Grace Darling

Mosman Alder

Mosman Alder (The Grace Darling, 22nd June 2012)
Mosman Alder
(The Grace Darling, 22nd June 2012)


The Grace Darling’s stage is a cramped place at the best of times, but with Brisbane 6 piece Mosman Alder in charge of proceedings it looks even smaller.

Hardly a hindrance though, the tight confines enhance an intimacy that stems from the music itself. Launching their new EP Burn Bright, the diverse group of musicians including a violinist and pianist, fill the cosy room with sound.

Full Gallery: Mosman Alder

It’s a far cry from the space they’ll experience in July up in Byron Bay at Splendour in the Grass, but judging from the reception at the Grace tonight, they’ve nothing to fear.

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I, A Man

I, A Man (The Grace Darling, 22nd June 2012)
I, A Man
(The Grace Darling, 22nd June 2012)


Melbourne 4 piece I, A Man opened up for Mosman Alder on Friday at the Grace Darling

Full Gallery: I, A Man

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Spender

Tommy Spender, The Grace Darling, 7th July 2011

Gallery: Spender

For some reason Spender (Tom Spender and drummer Michael Iveson) have been keen to let punters know during promotion for this gig that their latest video ‘cost $400′.

Now that’s not going to register with the producers of ‘Thriller’, but in the scheme of things for an up and coming pair of local Melbourne artists, it’s a significant investment. And it’s a damn good videoi to go with ‘Magic Man’, a song that’s got a fair bit of airplay in recent times.

Triple J’s unearthed competition have been glowing in their reviews of the tune, and tonight’s video launch showed how well filmmaker Dropbear has created a visual to match the sound.

Joining Tom (Guitar) and Michael Iveson (Drums) tonight is bassist Luke Hodgson.

The three lads give us around an hour of their influenced but distinctive brand of eclectic pop, with the enthusiastic crowd enjoying every minute of their launch show. Tommy Spender runs his site Modern Pest, and you can find a bunch of tunes on there.

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Time Shield

Time Shield, The Grace Darling, 7th July 2011

Gallery: Time Shield

Time Shield took control of the speakers after Mildlife’s opener, with Tim Shiels deciding to play his brand of electronic beats under this moniker rather than his usual Faux Pas nom de plume. Hey, that was 5 french words in a row. Lady Marmalade-esque opening…

Shiels mixed beats, samples and videos from the floor, controlled at various times by trigger pads, a mic, a guitar, footpedals, an iMac and what looked like a playstation controller. On the screen videos of Sesame Street and Leonard Nimoy were mashed to within an inch of their lives.

An interested and probably at times puzzled crowd was growing for the headliners, and it has to be said that The Grace is a brilliant place for this sound… It feels like what it is, a dark room with warm carpets and a screen, probably not dissimilar to where Time Shield’s sounds initially came about. In a word… interesting.

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Mildlife

Mildlife, The Grace Darling, 7th July 2011

Gallery: Mildlife

Oopening up proceedings, Melbourne 4 piece Mildlife hit the Grace Darling stage around 9:30 pm.

Electronica filled the upstairs band room as the four lads, with a fairly traditional lineup of Guitar, Bass, Drums and Keys delivered a set that was anything but traditional.

Vocals were incidental, the tunes long – at times enthralling and at others meandering – but the small but growing crowd seemed to enjoy what the Melbourne boys opening for Spender on a cold Thursday night in Collingwood served up.

With a sound not out of place in far flung German electro-pop clubs, Mildlife had the crowd to themselves for around 40 minutes.

Synth/Drum combinations are in vogue at the moment, and these 4 hard working lads look set for a busy 2012.

Check out their stuff via one of the links below, or via their own site.

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