Technically I spent the next hour watching Paramore, but I can’t say I was paying that much attention. Instead I took about twenty minutes to fight my way into the “mosh,” finally located my friends, and then chatted with them. I’m not even sure if I’d heard a Paramore song before seeing them, and they…
As Blink-182’s curtain dropped, the ground opened up in front of us and where there had been a milling crowd of festival-goers there was suddenly and surreally a dark chasm. There was nothing to do but to charge forward with everyone else; I can remember little about the first two songs other than being trapped…
The rest of the night was unsurprisingly anticlimactic. I caught a few songs from The Offspring, who were looking old: a gathering of crotchety uncles banging out pop-punk tunes. They started well with “It’s All I Want” and “Come Out and Play,” but I quickly realised that the only way I’d hear “Self Esteem” was…
The peeps running the St Jerome’s Laneway Festival do an amazing job of picking artists many months before they make it big. A couple years ago it was Mumford & Sons and Florence and the Machine. This year’s lineup featured up-and-comers like Alt-J and Of Monsters and Men. What they aren’t good at is considering…
Cloud Nothings are a band with one foot squarely in the past, with a sound revelling in what actually made the “grunge” era of the nineties good (if you want to listen to a band who revelled in the worst of grunge, check out Creed – better yet, don’t). Their other foot, though, is stamping…
Japandroids have been one of my favourite bands since their incredible debut Post-Nothing. Their Australian fanbase has expanded rapidly since the recent release of Celebration Rock – a damn good thing, since it meant that the duo finally made the long trip over from Vancouver to play their first-ever Australian show in the gentle warmth…
At my first Big Day Out in five years, there was plenty of good music but also plenty of opportunities for people-watching and general sightseeing. Some of the sights…
Some thoughts on bands where I either missed a great deal of their set or, frankly, didn’t have that much to say. Includes Grinspoon, Foals, The Killers and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Against Me! played on the same main stage that the Red Hot Chili Peppers would eventually close at the end of the night. But where the Chili Peppers’ sound was sketchy and inconsistent, Against Me! sounded bold and perfectly mixed, with heavy percussion, boisterous guitars and precisely mixed vocal levels.
I got into Childish Gambino thanks to Donald Glover’s acting and stand-up, and was impressed at the quality of his major label debut Camp. It was unexpectedly good, catchy stuff from someone primarily known for being funny. His live show was equally unexpected, with Glover possessing a furious energy and command of the stage. He…
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