The Coronas @ The Basement Circular Quay, NSW Australia 14/03/2018 written by Brendan Lewis.

I THINK I’M DREAMING AGAIN

Wow, it feels like I’m dreaming…. again, for all I know, I could very well be! I mean, my god, seeing such an addictive dreamy Irish rock band play at such an intimate venue so soon after selling out their previous run of shows only three months ago, surely I must either have all the luck in the world, or be in reality, far from here, not in the real world. These guys with their live shows really do leave you in a dream-state filled with real feels that just won’t leave you alone, with a different ending each time! So….

Let’s make it happen!

This dream is started off on a high, with opening up-beat rockin’ song ‘How This Goes’, followed by dance-provoking Irish-wonder ‘Get Loose’. Lead singer Danny brings the visual energy up to a worthy level of the sound, as much as one can on a tiny stage like this, jiggling and wiggling about like a jolly-wee leprechaun, and keeps the hyped energy sustained like a pro as he says hello and welcomes us in the bridge section of ‘How This Goes’ and again in the intro of ‘Get Loose’. Although I am getting caught up a little with rockin’ out and bustin’ a move to these two favourites of mine, which I somehow manage to still take notes while simultaneously singing and dancing without singing my notes or writing the lyrics, I further multitask by taking notice of the sound mixers well-done job. The lengthy and thorough sound check that I witnessed earlier definitely paid off, as my keen ears don’t detect any faulting sound, and I can clearly hear all the sounds I’m used to hearing on the recorded songs, which makes it easy and pleasant to sing to and get loose to/bust out what I can only imagine is the girliest bum-wiggle!

After Danny discards his tambourine that was used in ‘Get Loose’, and the crowd all wiggle and sing along (mainly me), Danny demonstrates what us Irish do best… talk (hence my job), and gears the crowd up for a few more songs before this show goes live on Facebook for the second half. The first time I saw these guys live in 2015, the bar was set so incredibly high with the accuracy of the performed sound, musical and on-stage energy, musical flow and giant balloons, dazzling light displays and Danny diving into the crowd etc, which isn’t possibly doable in such a small venue. Tonight, the band embraces the intimacy of the venue and use it to bring the casualness even closer to you, with the show being scattered with chatter about song stories and humour between each song, which would normally be detrimental to the flow of energy at a typical larger-scale show.

For the rest of the dream, the band dish out fan favourites like rockin’ power-house ‘Listen Dear’ which gives bassist Knoxy a chance to shine with an attention-grabbing bass line, new feel-good jolly-roger ‘Real Feels’, ‘Closer To You’, ‘Dreaming again’ with a traditional Celtic intro, blues-rock addiction ‘Addicted To Progress’ and breakthrough classic ‘San Diego Song’. For some parts, bassist Knoxy’s energy isn’t matching the rest of the bands dreamy-grooves, but that can be forgiven with how technical his bass-lines are at times like in ‘Listen Dear’ and ‘Addicted To Progress’. Danny keeps on top of the energy however, as he moves from his guitar to the keyboard in songs like ‘The Long Way’ and ‘All The Others’. The casual feel is tightened even more with Danny informing us that it’s Dave’s (lead guitarist) birthday today, and instigates a happy birthday sing-a-long which the crowd fail to stay in-sync to, leading into ‘San Diego Song’, which Danny lets Dave take over as lead vocals as a birthday present in the first verse, giving Dave his chance to shine. This dream takes a more deeper emotive turn with songs like ‘Give Me A Minute’, ‘Someone Else’s Hands’ and the heart-achingly powerful ‘Closer To You’, to the pleading sway of ‘The Long Way’ then lifts straight back up like a dream that you just can’t figure out, with ‘Addicted To Progress’ and ‘Dreaming Again’ which fills the venue with a booming chorus of sing-a-longs to melodic and vocal hooks and cheers. As deep in this dream as the audience clearly is with the energy and positivity blazing around me, the casual setting from the band has seemed to make the audience think it’s perfectly ok to constantly talk which I personally find extremely rude and annoying, like a dog barking next door while you’re trying to sleep.

Now, after a pot-of- gold full of thanks to their audience, and Danny’s energetic excited grooves starting to look like he’s busting to take a massive pee, the band start the final song ‘Mark My Words’ which, hang on, this isn’t the usual pick of grand finale songs, where’s the big last hurrah? After the band leave the stage and the lights come on, I start to awake from this dream a little confused “what about the song the band dropped only this morning ‘Is There Still Time?’, and what about always-played fan favourite ‘Heroes Or Ghosts’?”

Just as I let my guard down and take out my ear-plugs, SURPRISE! Danny gives in to the encore demands and says “ok Sydney we’ll do this one together”. The energy and excitement is exploded as Danny takes turns with the crowd at singing parts of ‘Heroes Or Ghosts’, which he has done at the previous two shows I’ve witnessed, but this time, seems to be involving the audience and feeding off us a little more, taking advantage of the venues intimacy. The rest of the band join Danny on stage for the climax of ‘Heroes Or Ghosts’ and for the next song, the last big hurrah I was expecting, anthemic rock blast ‘Just Like That’. Wow! the energy on stage and off, is peaked dramatically in ‘Just Like That’ even before Danny steps off the stage and sings/plays the guitar in the centre of the audience, lapping up all the positive energy and throwing it right back at the crowd while the band keep the musical energy level elevated, making this a perfect grand finale for any rock show!

As I awaken from this whirlwind of a dream, I’m a little stunned! Getting to witness these Irish legends on the constant rise in such a small casual venue, which let the band really connect with their fans so intimately, was truly a dream come true! I very much look forward to seeing how the band will step up their game when they come back to Australia in November, and play the biggest venues yet for them in the country!

First Aid Kit @ Enmore Theatre, Sydney NSW Australia 03/04/2018 written by Brendan Lewis

FIREWORKS OF FLAVOUR

Thirsty? Good, because Swedish indie-folk sisters First Aid Kit, are quenching our thirst for full-bodied matured flavoursome musical wine, as they pour their hearts out into the glasses filled with samples from their freshly brewed new album, ‘Ruins’. This new album is filled with an explosion of musical flavours and attributes from sweet, smokey, crisp and heavy on the palate, so without a doubt, no matter what flavour your musical palate yearns for, tonight will serve up the perfect blend to hit that spot I’m sure.

*As you enter, please hand in your keys, drivers license, inhibitions and self respect…. For safety reasons of course*

An entrancing steady drum pulse with synced lights at the back of the stage start, with eery strings/violin soon accompanying it, to draw the sisters out onto the stage for the first song, appropriately the opening song off ‘Ruins’, ‘Rebel Heart’. This song quickly sets a warm delicate maturity in it’s tone, with vocal hooks swirling around the mid-tempo beat and string harmonies. I do feel however that this live blend is a little too hard on the palate as if it was filled with too much alcohol, as the drums draw the main focus, leaving the vocals, audible, yet overpowered. If the mix of sound was spot-on, this would’ve made a potent opening song, to get everyone hooked from the start, especially as both sisters sway with the swirling rhythm while playing their instruments at the forefront of the stage, as if intoxicated by the music.

The musical wine keeps flowing without a flicker of inconsistency, as the band flow straight into the next two songs ‘It’s A Shame’ and ‘King Of The World’. The first of these songs brings the taste to an uplifting sweet nectar, filled with major-key chords, uplifting powerful vocals blasts, organs giving complimenting harmonies/undertones, and all of which riding a skipping drum beat like a quick beating heart…. With a few extra beats. This uplifting taste prompts both girls to move around the stage in high-spirits, bringing an aesthetic energy to the show, that I didn’t see coming, with the calm, complex maturity of the music on a whole. Sadly though, the drums still draw the main focus and leave the sweet vocals struggling.

After the bassist (one of the two sisters) moves up close to us at the front and instigates a clap along to the next songs’ intro, ‘King Of The World’ keeps the happy vibe flowing with more colourful major-key chords that get the sisters energised and moving around the stage, jumping up and down excitedly (Or possibly drunkenly?) in surprising energetic charisma. The drums progress to a steady dance 1-3 beat and makes my musical sobriety tipsy, and if the rest of the audience weren’t so calm, relaxed and fixated, I’d totally bust a subtle move, with how universally easy to love this blend is, like a soft, sweet sauvignon. The vibrant vocals, which sit more comfortably in the blend, add so much sweet flavour to the mix, and yes, are still struggling to stay above the drums, but get their turn to shine brightly in the songs’ bridge, when the sound is more stripped back.

The girls now share their bubbly musical-intoxication with us, with a positive atmosphere-warming chat to their audience, further raising the positivity and engaging energy of the show after the previous songs’ hype. The sequential four songs that follow include ‘Postcard’, ‘Stay Gold’, ‘Lion’s Roar’ and ‘You Are The Problem Here’.

When trying copious amounts of wine as one does in Australia, you’re no doubt going to come across one you don’t like, but can appreciate for it’s raw qualities. ‘Postcard’ is that wine for me, like a fruity yet strong acidic white, this song has a very strong country (genre) flavour to it, which doesn’t sit as comfortably on my palate, yet I can definitely appreciate it’s quality, it is uplifting, and would be very easy to slow wiggle/dance to if this is your preferred blend. My appreciation is made easy, as the girls’ cool, refreshing vocals are sitting far more comfortably over the other sounds.

'Stay Gold’ now is far more appealing for my taste, and leaves me falling deeper into the depths of aural intoxication, with it’s powerful vocal melodies in the chorus, to a perfectly justifying gentle steady dance-beat, in an emotional yet vibrant and pleasant aroma, which the sisters enhance with positive on-stage energy. The bassist once again, gets the audience involved, as she moves up close and instigates another clap-along for the songs’ final chorus, which raises the essence around me superbly.

‘Lion’s Roar’ fills me with a flavour quite reflective of Galway Pipe Port. This song is dark, stripped back, full of crying emotion, yet warm, calming and evenly mixed. Just like a Galway Pipe, it’s accompanied by a rich fruit flavour, as the sisters bring a level of energy to the song, which it musically lacks, like one of the girls flicking her hair around like at a rock show, and is a little foreign for this song, but makes it sit more evenly in the mix of the entire set.

This may be a rock show after all, seeing as ‘You Are The Problem Here’ gives off an angsty aggressive rock scent, with it’s grungy guitar riff, and slightly too strong drums, that border-line on over-powering to the vocals. This adds a surprising spicy bite to the show, that gives more diverse flavours.

For the rest of this set which goes by in a hazy blur, the sound seems more even and pleasant to the palate more so than other songs previous, this may be that my ears have gotten used to the mix, like when you’ve had quite a few to drink and all alcohol goes down so much easier to tolerate, no matter how strong it is, or perhaps the sound mixer has adjusted the musical recipe? ….wow, I’m portraying myself as a MASSIVE drunk aye? This more pleasant blend is quite refreshing especially now as the top shelf stuff starts coming out, like the matured woody-smoke of popular track ‘Wolf’, fiery yet creamy new track ‘Fireworks’, bubbly sparkling sing-along ‘Waitress Song’ and finally, appropriate finishing song, closing track off ‘Ruin’ ‘Nothing Has To Be True’. All the songs’ demonstrate all the diverse flavours and aromas poured out in the set previously, engaging chats from the girls between songs, which in one case is a little too drawn out and feels like when the tour guide starts rambling on about how the wine’s made, and I’m thinking “I really just want to get back to the drinking part”, and leaves me drunk with musical sophistication and diversity.

Final call! After the audience around me drunkenly stamp their feet and yell out nonsense as one does when drunk (possibly literally in this case), the band re-emerge onto the stage for a four-song encore which features an unamplified, raw rendition of bright and sing/slur-along provoking ‘Hem Of Her Dress’ and finishes with the one we’ve all been waiting for, the full-bodied smokey favourite ‘My Silver Lining’, which fills me to the brim and caps off the session adequately.

If you read all the review, you should be filled with the same feelings as I was of this show. Full of flavour, a little too harsh in the mix at times, diverse, mature, and sophisticated. I thoroughly enjoyed exploring this show being a relatively new frontier for my musical tastes, and would definitely do this again in the future!

Simple Plan @ NEX, Newcastle NSW Australia 26/04/2018 written by Brendan Lewis

NO PADS, NO HELMETS … JUST BALLS!

Gather round team, let’s go over our strategy one more time! Tonight we’re up against the mighty pop/punk pioneers Simple Plan, and they’re taking on Newcastle as part of their ‘No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls’ 15th anniversary tour! The band will no doubt be on the offence, hitting us with everything they’ve got with hits from the album like ‘Addicted’, ‘Worst Day Ever’ and ‘Perfect’ and other hard-hitting smashes from their artillery of hits, so keep your guard and fists up! It’s a full-house tonight of eager fans, and anyone that missed out on this momentous occasion is absolutely crazy!

GAME ON!...

As the lights go down and the crowd erupt into cheers, the show is kicked off with emergency sirens blaring with red lights circling with them. The band now charge onto the stage, running head-first into the set with opening song off ‘No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls’ ‘I’d Do Anything’. As the intro starts, lead singer Pierre give us a “Newcastle, how you doing?!” before his cue to sing. The band all move around the stage in high-energy, passing the ball of energy to one another stunning the crowd from the starting line, then Pierre tackling the crowds’ attention by instigating a clap along to the songs’ beat in the bridge section, followed by a crash-course in melodic vocal-hook sing alongs to eg-on the crowd. For the first half of this song, Pierre’s vocals seem to be struggling to break-free from the other sounds surrounding them in the otherwise well constructed teamwork of sounds, but just when it seems like the vocals weren’t going to make it to the goal posts, Pierres voice picks up it’s game and slide tackles it across the line in the second half.

After a massive touchdown finale to the first song, the band run straight into the next three songs (yes, the next three consecutive songs off ‘No Pads.. etc’), ‘Worst Day Ever’, ‘You Don’t Mean Anything’ and ‘I’m Just A Kid’. The band slow their sprint around the field/stage ever so slightly in ‘Worst Day Ever’ and really focus on the sound, which sees Pierre’s vocals huddle in the mix of sound more evenly for this song. One of Pierre’s fellow band mates now helps carry the vocal density with some complimenting harmonies to Pierre’s lead vocals charging towards the goal posts, and raising the buzzing hype in the room with the songs’ anthemic choruses and uplifting pop/punk charge. Pierre now throws more engaging energy at us in the crowd by pausing the song in the bridge section, then commanding us “on the count of three, scream!” and as the drums start their rapid build up for the final chorus, Pierre reaches three and the entire band drop-kick the energy high out of this room as they all rock out hard for the final stretch.

The onslaught of energy from the band rages on both musically and charismatically, with ‘You Don’t Mean Anything’s with a fast stamping drum intro progressing into a mid-tempo major-key aggression and Pierre diving head-first into the other team (us, the crowd) as he jumps off the stage and leans into the crowd before returning to his band mates on stage, and finishes off the songs’ stride of energy as he stands tall on a fold-back speaker.

Pierre now revs up the crowd with an engaging pep talk to fire us all up for ‘I’m Just A Kid’. The crowd start singing along straight away in the stripped-back intro, which Pierre pauses to let the crowd take the ball for a line, as if toying with the other team letting them think they’re in the lead, before the song charges full force in the first verse. The sound is now perfect and quite pleasant on my musical palate, it seems the sound mixer just needed to warm up… he might’ve skipped the pre-game training. The songs’ tempo is slightly slower, but the pace of energy keeps speeding up, and I’m quite surprised that apart from jumping to the beat-drop in the songs’ final chorus after Pierre egs us on in the bridge, the crowd are not getting their mosh-on like at a typical Simple Plan show, instead, are simply content in musical fixation.

Charging through the rest of this album, ‘When I’m With You’ keeps the high-energy pop/punk vibe running, with beat-synced strobe-lights. ‘Meet You There’ slows the energys’ assent to a mid-tempo stride, yet dual layer vocals help drive the song to greater complimenting heights. ‘Addicted’ now boots the positive energy sky-high with it’s uplifting dumb-love vibe anthemic choruses of sing-alongs, perfectly justifying execution of the song by the band and Pierre letting the crowd sing “I’m a dick” for him, like that smart-ass player doing a dummy pass to make the other side trip over themselves.

The rest of the set is littered with intimate cheeky humour from Pierre mixed in with fun-fact anecdotes like how the band wrote this album in 2002 before Instagram, before Twitter, before Myspace even, before YouPorn and before free porn in general (now we know how Pierre spends his down-time these days) and quirky funny chats here and there, like how Pierre “always dreamed of one day travelling the world and having people play with my balls” after the band keeps the audience occupied with a flurry of beach balls launched into the crowd...which I did not see coming, in ‘One Day’. Along with the quirky humour, the set throws at us more differing pop/punk vibes of differing intensities, in-song engaging rev-ups from Pierre, plus guitar solos and drum solos to knock us all over with.

Like a final blaze of glory to charge the team into victory (before the encore of course), ‘Perfect’ is just that. The song starts with just Pierre on acoustic guitar and his candid emotional vocals crying out to his father and the audience lighting up with otherwise darkened room with phone lights, twinkling all around me before the rest of the band charge forth after the first chorus. This song really is a brilliant way to finish an album and thus a set, with it’s powerful vocals carried by dramatic guitar riffs and a steady beat which is performed perfectly!

As momentous and special as an anniversary show is with it’s respective album being played in it’s entirety which is a rare treat, I have been getting a little tired of the album and repetitive pop/punk vibe as engaging as it is, so luckily there’s an encore which will hit us with hard-hitters from the rest of the bands’ catalogues of hits to reacquaint my interest!

The band storm back out on stage after their half-time break and start the final charge/encore with power-surging pop/punk bite of monstrous proportion, ‘Shut Up’. This song charges the energy right back up, getting the whole crowd (including me) singing along and rocking out in defence of the bands’ on-stage energy and musical might, making this a strong re-opening song!

‘Jump’ raises the energy dramatically getting the whole crowd jumping to the beat and singing along to this rebellious pop/punk anthem, and for the rest of the long encore/short second set, the final charge to the finish line picks up in furosity and climactic energy full of sing alongs to ‘Boom’ and it’s clichè pop romance, as if fraternizing with the other team, ‘Jet Lag’, Summer Paradise’, ‘Crazy’ and grand finale, ‘Welcome To My Life’. Pierre invites the lead singer of supporting band Stateside, out onto the stage to sing the female vocals of ‘Jet Lags’ call and response, but I feel the Stateside singer isn’t doing the song justice and is a bit of a let down, made worse by her vocals not being loud enough to start with, but the crowd around me aren’t phased, and still in high spirits at this loved Simple Plan hit. Pierre now asks if anyone would like to join him on stage for an Instagram photo, then proceeds to invite fans (including me as he recognizes my apparently memorable curly hair) for a big group photo before the feel-good summer cruiser, ‘Summer Paradise’ then pleading declaration of surging power ‘Crazy’ with a dramatic build up/pause in the bridge and rev up from Pierre leading into the final chorus, and finally, the classic emo yet anthemic uplifting hit ‘Welcome To My Life’ which takes me back to when I was a wee-lad of 10 years old and is filled with a burst of sing along energy, smashing a final triumphant win at the games’ end!

Well done team, your energy was high and sustained throughout the set with differing dynamics to keep your opponent stunned, your musical techniques were sharp and precise and all worked well with one another, and your charisma and on-stage charm won over the audience from start to finish! ….Now hit the showers ladies!

Ocean Alley @ The Enmore Theatre, Sydney NSW Australia 18/04/2018 written by Brendan Lewis.

LETS GET OUR ART ON

Tonight, we go on a tour of the Ocean Alley musical art gallery! On display are pieces from the bands’ new captivating album of light and dark elements ‘Chiaroscuro’, which portrays the characteristics of the renaissance art technique itself. We will also be introduced pieces from the bands’ back-catalogue featuring fancy art terms I’m only still looking up on Google and am probably way too blind to guide you through….. Yet somehow you’re still taking this tour lead by me.

*Please gather around the ravishingly handsome blind guy and turn off all phones and bank account security, the tour will commence shortly*...

Ocean Alley start their exhibit off with ‘Corduroy’. This piece brings a spacey mystical essence at the start, creeping up to a bold and dramatic vibe, full of expressive emotion like a classic Van Gogh painting, with Bayden’s sharp brush-stroke vocal melodies. The mix of sound is comfortably even and well mixed, however the strong reverberation effect on Bayden’s vocals mixed with the audience around me’s inability to SHUT UP, makes it a strain to enjoy the vocals as intended.

Moving along, the next two pieces from Ocean Alley are ‘The Comedown’ followed by ‘Hold On’ separated by a quick chat from the band, to keep the audience focused and engaged. ‘The Comedown’ display’s an easy on the palate appeal, with a laid back texture with pure, rich clear vocals sitting perfectly in the mix like a pastel painting. This gets the audience around me singing along to every word as if this song were a classic, and despite the surprising lack of on-stage energy from the band as yet, especially after the colourful energetic hype left from the supporting artists before them plus the laid-back musical-vibe, the crowd are becoming quite rowdy and irritating. ‘Hold On’ accentuates the energy dramatically, with a nice blend of jazz piano splashes, with reggae bass lines and abstract drum beats differing throughout the song keeping things colourful all throughout the song. The addition of dual-layer vocals mixed beautifully together to form a unique colour, adds a nice tone to lift the choruses to the forefront of attention.

Moving along to the next section of musical paintings, we gaze upon the next four pieces from the band ‘Muddy Water’, ‘Knees’, ‘Stripes In My Mind’ and ‘Feel’. First up on the left with ‘Muddy Water’ the tone portrays a dark angsty grunge feeling, accompanied by sharp biting powerful vocals that snap up attention. The way the the well-mixed blend of sounds stand out and give off a bold dramatic aura, is classic of a Van Gogh masterpiece, and thus raises the excitement and positivity in the gallery tonight.

This next piece will likely bring you to your Knees, with it’s exquisite vocal hooks and smooth delicate, nostalgic musical touch in an uplifting major-key tone. The energy in the gallery/crowd for this song is lifted dramatically, with the crowd all pushing and getting quite rowdy, to the point of crowd surfers emerging over-head in the songs’ build up and thickening of layers near its’ end. The blend of blues swirling together to create a new element like the key elements of a water-painting, and makes me assume that this piece is in a way-too commonly used and stereotypically used C-major key. If so, this piece is far from stereotypical and common however, as it’s subtle yet distinct colours mixed together, powerful vocal hooks and all building up in dynamics, gives off a tactile element that you can feel within yourself like a Mosaic piece.

'Stripes In My Mind’ displays key characteristics of a classic Da Vinci piece, using layers of funk and Reggae with it’s alluring funky bass line and rhythm, plus rock with climactic edgy vocals and guitar riffs, to emulate a sense of unity between each element. The band raise their on-stage aesthetic energy (because we all know I’m all about the aesthetics), as they all move around the stage like brush strokes binding the elements together, and moving up close to the front of the stage, bringing the energy closer to the audience.

‘Stripes In My Mind’ finishes with a big bold build up to explode in a vast spectrum of rocking out colours from the band, which cleverly flows into ‘Feel’. This song with it’s anthemic essence with vocal hooks, mid-tempo intricate beats and lead singer Bayden moving around the stage in high-spirits gets the crowd highly charged and raising their arms in accordance to the new precedence of energy. This piece depicts the characteristics of Impressionism from the band throughout the set I feel, as it emphasises the accurate depiction of light in it’s ever-changing qualities and especially in pieces like this, brings the vocal qualities to the forefront of attention.

Oh would you look at the time and word count, we’re running out of time on this tour, so, for the rest of this set we are enticed and treated to pieces like the abstract ‘Yellow Mellow’, breaking away from traditional representations of reggae, rock, funk and blues and brings them all to a modern light. The Van Gogh qualities of ‘Overgrown’ with its’ bold and dynamic changing tempo’s from verses to choruses to portray emotion and thought. The normally bright pastel vibrancy of ‘Holiday’ which is renditioned as a guitar solo from lead singer Bayden, which makes it abstract as it breaks-away from the traditional representation of the piece. The ever-popular Da Vinci piece ‘Confidence’, displaying key layers of reggae, soul and rock to create a sense of unity and strength, especially with it’s strong dynamics building up in the bridge section. And finally, the vibrant and uplifting pastel funk/jazz-rock colours of ‘Flowers And Booz’, ending the tour on a high. All these songs though being classic of one style of painting to another, all share unique qualities of styles of varying sorts, and the energy from the band may have taken a bit of time to emerge, but we’ve definitely got there now!

…...Oh, you’re still here? The tour’s over, yep, no more…. Go home…. You want more? Oh, ok, I suppose there’s two more pieces that we could visit.

The band re-emerge onto the stage to a booming chorus of cheering fans, thank us once again, then give us two more palate cleansers, ‘Rage’ and ‘Happy/Sad’. ‘Rage’ gives a vintage rock essence, yet in a contemporary today-relevant light, with distinct impressionism, as it emphasises the light of the songs in its’ changing qualities. Finally, ‘Happy/Sad’ is a quintessential Chiaroscuro piece, in how it blends both light and dark elements together with both major and minor tone chords, both mellow and angsty feelings and both soft and sharp vocals. The diversity and extraordinary essence of the song is brought forth even more, with an explosion of confetti at the start of the first chorus, showering me and everyone around me in vibrant musical and literal colours… I did not see that coming in any way shape or form. The song may be quintessentially Chiaroscuro, but the energy and buzzing atmosphere around me is very much reflective of Van Gogh elements (bold and dynamic) which makes this a brilliant finish to this tour of musical art!

“What are your thoughts on this tour sir?” I rather enjoyed it, it started off a bit slow in it’s atmosphere, but when it built up it didn’t slow down or disappoint. I really enjoyed all the different art elements of the show, giving contrast and diversity to the set, and all flowing nicely and presented beautifully by the artists and their sound mixer! “Would you take this tour again and/or recommend it to others?” Most definitely! These guys are growing in popularity rapidly and rightly so, tickets are already hot property for these shows so I would definitely advise snapping up your own when you can, I know I will!

Groovin’ The Moo @ Maitland Showground, Maitland NSW Australia 28/04/2018 written by Brendan Lewis.

WALK THE MOOSICAL PLANK

All aboard! All hands on deck for this ship of the damned, venturing through the open sea of people for Groovin’ The Moo, which has now arrived in Maitland to plunder it’s showgrounds of musical treasures! This ship be damned with a crew of scallywags like UK rock legends Royal Blood, Aussie rock guru’s Paul Kelly and Grinspoon, metalcore heavy-weights The Amity Affliction, new indie-pop/rock favourite Dean Lewis, indie-electronic/pop bombshell Vera Blue and a ship-load more!

Argh, full-speed ahead! BAHAHAHAHA!!!...

As I prepare myself for this voyage, no doubt there’ll be clashes between scallywag crewmen (artists) with how over-flowed this line-up is, and previous experiences with colossal line-ups such as this, so I suspect my time on-board may be profusely conflicted. To my disbelief however, there is absolutely NO clashes in ALL the artists set times that I hoped to witness today. It seems the crew haven’t been assigned their positions on-board the days’ timetable according to their hierarchy of commanding popularity like expected (most popular at the end of the day), instead the commanding officers are spaced out throughout the day to keep the scum on-board in-line.

My voyage is delayed a little, thanks to shipyard crew (security) all not having a clue as to where the most accessible place to be dropped off is and all struggling with the masses of rowdy pirates docking this ship (festival). Never-the-less, I have arrived on-board in time to catch the tail end of Baker Boy’s storm of hip-hop energy on the left-hand main stage. For what Baker Boy’s sound and performance is, it’s quite high-calibre and well presented, whether it’s your preferred cup of rum or not. After Baker Boy’s engaging attention drawing performance which leaves the already substantially full crowd wanting an encore, it’s time to head down Ocean Alley on the right-hand main stage.

It’s only 12:40pm and already the area is filled to the brim with party-pumped pirates, stretching as far as the eye can see….. Ok I’ll level with you, that’s not very far in my case, but you get the picture. Even at this stage in the day, securing a semi-decent viewing spot was a challenge, but who doesn’t like a challenge right? Be that as it may, Ocean Alley bring the energy level up dramatically with their unique and enticing blend of pop, rock, reggae and blues. The sound is without fault from both the band who dish out a perfect flow of hits that get the whole crowd singing along, and from the sound mixer, which comes across like a smooth fresh breeze to start the journey off splendidly.

After taking notes and trying to analyze Ocean Alley’s set while the left side of my body is grinded like pepper, from a suspiciously happy young lady, who I just pray to the gods of the sea is over 18, I swim through the sea of people to the undercover Moo-lin Rouge stage in time (thanks to the well-crafted timetable), for the sassy Lady Powers of Vera Blue, and her Regular Touch of anthemic dance grooves. Sadly, the sound mixer at this stage hasn’t done as well as over on the main stages for Ocean Alley, which is rather disappointing like realising the rum’s all gone… “Why is the rum, always gone?”. Vera’s anthemic sound is dominated heavily by bass, drums and her vocals, and leaves the rest of the melodic layers caught in a rip-tide of uneven sound. Still, Vera entertains the ocean of body heat under this tin roof like a pro regardless.

Now that we’re all hot and sweaty from Vera’s hot performance under the heat-trapping tin roof, and Vera’s alluring outfit which my friend describes to me, I have a bit of time to splash around, which is lucky because all this sweat and hustle and bustle in crowds including an obviously over-intoxicated guy walking straight into me head on, means I think I should visit the first aid tent to get a medical device re-secured on my arm. Heading over to the first aid tent, the crowd seems quite rowdy and I suspect are already thoroughly intoxicated despite the early hour, which makes navigating the area quite stressful, and is starting to make this cheeky pirate a bit grumpy. What isn’t now helping the case, is the first aid tent being over-packed with people feeling a bit seasick, likely thanks to that intoxication I suspected, which paints a pretty good picture of the attitude of people here. This unfortunately means that staff are run off their feet and take a while to even simply wrap a bandage around my device quickly, and now I need to rush over to the main stages for Dean Lewis and Portugal The Man.

Seeing as the vast ocean of intoxicated sea-creatures has intensified for Dean Lewis and the proceeding artists after at the main stages, I feel the challenge to venture to a safe and suitable standing spot at the stage to make use of my limited sight, will likely be a stressful one that would result in my defeat, so instead, I’m going to take post on dry land here in the VIP area near-by, and sip on a rather unintentionally suited for this theme, Captain Morgan’s spiced rum like the pirate I am.

The musical tide here at the main stages is getting quite choppy, and is giving my ears whiplash, as the sound changes from one genre/vibe to the next, making my ears feel like a rickety ship being thrown from side to side in a storm. Dean’s sound and flow is beautiful, heartfelt, and pure in an indie-pop/rock blend, which is so nice hearing Dean’s music being brought to life with a band, rather than an acoustic solo show the last time I saw him, which was exquisite, but would’ve left a gaping hole in the day’s energy I think. The musical current is steadily intensified, with Portugal The Man’s high-energy, dramatic alternative rock punches, then BAM! We get thrown around musically by Tkay Maidza, Winston Surfshirt then The Amity Affliction, Grinspoon, Lady Leshurr, Paul Kelly and Royal Blood.

Before my ears brave the immanent musical storm brewing on the main stages, my friend needs to find an ATM (which he could not), so let’s get the oars out and row through the depths of the festival. The night sky has fallen and as if the crowd weren’t enough of a pain in the ass as it was earlier, now is a whole new walk of the plank and I reckon some of these rowdy sailors should be thrown overboard by security….. I’m getting too old for this ship. What’s worse is unless my friend can’t follow a map, everything (stages, food, bars, merchandise etc) seems scattered all over the place without any reasonable method to the madness. But wait, there’s more! Returning to the VIP area near the main stages, I realise that I can hear bass from the other stages, indicating that the three stages aren’t spaced out enough in the open field of the showgrounds, which is a little frustrating when you’re, you know, trying to enjoy one particular performance or another.

That musical storm that was brewing has now arrived, so luckily I’ve got my Captain Morgan’s and a seat to brave this storm. Tkay Maidza brings Nicki Minaj-like electronic hip-hop rollers, which make my musical palate cringe, but my analytical side can appreciate her talent and charisma which is going down nicely with the crowd. Winston Surfshirt brings a flood of coffee shop vibed jazz/hip-hop/soul, featuring a little too prominent, horns sound, smooth dual male/female vocals, warm organ riffs and Winston jumping around the stage like a deranged lunatic. Hold on tight, because if that change from one extreme to the next was one thing, The Amity Affliction is up now with their thunderous metal-core bites! The sound mixer today for these two stages has done well so far, but for the extreme change in genre/style, I think is starting to float off course a bit. The set starts off with the focus very much on drums and clean vocals, where as the growling vocals and guitar/bass don’t seem to be on the same level sound wise. Luckily for whatever reason it may be, this is improved a bit heading deeper into the raging musical storm the band are brewing, but still not perfect. Nevertheless, the crowd is going wild and moshing violently, so good thing I didn’t follow my friend into the sea of scallywags! The storm eazes slightly with Grinspoon and their iconic Aussie rock hits spanning decades which the sound mixer has pulled rank for this set, then CRASH! The musical ship gets thrown viciously by Lady Leshurr. Even my fair and reasonable analytic mind is struggling for this one, the electronic/dance sound would be decent and passable if it wasn’t stopping and starting all the time, going off in all sorts of sporadic directions like Jack Sparrow’s compass, plus polluted with WAY too many party-horn sound-effects between sporadic changes every thirty seconds or so. As a result the crowds’ hype has died a little.

Now, at last, our destination of musical treasures is in sight….figuratively, with the quartermaster Paul Kelly, and the tyranny musical-pirate himself, Black Beard… I mean, Royal Blood. Paul Kelly is a risky play at this young-patron dominated festival but he pulls it off! The sound is perfect, great blend of instruments, but the flow of his set is a bit off as far as energy flow is concerned. Finally, bestowed upon us now is Royal Blood, the saviours of rock! My friend informs me that the masses of scallywag pirates are starting to exit the festival or go to the other stages half way through the bands’ set, which is a massive shock to me, as the band belt out high energy rock n’ roll power-surges from start to finish! It really is amazing how just two lads from the UK can emulate a full band sound, with just effect pedals on the bass guitar to create electric guitar sound simultaneously, sharp vocals like a pirates’ sword, and drums. It’s little wonder why these guys are so highly raved about, and apart from a little too drawn out grand finale, was an ace of a show full of killer hooks, thunderous riffs, solo’s and all!

Although there are a few more artists/bands on after Royal Blood for people who just can’t get enough, I feel like I’ve plundered enough musical treasure, and is time to abandon ship.

Are my spoils of musical treasures worth it I wonder? The musical gems were amazing and highly valuable and worthy, but the general vibe of a few too many rowdy trouble maker party-pirates and the stressful layout was far from enjoyable…. Hmmmm, I shall leave the verdict up to you...

Evanescence w/ Sydney Symphony Orchestra @ Sydney Opera House, Sydney NSW Australia 13/02/2018 written by Brendan Lewis.es

BRING ME TO LIFE

Do you believe in angels, ghosts, the heavens above, and the fiery pits below? Well tonight, Amy Lee from Evanescence will bring to life the imaginary, take us high above the clouds leaving us lost in paradise. Once our senses are truly unraveling at the end of the dream she’s tantalised us in, she will show us the secret door to the tempestuous fiery depths, in which if we enter, we can never go back…

Now, the illustrious new symphonic-rock masterpiece ‘Synthesis’ is brought to life in it’s entirety, hold on tight, for we are going under…

As the lights go down, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra open the door to the heavenly essence, as they start ‘Overture’ while Evanescence walk onto the stage in temporary absence of Amy, and with a godly roar from us in the audience, Amy glides onto the stage, in time to bring in the next song, ‘Never Go Back’. 

The lights flicker in sync to the dark heavy drum beats at the opening of ‘Never Go Back’, with Amy’s voice being pure and angelic, sending shivers down my spine. Amy let’s an orchestra member take over the piano she previously was playing in the song, so she can truly express the strength of her voice, singing with her incredible voice and body in perfect symmetry. In the second verse, the orchestra really step into the fold, bringing forth dramatic, dark cello and double bass, being the balanced darkness to Amy’s angelic light, with her spine tingling voice reaching climactic elevation nearing the songs’ close.

Leaving us all deeply spellbound, Amy now thanks us so much for being a part of this special occasion. As I sit completely God-smacked, I realise this venue, world-class orchestra and their sound mixer are weirdly perfect for this album and Amy’s symphonic vocals, with how the music is perfectly balanced to the point of me not requiring the use of my ear-plugs and with the way the walls around us hold and share the sound with one another. It's as if somehow, Amy wrote this album for this encounter.

A light electronic drum pattern and eery strings, bring us deeper into this dream for ‘Lacrymosa’, as we spiral deeper down the rabbit hole, to a mystical land unknown. The song gives off a haunting feeling as Amy’s voice is soft, wicked and hypnotic. Now the dark, haunting aura plunges into the intense cinematic deity wrath of electronic drum beats, with a calling of dramatic bass-dominated cello’s and double bass, and as the lights and music march us beneath, Amy throws her head from side to side, like a possessed voodoo doll, before she awakens from the curse, and her all-mighty classically trained voice breaks free, and elevates to incredible heights, calling to her fellow angels above.

Without a pause, the band now bring us straight into the ‘End Of The Dream’, which is then followed up with the hauntingly beautiful heart-throbbing symphony, ’My Heart Is Broken’ and emotion resurrecting track ‘Lithium’.  

A deep bass reigns throughout the hall, before Amy’s soft heaven sent voice joins the bass, and now, strings as Amy’s operatic voice raises in dynamics, echoing around me. As the rest of the song around Amy’s vocals build up to climactic shockwaves, Amy’s presence with the sinister music changes her from a sweet angel of God, to a vengeful poltergeist, haunting the world around her. The drummer too puts a demonic power into his performance, as if egging on the poltergeist in centre stage, and with the rest of the band along with the orchestra, it’s terrifying, yet exquisitely beautiful!

Now it seems our hearts can steady and our under-garments can dry, because it seems this poltergeist has been purified, and left now, is a sorrowful fallen angel reaching to the stars above in ‘My Heart Is Broken’. The purity of this angel is shone brightly, as Amy truly puts all her heart and soul into nailing every powerful note perfectly, bringing a new light through the taunting darkness that once was. With Amy’s strong expressive actions and the force of her voice, it sounds like she could be trapped within the story of this song, and fighting back tears which is as pure and authentic as a singer can get! Amy now demonstrates her ability to multi-task and takes her angelic ways to the piano for the songs’ bridge, before the explosion of celestial beauty in the final chorus.

Missy Higgins @ Enmore Theatre, Sydney NSW Australia 08/05/2018 written by Brendan Lewis.

ONCE IN A RED MOON

May 2018: The land of Missy Higgins’ past loves is left as nothing but a barren apocalyptic wasteland, full of broken dreams and despair. This treacherous ever-changing wasteland leaves Missy Higgins with a sense of solastalgia, a feeling of distress and depression, caused by the changing physical and emotional environments surrounding her life, which she shares with us tonight and sends her on the path to writing her new album ‘Solastalgia’. A glimpse of light shines up ahead, calling to Missy, will she answer it’s call and make it out of this darkness, or will the ‘Solastalgia’ swallow her whole…

As we enter the musical lands, we are greeted with the first frontier of the journey, a stripped away piano solo by Missy Higgins. The air around her is still, silent and heavy with emotion, as she pours her heart out into every vocal cry, while her piano melodies carry us down a stream of raw emotion. For this song, the sound is crystal clear and perfectly suited for Missy’s piano solo, but how will the sound develop down the stream when the rest of the band emerge.

Missy Higgins now gets up from her piano with an almighty grunt then explains “even with having my water bottle I still grunt like a f****ng old man getting up”, then welcomes us ashore. The landscape at the end of the previous emotional river is lit with 49 Candles (yep, I counted EVERY single one), which gives off a haunting sway vibe with ghostly vocal harmonies floating around Missy’s sorrowful voice, carrying her down the path of the set.

As we walk down this path, Missy’s voice and her bands’ accompanying music guides us with a soft gentle sway in ‘Don’t Ever’, with a delicate breeze of nostagia in its’ major-tone essence. The path spirals and thickens in layers as the drums enter after the songs’ first chorus, followed by Missy’s sweet vocals creeping up like leaves caught in the musical wind before the layers increase dramatically for ‘All In My Head’. The sound mixers prove themselves to the crowd as in this song, the layers grow even thicker like vines surrounding the pathway, yet the sound is spot on, crystal clear and holds all the sounds evenly and comfortably, to compliment one another in perfect symmetry.  The ghostly vocal harmonies carry Missy’s exquisite voice as the songs’ nostalgic vibe reminds me of an old village, that you used to visit when you were a kid, but this tale is far from over.

Before reaching our next destination, Missy shares a story of how she had a break from music for a while to try and find herself, she tried meds, they didn’t work, she even tried going to uni, it didn’t work, and in the end it lead her back to music.

The next landscape on the journey is ‘Ten Days’, with it’s more blues-like flicks of the piano and musical scent, nifty show-off vocal improvisations and more harmonious vocal layers (yep, those bloody ghosts are still hanging around). This is followed up by the “revenge follow-up to Ten Days”, ‘Peachy’, a brutal apocalyptic storm of up-beat proportion, and beautiful yet biting vocal gusts.

After opening track off Missy’s latest album ‘Starting Again’ with it heavy-hearted sombre feel and uplifting power-surge nearing its’ end followed by the even darker ‘Red Moon’, Missy shares more stories about making her new album ‘Solastalgia’ and the meaning behind it. She now goes on to tell us how her current partner told her, “there’s not one song on here about me, I want a f****ng love song!” which Missy replies, “have you heard my love songs? They don’t end well, do you really want one?”, and how that lead to her endeavour to write a positive love song. The end result is the next song ‘Futon Couch’, a song about how they met. A gooey girly love song full of bright and bubbly layers and heart fluttering effects with Missy crying out in declaration. This song is a nice cool-breeze of light to the dark wastelands of the show so far.

The lush bright scenery around us is sustained with ‘Song For Sammy’, a quick little song that Missy plays on the acoustic guitar showing off more musical diversity in her skills (ie playing piano and guitar). Missy brings another burst of humour as she over accentuates a high and low vocal note in the songs’ second verse, to really take the piss out of herself. She now invites Gordi onto the stage, who warmed the stage for Missy tonight and the rest of the tour, for an acoustic duet of ‘Sound Of White’, followed by ‘Everyone’s Waiting’, with Missy and Gordi taking turns at leading vocals in a call and response-like manner.

For the rest of this journey which is starting to seem a little less apocalyptic (thanks for messing up the theme for me Missy), we encounter loved classics like ‘The Special Two’, new sure to be hit ‘Cemetery’, further displaying more electronic/pop elements to her sounds, my personal childhood favourite ‘Scar’ and finally uplifting bright finish ‘Steer’. All the songs in the homestretch feature differing layers of blues, pop, soul, acoustic, and even one song that was an up-beat rock song that Missy performs on the electric guitar which seems a bit odd in the set, but it works. We also discover more story-telling from Missy, her dazzling charisma throughout songs as she’s an arm talker and obviously likes to express the music physically (get your minds out of the gutter) and all performed beautifully by Missy with vocal improvisations here and there, more prominently in ‘Scar’ (which btw Missy, it makes it a little hard to sing along to, as you requested, when you’re not singing the normal notes). And finally, Missy tells us that she doesn’t do encores anymore, they tend to piss her off and goes on to re-enact a punters reaction at a concert when expecting more songs. So the journey closes with ‘Steer’, a bright uplifting happy ending to the chaotic apocalyptic love song documentary.

Looking back on this journey, it was really like a documovie of Missy Higgins’ post apocalyptic loves as she calls them. Missy spoke a lot between songs, but she did so in an engaging charismatic way that didn’t drag on spoiling the flow. The musical performance from Missy and her band was spot on and perfectly complemented one another. All in all, I had a great experience and better yet, would definitely go to another Missy Higgins show in the hopefully near future!

Imagine Dragons @ Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney NSW Australia 19/05/2018 written by Brendan Lewis.

THIS IS RADIOACTIVE!

Legend is, there are four elemental pieces, that when joined, form a mystical being, differing in proportional form and energy. Legend is, that every few years, these elemental forces will unite, evolve, rise up and bring with them a new musical offering of radioactive thunder, more precious than gold.

It’s time, for the reign of Imagine Dragons ‘Evolve World Tour’ has begun…

As the enigmatic being awakens, documentary-sounding graphics on the screen atop the stage and some eerie bass, light drums and worldly synth build the suspense, as fans await the first song. The first three evolutionary forms of this being are opening track off ‘Evolve’, ‘I Don’t Know Why’, ‘Believer’ and ‘It’s Time’. All three songs start off reserved, calm withdrawn, until the songs’ energy can’t be contained any longer, like a Pokemon in it’s base form slowly reaching up to the right level, to finally break free and evolve to a new form…..I’m a 90’s kid. This is amplified dramatically, with a blast of confetti after an extended pause in ‘I Don’t Know Why’, separating the stripped back intro/first verse, and the full-force chorus. In ‘Believer’, the start is even more eerie, with the songs’ minor-key tone and now being stripped of all sounds except vocals and acoustic guitar, until the end of the first chorus, which then the song starts over in original form. The first explosive chorus is brought forth with a fiery blast of smoke shooting up from the stage in towers. For both the first two songs, once the energy hits, lead singer Dan races around the stage, energized from the flurry of energy around him, as he makes use of the stage and catwalk runway protruding from the middle. ‘It’s Time’ also starts withdrawn before raising the energy suddenly, with this song though, Dan plays on the crowds’ desire to sing along to every word, so the arena is filled with a chorus of uncontradicted choir-like vocals building up to the iconic piano riff in the songs’ intro, which in this case, is launched after the first chorus sing along.

The mix of sound tonight is quite confronting for me, yet effective to Imagine Dragons’s set, although it was unfortunately quite detrimental to The Temper Trap’s set beforehand. The sound level isn’t as loud as I were to expect, this does help emphasize the energy build up intended by the band, as each song naturally rises in energy level. However, for ‘It’s Time’, the songs’ energy did seem a little shy of sufficient until the last chorus when the band perform more dramatically.

The musical form transitions back to an embryonic state, as lead singer dedicates the next song to a school in the USA and proceeds with a heartwarming introductory talk before flowing perfectly into an acoustic cover of ‘Forever Young’, transforming this huge arena into an intimate room.

That embryo now bursts free of containment, as an eerie synth melody brings forth an energetic and dramatic display of drum and guitar collaborations from the band, with a flurry of psychedelic lighting reigning down around them, before ‘Gold’ takes shape. The energy both musically and energetically is thrust up high, emphasised dramatically by the calming absence of intensity in ‘Forever Young’ previously. This musical being seems to have reached it’s final form of greatness, or has it?

The rest of this show is like Goku from Dragon Ball Z in its’ energy, reaching “super-saiyan” heights in parts like in the uplifting feel-good track ‘On Top Of The World’ which features an array of giant balloons for the crowd to paddle around like purring kitties, ‘Make It Up To You’ with it’s dance-provoking sound and infectious melodic hooks, withdrawing back to “saiyan” status for songs like ‘Demons’, which lead singer Dan tells us about his experiences with depression and therapy, and how important it is to seek help at times, bringing the vibe to inspirational sobering heights, and exceeding those power-levels even more, reaching “super-saiyan 2,3 and 4”, in songs along the way littered with incredible drum solos, edgy show-off guitar riffs, climactic vocals and amplified by SO much confetti and smoke shooting up from the stage, as all the band run around the stage wildly as if set alight by the burning energy!

The sound tonight has been differing in quality I feel, it has perfectly justified the climactic sound of some songs, but in others, hasn’t been loud enough in some sound attributes (example, an iconic synthesizer hook, or bass line that needs to stand out), and as a result, lets the hype deflate at times, regardless of the perfectly executed performance from the band. To be fair, Imagine Dragons’ constantly evolving music features so many challenging and diverse sounds and layers, I can imagine it would be rather challenging for any sound mixer to harness a perfect all-round mix to complement every song adequately.

However, the confusing sound mix is brought to its’ full potential in ‘Radioactive’, which the energy in the arena is! The song started with an anticipation-building intro, that leads to the songs’ signature psychedelic layers and booming drums with roaring vocals. In the songs’ bridge, the energy explodes or rather, transforms like Optimus Prime after being equipped with upgrades and new weapons, as all the band members on stage take to a drum for a massive attention demanding all-out drum solo! And of course, this song brings with it MORE BLOODY CONFETTI! Seriously, guys I’m starting to look like a freakin’ paper mache! Still, after the band blast out everything they’ve got like Goku’s ‘Solar Bomb’, the show begs nor needs no encore, as THIS, is the mystical beings final form of greatness!

The sound tonight was yes, confusing, and at times confronting. However, the bands’ incredible display of comradery, energy and high musical calibre from start to finish of this perfectly-flowing set full of life, well and truly makes up for the occasionally lacking sound mix, and truly left the entire crowd feeling on top of the world and radioactive with excitement!

Meg Mac "Matter Of Time" album tour Sydney 15/04/2023

It was only a matter of time

Meg Mac @ Enmore Theatre Sydney 15/04/2023

We all know that great music from truly talented arts will Never Be snuffed out of this world by harsh times, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and if you thought the hiatus of music from artists like this, and my quirky reviews of their gigs, was a sign of the end on both fronts, well, you Should’ve Known better….you ain’t ever gonna shut me up! 

It was only a Matter Of Time until truly talented artists such as Meg Mac graced our stages again, we just had to Ride It out. Tonight, our anticipation has been met with Meg Mac bringing her ‘Matter Of Time’ tour to Sydney’s Enmore Theatre.

Tick, tock, tick…

The ticking of the clock on the speakers detonates into Meg Mac emerging on stage to open the set with album title track, ‘Matter Of Time’. This song brings forth a dark, warning minor-toned power surge, with Meg’s vocals sitting perfectly in the mix of crystal clear sounds, even when a massive bass-drop rumbles the theatre, Meg’s power-house vocals soar above the fray perfectly!

‘Matter Of Time’ is nicely flowed into the next song ‘Turning’ which brings with it a contrasting soulful, heart-aching essence full of emotion and confidence. This song is followed by ‘Every Lie’ and ‘Maybe It’s My First Time’. These songs lift the atmosphere with their rise in positive energy, as Meg really spreads her wings and sends her powerful voice soaring all around the theatre with precision, grace and control. While Meg’s voice flies around the venue, twirling, dazzling and gently lifting our spirits, supporting harmonies  help put more force behind Meg’s vocal flight, as if a flock of birds are trailing behind Meg. At this stage as my friend next to me reads this, she’s probably looking dubiously at the bar wondering what the f*** they put in my cider! 

Meg thanks the crowd and briefly speaks to us, quite shyly and void of the confidence she so elegantly displays in her music. I do remember Meg telling me in our interview in 2017 that she can be quite shy and withdrawn, and it’s through music that she’s really free, or along those lines at least, c’mon, it was six years ago you can’t really expect me to remember word for word!

Sitting here, enjoying the cocktail of delicious sounds so perfectly mixed together (shaken, not stirred) not clashing or overpowering one another, even when we get bone-shaking bass, I’m truly impressed with how Meg so beautifully transitions the flavour of her vocals from serious, dark warning, to soulful heart-aching, to sweet, bouncing joyful, to sassy, and everything in between. she could probably even pull off heavy-metal screams if she wanted to! 

These attributes are scattered across genres such as Pop, Indie, Alternative, Motown, R&B and Gospel, all held together in the one body like the vivid colours on a bird… yes we’re back to the birds thing.

Just to mess you around with the whole bird analogies, as the show goes on, Meg’s confidence and stage presence starts a freshly hatched bird, but then grows and takes off, chasing her musical confidence and power, quickly catching up to then merge into one being, let’s say a stunning, burning Phoenix, exuding both fearsome power and exquisite grace! 

Meg tells us stories with more and more confidence, such as how she scrapped a whole album because it just wasn't right for her to the point of keeping her up at night , so she scrapped it and started all over again to eventually become the album that has become “Matter Of Time'' with the opening track “Is it Worth Being Sad?” representing her feelings about starting fresh. 

Meg then goes on to tell us how she played the song ‘Don’t You Cry’ in Africa, I think she said? Before playing the sweet acoustic track, then onto talking about writing and performing before playing songs like the intense drum pulses and vocal hook of ‘Grace Gold’ then the heart-filled emotion of ‘Letter’, with Meg demonstrating her talent on the Piano, with the songs nice blend of block-chords, broken-chords and melody.

As the show nears its final flight, the energy in the venue is palpable and electric with the crowd seeming to feed off Meg’s energy and giving it back to her to further aid Meg’s Flight Of The Phoenix that she’s become! The 'final' song for the evening is fan favourite ‘Never Be’ which has a more defined powerful drum beat lifting Meg’s voice even higher, like hard flaps of wings to push the main body to new heights!

Well that’s all folks, yep, go home… Oh wait, there’s an encore that totally doesn’t happen at ALL shows, that we NEVER  see coming and totally isn’t written out already on the band/artists setlists!

The actual final song is breakthrough massive hit, ‘Should’ve Known’ which as Meg tells us how this year marks ten years since she flew onto the music scene with an audible smile on her face, makes the crowd go nuts and is a perfect way to land the show back down to earth but not before the house is brought down with the crowd singing along to every word in full captivation!

This show tonight was a real treat, with its musical diversity, emerging stage presence and perfectly balanced sounds!

Just like a Phoenix rising from its ashes time and time again, I have no doubt Meg Mac will rise and take flight again, soon!

Hilltop Hoods 'Show Business' Tour - Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney 03/09/2022

LET’S CHASE THAT FEELING!

Tonight, I’ma Chase That Feeling down here at the front barrier of Qudos Bank Arena in The Nosebleed Section, because Aussie hip-hop icons Hilltop Hoods are Still Standing after the involuntary hiatus on the music scene caused by the pandemic, and Hilltop Hoods are ready to party and remind us why we need to hold on tight to live music and why they’re at the top of the Aussie hip-hop scene, on the bands’ ‘Show Business’ Tour! 

Now, if you’re familiar with my reviews you’d know I normally take my readers through an in-depth, song-by-song analysis. Tonight though, I don’t feel that’s necessary and I’d just be repeating myself… a-lot! No no, it doesn’t mean this show is repetitive and anything short of special, quite the opposite.

The energy, excitement and sheer fun-happy vibes skyrocketed straight away with opening song ‘Leave Me Lonely’, with a notable suspense-building sudden stop in the bridge section to raise the impact for the final chorus, then straight into one of my all-time favourites, ‘Chase That Feeling’. Which I should note, that for the live experience this song features an extra ‘synth’ sound added into the songs intro.

Now, picture this, you’re in the crowd at Qudos Bank arena, if you’re not wearing protective ear-plug down here at the front of the standing crowd (I am THANK JEEBUS!) you’re bombarded by bones-rattling bass, but luckily, astonishingly, it doesn’t even come close to drowning out the vocals and other musical layers, I mean, there could be a smidgen more mid-range in the mix, but that’s me looking for any gaps, but by the sheer excitement emanating from fans around me from the band racing around the stage, feeding off our energy and each others on stage perfectly surrounded by a dazzling light show, you’d think this is as good as it gets and that it’ll be more of the same throughout the performance right? You know, fans sing along at the top of their lungs… in my ears, the band revs us up between songs, we clap along to beats, jump when the band tells us to, maybe a bit of confetti for us to bat-away from our faces like cats etc etc.

Well yes, that does all happen as I described but with a few key differences that make this show truly special and memorable. First off, after the band play ‘Chase That Feeling’, they ask “has anyone here not seen us before?” which the young girl to my right calls out that she hasn’t, it’s her first time. (you never forget your first) Then, the band member who asked the question pointed the girl out and ask what her name is, “Mia!” then the band say hi to Mia, thank her and the rest of us for being here, mention Mia a few more times as the band rev us up leading into ‘The Nosebleed Section’, which was perfect for the songs’ lyrics in the chorus “I fell in love with the people in the front row”... but apparently my blind eyes missed one little, iddy-bitty detail. After Mia called out her name and one of the band members confirmed it, he unfastened his watch and gave it to Mia! No, I doubt it was a $10,000 Rolex or anything, more likely one of the custom Hilltop Hoods G-Shock watches, which if anything I think is better!

But the special moments don’t end there! After the band play ‘I Love It’, one of the band members “where’s the blind guy with the sign?” (yes, me) and wants me to hold it up for him to read out. Apparently he has it shown on the big screens for everyone to see while he reads it out, calls me a bloody legend and asks “who reckons I should give him a drum stick” which he does. And he calls ME a bloody legend?! Then a couple of songs later, after nearly burning my eyebrows off with pyro-technics and covering us all in confetti (definitely not the last time for either!), the bloody-legend who gave me the drum stick and gave Mia his watch came off the stage to connect with us in the front row more personally, including giving me a hug during one of their song.

Now I could go on and on about the insane energy from start to finish, the perfect flow of musical energy from one song to the next, being absolutely covered in several rounds of confetti, not to mention losing my eyebrows and beautiful Irish-red beard to at least three separate occasions of flames shooting up from the stage about five metres in front of us here at the front, and how the band performed each song perfectly, but the most important thing to point out is this.

It’s one thing to talk to the crowd at an arena concert with roughly 22,000 fans, rev us up and what not, but Hilltop Hoods have shown, no scratch that, proven to us that their fans do really mean so much to them and they will go out of their way to connect with us even in a massive venue with rules, regulations, precise time restriction, complex stage set ups etc. They perfectly blended the intimacy of a small venue like they played at in their early days where they could be closer to their fans, and a full-scale arena show with all the fancy trimmings and effects.

This night, finished with the grand finale of ‘Cosby Sweater’ which Hilltop Hoods brought Elsy Wamaro and A.B Originals on stage to do some extra parts and join in on the fun, was truly a special, fun happy celebration of the music we all love, being back to witness it live on stages again, and sharing it with fans, friends and loved-ones alike, venue sizes and limitations be-damned!

I Love It!

The Rubens 'Live Loud & Local' - Coogee Bay Hotel Sydney 03/02/2021

AN ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECE!

The Rubens ‘Coopers Live Loud & Local’ @ Coogee Bay Hotel 03/02/21

Much loved Sydney soul-pop/rock connoisseurs, The Rubens just released the Masterpiece of a fourth album that is ‘0202’... on 12/02. To bring their live music back to fans after the forced hiatus from COVID-19 lockdowns and to get fans excited for the album with a taste of new music, The Rubens, brought to you by Live Nation Australia and Coopers Beer (the latter supplying a generous amount of their products to the band, who in turn gave me full access to when I interviewed them before the show, Hallelujah!).

Free beer, catching up with an awesome bunch of musicians for an awesome interview and live music after so long, understandably I’m feeling like a Million Man!

Free beer aside though, Masterpiece indeed…

Like all masterpieces from the likes of Van Gough, Da Vinci and those Ninja Turtles ones, each piece has its own complexity and layers, this show is no different.

Let’s start with the background, a simple uncrowded, modestly spaced canvas in which each stand-out focal point, in this case, the band members both individually and as a whole, are highlighted by simple, but highly effective lighting of differing colours and pattern which literally highlight each member, being more-so effective as each member has their own designated space, diffusing their own personal touches of complementive splashes of movement to the musical colour.

You know when you look at a piece of art, and something nags at you, a finite, subtle detail that may or may not have been intentional? Well, when the lights go down, and the chosen song for the band to walk out to blasts out of the speakers, building up the excitement to a fever pitch, the next few seconds that follow (the crucial elevated point in which to grab and carry) are filled with silence? This could be intended, as the opening song ‘Muddy Evil Pain’ paints the mid-ground of the shows canvas in a cooling, exciting, bright (and for those of us with Synesthesia) blue synth pallet for Sam’s warm, and I say this in a completely manly analytical way, seductive vocals

I find that the effectiveness of the use of colour and how they contrast, largely defines a painting. In the concert scene, likewise does the effectiveness of how all the sounds in a performance are balanced. My first reaction to the balance of sound is “wow! Sam’s voice sits perfectly in the mix, but wow that bass is a bit overwhelming” but when I really think about it, yes, the bass is very prominent, but thankfully all of the other musical elements still shine through adequately and so as the show progresses, my focus is drawn to the bass at times like the raspy guitar and bass hooks in ‘Best We Got’, but in a pleasant way. Although the guitar and bass riff do risk drawing my focus away from Sam and his passionate voice.

This masterpiece is not a conceptual piece, it has true authenticity throughout it! Each song is bang-on to the way it was recorded, new and old songs alike. Not just the sound has true authenticity though, the way Sam talks to us between songs expressing how he was nearly brought to tears of joy as he walked out on stage at the start of the show, to the funky wiggles and dance moves he whips out during some of the more seductive songs, like ‘Go On’, ‘My Gun’ which Sam adds slight personal expressive adjustments to the rhythm of his vocals in the verses, which gives the song a more unique to the night feel, and of course, ‘Hoops’ which isn’t actually at the end of the set. That brings me to another important aspect of this work of art.

A lot of concerts and paintings alike, will display a bold exciting element at the start to draw the viewers attention and raise excitement, then save the best finishing touch to last, but in some cases, if you look at all the details in between, it dips and curves, which don’t get me wrong, in some instances is effective yes, but I’m in awe of how the show tonight is like a painting of a speeding train, it just keeps building up momentum as it travels which is largely done through the placement of the songs in the set, being so placed for the flow of the songs energy regardless of popularity, which even though smash hit ‘Hoops’ does of course raise the energy in the crowd, the energy just keeps rising in the proceeding songs!

Ah now for the actual song ‘Masterpiece’! Sam very excitedly prompts the crowd to stand up at our COVID-friendly seating positions, getting caught up in the moment, which is a brilliant burst of colour in the middle of the set and as intended, raises the energy level in the room immensely! A lot of that energy is from security racing around ordering people to sit back down, not just in ‘Masterpiece’ but here and there for the rest of the show especially in ‘Million Man’… whoopsy! To be fair, Sam does apologise profusely to security after ‘Masterpiece’.

This show from the dazzling colours and textures of electronic-pop mixed with indie-rock, soul, funk and pinches of gospel flavour truly does leave me with that feeling like when you lay eyes on a true masterpiece that will stand the test of time, and leaves you entranced and mesmorized in it’s beauty! 

A message to The Rubens… Better get your musical and performance brushes ready guys, ‘cause after that masterpiece, you’ve left a large anticipatory canvas to fill on your album tour in April!

Atreyu 'In Our Wake' Album Tour, Sydney, February 27 2020

THE TIME IS NOW!

“Everyone leaves a legacy no matter how big or small”, so when our time’s up, what will we leave in our wake? With the earth being plagued with recent pestilence (the deadly strand of Coronavirus), war, famine and ultimately, death, not to mention the recent catastrophic bushfires then flooding in Australia, you’d think the four horseman have risen and it really is armageddon!

So it’s a good thing U.S Metalcore godfathers Atreyu have raised the question of what will we leave in our wake with their latest album ‘In Our Wake’.

You may not think now is the time for such questions, but yes, the time is now... 

In all the chaos in the wake of this concert, I’ve had time to reflect and put this show into perspective. When I recently spoke to drummer and vocalist Brandon (listen to the full interview here) and asked, “when you come out onto the stage, what do you give fans that other metal bands don’t?” Brandon told me “for us music is a place where we can go and let our guard down, and kind of, be vulnerable, kind of, show our insides a bit, we want people to be able to do the same thing at our shows. I think a lot of metal shows or heavy music is very serious and whatever, we’re very lighthearted on stage it’s a very fun atmosphere I think that, we want to give that open door for people to just come and lose their s***”. So, was shit lost?... figuratively, not literally.

For starters, before doors open, I notice that the queue of fans waiting to enter isn’t exactly extensive, and those of here seem quite calm and unsurprisingly, I hear talk of VOCID19, so has this scared fans away and put a damp blanket on the night?

Secondly, this venue plays host to many heavy genre performances, and I’ve got to know the typical sound here, it’s like a natural ruby, red-hot, dense, has many layers but can often bare too many imperfections (in this case commonly too much bass) and generally is clear, but still gritty.

Thirdly, typically the opening song will be the first song off the bands’ touring album, and the grand finale will be their greatest hit, so in this case, ‘In Our Wake’ and ‘Becoming The Bull’ respectively?

So, is this a clear but gritty little gem that makes us lose our s***?

In a nutshell, yes, much s*** was lost! The band did not however, fulfill my prediction of the opening and closing songs however, instead, they chose the placement of the songs throughout the show according to the rise and fall of energy it would seem, which is in my opinion, a far more effective move, as if you’ve paid to see a band who has more than one “hit”, chances are no matter what, everyone’s gonna stick around until the very end anyway, whether you leave your best to last or not. So when they open the show with ‘The Time Is Now’... any guesses as to what was lost?

Despite my observation earlier of a laxed queue, the venue is absolutely packed now thankfully, also thankfully, people are politely and respectfully losing their s***, they’re dancing, jumping and singing along, which the latter does render the sound mix hard to hear the bands’ vocals at times, but all in all is a pretty top-quality sound mix. Even when a band member steps off the stage and onto the step of the barricade to engage fans, people are still letting everyone around them, you know, breathe and stay alive.

Currently as I write this two weeks later, thinking back over the concert going over my notes, it brings a smile to my face and gives me a warm refreshing respite from the stress and gloom of the COVID19 outbreak, which has been making me lose my s*** in a whole other way.

So whether it is the anthemic sing alongs, the intense energy the entire band dished out from start to finish, the flow of energy from song to song or the addition of a brilliant cover of Bon Jovi’s ‘You Give Love A Bad Name’, which brings the singing along to a whole new height, or all the above, Brandon was true to his word and gave us all the open door for us to let our guard down, and lose our s***. 

Now that's what sets Atreyu apart from other heavy metal bands!

Missy Higgins @ Sydney Coliseum Theatre, February 28 2020

WHAT MAKES A CONCERT SPECIAL?

What makes a concert special? A truly satisfying and memorable event? When you go to as many concerts as I do, simply going to a concert in general, is not necessarily special. So what does make one special?

Is it perhaps that this is the first concert in a brand-new state of the art venue since it’s official re-opening? Maybe the fact that Missy Higgins, a household name in the Australian contemporary pop scene is giving this new venue a whirl? Is it the staff and accessibility of the venue, or perhaps none of the above, and just simply the performance and sound and nothing else?

Now because this review is, well, special, I’m going to do things a bit differently. Because there’s a lot to cover, I’m going to pick and choose selecting things to treat you to, like a gourmet meal, so bon appetit! 

First, the staff and venue accessibility entrees. As soon as I enter the Eastern foyer, staff, namely Patricia, greeted me to assist with signing in and then gave very specific and helpful directions to my companion. When this venue was in it’s planning phase, it was described as “the West's answer to a second Opera House”. Quite a tall order! Now, we all know and love the iconic Opera House, but as far as accessibility goes, it isn’t without fault, seeing as the venue was built in a time before elevators I suspect, or at least before a great need for them. As a result, despite adaptation over the years, there is at least one instance in which stairs are unavoidable. This venue on the other hand, has been built in a time where elevators and OH&S regulations are required, so as a result, getting from the Eastern foyer to the theatre is not only easy thanks to constant support from staff along the way, but also because there are completely level walkways and elevators throughout the venue, regardless if you’re ticketed to sit at the back of the balcony. This has an effect much like a sweet and succulent entree to warm and invigorate the taste-buds before the main meal.

The main course, being the performance of course, is a complex one, so I’ll break it down into four parts. First we have the ingredients, which in this case are the songs Missy chooses to play and the talking and crowd interaction throughout the set. Second, there’s the quantity, so at the end of the show, are you feeling satisfied, or are you left still hungry for more, or are you bloated and feel the meal was too big. Third, you have the sauce and seasoning, which is the sound from the band, acoustics of the venue, and sound mixer. And finally, how well was everything cooked? If you can’t put that metaphor together yourself, pretty much, did Missy and her band perform each song well?

The songs and talking/crowd interaction; Normally from what I’ve experienced at concerts, the most effective way to open a show is to head straight into the first song, which should be an energy lift, to raise the energy and get the crowd excited, and then after the first or second song, then talk to the audience. But this is a, well, special show (if you’ve made a drinking game from everytime I say well, special, you’re probably getting quite smashed by now!), so when Missy, and if I’m correct, only Missy, first walks out onto the stage, she greets us, not a shy or simple “hey Sydney, thanks for coming! This first song is X and goes something like…”, no, Missy slices through everyone’s expectation and breaks out well-rehearsed and tasteful humour! Example being “wow, what a beautiful venue! Honestly this is all I know of Rooty Hill”, Before introducing her first song, a delicate and raw song that is only her exquisite voice and well garnished piano playing which brings a more relaxed casual essence to the atmosphere in the theatre. This humour is spotted throughout the set after most of Missy’s songs, interacting with her audience in instances such as when a woman yells out “can my girlfriend sing with you?!” which Missy replies “uhm, that’s not really in the set, how loud is your voice?” and the absolutely priceless instance in which Missy combines a personal anecdote of her life and how the song links to the moment, in which Missy tells us how she was given the opportunity to record a song for a TV show on Foxtel, and how she’s not up with the whole Foxtel-y world but “I figured out a loophole. Sign up for Foxtel on demand, do the ten day free trial, watch the series in ten days, then cancel the subscription! Bob’s your uncle!” which is followed by an eruption of laughter! and how before playing a particular song, she told us the story leading up to it in which she went through a phase of not knowing if she could continue with the demands of the music industry, keep writing music so she “as cliche as it is, had to go and find myself, I went to India, got diarrhea etc etc and eventually it lead me back to music”.

Now as far as the songs go, after the first delicacy of the piano and vocals solo, Missy then introduces the rest of her band, including drums, bass, keyboard, guitar and backing vocals. These musical ingredients give the set a wide range of textures to play with! The set flows from one song to the next according to the rise and fall of musical energy more so than the most popular songs being last. This is the equivalent of a multi-course meal tailored to introduce each flavour one after the other in the most complementive way. Another noteworthy technique is adding a couple of acoustic solo songs roughly in the middle of the set, giving the palate a cleansing break to emphasize the the burst of flavours in the second half. One of these acoustic songs by Missy features her on a Ukulele giving a funky flavour twist to the typical pop music elements.

As far as the sound goes, the sauce and seasoning, there’s a few points that need outlining. The first, is this theatre is one, fully carpeted and by the sounds of it, has lots of sound absorbing materials and well crafted shaping of the roof and walls to best manipulate sound, A.K.A, good acoustics. The problem with the Opera House is that the Concert Hall I’m fairly certain, was designed for non-amplified sounds, commonly well, opera singing. So the Concert Hall’s design is to best carry and resonate sound throughout the venue, which can be tricky to tame for contemporary music of today. This venue however, was perfectly tailored for optimal performance from the sound system which brings a whole new meaning to loud and clear! This of course, is nothing without the sound mixer doing a good or bad job of the performers’ sound, which in this case, is superb! All sounds on stage are perfectly complementive to one another, whilst highlighting Missy’s vocals, and the backing vocals just shy of power to Missy’s. It also elevates and highlights the guitar solo’s in a few songs’ bridge sections, likewise with the piano solo’s in others. So does that answer the point of the bands’ sound? If not, let me spell it out for you… S, c, r, u, m, p, t, i, o, u, s! There is so much musical colour and tantalizing elements as I mentioned before, to the blues vibes in popular tracks like ‘Scar’ and ‘Ten Days’, which the latter has a more enriched blues energy for this live rendition, which is uplifting and delighting despite the emotional content of the song. Not to mention the contrasting darker feel of ‘Cemetary’ which paradoxically has a potent dance aroma to it.

And to sum it all up, am I and the rest of the audience satisfied? Did the show not have enough? thus were we left wanting more? Or are we bloated? Well, a little bit of all the above I guess! I’m thoroughly satisfied on all counts, and it was the perfect amount/proportion, but because it was so delicious, and I consumed it as much as I possibly could, I am quite bloated, but it’s the same feeling like when you’ve eaten a whole bunch of your mum’s homemade Baileys, white chocolate and Maltesers cheesecake… 

More please! That’s what makes a concert well, special and memorable! 

Fire Fight Australia, February 16 2020

AUSTRALIA, WE ARE WITH YOU!

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust

A reason to celebrate, this is far from just

A nation in need, in devastations wake

We may be aching, but we will not break

World-class artists unite, and stand together

For one hell of a night we’ll remember forever!

Even as I arrive at the venue and check-in, wait no, even earlier when the organisers reached out to find out how best to accommodate me with my disability (lack of sight) at the event, I feel a warm, highly hospitable and sense of family from the event staff which emanates to all media guests, and I’m sure all disabled patrons alike, which I feel sets the organisers and promoters TEG Dainty and TEG Live, for today at the top of their class and worth recognition! Promising start indeed!

It’ll be very interesting to see how the flow of acts here today/tonight is, as I thought the positioning of artists on the scheduling was quite odd, for example, you’d think Queen would be on last right? Nope, not even close… (although I acknowledge the symbolism of having the mother and father of Australian singers, that is, John Farnham and Olivia Newton-John capping off the night) but wouldn’t most people just leave after Queen? And the sweet, bubbly indie-pop delight Amy Shark’s on straight after the good-ol’ creepy-crawlin’ theatrical-rock legend Alice Cooper, I mean, one extreme to the next! ...This shall be interesting indeed!

Up first is the country-rock swagger of Lee Kernaghan followed by the soulful serenity of Conrad Sewell and then the bouncin’ pimped-up beats of Baker Boy. For these three artists, although vastly different genres, each bring a similar and complementing energy. The country-rock swagger of Lee Kernaghan gets us all groovin’ despite the midday heat upon us, then the soulful vibes of Conrad Sewell cool us down whilst still lifting our spirits like a sweet frozen margarita! Baker Boy on the other hand, his catchy vocal flicks and fully loaded beats are more like a Jagabomb, you wanna down those beats as fast as you can and keep going, but if you’re not careful, they’ll knock you on yo’ ass!

Today it's already blatantly obvious that this is no ordinary event and yet there’s a paradox at play here. On the one hand, today brings the festival atmosphere, with over twenty performers over just shy of eleven hours. On the other hand, it’s made apparent to me as comedian, fund-raiser and presenter for today Celeste Barber and the other presenter talk to fans near the front of the stage and ask if anyone camped out, and yes, several people did camp out overnight to have prime positions at the barrier… like a normal concert… that happens to be broadcast live over several TV channels.

As Daryl Braithwaite performs the unofficial Australian anthem that gets 70,000 people all singing along to, ‘Horses’ and two other songs (yes, Daryl does actually have more than just that one song, shocking, I know right!) which is followed up by the heart-felt acoustic anthems of Pete Murray and the iconic rock-gritt of Grinspoon, no matter what music comes our way, the energy and mood in the stadium is the same, electric! And here’s why… Both Celeste with her cheeky humour and stunning costumes which change each time she emerges onto the stage, plus the other presenter,  remind people that although today is a happy occasion with world-class entertainment, the reason why we’re all here is to raise much needed funds for the recent devastation of the wide-spread bushfires, and although the recent deluge has doused most or all fires across the country (or at least in New South Wales), the damage is still there, lives have still been lost, infrastructure crumbled, wildlife depleted and crops, agriculture, businesses, all effected, and all needing help! And both presenters remind us to please buy a t-shirt which all profits go to bushfire relief and not just that, to simply just donate if you can! And the way they deliver these messages is sprinkled with humour and good-vibes which brings a buzzing air of comradery and sense of family, a family of 70,000! To add another special touch to the event, the male presenter brings out two volunteer firefighters to say a few words and have 70,000 appreciative fans applaud them for all their hard work! Plus what’s more, if all these incredible artists here today wasn’t heartwarming enough, several artists from around the world reached out to Australia via pre-recorded videos displayed here today, reminding us “Australia, you are not alone, we are here with you”.

Each performance throughout the night from Guy Sebastian (who dedicates ‘Battle Scars’ to all who've been affected by the fires), Jessica Mauboy, Ronan Keating (who steps off the stage and walks in front of the barrier high-fiving fans in his last song, all three songs in which take me back to the late 90’s), Peking Duk, 5 Seconds Of Summer, Delta Goodrum, Illy (the latter two who made especially crafty use of the full stage setup with catwalk), Amy Shark and Hilltop Hoods all bring a pure light to the event filled with an energy like none I’ve witnessed at any other concert event, you can feel how dedicated and strongly they’re committed to this worthy cause. Each artist/band connect with both the thousands of fans here at ANZ stadium, the probably millions watching on TV and those affected by the fires past and present in such a wholesome earnestness that can’t be faked!

As Australia's been devastated by recent bushfires, world-class artists and music fans alike came together for a massive concert for bushfire relief recently at ANZ Stadium Sydney, Fire Fight Australia! Brendan the blind guy was lucky enough to head along and had the opportunity to slip in a sneaky quick chat with iconic Aussie hip-hop pioneers, HILLTOP HOODS who donated their time to the worthy cause! Sign up to the Keen Eye 4 Concerts newsletter at www.keeneye4concerts.com

As amazing as it was to meet and do a quick interview with Hilltop Hoods, it did mean I missed Alice Cooper’s performance. Not to worry though, I have seen him live in the past and know it would’ve been incredible! 

Now for the main reason why a lot of people raced to get tickets and some camped out overnight, the legendary Queen + Adam Lambert! By this stage the energy isn’t quite as beaming as it was a few hours ago which is to be expected as things wrap-up but even with Queen and Adam being significantly later onto the stage than planned, the crowd go wild! Now of course experiencing Queen’s performance live is nothing short of special, but I have two minor let-downs personally (remember, I’m only one man’s opinion!) I was quite upset the band didn’t finish ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ instead flowing it into ‘Radio Gaga’ at the songs build up that makes everyone sing like a complete lunatic, you know, “I see a little silhouette-oh of a man, scaramouche, scaramouche, will you do the Fandango?” COME ON! WHY?!!! The other is really just my personal opinion. I thought as suitable as Adam’s voice is for the higher and some mid-range notes and yes he did do well, I don’t think he quite lives up to the legend of Freddy Mercury.

From rock to pop, to country and soul,

A beautiful energy, was brought from them all

The love and support from fans artists and more

Made this, for me and others I’m sure

One hell of a show…

We’ll remember forevermore 

The Amity Affliction - UOW Unibar, Wollongong NSW AU, January 24 2020

FEELING ALL F****D UP?…

How do you feel? Are you okay? What happens when you’re not? When you feel all f****d up, you think to yourself “all I do is sink into my impending coffin”....

What do you do?...

Even those at the height of their euphoria, surely are affected too as the dramatic war/death-march bang of the drums and underlining bass to flickering lights, floats over the audience in a pent-up frustration-filled mist, as the band makes their grand entrance. This sets the perfect tone for what comes next.

Joel’s rapturous screams and the heavy minor tones in the first two songs (the second of which I’m fairly sure is new single ‘All My Friends Are Dead’ off the band’s upcoming album) build up the heat and aggression exponentially, which the crowd seem to consume as intended! Cleverly, the first two songs are powerhouse slaughters, screams of desperation, whereas the third song still keeps the energy at a red-hot fever-pitch, with constant movement of stage from the band, weaving through and around complementing lighting, which gives an emphasis to the frustration/desperation/angst feelings of the music. However, this song introduces Ahren’s clean more-melodic vocals as well as some free-falling piano droplets in the chorus after the wailing guitar riffs and aggressive scream vocals in the verses. This I feel puts more emphasis on the desperation. I have a feeling I’m on the money with the intent of the essence one feels in this song, as in the more pleading desperation of the chorus, both Joel and Ahren support each other perfectly in both sound and on-stage charisma, which makes one another stronger. So when Ahren reaches out to the audience to offer a hand in singing in the bridge section, it hits home hard!

The aggressive screaming vocals, rapid pounding drums seeming to emulate a rushing heartbeat, thick commanding bassline and razor-sharp guitar riffs that cut deep. Plus the acoustics of the venue don’t seem ideal, as I took note of the shiny wood flooring in which my cane slid across as I entered, and from what I can see, it’s a rather large venue. I can tell this as I can hear the sounds echoing off the walls and up the back… recipe for disaster. Just like a glimmer of hope, a slither of positivity, a lifeline if you will, in a terrible situation, these speakers are capable enough to hit us with the full-force of the bands punch (musically) AND keep perfect clarity, even at such high volume! But the real saving-grace is the sound mixer, who clearly knows this venue and/or the bands sound! Despite the reflective surfaces which the sound bounces to-and-fro in their own invisible moshpit, but the sound mixer prevails to my immense relief!

The mood is shifted slightly to a more uplifting hopeful essence with ‘Shine On’ and its anthemic easy to sing- along-to chorus. But when after ‘Shine On’ comes ‘Ivy (Doomsday)’ it maintains an anthemic power in the chorus, uplifting the energy in the crowd, whilst still delivering a serious, overwhelming potency in the songs core.

Now that this reckoning is in full effect, the crowd is hyped up to extreme levels, making me very thankful I chose to steer clear of the centre of the barrier! (two metres to my left is all hell breaking loose!) The security can’t keep up with the constant flow of crowd surfers, especially in crowd favourite songs like ‘Pittsburgh’, ‘I Take The Weather With Me’ new hit ‘Soak Me In Bleach’ and the grand finale of ‘All F****d Up’, seriously, as I watch the line of crowd surfers exiting/walking in front of the barrier, it seems as though half a dozen all came out simultaneously! No wonder the heat in here is extreme!

Instead of going on and on with how the band smash out all the songs to perfection, well, I do believe Ahren struggled a little in one of the choruses of the later songs, but I’ll turn a blind eye, but all you need to know is this…

Consistently throughout the set I, and I’m sure the rest of us here, are reminded of the power of music, friends, family and everyone around us to help guide us through dark times. The band display this perfectly with the way Joel and Ahren lean on each other and complement each other, as well as the band reaching out to their audience to help with singing key lines, letting the crowd sing lead whilst Ahren sings harmonies in the verse of one song drawing near the sets close, and melodies in strategic intervals, bringing an uplifting positive power to the heavy somber darkness of the songs’ meanings, in a perfect paradox!

How do you feel? Are you okay? What happens when you’re not? When you feel all f****d up, you think to yourself “all I do is sink into my impending coffin”....

What do you do? Reach out, ask for help and draw strength, courage and support from those around you like The Amity Affliction.

Music brings us together...

Elton John 'Farewell Yellow Brick Road' - First State Super Theatre Sydney, December 21 2019

“WE’RE OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD, THE WONDERFUL SIR ELTON JOHN!”

Can you feel the love tonight? And if not, are you ready for love? As we step into Christmas and 2019 comes to an end, so does an incredible 57-year adventure, but not before traversing through the spoils of this iconic path, before we say goodbye yellow brick road for the last time, and do the crocodile rock with the rocket man himself!

Slip on your tiny dancer shoes and click your heels together three times, “we’re off to see the wizard! The wonderful Sir Elton John!...”

As the lights go down, the mighty Elton John emerges onto the stage and we’re all thrust into a world of magic, filled with buzzing euphoria, the first stops on this adventure are the iconic ‘Bonnie And The Jets’, ‘All The Girls Love Alice’, ‘I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues’, ‘Border Song’ and ‘Tiny Dancer’.

I’m instantly mesmerized by the sound on all fronts! The sound mix supremely highlights Elton’s iconic vocals, which are so sharp and poised, in both the falsetto pitches and the grandeur baritone vocals, as if decades haven’t passed, and he’s still in his youth, only having written the songs yesterday! This with Elton’s dazzling star-spangled costumes, well-choreographed stage visual and lighting seems to sprinkle a mist of magic throughout the theatre, transporting us all back in time!

Opening with ‘Bonnie And The Jets’ followed by ‘All The Girls Love Alice’ perfectly introduces the musical characters and sets the scene/plot-line! ‘Bonnie And The Jets’ brings forth a cool, refreshing soulful, yet uplifting mid-tempo dance sway, to grab the attention straight away, but not charge at the energy like a bull to a red rag… oh hello, here’s the red rag!  ‘All The Girls Love Alice’ rockets the energy forward dramatically, as if introducing the big-bad-enemy in the story. But in all seriousness, very well executed, as both these songs display two separate, yet complementing essences. (cruisy sway-dance/upbeat and energetic foot tapping and head bobbing)

Elton now greets us all, like Dorothy introducing herself to all the characters along the way in The Wizard Of Oz, and Elton does it in a way that speaks to both the masses in the theatre, and everyone individually somehow! This sparks more feel-good magic in the crowd for the infectious blues of ‘I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues’ before Elton delights us with reminiscent stories of his career, before we encounter a ‘Tiny Dancer’ along the yellow brick road.

This may be a Tiny Dancer, but what’s not tiny is the number of people standing up to dance in this song! Although it can be quite annoying having everyone stand up right in front of you, being seated, I honestly can’t blame them! Just like it’s no wonder why The Wizard Of Oz has become a household name and an icon, it’s no wonder why the same applies for Elton! I’ve got goosebumps from how tantalisingly perfect his vocals are whilst playing the piano like... well, like Elton John. I’m a pianist myself and “great scott!” I wish I could play the piano like that, but to play like that at his age… of 21… while bopping away, pointing and waving his arms when possible AND singing like that? Yeah, I’m out!

I guess all of Elton John songs are iconic, so it’s hard to pick which one to really delve into without blabbering on ‘til the new year. So one, two, miss-a-few and, oh! Hello!...

After a grand blues-rock flurry of piano swishes and complementive lights and visual effects in the bridge section of ‘Indian Summer’, the continuity is kept perfectly, seamlessly flowing ‘Indian Summer’ into a theatrical suspense-building video, bringing forth quite possibly my personal favourite, ‘Rocket Man’. The smile on my face just widened immensely! It’s funny, Elton’s vocals seem more on the baritone end than the recording, but it honestly seems like it’s intended, not that Elton can’t hit the higher notes. As a result, it actually seems more quintessentially Elton… it’s hard to explain, but I feel like if he did do the really high notes in the verses of the song, it would just seem out of place now? And if you were thinking “well maybe he’s too old and can’t sing like he once did?” well, sorry, no. The way he sustains the note near the end of the song and controls the vibrato in both his falsetto and baritone vocals shoots that theory down hard! And just to add the cherry on the top, that extra dash of magic, Elton activates different sounds on his piano for the dazzling piano solo at the end… wait, is he on a rotating platform? I swear he was facing me when I last looked through my distance magnifier?!

As we head deeper into the forest of magical sounds, we encounter a ‘Candle In The Wind’ which is met with a sea of standing ovations, in which I join in on, holding up my sign “DRUM STICK 4 BLIND GUY PLZ?!” After ‘Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding’, to my amazement, someone from Elton/the band’s entourage comes up to me and hands me two drum sticks, informing me they’re from Nigel himself! Now, the reason why I mention this, is because it proves that it’s not just an illusion with how Elton speaks to several thousand people as if he’s only speaking to twenty-odd people, Elton and clearly his band are actually connected with the audience!

We’re in the second half of the show, and you might think people might be shifting in their seats, going to the bar, checking their phones etc? Well I doubt it, seeing as for example, the interest is perfectly maintained with honest, personal anecdotes from Elton, including talking about his own struggles with depression which he implores people to seek help when depressed, shattering the spell-woven illusion that Elton is some kind of God and not a human being like the rest of us. It’s also a little hard to drift off when theatrical dark, evil “wicked witch of the west” vibe wind and booming thunder claps (which I’m glad neither myself or my guide dog, with his heavy-duty dog ear-muffs on, have full bladders), along with call-and-response musical battles between Elton on the piano and Nigel on drums/percussion is peppered in the set!

But even the magical yellow brick road has an end. Finishing up (after profusely thanking us all and introducing/thanking his band of course) with the defiant power-punching whopper ‘I’m Still Standing’, followed by the infectious dance like nobody’s watching, sing-along crazily like the drunk-lady who’s pulled me up to join her in ‘Crocodile Rock’ and finally the final punch that vanquishes the evil witch in The Wizard Of Oz, ‘Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)’ which is capped off with a burst of confetti! BAM!!!

But just like in a movie, or book, there’s also the epilogue/wrap-up after the climax right? Even Elton John dishes out an encore which consists of ‘Your Song and finally, poetically, ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ as we too say goodbye yellow brick road!

The next day…

I may have 48 hours to publish this review, but I honestly can’t wait to tell the world of my thrilling adventures on the yellow brick road! I feel so incredibly honoured to have witnessed such a momentous occasion, and sitting here writing this review, I’m still awash in euphoric goosebumps!

Goodbye yellow brick road...

Walking On Cars 'Colours Australian Tour' - Factory Theatre Sydney, November 29 2019

“LIKE A KINDERGARTENER WITH A DULUX COLOUR CHART”

Imagine, if you will, a canvas of vast emptiness and thus possibility. Then just like the big-bang, bringing light, life and colour to the once blank canvas that is our universe. This is poetically fitting for this show tonight, because Irish alternative-rock band Walking On Cars are here in Sydney for the first time ever, to fill this blank canvas with their musical colour, in celebration of their second studio album, ‘Colours’.

And if for no other reason, this show will be memorable surely, seeing as lead singer Patrick told me in a recent interview (interview here) the band walked onto the stage at first, completely naked.

So well, “lads, let’s walk on cars!”...

I’m right up against the stage, there’s no barrier between the crowd and the band, so this could be very awkward if they do walk out naked. I feel rather conflicted that no, they are not, even I can see that thanks to Patrick coming right up to the edge of the stage, nearly standing on my hands, before launching into the first two songs, ‘Too Emotional’ and ‘Don’t Mind Me’.

I had expected the opening song to be the typical choice being the opening song off the touring album, in this case being the darkly wicked rebellion of ‘Monster’, but opening with ‘Too Emotional’ to a backdrop of dazzling lights brings a very suitable uplifting vibrant essence. Although I feel the bass is slightly too potent in the sound mix (only because I’m picking all the pieces apart analytically like Lego), Patrick’s brilliantly controlled falsetto vocals, even while he dances around the stage is the main focal point of colour. This song with it’s bright musical colour mixed with the visual colour in the stage lighting is like a kindergartener taking to a Dulux colour chart sample kit to my Synesthesia!

Although the tone deepens to a solemn deep blue in ‘Don’t Mind Me’, Patrick’s on stage charisma with him taking to a single electric drum pad to accompany the sharp, precise drum strikes keeps the energy in the crowd elevated nicely! This added with the increased urgency-filled cry of emotion in the last chorus caps this song off superbly!

Next we have splashes of colour, ‘Waitin On The Corner’, ‘Always With You’ and ‘Ship Goes Down’. In all three songs, Patrick maintains a high energy to his on-stage charisma, being the common thread that links each musical story to the next. For ‘Waitin On The Corner’, I’m filled with a rich pastel red glow emanating a dance provoking vibe, with all voices in the crowd singing in unison constantly throughout the song. The icing to the feel-good energy cake is Patrick taking to playing a guitar while captivating the audience with his voice. In ‘Always With You’, once my ears become acquainted with what song it is, I’m wondering where the piano intro is? Then I realise it’s there, just not prominent enough which is a bit disappointing. But again, Lego pieces. In ‘Ship Goes Down’ a refreshing cool ice-blue soulful mist settles on the aural palate, and with Patricks full-hearted honesty, the dancing melodies and Patricks on-stage charisma, I feel the atmosphere is quite reminiscent of The Script.

As the set progresses, I’m seeing a lot of blue as far as my Synesthesia is concerned, which is usually a pretty good indication of the songs key being in C, which I mean, come on, that’s pretty normal in mainstream music. However, this show is far from bland and typical! The way the band move from song to song, Patrick swapping guitars, taking to the single drum pad and dancing around the stage whilst perfectly controlling his vocals added with the general musical vibe, is of performance calibre of that of The Script, Imagine Dragons and OneRepublic!

For me personally, the highlights are how well Patrick moves up and down his vocal range, stretching his vocal chords like and accordian, whilst keeping perfect control especially in ‘Love Backs Down’, along with the burst of euphoric energy in ‘Two Stones’ which Patrick perfectly conducts the crowds energy and vocal hook sing alongs. Another crafty element to this song, is the nifty little vocal lick at the end of the songs chorus, being set to be triggered/played at the drum strike of Patrick on the electric drum pad. As well as the addition of female vocals from keyboardist Sorcha in ‘One Last Dance’ with it’s love-struck warmth and Imagine Dragons flavour!

As the show draws close to its end, dishing out deep emotional greens, pleasant bright yellows and pop-typical blues (musical colour I mean), blending a perfect brew of contrasting colours and thus emotions, with both solemn, heavy-hearted minor tones and bubbly, happy uplifting major tones peppered throughout, I’m feeling so glad I came out to witness this memorable show, because before too long, you’ll be paying big-bucks to see them in much, much larger venues, that, I have no doubt!

But all things must come to an end at some point, and the anthemic, rebellion of ‘Monster’ with its chorus hooks that demand full attention and singing along to, is a pretty damn good finish to a bloody good show!

But just like a painter never being fully satisfied with their work and constantly adding final touches, yep, there’s an encore, which is good seeing as we haven't yet witnessed the band’s greatest hit ‘Catch Me If You Can’ yet!

This encore starting off with ‘Catch Me If You Can’ which sprays beaming energy that gets the whole crowd singing along to, also features ‘Coming My Way’, ‘When We Were Kids’ and finally, to my delight, ‘Speeding Cars’. Although ‘Speeding Cars’ is a temptingly pleading song, the vocal hooks and the grand rock-out at the songs close is simply ace, and the perfect final touch to step back from the masterpiece that is this show, and admire with full satisfaction, even with the band not playing ‘At Gunpoint’ as I’d hoped!