 Beth Orton, Athenaeum Theatre, 20th January 2012 Gallery: Beth Orton
It had been almost 12 years to the day since I’d last seen English singer songwriter Beth Orton in Melbourne. In 2000 she’d played at the Prince of Wales in St Kilda, touring her 1999 LP Central Reservation.
This time around, the venue was in the city – the iconic but slightly tired Athenæum Theatre. With a short, entertaining and quirky support act from Vermont native Sam Amidon, Beth took to the stage casually around 9pm.
Armed with a couple of guitars and a grand piano, she delivered a well chosen selection of tunes from her as yet unreleased new album to accompany those tunes from the past.
Whilst perhaps not in the league of another British female singer/songwriter PJ Harvey, whom I’d seen only 5 days prior, Orton still managed to captivate the sold out crowd with her storytelling and genuine on stage persona. Music and songwriting has never been a competition anyway. Well…much.
Opening with two back to back offerings from 1996′s successful Trailer Park, Touch Me With Your Love starts off and draws a warm response.
Kicking off her shoes and standing barefoot at the microphone, Orton pulls the audience in with the quite brilliant She Cries Your Name.
There’s a good mix of old and new tonight, and it’s all delivered by Beth Orton – along with the help of some onstage guests – with her trademark warmth and unmistakable voice. |
 PJ Harvey, Regent Theatre, 16th January 2012 Gallery: PJ Harvey
What a superb year 2011 was for brilliant singer songwriter PJ Harvey. Yet again, she managed to release a great album that met with high critical accalim and showed up in plenty of “Best of 2011″ lists (including mine, incidentally).
Let England Shake is a masterpiece, and unlike anything else released last year. As a complete piece of work though, how would it weave its way through her other work in a live setting?
Equally important was how the crowd would react at the magnificently opulent Regent Theatre, a venue more used to hosting overblown Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals than a 2 night stint by iconic songwriters.
It was nothing short of a triumph. Opening with the title track of the album, and delivering every song from it throughout the 90 minute set, this was the perfect setting for a show that sat somewhere between a concert and a recital. (more…) |
 Abbey Nex, Combichrist - Hi-Fi Bar, 12th January 2012 Gallery: Combichrist
Andy LaPlegua brought his band of Norwegian and American industrial hard-to-define zombie-goth-aggrotechno to Melbourne tonight, and proceeded to thrill the Combi-Army with an incredibly energetic if not frequently bizarre set.
Sure, it’s not my thing, but that was hardly relevant as I found my way to the front past a very different looking crowd to the one I’d seen at electronic hipsters Metronomy‘s show a week prior.
My hair was actually the only thing in the whole venue that wasn’t black. Pasty white skin though wasn’t a problem.
With an onstage look that suggested they were probably playing a day early (the following day being Friday the 13th), LaPlegua and guitarist Abbey Nex prowled the stage with manic pace, leaving�bandmates Z Marr (synths and sounds), Trevor Friedrich (Percussion), �and Joe Letz (Drums) to ground the beats and various noise making glitches.
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 Joe Mount, Metronomy - Hi-Fi Bar, 6th January 2012 Gallery: Metronomy
Flying under the radar may have been easier a couple of years ago for south-coasters Metronomy.
Now, with a Mercury Prize nominated album and the critical acclaim to go with it, the 4 piece returned to Australian shores with considerably more fanfare than their last trip south in 2010.
With their live lineup now bedded down (founder and principle writer Joseph Mount is joined on stage by fellow keyboardist Oscar Cash, bassist Gbenga Adelekan and drummer Anna Prior), Metronomy delivered a set for the hardcore hipsters and interested onlookers alike.
2008′s Night’s Out album received some breakthrough airplay in Australia, but it’s 2011′s The English Riviera that has seen Metronomy’s fanbase explode.
Around 1200 crammed into the Hi-Fi Bar. Those in early were treated to a superb 45 minute set from Melbourne duo Oscar + Martin, and after a longish break Metronomy graced the stage, opening with the moody bassline, sparse atmospherics, and seagull calls of We Broke Free
Bassist Adelekan is hard to miss, his striking black glasses, pink jeans and gravity defying hair cuting a distinctive figure against the hand painted band portraits behind the stage. Indeed it’s his bass that drives the live sound of Metronomy, Mount‘s vocals are at times inconspicuous against the pulse of the rhythm section.
After the well received Back On The Motorway, camera gear was dumped before returning for the rest of the set.
The newer tracks from The English Riviera are more structured than the artsy offering from Night’s Out, but the contrast works fantastically well, particularly in this small setting where the crowd appreciate the mix of styles. A very entertaining and danceable set from a group who will be hoping 2012 brings a continuation of the success and acclaim found in 2011. |
Gallery: Oscar + Martin
 Oscar + Martin, The Hi-Fi Bar, 6th January 2012 While both Oscar (Slorach-Thorn) and Martin (King) have been busy lads with side projects like Brother’s Hand Mirror and The Harpoons respectively, it’s with their self-titled duo that they continue to do their best work.
Last year’s For You was a stunning breakout album, lo-fi and with a unique sound that was as enthralling as it was unusual.
It was great to see them listed as support for touring UK act Metronomy, and there was no chance I was going to let slip the opportunity to see them again.
With their gear usually perched precariously on milk crates, tonight there were actual music stands supporting the laptops and triggers. I figured they’d got paid – Martin told me otherwise – “No, we just borrowed them”.
The two lads set about delivering their unique sound to the growing crowd at the Hi-Fi.
Opening with the brilliant Recognise, one of the standout tracks from 2011, tracks from the album For You were brought to life with the addition of female vocalists, sisters Hazel and Martha Brown. Bec Rigby, bandmate of Martin’s from The Harpoons also joined for a number of tunes. The laid back riffs and catchy hook of Do The Right Thing signalled the end of a great set.
A perfect lead in from a duo whose star is most definitely on the rise. You get the feeling that if both lads channel their energy into this project there could be some big things to look forward to in 2012 and beyond.
Related: Oscar + Martin (Hi Fi Bar, 26th May 2011) |
 Alex Turner, Arctic Monkeys, The Palace, 2nd January 2012 Having not missed a Melbourne show from these Sheffield lads since they first burst onto the scene in 2006 (playing a show in St Kilda at the now cinders and ashes Palace Complex), I wasn’t about to miss their show at the venue of the same name, albeit now located in Bourke Street.
Suck It And See was my favourite album of 2011 and after catching the 2nd half of Miles Kane‘s set I was ready to hear how the songs scrubbed up live.
Thinking back to that first show in 2006, and even the shows they’ve played since, it’s evident that this is a band growing in confidence, musical ability, and with a now diverse songwriting style. The bass heavy Don’t Sit Down Cos I’ve Moved Your Chair is a great opener – a song that’s more Supergrass than Arctic Monkey’s-by-numbers, and from the lush red velvet stage backdrop to Alex Turner‘s new 50′s inspired brylcream-smeared haircut, they’ve grown up.
It’s still the up-tempo manic drumming of Matt Helders that gets the crowd going the most. Teddy Picker, the superb Brianstorm and Library Pictures get the room moving uncontrollably. No longer one trick ponies though, more melodic tunes like the Suck It And See gem The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala and Humbug‘s 2009 lead-off single Crying Lightning share the set beautifully with staples like I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor, Still Take You Home and When The Sun Goes Down.
Miles Kane joins Turner and the Monkeys on stage for B-Side Little Illusion Machine, and it’s a move that breaks the frenzy the earlier tunes have created. Probably something to re-assess – Kane has an undeniable stage presence, and his interplay with good mate Turner is strong, but sadly the song simply isn’t. (more…) |
 Steve Kilbey, The Church, Forum Theatre, 30th December 2011 Gallery: The Church
Three albums in three hours. For paying punters tonight who’d forked out $60, that worked out to be about what you’d pay for the 3 albums at JB Hi- Fi. On paper, not a bad deal.
Iconic Australian band The Church brought their ambitious and shamelessly self-indulgent Future | Past | Perfect tour to Melbourne in that vortex of time that is the gap between Christmas and New Year. The brief was simple: 3 albums – 2009′s Untitled #23, 1992′s Priest=Aura and 1988′s hugely popular Starfish played in full.
Untitled #23 kicked things off, an album on which frontman Steve Kilbey delivered all the lead vocals. The crowd were appreciative though not particularly ‘involved’, and there were a few empty seats at the Forum, configured as a fully seated venue. The songwriting though is solid, even if Kilbey’s voice tonight wasn’t particularly so, but Pangaea and Anchorage in particular shone.
After a short break (intermissions at a gig??), the band returned to deliver all the songs from their critically acclaimed Priest=Aura. Eclectic and complex, this isn’t an album for everyone and it definitely drew a more muted reponse than the previous offering.
Yet another intermission and it was time for the most widely known and revered collection of work – Starfish. Whilst songwriter Steve Kilbey has unashamedly dined out on the second track – Under The Milky Way – since the day it was released, Starfish is an album with real depth that goes beyond being defined by the success of that track.
Reptile in particular mounted a strong case for best track of the night, and it’s clear that this is the album the 500 strong crowd enjoyed the most.
It’s hard to fault the value for money on offer tonight, but at times the deep excavation of album tracks and extended atmospheric solos challenged the neutral listener. Still Vocalist and Bassist Kilbey, along with bandmates Peter Koppes (Guitar & Vocals), Marty Willson-Piper (Guitar & Bass) and drummer Tim Powles showed the strength of their convictions by delivering 3 such contrasting albums to their fans at the always incredible Forum Theatre in Melbourne on the penultimate night of 2011. |
 Pulp - #1 With a Bullet... Whilst the gap between the best and worst albums of the year was perhaps as vast as it’s been in recent times, Australia was spoilt for live music in 2011.
Internationally, with the dollar as strong as its ever been, acts were seemingly falling over themselves to tour here – even if that meant re-forming. And boy did they cash in, with Australian ticket prices soaring off into the stratosphere.
Previous Winners
2010: Manic Street Preachers – The Forum Theatre, Melbourne
2009: U2 – Rose Bowl, Los Angeles
2008: Arcade Fire – The Forum Theatre, Melbourne
The trend looks like continuing into at least mid-2012. Whilst Australian festivals had a ridiculously bad year in 2011, tours by artists in their own right were superb.
Locally, it was a breakout year for plenty of artists (Kimbra, Stonefield, Owl Eyes, Oh Mercy), and a welcome back to some favourites (Gotye, The Drones).
Of course there were some shockers too. So read on, and disagree with my best (and worst) gigs of 2011…
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