A single man sat in one of Oxford Art Factory's trademark brick inlets at the back of the Main Room, his head snapped painfully back against the ledge, half resting on the lip of his skateboard. He slept undisturbed through the thumping drum n bass and grime that warmed the audience up in the final minutes before Death Grips. Out of nowhere, a laid back instrumental opera song cut through the filth and he awoke suddenly. If he slept through Death Grips, he may as well of been dead.

A single throbbing synth signalled Death Grips' arrival. The red velvet curtains opened and two tall, shirtless figures rushed the stage. The imposing Zach Hill jumped behind his minimalist drum kit set up - a single snare, tom and bass kick. He charged into every movement with full pent aggression, emitting a raw jungle sound under the synth-noise that jumps around playfully at the start of Come Up And Get Me. MC Ride ran onto the stage pumped up, throwing his limbs wildly at the audience, winding the fans at the front into a frenzy. The synth-noise suddenly morphed into an entirely different beast - dropping into an absurdly deep baseline that felt like hitting a brick wall. In an instant the temperature soared as the mosh pit exploded with violent movement. The steam off their writhing bodies thickened the air. 

The stage was constantly flooded in a shade of blood red. Like Death Grips were calling for blood from their fans. Urged by flashes of white light, their fans oblige. As if brainwashed into a state of sheer mindlessness by the nightmare rave Get Got. Its frantic electronic whirring matched by the speedy rhyme "get get get get got got got got, blood rush to my head lit hot lock." The intense tribal jerks of the two muscular members of Death Grips mirrored the confronting sounds they produced. MC Ride jerked the microphone like a cock in the faces of the front row of fans squashed against the stage wall, who's heads sat at the perfect height for more compromising sexual activities. Fuelled by his acts of hedonism, they respond with a crazed state of moshing you'd expect at a metal gig. Bringing Death Grips own statement that "(our music is) like taking a pill that makes you superhuman" to life. 

Images flickered across two iMac sized screens, positioned vertically on a table behind MC Ride. A woman exposed her naked body and red leather gloves, flames engulf a car wreck and strange occult like symbols. The images are intentionally shocking and confrontational. Like their music.  After all, their album art for No Love Deep Web was an erect penis with the title written on it in black texta. Lost Boys took their sound deep into the dark abyss of experimental underground electronica, it became almost like some form of satanic ritual. 

Bodies smashed recklessly into each other with violent enthusiasm. Others were thrown across the sea of heads. Many crowd surfed onto the stage where a single security guard tried in vein to eject them. As if guided by the "Fuck Off" (entry) stamp on their wrists, they ignored him and danced wildly on stage before stage diving back into the fray. Trademark electronic whirs throbbed, building the energy up and up for The Fever (Aye Aye). Hill built the song up with a simple bass snare combo before unleashing a frantic flurry of rhythms when it dropped into the first verse. MC Ride reciprocated, jumping around in a crazed state as he shouted "I got the fever". The electronic sounds they unleash in The Fever are absurd. One lunatic got on stage, pulled his shirt over his head and front flipped back into the crowd. MC Ride then decided he'd had enough of the stage invasions and grabbed some intruders, throwing them back into the audience aggressively. His crazed eyes, thick beard and rough prison-style tattoos would of been enough to deter most sane people.

I've Seen Footage dropped its funky underlying sample that sounds awfully similar to Salt-n-Pepa's Push It. It's an awesome sample. It should be noted here Death Grips production is brilliant. Live though, their so loud and heavily bass orientated that you often miss the brilliant sounds they have on their studio albums. Instead, you get an onslaught of sound that wows you at the very heaviness of it. I've Seen Footage was a great comedown to The Fever. Until this point it was incredible to note that Zach Hill hadn't broken rhythm once, there were no song interludes or breaks of any sort. Just flat out drumming. MC Ride threw himself around to the onslaught of sound, holding his mike as a weapon as he shouted vocals at his fans. 

Hill stood suddenly for the intro to No Love. He drops down with fury to slam his foot on his electronically programmed bass kick, launching sub bass so deep and forceful I felt my brain vibrate in its cocoon. Even MC Ride drops to the ground under its weight. Hill rises and drops again and again, smashing his tom with his clenched fist again and again lifting the intensity to absurd levels. The lyrics are shouted by MC Ride at the audience. His voice so absurdly deep, the words are hard to distinguish - bar the line in the chorus "madness, chaos in the brain." Fitting.


Finishing on the heaving bass of Lock Your Doors, they walked off as MC Ride's voice echoed repeatedly into the silent abyss. The crowd stood, shocked at what they'd witnessed. They hoped for an encore. It was never going to happen. Their dormant bodies confused after 50 minutes of straight aural onslaught and physical abuse. Like Death Grips, they'd given every ounce of energy they had. Death Grips live show was something that - like the first time I heard their music - left me wide eyed, jaw dropped. Their music is so confrontational and dark, yet they manage to drive it home live with this raw aggression and energy that crosses the boundary from being weird and fucked up to being shockingly awesome. Their sound is next level. Their live show takes their next level sound next level. Death Grips - holy shit!

The location of Falls Festival is gorgeous. Falls Festival lies about 10 minutes inland from Lorne, a busy little beach town on the Great Ocean Road. The pristine drive along The Great Ocean Road showed off a mouth-watering ocean view. The sun radiated from a bright blue sky, scattered with wispy clouds. The soft blue ocean meandered gently into secluded beaches and rocky outcrops. The traffic moved at a snail’s pace, but there were no complaints. Limbs hung out of car windows, soaking up the blissful day. Lorne is but a slight detour, as we turned inland. Leaving the coast behind us, we climbed uphill into the thick bushland that lay beyond. In little more than 10 minutes we were greeted by friendly staff and gruff pommy security, who emptied our belongings onto the road in search of alcohol and glass. Bah!

The timing of our arrival couldn’t have been any better. We’d lucked-out and scored a prime camping position about 5 minutes walk from the festival entrance. It was close to toilets, showers and the bizarre Pleasure (village) and was sitting pretty well next to the main walkway. As the erection of tents concluded and the first drink was thrown back, Muscles vocals floated by our campsite on the wind “woo, ahh, woo, ahhh”. Any nostalgic excitement was quickly extinguished by rumours that he was doing a piano set. Cue: drink.

We wandered into the entrance on dusk to see the crazed antics of The Cuban Brothers. At the peak of their lunacy one member removed his G-String and yelled emphatically, “Don’t take Ketamine! it will shrink your penis!”, as he stood fully naked with a mangina. The Bamboos followed with deep funk and soul, climaxing with I Got Burned, the absence of Tim Rogers’ vocals unnoticed.

The highlight of the night was undoubtedly Furnace and the Fundamentals. Remixing their way through innumerable covers with a live band, Furnace traversed the entire back catalogue of every epic dance floor-killing song that ever existed with finesse and energy, sending the crowd into complete hysterics over and over again. What an end to the pre-party.

Saturday was the official first day of the festival. The festival area itself is quite compact. The Valley Stage sits at the bottom of a steep hill, flanked on either side by stalls and bars. The Grand Theatre sits on top of the hill – a huge red and white striped tent. Good food and drink was easy to find, and the stallholders were friendly and always keen to chat.

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard were the first to get the lazy crowd moving, starting a mini mosh pit with their punk-fused psychedelic rock. Splayed out across the stage seven members wide with the drummer in the centre, the grubby punks rocked out emphatically, as we bounced around in a mess of bodies and hair.

San Cisco provided a small change of pace on the Valley Stage, their sweet adolescent indie pop swooning the crowd like a kiss on the cheek from your high school crush. They sounded great live, in particular their cute-as-hell drummer, whose kit sounded superb. Sigh…any woman who can drum can have my heart. Tight as hell, the crowd sung Awkward and Rocket Ship with gusto. Their performance even allowed an overlooking of the terrible lyrics to Rocket Ship for a dance.

A big shout-out must be made here to the DJs who ignited the fun-filled dance offs that transpired between bands. They really kept a constant flow of energy over the course of the festival.

By the time Bombay Bicycle Club were on, the rain had arrived, making the hill facing the stage a giant slip-and-slide. A group of clever chaps made up of Channel V’ers and Art Vs Sciencers formulated a human tunnel (of legs) on the steep hill facing the Valley Stage. At one point there were 15 people lined up, and the only person who could make it all the way through was Jim Finn (from AVS) whose smooth jacket made him a human juggernaut. The summery vibes of Bombay floated up the hill, sending smiles over shivering bodies. Some tunnellers broke rank to dance to Shuffle, then ran back up the hill for a slide.

The good vibes continued as the rain halted and Django Django arrived in signature matching T-shirts. Opening with the throbbing synths of Hail Bop, they delivered their quirky guitar-driven synth pop from the very beginning with bundles of energy. It was the third time I’d seen them in 2012, and man did they bring it again, the bees knees of dancy synth pop. Playing the bangers from their stellar debut release, they had the crowd chanting, tribal dancing, and jumping for joy to their percussive goodness. Sped up versions of Default and Storm were massive, and Skies Over Cairo and Loves Dart were rapturous. Finishing with the apocalyptic siren of Wor, many were left gobsmacked about what they’d just witnessed.

Day One headliners The Hives arrived. Howlin’ Pelle talked. And talked. And talked. A few bangers were played, such as Hate to Say I Told You So, Walk Idiot Walk, and Go Right Ahead, plus their trademark teaser to Tick Tick Boom. The band turned a bit sour when a few drinks were thrown at the guitarist. Howlin’ Pelle shouted into the crowd, “If you fuckers throw another beer at my brother, I will come down there and kick your arse”. It was probably all talk though, seeing as they did talk a lot.

Day Two was opened by the driving rhythms and guitar riffs of Art of Sleeping. One of the crazy benefits of camping right next to the festival is that there is nothing like being woken by good music, let alone some of the best live music on offer.

A leisurely stroll into the festival on lunch was met (once again) by amazing music. This time Ball Park Music had the stage, ushering a chirpy “cheers cunts” to the audience as I eagerly awaited my bacon & egg roll and coffee.

The real surprise package was inside the Grand Theatre tent where Regular John delivered a sweltering set of hard rock. Their sound delved into 90′s alt rock territory with new single Slume, with a slight Billy Corgan tinge in his voice.

Jinja Safari pulled a large crowd in the Valley, but those expecting their usual antics were left disappointed. There was no stage climbing or Pied Piper follow-the-leader runs. Maybe it’s a sign that they’ve become serious musicians in recent times. As their music matures so do they. Their energy is still as enigmatic as ever, with live bongos and a naked saxophonist banging out tunes.

SBTRKT was one of the most highly anticipated sets of the entire festival. Given the strange time and setting of 6pm on the Valley Stage, SBTRKT arrived to monstrous applause and buzz, with Sampha on vocals and keys, and mastermind Aaron Jerome on live drums. The live drums allowed for some juicy live remixing of the percussive elements of each song. The biggest was Wildfire, which was masterfully mixed, so much so that no one even picked up on the intro until the synths and standard rhythm kicked in. Sampha’s vocals were stunning: so rich during Something Goes Right and Hold On, all the time layering percussion and samples with huge effect, simultaneously giving each song a different sound and feeling. SBTRKT recordings already have monstrous dancy energy, but live they take it to the next level, pushing it up a notch on heavier dance tracks like Sanctuary and Heatwave. Stellar!

Flume could have been mistaken as a headliner – the crowd in the Grand Theatre tent was so tightly packed that it clogged the entrances and squished those inside. People were climbing the fence on the road side through thorn bushes to get a glimpse of the dance music maestro. A warning had to be ushered before he started, it was so full. Opening with the trademark wob wob of More Than You Thought, he tore through his back catalogue. No crowd erupts as massively as they do to Flume. Dance offs were rife. People got low. Bodies flailed to and fro, up and down. There was moshing on shoulders. Hair flailed around like crazy. His latest single with Chet Faker was the most chilled of all his tracks. A new overlay of Kendrick Lamar’s Drank dropped over the top of The Anthem instead of his trademark Biggie Smalls mix.

Many were forgiven for confusing Flaming Chips with The Hot Lips. It was late, and they were both equally hot. Catching the end of Flaming Lips after Flume was tasty, his visual show an absolute ball-tripper to say the least. Singer Wayne Coyne ran around smashing a giant gong, which lit up in blinding flashes of light every time, hordes of female dancers crowding the side of the stage with psychedelic dance moves. Hot Chip were a step away from their psych rock, opening with Shake a Fist. Live, Hot Chip are an entirely different prospect. Their nerd chic oozed confidence as they nerd-danced around their instruments enthusiastically, the bass reverberating up the hill. Their female drummer Sarah Jones absolutely smashed her kit, incorporating some quirky instruments like a Caribbean steel drum, which didn’t look out of place next to DJ decks and guitars. Over and Overwas an unbeatable classic that didn’t seem out of place among new tracks Night and Day and These Chains. Their Fleetwood Mac cover of Everywhere was a nice touch on an awesome set.

The weather on Day Three of Falls Festival sealed the run of great weather, proving to be just as hot as the rest. I began the day on the highest hill to soak it all in. A sea of tents, cars and marquees curved their way across the open fields, encased by tall, towering gum trees. The sun shimmered off thousands of car windows in the valley. Trails of people scuttled along the paths that dissected the human settlements.

First Aid Kit captured the essence of the gorgeous summer day with their stunning Swedish folk music. They appeared on stage young and pretty, with a distinctive Bohemian vibe. Their long, straight hair hang lank over their cute animal tees. Two cute little girls danced around on the stage next to them as they sang The Lion’s Roar and Wolf with guts, their voices belying their youthful appearance. Their influences are far between. They stated a love for ABBA and then finished a song with a heavy riff from The White Stripes.

Sampology brought us into the night with a tribute AV DJ set with some masterful mixing of movie clips that was at times punchy and at times disjointed to account for the speaking of artists. No one really minded the long-winded 20th anniversary speech by the festival organiser and his parents because 2 Door was here to bring in the new year in style.

A beautiful full moon and scattered cloud flanked blue neon-lit trees and a yellow-and-red-lit stage as Two Door Cinema Club arrived to huge applause. From the opening of No One Can Talk, it was clear that they have matured past their age from the young party starters they were off the back of Tourist History. They were so tight at times it was hard to tell the tracks apart from the recordings, from which they rarely strayed, ripping through their biggest hits in Undercover Martin, What You Knowand Cigarettes in the Theatre. They warmed up the crowd for the new year coming with new tuneNext Year, then broke in the new year with banger What You Know. The sky exploded with confetti and hands as everyone indulged in a random or pre-planned snog to break in the new year in class (or lack thereof). Two Door Cinema Club – all class.


Review originally for Music Feeds http://musicfeeds.com.au/gig/falls-festival-lorne-20122013/

There was a lack of condoms present. “A condom-branded event and no free condoms?” This loud proclamation was echoed by awkward chuckles down the line onto the boat. Instead, their outstretched condom-hungry hands were filled with drink tickets to ease their cravings. Durex, you subtle dudes. As the partygoers hustled to the bar for free drinks, a swarm of photographers preyed on every Kodak moment imaginable. I’ve never seen as large a proportion of social snappers at an event. It seemed like every fifth gent was pulling a camera from his jocks! Reason being, You+1 festival had taken over The Starship inviting a sexy crowd that had one motive in mind – party to some of dance music’s finest DJs on a perfect Sydney Harbour day.

Interesting side note: minority of beards present (finally my hairless face fitted in!)

Rudimental kicked things off with a dynamite DJ/MC pairing. The act played through a host of songs zoning in on the best of what the UK dance scene is exporting right now. The honest and heartfelt track Spoons absorbed the vibrant sun that bounced off the water’s surface, warming the bodies of those dancing soulfully in the spacious lower deck dance hall. The DJ set spanned many genres of UK dance, delving into the bass spectrum with some drum ‘n’ bass bangers, building to Feel the Love as the MC shouted “I can definitely feel the love right now” in his cockney drawl.

A journey out onto the roof deck was greeted with the real view – none of this 360-degree tinted glass bollocks. There were fun tiki vibes provided by bamboo fencing, plants, and giant tiki statues housing the edges of the boat and the two slick pilots manning the DJ booth. With the sun beaming down, there was no better place to be, Coronas in hand and listening to Flight Facilities DJ live. The chilled set of laid-back minimal and deep house mixed in with their brilliant production efforts nicely. Brows were creased as heads tilted upwards into the sky and sung the lyrics to Foreign Languageand Crave You in sheer ecstacy. As a sole seagull glided low overhead in time with the boat, many bodies swayed to new single With You and funky remixes of Miike Snow, Daft Punk and Friendly Fires.

Signalling Steve Aoki’s arrival at the end of their set resulted in a stampede of bodies to the dance hall, snapping the audience out of their tropical trance and into the realisation that the chilly night was upon us and one of the world’s best DJs was about to vibrate the ocean floor.

Arriving unpronounced, Steve Aoki appeared, to complete rapture from his fans. He even had his hands kissed like royalty by one overly keen fan, flailing at him over the barrier. Wasting no time, he hyped the crowd on the mic before dropping into a heavy song with a distinctive trap flavour. Before the song had even finished though, the sound cut out completely and he was left wandering around stage aimlessly – even dropping to his knees in frustration at one point – as the sound techs tried to fix the problem. Chants of “Steve-y, Steve-y, Steve-y” echoed the most Australian way we know how of showing support, and he was back in full force after a few minutes of confusion with a monstrous dubstep track. The crowd lost complete control of bodily function and flailed wildly as Aoki threw himself into the crowd and crowd surfed to signal the real start of the party.

To say Steve Aoki plays loads of EDM genres is missing the point. The point is more imbedded in his philosophy of music. He picks the heaviest, most mind-blowingly intense tracks imaginable from each EDM genre. I could swear he adds layers onto already renowned tracks by artists like Skrillex to further the mindlosingness. Can I now mention his bag of tricks? Cheers. The only other act I’ve ever seen with so many insane nut-busting tricks is Rammstein, and although a penis cannon (circa- Big Day Out 2011) would have been fitting for this condom-sponsored party, Aoki brought the party in his own signature style. It started with the champagne showers (no cringeworthy song to match), shaking it up, spraying it and spitting into the front rows in between taking healthy swigs.

Aoki spent as much time on the stage/in the crowd as behind the decks. Pre-planned set? Who cares! He made the crowd weak at the knees with his antics. Pulling out his inflatable boat, he went crowdsurfing on a boat…on a freaking boat. Why the hell not! His musical prowess was then showed by dropping the trademark beat of Public Domain’s Bass in the Place London underneath the track that brought us all to our knees – Warp 1.9. He slowed things down a notch with remixes of Kanye West and Major Lazer’s stunning track Get Free before he segued into a new rave-worthy single Piledriver that he’s released with Ozzie bass champions Knife Party. To top things off for the big finale, he pulled a bazooka-like liquid nitrogen-filled smoke cannon and sprayed it generously over the crowd, its icy tendrils cooling the sweat off the hot mess of a moshpit that he’d created.

Andrew WK take note – this is how to party!

Oxford Art Factory was packed to the rafters with loads of inner city trendies and a handful of nerdy costumed punters who truly got into the vibe, donning dinosaur suits and headdresses. The room was half full by the time Flume started his set, but you wouldn’t know it by the way people bounced around to his songs. They filled the space with wild, flailing movements. He opted for a grimier choice of songs, including one dubstep track off the new album and a new dubstep-influenced track with his other DJ sidekick in side project What So Not. These bassier tracks had the majority of males on the dance floor jolting their bodies to the two-stepping tempo as the bass wobbled its way through the bodies on the dance floor. He skulled beer in between songs and waved his hands in the air in his trademark fashion – two fingers down – clearly ecstatic to be supporting TEED on this huge show.

The anticipation that had preceded solo UK dance producer Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs’ (TEED) exclusive one-off Australian show was huge. Tickets sold out in just 40 minutes and fans stalked social media outlets for months begging for tickets. It was quite a surprise to then see him emerge behind a curtain focused and composed, and start his set in a focused and controlled manner, completely oblivious to the crowd erupting in front of him. It must be said at this point that his costume was awesome! A tidy green dinosaur onesie gave him the look of a mod Stegosaurus, by way of spikes in a mane around his neck that continued to protrude all the way down his back. As the crowd stood mystified by this prehistoric creature, TEED got straight into his set with a melodic intro, singing the vocal line from Panpipes: ‘I keep thinking about my love’ in his soft falsetto, giving the crowd plenty of time to defrost from our ice age of no dancing dinosaurs.

A disappointing light show meant TEED was the sole focus as he raced around his long desk of electronics and triggered samples and buttons, adding extra layers and sounds onto familiar tracks like Stronger. From the very start, the sound quality emitted from the speakers was completely and utterly flawless. The synths were thick and juicy, but also ridiculously clear and atmospheric. The bass was punchy, but didn’t make your eardrums bleed. Stand-out track Dream On was full of trademark, funky 80′s synths driven by a punchy four-to-the-floor house bassline constructed with layered synths and deep bass. His ability to make a crowd move is second to none. The use of fun percussion that borders at times on tribal and at others on jungle is one of many elements that make his music so energetic.

Well-known tracks Garden and Household Goods provoked vocal sing-alongs, with a few lovers – fresh or old, no matter – spotted sealing their love for TEED with a not-so-sneaky snog (and subsequent dirty dance). An attendee was overheard earlier scoffing at the amount of hipsters present, but I couldn’t for the life of me see any or really care, due to the amount of people dancing about without a care in the world. Observing the character of TEED throughout the set, it was odd that he didn’t break his blank expression at all. He remained completely focused and in the zone fiddling around with his electronics, only breaking focus to fire confetti out of handheld cannons into the crowd. It is bizarre that an artist who displays such little emotion can instil such excessive joy and happiness in people through his music.

TEED kept the transitions seamless as he took us on a journey through his catalogue of banging dance floor fillers, all the way back to his 2010 EP All In Two Sixty Dancehalls with thumping trackBlood Pressure that had the dance floor in hysterics! When he dropped the heavy filthy bass ofBlood Pressure around half way through his set, the whole dance floor was bouncing up and down with rapturous intensity. Blood Pressure was followed up by the equally grimy underground basslines of American Dream Part II and That One that well and truly brought the house down. People lost complete control of their bodies as the moshpit turned into a writhing mess of bodies throwing themselves around in between jumping around and flailing their limbs to the beat.

On TEED’s last track, Flume was spotted crowd surfing on top of the mosh pit. The crowd erupted! He surfed to the front and jumped on the stage with his arms outstretched. A security guard then grabbed him from the side and flung him offstage into a metal post, hitting it awkwardly with his shoulder and head. As Flume staggered to his feet and off the stage, holding his face, the crowd stood shocked at the brutal and unnecessary act from the security guard. TEED finished abruptly after this happened. It was a strange ending to an absolutely smashing set from one of dance music’s freshest and most exciting producers in the business right now.

Written for and published by Music Feeds

Following his interview with Music Feeds TV, Jonathan Boulet took the stage at Vivid Live for the Modular Night to feature his new album to an excited crowd. Check it:

The bearded Boulet began his set by paying respect to the original land owners, a sentiment that had a few surprised heads swivel and throw impressed looks at their familiars. Showcasing new songs off upcoming album We Keep The Beat, Found The Sound, See The Need, Start The Heart(out June 8), Jonathan Boulet wasted no time, opening with magnificently dark Black Smokehat. With an additional percussionist on stage, it was inevitable that the driving rhythms that make Jonathan Boulet’s sound so energetic would take over. None more so than new single Trounce, which had the crowd moving with its sheer explosion of frantic, rhythmic energy, and tribal jaunts of “I don’t even know what I said, I’m not in control of myself”, making my legs lose control.

New song This Song Is Called Ragged moved at a more moderate pace and is a more pop-driven song with a gorgeous underlying xylophone melody and sweet vocal harmonies. Crowd favourites A Community Service Announcement and Your A Animal were saved until last, the couplet whipping the loyal crowd into a frenzy of dance moves and sing-alongs. As artists age throughout their careers, they usually lose their youthful exuberance and energy, but tonight, Boulet proved that this is not the case: his new material is as bombastic as ever.

Kindness are an odd bunch to behold, their aesthetic as bizarre as their music is catchy. It didn’t matter to any of the audience, who boogied enthusiastically to their funky disco-tinged sound, predominantly driven by seductive slap bass and a flurry of electronic drum fills. The bass-driven track Cyan set the tone for the set, delivering a lethal dose of shoe shufflin’ groove. Other stand-out tracks included dancier number Gee Up and That’s Alright, which brought the full band to life. The crowd pounced on the opportunity for the extra dance space with a stage invasion at the end, but were asked to leave by frontman Bainbridge for messing with the instruments. His sombre on-stage demeanour had no effect on his vocal delivery, which was as crisp as the recordings, but put a real dampener on the visual aspect of the show. They were less engaging than they could have been had they all been in the same mindset – to party.

Tom Vek fans have been waiting in limbo since 2005 for their first tour, so you can only imagine the huge response they got from the (predominantly female) audience. Funny that. Cutting a fine figure, with a neat quiff and understated black-rimmed glasses, Vek had the room swooning from the very beginning, with a large selection of songs from his newer release Leisure Seizure, and all but three tracks from his debut, We Have Sound. The poppier up-tempo edge of songs Aroused andA.P.O.L.O.G.Y. had the crowd moving in a frenzy of dance moves, which subjected my face to an excessive amount of hair-whipping. The commitment of old-school fans were rewarded by outstanding performances of the tracks C-C, A Little Word in Your Ear and I Ain’t Saying My Goodbyes, to the sheer joy of the ultras. It was a captivating set from a man doing exciting things, and (from the ecstatic response) getting people excited about his music. Here’s to hoping it’s not as long a wait between visits.


Written for Music Feeds

A brash wave of juicy synthesizers and heavily distorted vocals grew in sound and texture as I was drawn into the Opera Theatre lair at the early start time of 8:30pm for PVT’s no supports, no holds barred show on opening night of Vivid Live.

Light Up Bright Fires exploded with deep, dense synthesizers, engulfing the room completely, broken by lead singer Richard Pike’s echoing vocals that lingered heavily in the air momentarily before being swallowed by that all-encompassing synth. Richard’s increasing use of vocals on newer material captures his hauntingly low tone, throwing itself to different corners of the room, and the inside of the skull, with a barrage of sounds ranging from animalistic jaunts to cries of torment and despair. Quite often, particularly in the new material, a dark, haunting atmosphere envelops their sound, forced deeper by the brooding brass section, and a minimalistic use of moody lighting.

Occasionally, PVT would explore a stretch of minimal sound, only to transform it into a roving wall of brash rhythmic innovation, with dense layering of electronics and percussion. In these moments, PVT would explore the kind of ‘structured improvisation’ that made their earlier releases so enigmatic and engaging. The energy was further enhanced by pulsating strobes, which unleashed their fury completely in time with the beat in blasts of crimson colour.

Expert lighting synchronisation complemented the mood of each song perfectly, creating a visual and aural harmony that enhanced the experience to complete musical immersion. O Soundtrack My Heart lay at the very crux of this experience, when an apocalyptic sun-like orb of light appeared and saturated the entire room with colour, tinting and distorting the moving silhouettes of the band members, ebbing and changing colour in time with the rhythm.

The new songs showcased a wider use of vocals, with a darkness that draws similarities to Ian Curtis, and even Noel Fielding (of the Mighty Boosh) with one particular new track exclaiming ‘I am electric. I am electric’ with a distinct whimsical air. Their distinct 80s influence occasionally delves into the more predictable realm of pop with more catchy vocal hooks and drum fills, which may detract from their roots a little, feeling more accessible, but less engaging than any of the old material. An understated duet with Sophia Brous on a more down-tempo number seemed slightly out of place against the high octane energy of material from previous records, but flowed well nonetheless.

A particularly memorable moment arose when PVT came back on stage for an encore and noticed some people streaming to the exits, quipping “we caught you leaving”, which drew laughter from those who’d stayed in their seats, and sheer awkwardness from those halfway to the door. Encore track Window did justice to an enigmatic live show that balanced visual elements and sound perfectly, resulting in sheer indulgence for the open mind.

A standing ovation well-deserved.

Written for Music Feeds

Arts Marshall opened their set to a densely packed Annandale room, winning over the punters with their high-energy and catchy rock music. They played with an intensity that defied their role as opening band. A band making waves in Perth with their debut EP, they are definitely a band to watch for the future.

Strangers made their presence clear from the very outset. Being the only Sydney band on the bill, they stated how pumped they were to play to such a packed Annandale room and completely blew away the audience. This band were the real deal, from the power stance guitarists to lead singer Ben Britton’s great stage presence. In every sense, Strangers were epic. They played so tight as a unit that not one band member dominated the foreground, and their togetherness flowed through in their performance. The band had heads and feet moving with an electrifying performance with a large part of the audience singing the lyrics to closing song Bred For Breeding. Their performance blew away many, and won them many new fans.

Calling All Cars produce a behemoth of sound from three members, driven by charismatic lead singer and guitarist Haydn Ing, Adam Montgomery’s bass grooves, and backed by James Ing’s powerful drumming. With a new album on the way, they were out to prove they are a big deal on the Australian rock scene, not just a support band to some of the world’s biggest rock bands (AC/DC, Foo Fighters and Queens Of The Stone Age). They didn’t disappoint.

Opening with massive rock tune Disconnect, the lads from Melbourne wasted no time and got right down to the business of entertaining the pumped-up crowd. Entertaining they did, with Haydn jumping on the bar during the second song, playing and getting the entire crowd amped, all the while ordering a beer and skulling it mid-song. The other two members maintained the groove while he climbed back on stage to scream the next part of the song. It’s incredibly impressive for a band to maintain such high-octane energy throughout an entire headline set, but their songs are all equally hard-hitting. Songs Hold, Hold, Fire and Reptile got a huge response from the crowd, and an improvised drum solo in Reptile delighted many fans.

Calling All Cars maintain this great hard rock sound throughout all their songs, that is so gritty and aggressive, but most interestingly distinctively Australian sounding. Haydn’s husky growl when in full crank is so raw and unforgiving, adding a harder-hitting sound to songs such as Delirious, which would undoubtedly be more pop-sounding without it. Overall though, it’s the huge riffs that deliver the goods. They drive the melodies into massive choruses, to great effect.

Calling All Cars had more people moving in the packed Annandale room with every song, and had many heads cranking as they rocked out with serious attitude. There was a fully formed mosh pit by the middle of the set, provoking some improvised crowd surfing from a few diehard fans, not to mention two girls jumping on stage and kissing. Never seen that before…

Lead singer Haydn Ing is without a doubt a natural frontman for the band, commanding attention with witty banter, stage antics and a slightly cocky attitude. He was incredibly appreciative of the crowd’s response to their music, particularly of the new track off their upcoming record that they were trialling, which had the punchiest guitar reverb, making it a highlight of many in a great performance. Calling All Cars are one of the most infectious rock bands around, and tonight showed that they have a live show to be reckoned with.


For Music Feeds: http://musicfeeds.com.au/gig/calling-all-cars-annandale-hotel-04052012/

Opeth epitomise the progressive metal genre with epic music that has continually evolved throughout a 10 album career spanning 20 years. Fusing a rich variety of influences together that many would argue could never work - jazz, folk and death metal - Opeth set the modern standard in metal’s evolution. According to Rolling Stone; “Opeth continually expand the definition of what metal can be”. Touring their latest release, Heritage; there was much widespread speculation that Mikael Åkerfeldt had lost his voice (which to fans of heavy metal means his ability to death growl; see Ghost of Perdition) due to the complete absence of death growls on Heritage, and the previous shows set lists leaked on sites like www.setlist.fm. The latter proved true, and the brutal side of Opeth was abandoned for a night to allow the audience to soak in the beauty and tranquillity of their “softer” music. 

The set opened with The Devil’s Orchard; exploding with jazz upswings to the soul-shaking cry of “God is dead”, the song delivers complex tempo shifts and signature atmospheric synths. Porcelain Heart delivered the first heavy metal fix for the headbangers in the audience, with technically brilliant drummer Martin “Axe” Axenrot delivering a sweltering six minute solo, flowing effortlessly from jazz grooves to blast beats with such tenacity, reaching impossible speeds and accenting every note so flawlessly; he had mouths on the floor throughout. Even more impressing was how well Axenrot structured the solo considering the speeds with which he was playing. Watch his flawless solo below:

Åkerfeldt is often noted for his sense of humour, and the banter was hilarious, even when it came to his music “you may not know this song, we wrote it for a video game… they said do what you like, all the other metal bands gave them metal songs, because they are fucking cowards”, I mean the man is basically a Metal God, so when he initiated the beginning of his acoustic section the crowd was reverent and respectful (despite the overwhelming lust for heavy music). The man’s voice is so insanely good, it is a wander his death growls hadn’t ruined his vocal chords, and the haunting beauty of his tone is multiplied in the live arena, and is so well suited to the folk/acoustic music they preferred to focus on for this live set.

Opeth’s music is so versatile. The way that they build such a reverent mood and shatter it instantly with sharp tempo changes into metal riffs in I Feel The Dark, Nepenthe and A Fair Judgement is mind-blowing. Alternatively, Opeth begin with a heavy riff and turn brutality into tranquillity, such as the effect of Hex Omega. Opeth have that rare quality (of metal artists) to portray good and evil through their sound, although satanic at times, you often get the feeling of moving in and out of a dreamlike state, transcending the reality for which Åkerfeldt often vocalised his distaste for during the set.

At the introduction of Slither it is made clear it was “written as a tribute to (Ronnie James) Dio” and has a clear influence from early metal that bordered on hard rock. More influenced on simple riffs, speed and solos, a clear difference from Opeth’s highly technical jazz-fused, death metal sound. Opeth encore with their 5th track off Heritage, Folklore, and although disappointed as many others to not to hear any of the heavier death metal tracks which are so brutal(ly good), Opeth proved they not only stand out in the metal genre in their technical ability, but also on the world stage as one of the most progressive and exciting genre-defying bands of a generation. 

The entire live set is expertly filmed and recorded and available for you to watch below. Enjoy!