Photo: Peter Griffiths

Supported by: Pikelet

Melbourne’s Evelyn Morris, better known as Pikelet, began the evening’s proceedings with a nine-song set of her music, the genre of which is hard to pin down. Pikelet is a one-lady act, relying on a loop pedal to push her through her songs, and she presented tunes ranging from acoustic guitar numbers to swirling ambient noise. Looping everything from her ethereal sigh of a voice to finger clicks, guitar strums and keyboard bloops, and taking time in between each tune to chat about the meanings and origins of the songs, Pikelet was both charming and skilful, providing an entertaining and well-received set to precede the main event.

Devendra Banhart walked onto the stage to thunderous applause, and strode right up to the microphone, introducing himself and his band members by name before diving headfirst into a near two-hour set, beginning with ‘Long Haired Child’. Banhart has played in Australia only once before in 2004 and so this tour, on the back of last year’s What Will We Be, was hotly anticipated, as evidenced by the swelling cheers during and after nearly every song. Backed by his four-piece band The Grogs, Banhart fluctuated between jamming with the band as his rambunctious ‘freak-folk’ self, and taking the stage alone with an acoustic guitar and keyboard as his quiet, introspective self. Though not as eccentric as expected, Banhart was certainly an entertainer, inciting audience laughter with his quirky anecdotes and strange dancing, mostly a whimsical hand-twirl that accompanied musical breaks in songs. Early highlights included the beautiful ‘Angelika’, a hoot in ‘Shabop Shalom’, complete with the spoken word interludes, and a joyous ‘Baby’.

As the set progressed, Banhart slipped into the background to allow each individual member of The Grogs to take the microphone and sing their own compositions, proving himself a man of little ego and much spirit. The sheer hugeness of songs like ’16th and Valencia Roxy Music’ and ‘Seahorse’ had the crowd spellbound and, by the time Banhart emerged, shirtless, for an encore performance of ‘I Feel Like A Child’, no face in the room was without a smile and no feet in the room were idle.

Think what you will of Devendra Banhart and his idiosyncrasies, but there’s one unshakeable fact – he’s a free spirit with two equally creative and intriguing sides, and with a passion for music and joy which is simply infectious.

For a few more photos, please click here.

Supported by: A Death in the Family

Okay, I know. It’s weird that there’s a punk review on this site because I barely talk about the genre at all and I don’t look like the average punk rock fan. But I’ll let you guys in on a secret – once upon a time I didn’t think that clothing existed outside of band shirts and black jeans and studded belts and wrist cuffs, I had a lovely sweep of a fringe and I wore a padlock around my neck to pay tribute to the man I loved the most – Sid Vicious. Yeah it’s true, I used to be an A-grade punk rawk girrrrl. It’s not often that I get out to punk shows these days, but when I do it’s always great fun because it’s just such a throwback – and tonight was absolutely no exception to that.

As A Death in the Family strode onto the stage to kick off the evening’s proceedings, the guitarist walked right up to the microphone and said “happy Tuesday!” before the band tore into their set. The Melbourne quartet have become a household name in the punk world both nationally and internationally of late, and were a fitting opener for tonight’s show – the crowd was quickly whipped into action as the band played their brand of somewhat generic but catchy punk rock. Paying tribute to the recently closed Tote Hotel in Melbourne, the band seemed genuinely excited to be playing to such a large crowd and, by the end of the set, the audience had completed their warm-up for the vigorous set that lay ahead.

Shouting “Rise Against! Rise Against!” long before the Chicago band arrived on stage, the crowd grew increasingly restless as the minutes slowly slipped by – that is, until the lights dimmed and a political address boomed across the speakers. As blue lights flooded the stage, the quartet emerged and launched into ‘Collapse (Post-Amerika)’, sending the crowd into a wild frenzy. Frontman Tim McIlrath was a blitz of energy as he shouted the lyrics of each song, almost drowned out by the sound of audience members doing the same thing. The band played material old and new, and also ripped out a Minor Threat cover in homage to the short-lived but iconic ’80s band. Songs from ‘Blood to Bleed’ to ‘Prayer of the Refugee’ and ‘Savior’ all invoked singalongs and fist pumps, and the band encored twice. The first was an acoustic one, starting with just McIlrath, an acoustic guitar, ‘Swing Life Away’ and an inspired crowd singalong, and then a rendition of ‘Hero of War’. This acoustic section had some punk purists seething obnoxiously, but others glad for a change in pace – and the second encore was just pure fury as the band played ‘Dancing for Rain’, ‘Give It All’ and ‘Ready to Fall’ to a passionately fiery crowd.

The floor of the Enmore was quite literally shaking with energy as thousands of people raised their fists and sang their hearts out. Even though they haven’t released any new material since 2008, this band still managed to drive the audience absolutely crazy – Rise Against has, after all their countless visits to Australian shores, perfectly mastered the art of a fucking great show.

Let me tell you all that you will never be able to find something remotely similar to the energy of a punk show in any other place. I’ve been to more gigs than I can count, and going to these ones, to my roots, if I can call them that, makes me feel so goddamn alive. It’s something you really need to see to believe.

Set:

Collapse (Post-Amerika)
State of the Union
Re-Education (Through Labor)
Paper Wings
Long Forgotten Sons
The Good Left Undone
In My Eyes (Minor Threat cover)
Chamber the Cartridge
Drones
The Dirt Whispered
Audience of One
Blood to Bleed
Savior
Survive
Blood-Red White & Blue
Prayer of the Refugee
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Swing Life Away
Hero of War
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Dancing for Rain
Give It All
Ready to Fall

Interview for Drum Media

When These New Puritans frontman Jack Barnett answers the phone, he sounds tired. “I’ve just woken up,” he huffily explains. It seems unwise to get on his bad side, so instead of continuing the friendly banter that usually precedes an interview, we start talking instead about the British band’s second album, Hidden, and it’s then that Barnett lightens up – but only slightly. He’s a textbook case of the disaffected musician, barely raising his voice above a mumbled drawl – he’d probably rather be spending this time writing (or, given his current state, sleeping).

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Memphis garage punk musician Jay Reatard (born Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr.) was found dead in his bed at 3:30am on Wednesday January 13. He was 29 years old, and a statement has been posted on the Goner Records website saying that he died in his sleep.

Throughout his career, Reatard played solo as well as with The Reatards and Lost Sounds, among other bands. His last record, Watch Me Fall, was released in 2009.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG65eqfg6bc&hl=en_US&fs=1&]

Fans began whispering when Joanna Newsom’s label Drag City recently posted a mysterious comic strip on their website with the text “Joanna Newsom Have One On Me” with the date February 23 2010 on it. And the news is out, days after that comic first appeared – the elven harp-playing lady will be releasing her new album, Have One On Me, on the date mentioned on the strip. We lucky Australians get it a few days early, though – it’ll be available on our shores on the 19th.

Newsom’s last full-length release was 2006′s critically acclaimed Ys. She plays the Sydney Opera House next Monday, and Anita’s Theatre in Thirroul the following Saturday.

XL – January 11 2010

Vampire Weekend exploded into the music world’s general consciousness at the beginning of 2008 with an eponymous debut album that was bouncy, harmless indie rock with grammatical bones to pick (for the record, I don’t give a fuck about an Oxford comma, either). The one thing that really stood out about that album and the band’s general ethos – their dabbling forays into experimenting with non-Western musical tradition – is further explored on their second album Contra. Word is that the name of this album came from antithesising The Clash’s seminal triple album Sandinista!, both named for opposing Nicaraguan rebel groups. And really, this growing sense of world awareness is nothing but a good thing.

There is a stronger focus here on bongos, layered group vocals – like ‘Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa’ on the first album, the band seems to harbour a real fascination with the foreign in terms of both lyrical content and musical influence, as frontman Ezra Koenig has constantly explained in interviews. There’s an M.I.A sample in ‘Diplomat’s Son’ and an obvious nod to Hispanic culture with opener ‘Horchata’, which starts off with just a voice and builds up to include xylophones and hints of electro, strings and woodwind. There’s also some more classical sounds, like the reverb-drenched string and keys interlude puncturing the otherwise pedestrian ‘Taxi Cab’, and Koenig’s voice is developing more of an accented twang as he progresses as a vocalist, well illustrated in first frenzied single ‘Cousins’ as he races through a fast-paced piece with a frenetic guitar and bass line punching through beyond his voice. And then there are the songs that just pop out simple goods – ‘Holiday’ is a two-minute burst of infectious guitars and a straightforward melody that does nothing if it doesn’t make you want to dance, and ‘I Think UR A Contra’ focuses on Koenig’s vocal ability as he dreamily floats the album to a close over similarly spacey guitars and, to shut off, a final maraca hurrah.

That comparison that was constantly made at the start of this band’s career – to Paul Simon’s 1986 African-drizzled record Graceland – seems so much more fitting now. Contra is a tribute in so many ways to the world that inspires us, and yet at the same time it is distinctly American with its brave blend of contrasting elements. It’s refreshing to hear a young band dabble with so much political and cultural attitude and opinion. The great thing about Contra is that it manages to convey these important matters in a way that is still ultimately listenable, not forceful or pretentious and, most importantly, a lot of fun. And if this is the progression from the first album, it’s a high possibility that album number three will be even more inspired.

TRACK LISTING:
01. Horchata
02. White Sky
03. Holiday
04. California English
05. Taxi Cab
06. Run
07. Cousins
08. Giving Up the Gun
09. Diplomat’s Son
10. I Think UR A Contra

DOWNLOAD: Horchata (mp3)

Swedish indie popsters Shout Out Louds are just about to release their third album Work and, a month before the record drops, have thrown a new single out into the world. The band who gave you the crunch of ‘The Comeback’ and the constant roll of ‘Please Please Please’ continue along their usual path with ‘Fall Hard’, a straight pop piece with thumping drums and crystal clear guitars which flick between bubbly and ethereal. As always, the Shout Out Louds bring their appeal with the beautiful intertwined vocals of Adam Olenius and Bebban Stenborg, always charming with their boy-girl vocal interaction. The track also features horn accompaniments and is a diversion from their usually more upbeat style, choosing instead to showcase a serious side of the Shout Out Louds that sounds almost sympathetic, but never hasty.

DOWNLOAD: Fall Hard (mp3)

Work is out February 26 through Dew Process.

Audio Antihero label kids Benjamin Shaw (left) and Nosferatu D2 (right)

It’s not every day that you hear about a young bloke starting up a record label for pretty much the sole purpose of releasing his now-defunct favourite band’s first album. But you could say that Jamie Halliday isn’t content with being average. The 22-year-old South East Londoner has run Audio Antihero out of his bedroom since late 2008, releasing his favourite band Nosferatu D2′s album as well as signing another artist, Benjamin Shaw. In between busy jobs, Jamie decided to race over to Shakespeare’s Sister and explain what it’s all about.

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For over thirty years, Sydney Festival has illuminated the heart of the city each January for a month of music, culture and the arts and, since 2008, Festival First Night has kicked off the festivities with style – and all for free.

This year’s First Night attracted hundreds of thousands of culture lovers, who flocked the city streets all day to soak in the entertainment on offer, from music to jugglers and a range of food and drink stalls. Sydney electronic outfit Seekae graced the Hyde Park Fountain stage in front of the historic St Mary’s Cathedral, spilling their intoxicating beats across a dancing lawn, whilst hundreds of saxophonists gathered on the steps of the Sydney Mint to flood the streets with the sounds of ‘Sax and the City’. Elsewhere, a brigade of kilted bagpipers marched proudly on, children played with hula hoops on the grass, and spectators held their breaths as acrobats defied gravity, hurtling through the air with weightless grace. And at the peak of the evening, The Black Arm Band got feet moving and the Qantas Choir still called Australia home, before legendary gospel singer Al Green performed to a packed-out Domain in what was his first ever Australian performance. Throwing roses to the swooning crowd, the 64-year-old veteran was charismatic and, backed by an airtight 13-piece band, explosive (though he kept complaining that he just didn’t have enough time to perform to his heart’s desire!). Festival First Night has firmly established itself as one of this city’s most important annual events – tonight Sydney came alive with lights, inspiration, creativity and, as the Rev himself would say, love and happiness.

Happy Sydney Festival, folks – over the next three weeks make sure you get amongst as many of the events on offer as you can, and enjoy the start of a brand new year of appreciating all of the arts!

Photos: Peter Griffiths and Giselle Nguyen
For more photos please check out our Flickr set

Everyone’s favourite hipsters Animal Collective have released a video for their latest single, ‘Brother Sport’. The video is a colourful burst of inspiration and weird psychedelic creatures. Too poor for acid? Watch this instead.*

*Shakespeare’s Sister does not encourage the use of recreational drugs. Heh heh heh.