The Drones hit Melbourne’s Corner Hotel for the first of three shows at the venue, part of their national One Thousand Mistakes tour.
Whilst it was the first show chronologically, demand for the unique, Melbourne-adopted 4 piece was overwhelming, meaning that this was actually the 3rd of the shows to go on sale.
It hadn’t sold out, as the Thursday and Friday night shows had, and as a result was a a great opportunity for Gareth Liddiard (right) and bandmates Fiona Kitschin (bass), Dan Luscombe (Guitar) and Michael Noga (Drums) to draw in some interested punters who were not yet necessarily devoted fans. (more…)
Having missed them at Splendour in the Grass due to set time clashes, I was pretty happy to get a pass to snap these guys at incredibly short notice.
The 5 piece, led by lead vocalist Charlie Fink have struck radio gold lately with L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. (if you’ve not heard it, have a listen and just try getting it out of your head), but their talents go far deeper.
Opening with Give A Little Love from their debut album Peaceful, The World Lays me Down, the stage was set for a night which showcased tunes from all three of their albums.
Not surprisingly though, current album Last Night on Earth featured heavily, with latest single Tonight’s The Kind of Night getting a great reception from the 700 strong crowd in Melbourne.
Closing with their most well known tune, I had the same problem I’d had many times after hearing the tune of late – getting it out of my head on the way home.
Perth lads The Panics hit iconic Melbourne live music venue the Corner Hotel, ahead of a trip north to play Splendour in the Grass.
Having enjoyed growing success both locally and internationally, the band – playing as a five piece tonight – were in town to showcase their upcoming release Rain on the Humming Wire, in front of around 500 punters on a footy-less Friday night in Melbourne.
Perhaps it was the lack of familiarity with some of the new stuff, perhaps my earplugs were doing a better than normal job, or perhaps it just wasn’t a particularly dynamic show. Not sure. Whatever it was, it felt kind of flat tonight.
Frontman Jae Laffer wasn’t giving much outside of singing the songs, not much stage chat and even less facial expressions. Which is fine, but with the majority of songs quite mellow and almost brooding, the set never really seemed to achieve lift off. As an aside, it would be great to find out what fascinating object was stuck in the top corner of the Corner Hotel Bandroom’s, roof as Leffer spent the majority of the show looking up there. Answers on a postcard please.
Will be taking them in up at Splendour in a couple of weeks, so it will be interesting to see how the newer songs mature and connect with the crowd in a festival atmosphere. Whilst it’s hard to pinpoint what it was, to me, tonight lacked something.
It was a Western Australian trifecta at the Corner Hotel tonight – ahead of The Panics taking the stage, Perth songstress Grace Woodroofe gave us a set of songs taken from her growing back catalogue, and current release Always Want.
With her deep, sultry voice carrying the songs, the sound is anything but typical of the current Australian indie scene. Indeed you can imagine hearing Grace perform her songs in the corner of a smokey midwestern blues club in the small hours of the morning.
Perhaps a touch of Janis Joplin about the style, closing with Iggy Pop’s “I Wanna Be Your Dog” was something no one would have predicted… unless you’re a Collingwood footabller with inside information.
Heading off to London shortly, this was a great opportunity to hear Grace perform stuff from her latest offering in front of a Melbourne crowd who were quite happy to take in songs by a girl from Perth with a lot of hair.
Husband and wife songwriting team, hailing from the French side of Canada… that’s really where the Arcade Fire similarities end for the touring 4 piece from Montreal.
In Australia to play the Golden Plains festival, a saturday night show at the Corner proved the perfect opportunity to play to an intimate and very appreciative Melbourne crowd.
Armed with their latest album, The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night, the band who have been described as a cross between Pink Floyd and The Beach Boys. With the stark difference being that they’re still around I suppose.
They also seem to have a great love of playing in near total darkness. Tradesman not blaming his tools here, but damn it was dark.
And This is What We Call Progress was a highlight tonight, the lo-fi guitar, mixed with the west-coast backing harmonies slotted in beautifully behind singer Jace Lasek‘s lead vocal.
Space Rock? Yeah, I suppose so. Atmospheric, but with a vocal that still sits in the forefront of the mix, The Corner again proved why it’s one of Melbourne’s best live music venue enjoyed by bands and fans alike. The trippy songs sometimes meander a bit and may not be everyone’s thing, but it seemed like it was for the bulk of the punters at the Corner
It’s been a pretty rapid rise for the 4 Findlay sisters over the past few years.
And it just got a whole lot bigger with the announcement that they’re off to a little soiree in the mother country known simply by its address – Glastonbury.
But before they escaped the Australian winter, The J award nominees opened up for Canadian artists The Besnard Lakes at the Corner Hotel in Richmond.
Single Through The Clover has been getting some heavy rotation on Triple J of late, and it showed with many in the crowd getting stuck right into its catchy chorus.
It’s not enough though to just have a catchy hook or two, and the 4 girls added a great stage presence into the mix in a high energy 40 minute set that filled the floor. Certainly not hiding their musical influences, a cover of a Led Zeppelin’s classic Whole Lotta Love was squeezed in towards the end of the set.
Tonight Richmond, tomorrow the world? We’ll see. But it’s not hard to see why industry folk and fans alike have got behind this dynamic all girl 4 piece in a big way. Definitely a band to watch, hopefully they get cut a bit of slack by their school teachers so they can take Glastonbury 101 as a Unit 3/4 VCE subject. Great stuff.
That was the advice given to the early crowd at the Corner Hotel on Friday night by Lady Strangelove frontman Brenny Shaw.
Opening to a small but growing crowd, the 4 piece wore their influences on their sleeve but had a decent sound during their 30 minute set.
Bathed throughout in red light, they struggled to connect early with the small crowd, but as the set went on really hit their stride. To the crowd’s disappointment as well as the frontman’s, their set was over as people started to get into it. Strict timekeepers the sound guys at the Corner it would seem…
Spending time in the US recording their album, this hard working band from Adelaide have a growing reputation with local fans and touring artists alike. www.ladystrangelove.com
