Archive for the 'Gigs' Category

Slipknot - Melbourne, Australia: Rod Laver Arena

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on October 28, 2008
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Slipknot - Melbourne, Australia: Rod Laver Arena

Geez, the Metal genre really is a young man’s game these days. Seeing Judas Priest a couple of months back - I was amazed at the lackluster energy on offer as mainman Rob Halford strolled around the stage like a tired old man. He looked like I do when I get out of bed each morning and stumble to the fridge in a ‘Tony Soprano’ like shuffle to get some breakfast. Tonight was the absolute opposite of that as the nine members of Slipknot took charge of the Rod Laver Arena stage like men possessed - or with a ton of gnashing red ants in their collective pants! Barely pausing for breath, their was just so much hyperactivity on deck that it was hard just focussing on the one band member.

Of course, the crowd lapped it all up. Australia has always been a major market for Slipknot and testament to the band’s popularity in Australia, Corey Taylor briefly paused the gig to show off a couple of Gold & Platinum awards for ‘All Hope Is Gone’ - (which debuted at Number 1 on the Australian charts) as well as for the previous ‘Vol 3′ opus. In this era of illegal downloads and such, and for such an extreme band that would get absolutely zero airplay on the quagmire that is Australian Radio - this is quite an achievement.

Unfortunately, with the trappings of the masks and all the theatrics, Slipknot appear to be a very underrated band. I always looked at them with fondness and marveled at their originality and catchy-as-hell musical brutality. I mean, what other Metal act features 9 members - two of them percussionists (and boy does that add to the sound in the live arena or what?) and a DJ?

Four amazing albums into their career, the band has an absolute treasure trove of material to choose from and that is exactly what they did at tonight’s show. Quite honestly, there was never a dull moment be it musical or visual and seeing 9 maniacal band members totally and utterly dominate the stage with ferocity, theatricality and outright presence was a joy to watch. Levitating drums, pyro, bombs, insane clowns beating on metal kegs, violence, ferocity a DJ strutting the stage with a friggn walking stick as he’s still recovering from breaking his ankles at the band’s first show of the tour(!!!) This was truly a classic gig and I’m glad to say I have finally gotten to see Slipknot live!

And kudos to openers Machine Head who delivered one of the loudest sets I’ve ever heard since the glory days of Lemmy and Motorhead. Rob Flynn would have to be one of the most charismatic and dynamic frontmen in Metal today. The sheer energy and outright gusto he delivered was something to behold. Machine Head were simply magnificent with pure adrenalin and energy dripping from the Arena ceiling.

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Meshuggah - Melbourne, Australia: The Palace

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on October 16, 2008
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I’ve been to many a gig over the course of the past twenty years or so. I’ve seen them all. But when it comes to outright brutal heaviness, I have never seen, heard of experienced anything like Meshuggah before in my life. To call them Heavy is really selling them short. These guys are way beyond that.

Hailing from Sweden, and proliferating their tunes with polyrhythmic structures that require intense concentration for one just to find a solitary groove - Meshuggah are not for the layman Rock fan.

Last night featured a literal barrage of sound delivered to a sold-out raucous maniacal crowd that was lapping it all up with gratitude and fists held high.

The set was only a little over an hour but in all honesty, that is about as much as I could take. I felt as if I had been battered from pillar to post. An aural assault of intricate time shifts, and a bottom end that had the fillings in my teeth shake, rattle and roll! Pure intensity topped only by the magnificent specimen of a barmaid, but we’ll leave well enough alone hey?

I couldn’t even begin to tell you the set-list as I am really not that familiar with the band’s repertoire, but I left the venue last night knowing I had experienced a truly unique sounding powerful band. Just intense! That’s the word that keeps repeating on me and that’s what we’ll stick with…

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Judas Priest - Melbourne, Australia: Hisense Arena

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on September 15, 2008
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Growing up with Metal fully flowing through the veins, there were always three bands who I considered to be the Holy Trinity when it came to all things Heavy. They were Dio-era Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest! These were the bands that throughout the early 80’s I would’ve given anything to see live. The closest we ever got was seeing Maiden in 82 & 85 and Dio with his solo band in 86.

The Priest were not seen on these shores till the 90’s but by then, they had become nothing but a parody of themselves. Instead of the mighty Rob Halford fronting the band, we got a soundalike in Ripper Owens. It just wasn’t Judas Priest anymore.

And here we are so many years later and the boy who used to pound along to the drums on ‘British Steel’ on his mother’s couch was now a man at Hisense Arena with iPhone in tow to check on the footy scores throughout the course of the gig!

First things first, where the hell were Cavalera Conspiracy? I bought a ticket specifically to see them AND Judas Priest yet the no-show was never even mentioned at the gig. If I have failed to see a notice from the promoter then so be it, but seriously, I am feeling slightly ripped off.

Cavalera Conspiracy disappointment aside, Judas Priest finally hit the stage and blasted through a scintillating version of probably the only decent track on the latest album, ‘Prophecy’. Tho, Halford’s cries of ‘I Am Nostradamus’ whilst decked out in a gold sequined robe that Liberace would kill for - was certainly bordering on the Spinal Tap side! I think I actually giggled a couple of times! Ponsy stage attire aside, the band sounded fucking unbelievable and the dual guitars of KK and Tipton sounded like an orchestrated chainsaw at the most maximum of volumes!

Thankfully, the band waded through a greatest hits repetoire instead of the rumoured playing of the entire ‘Nostradamus’ album. There would have been no chance in hell I’d have gone to see them if that was the case.

The old classics sounded magnificent, ‘Metal Gods’, ‘Dissident Aggressor’ and the magnificent ‘Sinner’ were superb but I can’t help but feel that Halford’s stage pressence has diminished somewhat from the glory days of the ’80’s. Sure the dude is older now but he waddled across the stage in a slow slumber rather than the maniacal energy that Bruce Dickinson delivered several months ago at the Maiden gig. Also, whilst he is still an amazing crooner, the high notes he would wail like a banshee on back in the day are long, long gone.

Still the band did sound amazing and delivered a truly gonzo set of their finest moments in their highly decorated career.
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Opeth - Melbourne, Australia: The Palace

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on September 6, 2008
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Opeth - Melbourne, Australia: The Palace

Let’s get straight to the point, Opeth are in a class of their own.

It has been interesting to observe how a young, naive ‘Death Metal’ band which formed in the cold climbs of Stockholm, Sweden slowly take over the Metal world with such class, finesse and a body of work that is both unique and mindblowing at the same time.

They first piqued my curiosity several years ago when I heard the sombre and melodic ‘Damnation’ album and became a diehard ever since. Their past two discs ‘Ghost Reveries’ and ‘Watershed’ have been landmark releases and have featured throughout this blog in past entries.

With the announcement of the ‘Watershed’ tour of Australia, there was no doubt in my mind that I was going to miss out on this gig so the necessary tickets were purchased well in advance - and the countdown to the gig began in earnest.

The band took the stage close to 11pm to a sold-out crowd at Melbourne’s Palace venue. (Formerly the Metro - where do they come up with these venue name’s, they can’t think of a different unique monicker?) Anyway. ‘Tis a great venue for gigs as it has that goth vibe to it and reminds me of something out of the original ‘Crow’ movie.

I had a gut feel that it was going to be an amazing concert and right from the outset they sounded so damn good. Meticulous oftentimes virtuoso playing, perfect crystal clear volume, a set comprising of the band’s finest moments and such a charismatic and down-to-Earth frontman in Mikael Åkerfeldt that just guaranteed for a special night.

The set was so well paced and finished with a trio of the band’s finest moments. Just when you would get sucked in to the melodic and often times beautiful tranquil moments, the band just kick it up 10 gears and slash your throat with a knife. Blistering. Spine tingling moments throughout. Never missing a beat. Never a dull moment.

And the scary thing about it all, they’re only going to get even better.

Astounding!

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Judas Priest To Tour Australia

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on June 3, 2008
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Judas Priest To Tour Australia

At long last! I will finally get to see Judas Priest live! Priest were one of the first serious Metal bands I got into when they released the ‘British Steel’ album in 1979. I played that sucker to death (still do!) and now finally, they’ve announced an Australian tour with Cavalera Conspiracy as the support! Oh happy days!

The dates:
September 10: Brisbane Entertainment Centre
September 12: Acer Arena, Sydney
September 13: Hisense Arena (formerly Vodafone Arena), Melbourne (see you there!)
September 14: Adelaide Entertainment Centre
September 16: Burswood Dome, Perth

And a week earlier on the 5th, I’m off to see Opeth! Yeah!

Henry Rollins - Comedy Theatre, Melbourne

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on April 21, 2008
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Henry Rollins - Comedy Theatre, Melbourne

I’ve seriously lost count of the times I have seen Henry Rollins on his spoken-word tours of Australia. It must be at least ten times or pretty damn close to that.

It was with great anticipation I was waiting for this gig. I bought six tickets to the show for myself and friends a couple of months ago. Two of them decided not to show up tonight, leaving me with two unpaid-for tickets. So in essence, I only received monetary compensation from one person and ended up paying for everyone else. I can assure you, this will never happen again ‘cos if people want to go to gigs from now on, I will not be the one buying tickets. Never again. I will only be getting them for myself and my girlfriend and everyone else can make their own way to the show.

I digress. I just felt bitterly disappointed to be treated this way but I wasn’t going to let this spoil my evening.

Hank, as usual, was phenomenal. He performed a riveting dialogue for close to three hours never once even stopping to have a drink of water. Dunno how he does it. It must be exhausting, but as usual he had the entire audience in the palm of his hand for the duration of his act, hanging on every word he spoke. Amazing.

The real treat of the night tho, was getting to meet the guy after the show. There were about ten fans waiting at the side of the venue and Henry was there posing for photos, signing autographs and chatting with all in question. After three solid hours on stage, you’d think the guy would just want to go back to his hotel room and just crash. I was exhausted from just sitting there witnessing the guy but nope, he was on the street giving his time to all the fans that were there.
And he seemed genuinely pleased to be doing so.

My sister, who would have to be one of his biggest fans had left just after the show - so I thought it would be a nice surprise for her if I asked Henry to sign my ticket stub for her. I approached him introduced myself and asked if he wouldn’t mind signing the ticket. He obliged. I shook his hand and thanked him for all his years of amazing performances. He was totally cool and I felt delighted that I got something really cool and special for my sis.

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In Conversation With Nick Cave

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on April 6, 2008
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In Conversation With Nick Cave

To be perfectly honest, I can’t say I have ever been a fan of Nick Cave. Not that I have anything against the guy or the incredible body of projects he has worked on over the past 20 years, his stylings just weren’t my scene. Having said that, I have the utmost respect for the geezer and can heartily agree that he is a talented and brilliant individual.

My girlfriend on the other hand, is a huge fan and has followed Cave for many, many years. With that in mind, I decided to surprise her several weeks ago with two tickets to In Conversation with Nick Cave. The basic premise was seeing Nick Cave and Mick Harvey in an intimate setting at the Art’s Centre ANZ Pavilion.

It was basically an audience Q&A session with questions from the audience and some acoustic live tunes scattered throughout.

The tickets had sold out almost immediately, but I did manage to score a couple for us.

At the venue, Sam bumps into one of Nick Cave’s bandmates, Roland S. Howard who she knows personally - so the two chatted about this and that. He proved to be very nice and courteous and was attending the show as we were but as I stated from the outset, my knowledge of all things Nick Cave is vastly limited so I had no idea who the dude was.

A little after 4pm, Nick strutted to the small stage, greeted the crowd and was ready to answer any question thrown at him. I was struck by the sheer aura and charisma exuding from the man. I always pegged him as someone who was painfully introverted but my expectations were completely wrong on this one. He was confident, funny, eloquent and honest.

He is a man who has seen the world over many, many times - yet at the heart of it all, he is still a Melbourne boy and a uniquely Australian individual. He talked about his high school Caulfield Grammar like it was only a couple of years ago when he was last there.

The ANZ Pavilion is an extremely intimate and small room so it just added to the special ambience of the whole thing. There were quite a few celebs and bigwigs in attendance and I thoroughly enjoyed Cave’s performance and his openness and honesty in answering all the questions before him.

It was a wonderful way to spend one’s Sunday afternoon in the presence of such a gifted musician, writer et al.

The designated moderator for the event was the only dampener of the day. Asking Cave moronic questions which often left him and the audience literally scratching their heads in amazement at her misinformation and all-round stupidness.

That was my only gripe.

It was a great little gig. Intimate all the way and gave me a wonderful insight into one of Australia’s true stars.
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HIM - Melbourne, Australia: Festival Hall

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on March 28, 2008
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HIM - Melbourne, Australia: Festival Hall

I missed out on HIM’s last Australian outing back in 2006, so there was no way I was gonna miss out this time. They are one of my fave bands over the course of the past few years and I was very much looking forward to this gig for some time now.

Opening proceedings for the night were an all-girl outfit called McQueen. Never heard of them before and I don’t think I’ll hear from them again. They had the ‘look’ down pat, but their stock-standard-cum-rehashed riffs meant that they sounded like a cross between the Ramones and Motley Crue. Pretty forgettable really and they ended up playing a pretty long set which was a little frustrating.

HIM hit the stage a little after 9pm and pretty much had the (very young) crowd in the palm of their collective hands. Festival Hall was packed to the rafters with screaming teenage girls and at times it felt like Beatlemania in there - the screeches were that loud!

HIM were tight, concise, brilliantly melodic and featured a set that was hit-after-hit-after-hit. When you have such an expansive and catchy set, it makes for a great concert. The band played wonderfully but it all started sounding samey over the course of the night They have a formula they adhere to in nearly every one of their songs, so at times, it did feel a little repetitive.

I think it would have been an amazing gig at a more intimate setting. I just don’t think they have the chops to play venues such as this. Granted, Festival Hall is not that big, but in a club or a pub, I reckon HIM would just annihilate the place.

Couple this with the fact that lead crooner Ville Valo’s stage raps are completely non-decipherable - it all led to a pretty impersonable performance. And whilst the band sounded simply amazing, his vocals were a rather large let-down. I mean, for someone who is so visually charismatic - his audience participation was next to zero - often turning his back to the crowd and mumbling incoherently into the mike. Presumably in English, but one can never tell. Small gripe I know, but come on - let us know you’re pleased to see us dude. Yeah?

Still, they ended the set with an amazing rendition of Black Sabbath’s ‘Black Sabbath’ track. They concentrated on their vast array of catchy hits from their catalogue and only featured a few songs from the disappointing latest offering, ‘Venus Doom’.

A good gig. Not a great one…

Coheed & Cambria Australian Tour

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on February 28, 2008
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The mighty Coheed & Cambria are heading to our shores! Yeah! We’ve been a long time supporter of Coheed so this particular bit of news certainly brought a smile to the face of yours truly. I’ll be at the Melbourne show on April 1st at Billboard but for all you fellow droogs around this great continent of ours, here are the full tour dates:

SUNDAY 30 MARCH BRISBANE, THE TIVOLI – 18+
ticketek.com.au 132 849, Rockinghorse & Kill The Music

MONDAY 31 MARCH SYDNEY, UNSW ROUNDHOUSE – Licensed All Ages
ticketek.com.au 132 849

TUESDAY 1 APRIL MELBOURNE, BILLBOARD THE VENUE – 18+
ticketek.com.au 132 849, billboardthevenue.com.au & Missing Link

THURSDAY 3 APRIL PERTH, METRO CITY – 18+
bocsticketing.com.au 78 Records, Planet & Beat Music & Moshtix

Henry Rollins Heads To Oz

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on February 26, 2008
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Henry Rollins Australian Spoken Word Tour

Henry Rollins; provocateur, renaissance man and, let’s face it… really funny guy, returns to Australia this April for his umpteenth Spoken Word tour. (And the umpteenth time I have seen him - but it is always a great night out!)

Henry was last here in January 2006 as part of the travelling Big Day Out circus - the first performer to appear on the BDO in such a capacity - enthralling thousands as only Henry and his sense of truth, justice and the humorous can.

“A hard-core renaissance man who clocks life with military precision,” said the Boston Globe. “The 47-year-old former Black Flag frontman rants, raves, reminisces, opines, and editorializes…during his latest and well-titled show, Provoked.”

TOUR DATES:

  • Friday 11 April - The Tivoli, Brisbane
  • Monday 14 April - Regal Theatre, Perth
  • Friday 18 & Saturday 19 April - Comedy Theatre, Melbourne
  • Wednesday 23 & Thursday 24 April - York Theatre, Seymour Centre, Sydney

    • PJ Harvey - Melbourne, Australia Hamer Hall

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    on February 21, 2008
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    PJ Harvey - Melbourne, Australia Hamer Hall

    I wouldn’t call myself a connoisseur of all things PJ Harvey but I certainly have a passing interest in her music which, as it happens, is scattered throughout my iPod and other digital repositories! My girlfriend, on the other hand, is a big fan so when I saw the proliferation of Polly Jean Harvey Tour posters around town, I quickly snapped up two tickets to the Melbourne show of the Australian Tour.

    Tonight was the night of the gig and I am so glad we got to go because PJ Harvey live… is something to behold. I wasn’t sure how it would all go tonight as PJ is basically performing a one-woman show and not being overtly familiar with her live sound - I had no idea how it would all translate in a live environment.

    The lights dimmed down and a diminutive figure in a white dress strolled onto the stage. She slipped on the Gibson Firebird guitar and burst into a blistering version of ‘To Bring You My Love’. I literally felt the hairs on the back of my neck tingle as the electricity permeating the air was sending an aural shiver throughout the enclosed throng. Songs were stripped back to their most basic and organic structure and this is surely what they sounded like when she was writing them.

    Heck, it was just so spellbindingly raw but tinged with meticulous melodic magic! I must’ve collected my jaw from the floor several times throughout the night as Ms Harvey showed her musical prowess song after song after song. I’ve seen Tori Amos and Diamanda Galas on that very stage in various shows through the years, but as good as they are, none could hold a candle to the sheer eclectic majesty that was PJ Harvey tonight.

    Genius. Pure Genius.

    An amazing concert going experience all round.

    The First Gig I Ever Went To… KISS 1980

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    JR
    on February 10, 2008
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    I remember it as if it were yesterday! (And I was only feet away from the food-fight that took place!) Unfortunately the YouTube video above has only been posted in segments as this appears to be a 30 minute special edited and chopped down considerably. Major bummer but hopefully the rest of this footage will leak soon. Nonetheless, this brings back a ton of memories at what was a magic gig a lifetime ago!

    They were great then. They are nothing but a Vegas act now! So sad!

    Iron Maiden - Melbourne, Australia: Rod Laver Arena

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    on February 7, 2008
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    iron_maiden_gig.jpg

    The last time I saw Iron Maiden was in 1985. The band were on their mammoth ‘Powerslave’ World Tour and had set themselves up as one of the biggest bands on the planet. They were at their zenith both musically and visually.

    I was also fortunate enough to get to spend several hours with the band at the infamous Countdown studios in Melbourne. The band were filming a ‘live’ version of their song ‘Aces High’ and we got to witness them shooting it approximately 10 times over and then got to hang with them as they signed everything and anything that was presented to them. I was (very) fortunate to get my Powerslave album and a bootleg LP signed by the entire band and was personally given Nicko McBrain’s sweatbands and drumsticks! (I still have them to this day… Twenty-Three years later!)

    Twenty-Three years later and age has certainly not wearied the Iron Maiden boys! The show last night was one of the most high energy performances I have seen from any band in my (many) years of gig going! They tore the stage apart and had the crowd in total rapture. Quite honestly, the roar that emanated from the crowd was on of the loudest I have ever heard. It was incredible and just added to the frenetic energy that was pouring off the stage.

    The ‘Somewhere Back In Time’ tour features the band paying on a revamped and updated version of their ‘Powerslave’ stage-set. Decked out in Egyptian motif with intricate and detailed backdrops, the stage looked incredibly vast and impressive at the same time.

    It truly was a special gig as only Iron Maiden can deliver and just reinforced the fact that even after 30 years together - they are easily the biggest Metal act on the planet. An amazing feat.

    Up the Irons!

    And for the obligatory cliched look at it all, here’s The Age’s review.

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