s h ! n d ! d

I’m finally seeing local band Bridezilla tonight.
A very pleasant surprise – I’m taking pics at Youth Group’s gig tonight.

Here are some Ben Kweller pics I tooks the other week. I need a flash. I got me a new lens – on it’s way thanks to the power of eBay!

Bo-bum! Kickin’ Big Day Out’s ass all over the place.

Phoenix – hottest indie band in town, along with The Rapture below.

Drunken dancing to The Rapture.

“No, you fool! Flash ON!”

Beck in a hat.

Puppet Beck in a hat…

Toilet break.

Worst shot of Pixies ever.

The Pixies fan base, one half.

Oops: I took the camera phone only, thinking I wouldn’t be able to take the new DSLR. In retrospect, I should have cos security was not tight at all. Even witnessed a good 30 odd kids jump the fence. Little fuckers. Hoped there’d be some dog chases or even a buff Islander security guard tackling a twiggy under dressed eastern/northern suburbs chick.

Take That are heading to Australia for a promotional tour from March 9 to March 15 and their Sydney and Brisbane fans will have the opportunity to scream their lungs out as the boys will make two public appearances. Take That will be signing copies of their album Beautiful World and their single Patience on…

Sunday March 11 – Centre Stage, Queen Street Mall – Brisbane City – 12noon

Patience and Beautiful World are out now in Australia

Only one appearance in Sydney and it’s on a weekday! Might listen to Babe later!

I’ve been trying my hand at being a tourist in my own city, before I leave for overseas in a few months.

So far, I’ve (slept through Australia Day), been on ferry trips to Manly (with random yank sax players), beaching, doing rounds of The Rocks, Quay, MCA, Big Dayed Out, gone to the zoo (zoo, zoo, how about you, you, you?), and soon hopefully Pyrmont. I’m also armed with a new digital SLR (co-owned) with two noice lenses (which still need a major workout), so expect to see lots of photos!

In comparison, Big Day Out was nowhere near as good. My highlights were Bob Evans, Red Riders, The Killers (during whom I ended up in some random corporate box…), I missed Muse and couldn’t see anything for The Violent Femmes, and kept missing Afra the incredible Beat Box. Very dissappointed with the Peaches and Herms set (I went to the side show and it’s perhaps one of the best I’ve seen in a long while. My friend even caught the drumstick!). I wished there were more small international bands like last year.

Sydney also sucks for BDO. Melbourne is a much better environment. I believe unless the acts are amazing in the next couple of years, 2007 was my last Big Day Out.

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Just got home from a media showcase for The Cops! Thanks to Myspace I got a couple of invites to the shindig. They played a short but sweet set = 35mins according to the setlist.

I really like the new material especially “Call Me Anytime”, which seems to play on Coldplay’s “Don’t Panic”. But if you think Sydney’s The Cops are a sleepy emo band you might find on my “Men Who Cry” playlist, you are WRONG! They were crackin’! Exactly what I needed at that precise moment: small venue, small cluttered stage (would make OHS green), sweaty musos, cranky guitars, front row, thumpa-thumpin drums and ringing ears.
I always thought the band consisted of four butch dudes from ska-hillbilly roots, so you can imagine my surprise when they had a very gracious chick, and a young keyboardist (I swear I’ve seen him in a Milo or Nutrigrain ad… or Uni). The lead singer was a skinny tall guy with cool huge sideburns and round rimless John Lennon specs.

Though they were (understandably) stiffer playing the new tracks IMO, they were so at home with the older songs. Love to see a band really enjoy their own gigs. The lead singer was dancing around during the second song. While the bassist and guitarist were playing and taunting each other all through. Losing the ability to think critically, half way through the rocking set all I could think was “drums are cool”… It was fun to experience a fine polished indie band with an air of non-pretencious intencity. Oh yeh, and the bass drum was LIT UP! COOL!
The Cops are a great local band who were really starting to stir things up on the local indie scene just before it took off. They’ve been quiet for the last year or two, but will be releasing their new EP this November! Check it out if you can.

Obligatory camera-phone pics:

I fear for Josh Pyke. Bless his little wolf-feeding heart, but I think his gigs are starting to get boring… I’ve seen him a couple times in tiny venues ie. Spectrum and The Hopetoun, and under those more intimate settings he does great. But dressing up spick and span (he even seems to have trimmed down), playing to larger audiences and an uneventful crowd pleasing set works against him.

Josh Pyke’s gig at The Metro/Century last Saturday night was rather slow. I don’t think it sold out either. Perhaps he just needs to find the inner rock star that will allow him to command a room! I’m still a fan of the man, infact I can’t wait to get the new album and already adore the new track “Memories & Dust” – with baby chicks in the video… (see here).

C’mon JOSH! UNLEASH! Take a few pointers from Jen Cloher – she was ROCKIN’! Definitley will catch her band again.