what fans of the band probably jizzed over, and reading a few reviews suggest this last (apparently TWENTY MINUTE LONG) one note session called "Holocaust" was incredible and thrilling and 'had to be there' type stuff, but for me it was more like a real holocaust, which I assume is similar to what hell is like. 
Speaking of hell, I'm probably going to reviewer hell for this, but it definitely wasn't the most enjoyable show of my life. Unfortunately MBV you get like maybe one star for being so influential to begin with. 

Really too cool to give a fuck about what I think anyway.

V.S. !!!!!!!!!!!!

Deerhoof

It turns out I have had an album by Deerhoof on my itunes for a while, but didn't pay enough attention to know how I felt about them. Turns out, I would probably dig them. This time, said companion scored some free tickets from the shop The Outpost (Save all your money and go there sometime). We headed over in time to check out a little bit of support acts Primitive Motion and all of Blank Realm. I had seen Blank Realm at Black Bear Lodge a while back and really enjoyed their sonically shifting sound, and tonight was no different. Their set was warming and empowering, a great mood setter for the night ahead. 
Deerhoof are fronted by one of the cutest ladies to hold a bass guitar, Satomi Matsuzaki. Satomi with her sweet upbeat vocals and energetic jumpy stage behaviour, held a lot of the presence onstage. The jangly pop of the band was instantly attention grabbing, and got the crowd, again quite small, moving along in time quickly. Jovial, harmonic poppy numbers accompanied noisier synthy jams, with entertaining results. Deerhoof definitely have a distinctive style, and though there were some brief change-ups in the pace and mood, it was all of a similar high energy. However, the best way to tell if a band are any good live is if you can enjoy it without knowing any of their music beforehand, and in that way they were definitely a solid live act. Knowing that neither Satomi nor a few of the other band members had any real musical background before becoming Deerhoof, also makes me want to join a band more than ever... and in that way they were also inspiring. 
Listening back, the cutesiness of the Japanese-poppy voice of Satomi is a little overpowering, but they're a band I can definitely get into. Their live show is however something you really have to see, and I was disappointed to see so few people there. Having said that, the Stone Roses were playing that same night... a band I really wish I hadn't missed (look, I'm too poor). But another defining feature of the band is how much they seemed to really enjoy just feeding off each other onstage to put on a show for us anyway, which is another thing I didn't really get from MBV. So, for an unexpectedly excellent experience, Deerhoof gets 7.5 out of 10 flashing kanye sunglasses.

YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS! DEERHOOF WINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Oh nice, cheers Steph!

2012 Gigs: Too Many To Blog (A LIST)

If you're about to start uni and need something to procrastinate with during lectures or study etc. then this is the post for you! It is long, with lots of hopefully not boring anecdotes, about the gigs that occurred in 2012 that I have not blogged for you, and would like to just snapshot for you, now, here, today. It's one omission is Radiohead, which deserves its own post, and maybe a gif of me kissing Thom Yorke's lazy eye repeatedly in gratitude and fanatical obsession. But here it is, all the gigs I saw last year for your reading pleasure, plus some other experiences of note. It was a pretty amazing year for gigs, I have to say, and I am very appreciative of being able to see the cream of the crop. 2013 is shaping up to contain some memorable moments as well, and I hope I can get to as many as possible. No longer sharehousing however = not as many dollars in my pockets. But we'll see. Here's to a late but hopefully great list!

Ashley Naylor of Even

Even and the Fauves, The Zoo, Saturday 7th of July

The Fauves

I was a tired and cranky bitch for this gig, but had paid my money and was going to see all the bands. The Fauves and Even are both Melbourne bands who are still kicking along since their mid to late 90's heyday, in which I was a young radio listening fan. How good that they would tour together at the Zoo for my reminiscent pleasure! The Fauves were the opener, and played an extremely energetic, solid set. There were none of their slightly gimmicky pop song favourites such as "Dogs Are the Best People", "Bigger than Tina" or "Surf City Limits", that I remembered best. This was probably not a shame really, as it gave way for their more impressive creative and heavier moments. "Celebrate the Failure" and "The Charles Atlas Way" was thrown in for Triple J friendly measure. Even was next, and their lead singer Ashley Naylor won the crowd with his enthusiasm and charming nature, playing just as solidly as the Fauves. While I was pleased to hear tokens "Black Umbrella" and "Shining Star", I was pretty enthralled with the whole thing, as they bring that slightly Beatles-ish catch to all their songs, and remind you what a good asset to Australian music history they are. People need to remember these bands more! It should have been a sold out show that night, and wasn't.

Bright young chaps.

Herman's Hermits, Sherwood RSL, Sunday 2nd September (Father's Day!) 

It's not often you get to see a 1960's British pop group for $33 in the comfort of your parent's local RSL. But I did, father's day 2012, after completing the Bridge to Brisbane 5km run in 31 minutes 57 seconds (1 second longer than the year previous), and feasting on Sherwood RSL's fathers day buffet. This also happened after we had the world's oldest and worst jokes told to us by some old bloke as pre-show entertainment. During his jokes,I went through the wrong door for the bathroom, and promptly bumped into a Hermit, who looked a bit stunned and pointed me the right way. We learnt that they weren't really the original band, in fact only one of the musicians were there from the beginning (Barry Whitwam), but that didn't spoil the music, which was very well executed in such a weird setting. I also may have got a shout out when one of the band members said "A young lady walked into our dressing room earlier- but we haven't had groupies for years!" ... Oh god. They performed, smiling and blissed out to be there, not phased by the dining room venue, 4.15pm commencement time, and upper middle class aging audience, minus me and some hangers on. They did so many songs I recognised without having realised they were them, as well as a few cover medleys of songs around their time. The show became a really nice history lesson on the 60's, as well as a realisation that there were other bands besides all the The's - Beatles, Kinks, Who and Stones... and these guys were in the forefront. Well worth it. Also if you need a cheap drink and don't care where you are, RSL's are the shit, especially if your dad is a member.

Dexy's: Runnin'.

 Harvest Festival (Sunday 18th November, Brisbane Botanic Gardens)

John McCrea: Champion of the world

2012's Harvest weekend will always go down in history as a hugely memorable day, for many reasons. I'd just moved in with my boyfriend Tiptoes, in a beautiful house in Bardon (whee!), my friend was staying with us for the weekend amongst our moving of shit, and the weather was abso-fucking-lutely raging in freak hailstorm season. We all went along with tired but high spirits, and caught some of the best of what was on offer. Dexy's Midnight Runners were so cheesy it was sickening, but were clearly having a good time, and everyone danced to "Come On Eileen" no matter who or where they were. Dandy Warhols oddly didn't really suit the festival vibe as I expected, and choosing to play slowburners like "Good Morning" and "Godless" (while favourites of mine) probably didn't help get the crowd going. I still enjoyed them because I always will, but my group was bored. Liars were kind of weird and dark and brooding and slow, and I wasn't too enthralled, but may have been in a different context. Cake was fun and solid while they opened with "Frank Sinatra" and played "Never There" and ended with the "Distance". Lead singer John McCrea however ruined the fun by shouting at us all sorts of political statements more relevant to the US than here, during and in between songs. After I'd secured a great spot for Ben Folds Five, it was announced we were all to evacuate due to a hail storm and the entire festival found shelter at the QUT grounds, while bits of ice thundered down upon us. It felt apocalyptically weird! Only about an hour or so was lost however, and the show went on, except that I had to miss bits of both Ben Folds Five and Beck due to the new timing. 

Ben Folds Five

BFF were great, I have to say, although having seen Ben enough times solo, my focus was on drummer Darren and bassist Robert, who are fantastic musicians. It was amazing to share the experience with another once (or still) obsessed fan too, and to sing along with old favourites. But I had to scurry over to Beck, who was SO much fun. He played a weird amazing group of songs, lots from later albums 'Guero' 'The Information' and 'Modern Guilt', but also some gems from 'Seachange', and 'Odelay' favourites "Hotwax" (omg!), "Devils Haircut" and "Where It's At". Tiptoes and I danced our little hearts out. Beck had a weird, lazy, fun presence, so much better than his disappointing sickly presence at V festival in 2006 when last I'd saw him. 
The show wasn't over though, even though I was ready to go home, and we caught a captivating set of gorgeous melodies from Grizzly Bear, a bit of Crazy P, and most of Santigold's energetic, dancetastic set, which made me fall a bit in love with her. Then we walked around for half an hour to get a cab and collapsed forever. Another great year Harvest! Please be as promising this year.  

J Spaceman: photo by captainsdead.com

Spiritualized, Hi Fi Bar, Tuesday 4th December

This show crept up on me, on an exhausting day involving a massive heatwave, and I wasn't sure how I was going to enjoy it in the state I was in. Luckily it was the perfect kind of gig for such a mood. At a low capacity Hi Fi, Jason "J Spaceman" Pierce, was seated comfortably at his piano and/or guitar, with his other sombre band members astride, and a couple of backing singing ladies, supported by a projection of all sorts of Windows Screensaver-esque visuals. Together with the music, this set up created a very soothing, moving experience, gently rocking me into a peaceful state. Jason's voice was not much stronger than on the latest record (see my previous entry!), but it was forgiven as you contemplate what the dude has been through... years of drug and alcohol abuse, becoming critically ill with pneumonia (he stopped breathing twice) in 2005, and now being diagnosed with liver cancer and going through chemotherapy... a weaker voice seems fitting. Regardless, his presence and musical energy was strong, and the songs flowed freely. The sound grew better with the gig (or my ears adjusted?), from the seemingly distorted first song, "Here It Comes", on to a selection mostly from 'Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space' and the latest 'Sweet Heart, Sweet Light'. I enjoyed every moment, my highlight being the tug-at-heartstrings title track to 'Ladies and Gentleman', an ode to either drugs or love... transcribed oddly, but well to the live experience. 

Grimes + Dancers

Grimes, The Zoo, Friday 8th December

I have never seen so many young girls with hairs in high bunches, untweezed eyebrows, and bindies all over their forehead. Grimes played her hotly anticipated show at the Zoo, and i got to see what all the fuss was about... well I already knew, her album Visions is an exquisitely catchy piece of music, and worth the 40+ dollars. I was there with my sister and her friends, her first 18+ show since turning said age, which was to me an exciting achievement. I've never felt as old as i did this night, not only surrounded by teenagers I knew but those I did not. Since when did they get so damn cool? Why wasn't I that cool? What do you talk about with them these days? Ahh, youths. Anyway Lady Grimes (aka Claire Boucher) performed like the giddy school girls who adore her, giggly, bashful and babbling, and chuffed as anything to be there, flanked by dancers sharing her craziness. I couldn't understand a word she said or sang but the music was replicated wonderfully, and I felt like one of the kids in Skins for a few seconds if I tried not to remember what I looked like or who I was.

Devo: photo by Cam Ball

Simple Minds, Devo, The Church, The Models, Sirromet Winery, Sunday 9th December
(this was a loooooong week.)

The Church: photo by Cam Ball

I didn't think I would want to ever listen to Whip It again, due to having to sing it through, twice, at work, by a well meaning but mortifying team leader.... But once Devo came round at Sirromet, I was keen to see them in their ageing glory. We were a bit late for the event (yeah that was my fault) and had an awkward spot on the hill, but got to experience everything quite easily nonetheless. I only recognized a few songs by the Models, who seemed to play well but I did find to be a slight bore. The Church were more entertaining, playing strongly and replicating their hits with the passion of a younger band. It may just be that I'm a bigger fan though, as their presence really wasn't as strong as Devo's, who pretty much obliterated the festival, with costumes, video art, dance moves, and pure energy bouncing off the hills. As my family (naturally) agreed, lyrics were never their strong point, but goddamn Devo were, and still are, a fun band, without being the type of annoying that fun bands are resigned to these days. After expected classics such as "Girl U Want" "Whip It" (of course), and "Mongoloid", they ended on an extended version of "It's A Beautiful World" (or so it felt), with that weird baby faced masked boy thing singing the words. It was odd that Simple Minds closed, as they were by far inferior, with the lead singer hardly singing his words (leaving it to the crowd which is always a mistake), and the bands performance being solid but hardly excitable. It's hard to top the excitement of Devo, and after Simple Minds' signature "Don't You (Forget About Me)" we left to get a head start home.


OTHER THINGS I SAW

I went to Rockwiz for the.. third?? time, on Friday the 21st of September at the Convention Centre, which was of course laughs and music and the usual shebang. Bob Evans, Tex Perkins, Joe Camilleri, Vika, Linda, Marcia, even the guy from Even (Ashley). One day, one day.. I'll put my hand up to be a contestant on one of their tours. I could do it, I reckon, until they start asking about Dragon or Jo Jo Zep or even the Beegees... Hmm on second thoughts, I'm still too shy.

Exit? Yes please

I got practically dragged to Stereosonic on the 2nd of December thanks to a friend who works for a will-not-be-named company who gets free tickets to events so that she can check on music distribution licences (in a nutshell?). At the time I was like, a free ticket, why not! But as the day approached and I was unwell, it was the last place I wanted to be. I tried to enjoy myself during some of the dj sets (being most of the 'shows' on offer), but my god was it difficult to enjoy the same shitty, repetitive, blasting music shoved in my ears all day. Luckily my friend wasn't too fussed either, otherwise I would have been the worst company imaginable. Calvin Harris wasn't terrible, but I can kind of appreciate some of his things. Everything else was boring. I was gone before Major Lazer came out, which was probably the only thing that I would have really wanted to see. At least I can say I've been to a really shit music festival that the masses think is excellent.

Casey and Eric

Finally TIM AND ERIC came to the Tivoli on the 4th of October and it was a wonderful time. It wasn't what I expected however... sketches that we kinda had seen before (involving Casey Tatum, Spaghett!, and the Beaver Boys), interspersed with projections of favourite sketches, which the audience got to choose based on the loudness of cheering/clapping. It also seemed like a legit measure! The entire segments of "Just 3 Boys" was also shown to the audience via videoscreen. I thought using video footage was a bit of an easy move and not what we paid money for, but it was fun to watch as a group of fans of this fucked up show, and I will say there was some very interesting looking people in the crowd who will vouch for that. Also, an opening song consisting only of the words "Diarrhea", finishing tribute to Australia, and an encore involving a quiz of the show between 3 audience couples, made it all quite memorable. Also DJ DouggPound had some awesomely terrible opening jokes to kick it off. Follow him on twitter, now. Now Doug get off the track! STICK A FORK IN ME I'M DONE!

Oh my Blog! 2012 is Over!

Well, this is awkward.

It's been a ridiculously busy year of lots of things happening, since August 2012 at least when I last spoke to the internets world. I thought I'd have a few spare moments to blog while on the christmas holiday break, but   it was over in a flash and I've only just had the chance to sit down now, after I've been back at work for 3 days already. And so much has happened! Which means I've had some re-assessing to do as to the future of this blog, for if I'm going to let it go for 4 months then I need to find some way to do better. It may just turn into a blog for lots of general stuff... I may blog about gigs, albums, movies, books, things that are on my mind grapes, TV shows, dinner and drinking destinations, sports (ahahahah oh god no, that's not going to happen), politics (watch out Campby), health, psychology. Or it may stay the way it is! Who knows! It's like a kinder surprise!

Nonetheless, I do want to do a round up of all the gigs I went to after my Campbell rant, and also pay very special attention to Radiohead's two (2) shows I went to on their australia tour, because they could literally be the best live show in the universe and best band in the history of the universe. I am kidding, but only half. 

For now though, I thought I'd let you know what my favourite albums and songs were of 2012. 2012 was a pretty shit year for music if you ask me, with not many real standouts that wowed everyone, and lots of established bands having to attempt to top their last awesome release. Not a lot grabbed me and as a result, this is a rather mediocre list. I don't even know if I'm going to vote for the Triple J Hottest 100 yet!! Considering I've managed to vote every year since I was like, 12, this is significant stuff in the life of Steph. 

Ok so here goes. In no particular order 'cause I can't pick a number 1:

Tame Impala's "Lonerism" was a hit for pretty much everyone- Triple J, 4ZZZ, Nova, Pitchfork, my family, every man and his bloomin' dog. For great reason: it's a flowing tapestry of awesome, and very quickly addictive. Their sophomore release does not change up much from their debut, their 70's psychadelic summery sound is all over the thing, but it really seems to work for them. Tame Impala just know how to create continuous catch, even while everything sounds a bit the same. A perfectly timed summer album, solidifying Tame Impala as one of Australia's internationally respected wonder-bands (and one I like a lot to boot). Also if I were to get high, I would get high to "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards", immediately.

Grizzly Bear's "Shields" had a lot to live up to, as 2009's "Veckatimest" was made love to over and over again by critics and music fans alike. Luckily, it's pretty amazing. It took a bit to grow on me, as it's lush instrumentation ebbing and flowing requires attention to process, but once I had the focus, it stood out as an exquisite album. I got to see them at Harvest Festival this year (my 3rd time seeing them omg glooooat) and the songs were beautifully translated live onstage, making me appreciate this album a little more. I'm glad this album could show they weren't just a hipster flavour of the month and actually have so much more to offer the music world.

Oh look, speaking of hipster flavour of the.... lifetime of Pitchfork, here comes Animal Collective, with "Centipede Hz". Universally recognised as perhaps the worst album cover of the year, the album inside it is a rollercoaster of colour and texture, highs, lows and awkward messes, like most AC albums are... It doesn't have quite the pop value (and new-fan-creating abilities) of 2009's "Merriweather Post Pavillion", and does have a few slightly-almost-skippable moments bordering on annoying. However, there is some fantastic stuff on the album, and a couple of new favourite songs that sound a bit more like band member Panda Bear's solo stuff (and one of which: "New Town Burnout", was written for his last solo album, so go figure), as well as their leading single "Today's Supernatural". 

Actually not called "Huh?", but "Sweet Heart, Sweet Light"... This album by Spiritualized is only the second I own as a relatively newer fan, and so I only have "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space" to compare it to (which is close to a perfect album). This album does have a very similar feel to that one however, and I found it very easy to love for that reason. Opening single "Hey Jane" is a killer, and hooked me in completely, one of my favourite songs of the year. Similar to "Ladies and Gentleman" the album hovers between grinding, lazy rock anthems, and sweet, loving melancholic ballads, culminating in bittersweet "So Long You Pretty Thing". Frontman Jason Pierce/Spaceman's voice seems lazier and with less effort on each song, but it's kind of the singing that works for the album, and as a result, I have come back to it a lot this year.

Grimes' "Visions" is also another very well played album for me. It was very difficult to ignore the melodically pleasurable singles "Oblivion" and "Genesis" from this album, which is the third in Grimes' catalogue, but the first to make such an impact on the music world. Particularly teenage girls who have suddenly developed blunt fringes, pony-tailed hair and bindies on their foreheads, coincidentally similar to Grimes' 24 year old mastermind Claire Boucher. The album is full of dark, dirty electropop with Claire's pixie-mated-with-a-chipmunk voice spilling over the top of it, and caused me to launch into impromptu dance in the kitchen many times. 

I really like Spoon, a lot... but here's a secret, I never got the whole Wolf Parade obsession quite as much as everyone else. Luckily, both bands collaborated, and created Divine Fits, made an album called "A Thing Called Divine Fits", and I like it a lot. It combines the passionate, catchy pop of Spoon with the darker, complex indie rock dimensions of Wolf Parade, to create a very nice selection of songs, highlights being the radio friendly "What Gets You Alone" and "My Love is Real". The only downside is a completely unnecessary cover of one of my favourite songs ever written, Rowland S. Howard's "Shivers". Nothing is added to it and I don't understand why they needed a cover song in there at all, they were doing quite fine without it! But nonetheless, you should hear this album anyway. 

I've only been a casual fan of Santigold (or The Artist Formerly Known As Santogold), and recently downloaded this album, "Master of My Make Believe" after being very impressed by her performance at Harvest Festival this year. Santigold has that kind of gruff, in your face yell-voice that Nicki Minaj is even worse at, and for that reason I kind of need breaks in between Santigold listens, and have to be in THAT kind of mood. This album seemed to get me at the right times as I found it quite refreshingly appealing in it's upbeat, heaving progression from beginning (Karen O howls in "Go!") to end (tribal mayhem with "Big Mouth"). I think what I was looking for this year was music with a great hook, and a lot of songs fit that description here. 

Well that's all! Just 7 albums! Notable mentions (i.e. Albums I've heard a few times and enjoyed but not enough to rate yet), include: 

Frank Ocean - Channel Orange, 

Alt J- An Awesome Wave 

M. Ward - A Wasteland Companion, and 

David Byrne & St Vincent - Love This Giant. 

On that last one, I just love the album cover, and must show you for this reason.. It's just so WEIRD and bizarre like they are. Look at it! The chins! The cheekbones! The expressions! David! Sigh. 

And finally, my top 10 songs of this year. With youtube video!

1. Frank Ocean - Super Rich Kidz

It sounds like Benny and the Jets and it won't get out of my head. 

2. Spiritualized- Hey Jane

So good while driving. Try it! (p.s. this film clip is messed uuuuuuuuup.)

3. Grimes - Genesis and/or Oblivion

They're both interchangeable in their similar awesomeness, I can't pick which I like best.

4. Alt J- Breezeblocks

I'm confident this is an opinion shared by many others and it will be in the top 10 of the hottest 100. If not there is no justice and I give up on everything. 

5. Grizzly Bear- Sun In Your Eyes

Epic, beautiful, explosive, and the perfect closer of their album.

6. Beach House - Lazuli

Very "Beach House" and very pretty and addictive. 

7. Tame Impala - Apocalypse Dreams

Also good while driving! I dare you.

8. Dirty Projectors - Gun Has No Trigger 

A band I should listen to more of. A subtle, foreboding song that has snuck in and haunted my subconcious

9. Santigold - Disparate Youth 

Just listening to it now makes me want to dance with a deadpan expression on my face

10. Animal Collective - New Town Burnout

I love the passion in Panda Bear's voice, even though he's not really singing about anything. 

Special mention to Ben Folds Five- Michael Praytor, Five Years Later, for not being shit.

Well that's all for now bitches! I am so glad to have done this finally and I hope to do more soon. I can count on you guys to prod me if I slack off again. THANKYOU FOR READING! SLACKER OUT!

A short and sweet Elbow Review: Saturday, 24th March 2012, The Tivoli.

I want to just briefly post about my last Elbow gig in March, as I've already reviewed them, and this performance was essentially song-for-song identical as the Enmore gig I first reviewed. Regardless, there are things to be said about this performance, and while I'm in danger of sounding like an obsessed and crazed band groupie, I have to tell you how good they were. 
I only caught the tail end of Bombay Bicycle Club, as gig buddy and I decided that the jazz band at Black Bear Lodge were good enough to sit through most of during pre-drinks. A little bit of research tells me they were the Low Down Jazz Quintet. They were really quite entertaining and their smooth sounds, coupled with the rustic feel of Black Bear, with corner tables and real candles, overlooking a bustling city, made me feel like I was in some 1950's lounge bar in New York. I also now want to be the singer of a jazz band. 

Anyway, Elbow. Oh Elbow. I was really excited to see them for the third time, and despite not trailing off the same setlist as last year's, they did not disappoint in the slightest. Frontman Guy Garvey was all charm as usual, perhaps telling the same stories as usual but with fresh spark and excitement to be there, and keeping us all amused. He also gave annoying hecklers (we heard you yell 'MANCHESTERRRR!' the first time) what for, not being afraid to tell them to shut the hell up. 
The weird thing about me and Elbow is I actually dearly love their earlier albums (especially 'Asleep In the Back', one of my favourite albums of all time), over their newer ones, while I do love them also. Over the past few years, none of these songs are touched on in favour of Mercury prize winning 'Seldom Seen Kid', and latest 'Build a Rocket Boys'. Remember, I love these albums as well, both are stunning pieces of work, they just lack the darker, more mysteriously complex and brooding side of Elbow that their first ones contain. Basically, Elbow are much happier lads these days and it shows. But what really helped me have the  ultimate best time at this concert, was that I am a much happier lady these days, and I can actually relate to the jovial, schmaltzier stuff that they are all about in their live show. It's of course not all love stories and 'today is grand!' moments, and those sweetly melancholic songs they go back to e.g. "The Night Will Always Win", and "Puncture Repair", are enough to bring a little moisture to the eyes. So ending on the uplifting "One Day Like This", is a necessary move, because it ensures their audience leaves with an ultimate high and smile on their face, and that they reflect on the night as a performance to remember.
I haven't even mentioned how GOOD the band is, how precise and delicate and moving their musical performance is, and how fucking emotive and delighting Guy's voice is. It's this, combined with their obvious love of performing, which completely gets me, and even if I'd probably die of joy if they played "Newborn" or "Asleep in the Back" from their debut, I'm still enamoured by their performance every damn time. They're not hip hop or indie rock or ambient-electronic aficionados go-to band by any means, but dammit they're probably the best live band I've ever seen and should be rewarded as such.
Anyway, here are some piccies!

'Mirrorball'. Schmaltz.

oh heavens.

'Weather to Fly'. Still much better than on record.

probably some audience participation bizo or whatev

If you love Australia so much why don't you marry it.

9... and a half... armpits out of 10. 

The Damned, The Hi Fi, Thursday 19th January, 2012

Back in "the day", Triple J ran a Hottest 100 songs of all time. This was in 1998 when I was in primary school and living in Caboolture and the Hilltop Hoods didn't exist. I remember voting for "Joga" by Björk and also "Happiness" by Regurgitator, because, you know, they were the best songs of all time. Dad voted for "Smash it Up" by the Damned, the English goth punks from the 70's. I remember he wrote as his 25-words-or-less rationale: “because in my youth I often wanted to smash things up and I'd be damned if the Damned got there first”. My dad probably doesn't remember this, but I do. Years later, I discovered the Damned for myself, after finding a CD copy of 'Machine Gun Etiquette' and buying it for him, and have since forever associated Dad as being a big fan of that band. And no amount of mum saying 'But he HATES the Hi Fi!' could stop me from buying him a ticket to their show for Christmas. What followed was a lovely daddy-daughter evening, where I ate a leek tart at a restaurant that served possum, and had 2 glasses of very nice wine (Dad = still able to drive; me = wheeeeeeeee!)

The Damned were scheduled to start at 9.30, a welcome early start for the Hi Fi – I still remember walking out of there after 1am one night while Tim Rogers was continuing to prance about. We still had a half hour wait ahead of us, so grabbed a drink as Dad lamented on how much he hated the Hi Fi: Me- "Well the Tivoli has a name behind it where as the Hi Fi is still gaining one." Dad- "The Hi Fi has a name. It's “crap”." 
Granted, it is a pretty terrible sounding venue, not quite as bad as Woodland, but one of those place where it is better to be situated in the middle back area than anywhere else. And when you're at a "rock show", you naturally want to experience it as close as possible, am I right?

Which is exactly what happened. Expecting myself to lead the way into the surprisingly large, goth-dressed crowd of all ages, Dad actually took the initiative to force us through people with gusto, pushing us through without a thought for some of the annoyed comments they gave. Slightly embarrassed from being "those people", I also couldn't help but be proud of my Dad the middle aged pusher-inner-er. How very rock & roll. 

The band kicked off with cheers from the crowd, with an immediately gritty tune I didn't recognise; "Neat Neat Neat". The band wasn't overly 'dressed up' as what must have been the case in their heyday, but they were definitely in signature style. Captain Sensible looked like he had stepped out of a french cartoon with his trademark beret and sunnies, and a brightly striped shirt with "FREAK" written on it. Lead singer Dave Vanian was only subtly vampirish with suit, sunnies and a slightly pasty appearance. Together they looked like a motley crew of ageing dudes still kind of stuck in the 70's but with absolutely no shame.

Together they played a tight, energetic set, which sounded pretty decent despite the aforementioned limitations of the Hi Fi. Avian and Sensible's voices sounded slightly matured but still strong and sporting that Brit-punk accent. To me, their style and sound has always felt similar to that of the Stranglers, and I couldn't help thinking that throughout their show. Luckily for me they played a nice helping of 'Machine Gun Etiquette' songs, including "I Just Can't Be Happy Today", and "Love Song", as well as their other big hit, "New Rose", and many other songs that held true to their raw style. There was a lot I didn't know, but all of it was pleasing to my ears and bopping feet, and reminded me of how much I love this era's music. Even though I'm too young to ever really fully appreciate what it was all about, the punk rock and new wave of the 1970's-1980's somehow makes me feel at home, safe and happy. Maybe, or likely, it's just my parents' constant churning out of its music in my younger years that has done that for me; combined with the fact that its songs will always be there, untainted, permanent and still fresh, while new music continues to deteriorate with re-hashing, mass production and autotune.

bassist Stu West, Dave, and Sideshow Bob (aka Monty Oxy Moron)

Anyway, the show continued with the band not losing an atom of energy, and sharing their joy at playing their catalogue to an old and new audience. Capt. Sensible and at times Dave addressed the crowd between songs with reminiscence, such as Sensible's musings about Malcom McLaren, and his acknowledgement of the Saints: "Everyone thought the Sex Pistols started punk. But I think it was the band right here that did it!" Cue cheers and claps. After slogging through a fair amount of typically short punk tunes, they exited for a few minutes in preparation for their encore. I have to say, waits for encores have been very short lately, which has been both pleasing and efficient. Good job bands!
They came out with their 1985 hit cover "Eloise". During the show I had been looking over at my dad from time to time to ensure he was enjoying himself, which he appeared to, but I knew that it would have all been given a sub-par rating if they didn't play "Smash It Up" (parts 1 AND 2). At this point I suddenly worried they weren't going to play it. But luckily, as "Eloise" finished, the moment came when Dave announced the next song. The opening chords of "Smash It Up parts 1 and 2" began and the already energetic vibe was increased 3 fold. As part 1 kicked into part 2, I couldn't help but jump at the awesomeness. It was a wall of raw, explosive, joyous sound (always *good for a Hi Fi gig*). Dad looked a bit more smiley. As the song finally subsided in it's lazy final lyrics, it was an awesome ending to the show. We battled the crowd out with ringing ears and I finally felt comforted in my choice of birthday present for Dad; we were both glad we came. The Damned has proven that despite it being 2012, they can still draw a crowd and replicate the feel of 1979, showing there is a reason they still stand out as one of the first successful punk bands of all time.

Then, while youtubing for this post, I found this cover of Love's "Alone Again Or". Every punk band that doesn't die with the genre inevitably ends up making musical mistakes. But why did they do this? It just sounds the same but with 80's tackiness splashed all over it. WHY? WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY???? Why.


8 red berets out of 10. 

Dan Deacon Ensemble with John Maus, Woodland Bar, 12th January 2011

Wasting no time to dawdle in between shows, I decided I needed to catch a much talked about Dan Deacon show, who played at Woodland on Thursday night. I had had a taste of his brand of synth-electro-pop-nintendo-rave music on youtube, and had only heard that his shows were fantastic experiences. I somehow guessed correctly that knowing very little is probably the best way to go in to a Dan Deacon gig. 

Supports Toy Balloon had come and gone before my arrival and there was enough time for a drink before John Maus took the stage. Holy shit did he take the stage (with nothing but a microphone and his fist). His performance was best summarized by my gig-buddy's haiku:

John Maus backing track

Somehow you make it work well

Stop punching your face

I know nothing more about John Maus except that for half an hour it was extremely difficult for me to 1. NOT laugh, as I somehow found his mostly bizarre antics utterly hilarious while also kind of freaking me out or 2. tear my eyes away from the stage. The music was an intense blur of beats and synth, his vocals were an intense blur of Ariel Pink meets Future Islands-ish yelling, and the look on John's face was an intense blur of intensity. I needed a drink. 

A few G&T's later, Dan Deacon took the stage with a very cool set up involving a glowing skull on a stick, including his drummer, synth/pianist and (bassist?). As you can see, Dan Deacon is made up of all of the geekiest attributes of the world's best geek... He is complete with balding hair, huge glasses, a rolly polly body, an impressive beard, and a tendency to blather on quite a bit while projecting an overall charming awkwardness. Throughout the entire show Dan chatted to us ridiculously to the point where he was interrupted by the band more than once. For example, he was about to tell us an anecdote which ended up being "Remember that movie the Matrix? When Morpheus... oh shit, the song's starting!" leading gig buddy to wonder if his band members often have to derail the conversation to just get the show on with. 

Anyway, the actual show. Oh my god. I was looking for the best way to describe this gig but a video someone took of it describes it all for me. I am not prominently featured in it, THANK. GOD. Thanks to the infectiously danceable music and Dan's prescribed audience participation, the energy was fucking amazing, and had myself and gig buddy dancing in ways that I can at least confirm I haven't danced before. I remember even thinking "Oh god I hope no one is filming this" at the time. Shit.

Some of the things Dan made us all do, as you might be able to tell in the video, WERE:

- Raise our arms in the air and point to the ground, for quite a while, as his opening task

- Create a circle with two dancers in the middle, dancing, until they picked the next duo to replace them with their own dancing, and so on 

- One person starting a chain of people by running around the room giving us all high fives and then pulling people in at random, until THE ENTIRE AUDIENCE WAS RUNNING AROUND THE ROOM IN A CIRCLE

- A specially chosen audience member to lead us all in an interpretive dance number complete with crouching on all fours and potentially giving us all shards-of-glass-tetanus

- The audience bunching together and putting our hands on a person's head, then thinking of something we regret doing to someone and ESPing our apology or something like that - my (PRISTINE) hair was being scruffed like a dog but I've never felt more blissfully giggly

All this was possible thanks to the audience's willingness to be involved (apart from a few onlookers) and the fact it was not too packed and there was space to move. He ended on gleeful Crystal Cat (see below), leaving the audience with glistening, smiling faces, so empowered, exhausted, and rejuvenated all at the same time. This was a feeling normally reserved for the likes of the Flaming Lips, but Deacon was a cheaper alternative that was just as effective.

This is Dan Deacon. If the following filmclip does not make you smile, or at least intrigue you enough to watch it until the very end, then you would probably would not have not enjoyed the gig, and been one of those people who stood at the back of the room while the rest of us went apeshit.

Ahh I have two more gigs to review and they were both fantastic in their own ways, so grading is going to be difficult! But this show will stand out as one of the most memorable for me so I have no hesitation in giving it 9 excellent sweaters out of 10 (minus one because of John Maus alienation).