The Palace

Lana Del Rey (USA)

Lana Del Rey (The Palace, 23rd July 2012)
Lana Del Rey
(The Palace, 23rd July 2012)


After postponing shows at the desperately undersized Toff in Town, New York’s polarising and sultry songstress Lana del Rey made it to Australian shores and delivered the first of two nights at the far larger Palace. Whilst her voice didn’t always hit the mark, del Rey is an engaging and beguiling stage presence. However a set that clocks in at barely 50 minutes is a poor return on a $75 ticket – particularly for a patient fan base who in some cases had waited since the morning to secure prime position.

Full Gallery: Lana Del Rey

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S Club/Big Brovaz(UK)

Jo O'Meara, S Club (The Palace, 23rd May 2012)
Jo O’Meara, S Club (The Palace, 23rd May 2012)

Went to the show? See if you can spot yourself in the gallery: S Club/Big Brovaz

When – and where – will it end?

With the Australian dollar still enjoying giddy heights against the US dollar and the Pound, 90s and 2000s acts far and wide have been clambering aboard long haul flights to grab some quick cash from the Antipodes. Sadly, some of these acts possess the integrity and dignity of the current economy in Greece.

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Kaiser Chiefs (UK)

Kaiser Chiefs
Ricky Wilson, Kaiser Chiefs (The Palace Theatre, Melbourne)

Whilst not even 12 months have passed since their last visit, Leeds lads the Kaiser Chiefs took to the same stage in Melbourne they’d played last August to deliver a hit-packed set. Promoting their singles retrospective Souvenir, the 5 piece had the whole stage to themselves whilst in the middle of festival slots for the annual Groovin’ The Moo Festival.

Gallery: Kaiser Chiefs

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The Darkness (UK)

The Darkness
Justin Hawkins, The Darkness (The Palace Theatre, 8th May 2012)

No pass tonight so just a few shots from the crowd of UK crazies The Darkness playing the first of two dates at The Palace.

A handful of shots available by clicking through to the gallery.

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Sublime with Rome (USA)

Rome Ramirez, Sublime with Rome - The Palace, 9th April 2012

Gallery: Sublime with Rome

When you’d love to tour but your lead vocalist died 15 years ago, you’ve got a problem. INXS don’t seem to think so, but that’s probably not consistent with the rest of the world’s view.

In 1996, Sublime lost their lead vocalist and guitarist Bradley Nowell to a heroin overdose, and that was all, she wrote.

Only, it wasn’t. Some 13 years later, guitarist Rome Ramirez was added to the lineup, and Sublime with Rome was born.

Tonight in Melbourne, only one member of Sublime was on stage – bass player Eric Wilson - meaning that what older fans of Sublime got was a few layers removed from what they remembered.

But first, it was the job of Beautiful Girls frontman Mat McHugh to warm up the crowd. And he did so admirably, delivering a mix of his own creations, and covers of some little known artists including Madonna, U2 and The Police. All were given his unique treatment and it was a set that worked well, despite his own apparent initial apprehension. (more…)

Aqua (Denmark)

Lene Nystrøm, Aqua - The Palace, 13th March 2012

Gallery: Aqua

The Vengaboys paved the way earlier this year for the invasion of hideous 90′s Europop superannuation tours to our shores. This has since seen the likes of a watered-down S Club 7 and the inexplicable Eiffel 65 announce tours of their own.

When it comes to 90s Europop though, there are few who were bigger than Denmark’s Aqua. What no one saw coming however (well, except perhaps promoters who are no doubt giggling away as I type) was that the Danish purveyors of all things happy and poppy would sell out three shows at the impressively sized Palace Theatre in Melbourne.

Yup. Three nights.

Choosing to have a crack at convincing the crowd that they can still deliver pop tunes like they did when Barbie Girl was invading our eardrums, Aqua open with a new tune – Playmate To Jesus. Vocalists Lene Nystrøm and René Dif are energetic, the former prowling the stage like a cat in spiked Doc Martens, and the latter getting down into the crowd during the early parts of the set.

Whilst the newer tunes get a pretty decent reception, it’s the offerings from 1996′s über-smash fun time happy song collection Aquarium that predictably delights the crowd.

The first of these is Dr Jones, the successful-in-its-own-right follow up to Barbie Girl. The crowd – comprised predominantly of  folk in their mid 20′s – were in incredible voice and were clearly there for a damn good time. Coloured hair, some bizarre outfits and even a lone fan up front wearing Danish warpaint all crammed into the floor area.

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Alter Bridge (USA)

Myles Kennedy, Alter Bridge - The Palace, 29th February 2012

Gallery: Alter Bridge

After a roof blowing set from Steel Panther, notional headliners Alter Bridge hit the stage lead by frontman and guitarist Myles Kennedy.

With a decent volume of the crowd leaving the venue after the first act, Alter Bridge played to a smaller but no less dedicated bunch of fans in an 80 minute set.

Kicking off with Slip To The Void from the imaginatively named but successful album Alter Bridge III, Kennedy was flanked by bandmates Mark Tremonti (Lead Guitar), Brian Marshall (Bass) and Scott Phillips, waaaaay up high on the drum riser. The latter 3 all formed part of the really quite awful US rock outfit Creed, and thankfully with Kennedy on vocals Alter Bridge have a lot more going for them.

Ghosts of Days drew a great crowd response, but overall tonight’s was a one-paced set that never seemed to break out of 2nd gear. That’s not to say it wasn’t enjoyed by the crowd – it certainly appeared to be – but in a week that sees Melbourne overflowing with hard rock and metal bands due to the Soundwave Festival, Alter Bridge to these eyes and ears failed to stand out from the crowd.

It’s impossible to fault Kennedy’s voice and effort, and the man who also fronts Slash’s solo tours is a commanding force on vocals.

Overall though, a fairly middle of the road hard rock set but hey – they’re still a heap better than Creed.

Steel Panther (USA)

Michael Starr, Steel Panther - The Palace, 29th February 2012

Gallery: Steel Panther

“Tonight we’re gunna play all the songs we know by us!”

Bursting on to the stage as supposed openers for Alter Bridge, the LA 4 piece stole the show at the Palace complex, from the minute they ripped into Supersonic Sex Machine. Yes. That’s what it’s called.

The band, comprising frontman Michael Starr, guitarist Satchel, the brilliantly named bassist Lexxxi Foxx and, introduced as “The best drummer in the band…” Stix Zadinia lead fans through such masterpieces as Fat Girl (Thar She Blows), Asian Hooker, and It Won’t Suck Itself. They’re love songs, mostly.

As a crowd singalong though, it’s hard to go past Community Property with an 1800 strong choir belting out the refrain “My heart belongs to you, but my cock is community property”. It’s this heartfelt lyricism that weaves its way so beautifully through all of the Steel Panther’s songs. Or something like that.

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Röyksopp (Norway)

Gallery: Röyksopp

Svein Berge, Röyksopp - The Palace, 2nd February 2012

A first for me – two Norwegian groups in as many months, though it’s fair to say that the electro offering from Tromsø natives Röyksopp is about as far removed from the set I witnessed by countrymen Combichrist last month as Norway is from Melbourne.

Comparisons therefore end here. Not that there were any to start with really. Other than being Norwegian… and dressing up.

Carrying passports bearing the names Torbjørn Brundtland and Svein Berge ,  Röyksopp kick off their Big Day Out sideshow at Melbourne’s Palace complex to a packed crowd on the lower two levels. It’s a crowd that are aged the other side of thirty to many other Big Day Out revelers, but treated to Röyksopp’s first Australian tour since forming in 1998, they were in great voice. Not to mention armed with some pretty decent moves.

The opening was epic – emerging through the smoke and backlit lights, the duo, joined by a couple of bass players in costumes that probably wouldn’t have got you into Stylus back in the day, kicked off almost ten minutes  of building electronica. 2005′s Alpha Male was lapped up by the crowd.

Happy Up Here followed, with Berge stepping out from behind the wall of synths to prowl the stage. Plenty of the sounds are pre-recorded, but Röyksopp seem to have the balance right between being true to the sounds and putting on a live spectacle for their fans.

A huge highlight tonight was the inclusion of The Alcoholic, the first time anything from Senior – 2010′s ambient follow up to Junior – has been played live. It’s a welcome slowdown to a frenetic first hour.

It’s a brilliant venue for the Norwegians with a dedicated local following, and by far the best Norwegian act I’ve seen this year…

Photos taken for Tone Deaf

Related: Combichrist @ The Hi Fi Bar (January 12th 2012)

Foster The People (USA)

Mark Foster, Foster The People - The Palace, 30th January 2012

Gallery: Foster The People

For those who hadn’t caught LA indie-pop trio Foster The People on the Big Day Out’s green stage the previous day – or perhaps just wanted to catch them again – Melbourne’s Palace dished up that opportunity for holders of one of the hottest tickets in town.

The three piece, led by songwriter and apparent naming-rights sponsor Mark Foster, delivered a set that was as polished as the floor of the old Metro Nightclub wasn’t.

With only their 2011 album Torches under their belt, this was never going to be a long set, but after a promising opening from Brisbane act Last Dinosaurs, Foster The People burst onto the stage with Houdini, and whilst generally speaking there weren’t too many surprises – Helena Beat and Call It What You Want were obvious crowd favourites – the now obligatory encore did throw something unexpected up.

Last year, fellow LA residents Weezer covered Foster The People’s Pumped Up Kicks, and did a pretty damn fine job of it. So, to return the favour, Foster introduced his band’s cover of Weezer’s 1994 track Say It Ain’t So. It scrubbed up well and proved one of the night’s highlights.

Unsurprisingly, Pumped Up Kicks closed the night, and it saw Foster climb into the crowd, hoisted up by the fans on the floor as bandmates Mark Pontius (Drums) and the quite brilliantly named Cubbie Fink (Bass) watched on.

A solid set that delivered what you’d expect with a minimum of fuss, but, perhaps surprisingly, not a lot more than that. Still, as a young band about to embark on the recording of their ‘difficult second album’, they’ll return to these shores in a couple more years armed with more songs, more shows under their belts and will again play to an army of iPhones held high above heads recording the entire concert.

Perhaps by then they’ll be iPhone 5′s?