Live Review: The Cure, Sydney Opera House, Sydney, 01/06/2011

Q: How big is the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall and just how far back are seats X45, 46, 47?

This is what I have been asking myself in the weeks since receiving tickets to The Cure: Reflections. On presenting our tickets at the door, the young usher smiles kindly and says "just keep going up" and we go up, up and up into the last three seats in the last row of this magnificent hall.

I need not have worried. The view from Row X is magnificent and from the moment the band starts their set, the sound is pitch perfect - loud, very loud, but without a hint of unwanted distortion.

Tonight's show was celebration of the bands beginnings: starting the show as a three piece (Simon Gallup on bass, Jason Cooper drums and of course Robert Smith vocals and guitar) the line up grows as they play their first three albums - Three Imaginary Boys, Seventeen Seconds and Faith - in full.

The problem with the Three Imaginary Boys album is that it was never very good - on the record the sound is thin and tinny, the lyrics weak and inconsequential. Tonight, live, the sound is full, the lyrics are still just as immature but are sung with an unexpected sense of fun. 10:15 Saturday Night, Grinding Halt and Fire in Cairo are the highlights and as the first set ends, Robert says "We forgot to play this last night" before recreating the original albums secret track - little more than an end of tape time filling jam known as The Weedy Burton.

Like a low hanging cloud the black clad masses drift out of the Concert Hall and into the Opera Bar. Balding goths mix with business men, pirates and corset bound vampresses all joined by their love of The Cure and a ticket to the hottest show in town.

Next, keyboardist Rodger O'Donnell joins the trio for Seventeen Seconds, the album that best captures the bands transition from a group following in the footsteps of post-punk to the band that has defined emotional gothic rock for the last 30 years. There are moments of great fun: the whole audience singing along to the keyboard riff on Play For Today, standing and dancing the long time live favourite A Forest, and the Happy Birthday Simon version of Three. Just as enjoyable but much darker are the live versions of M and Seventeen Seconds.

Another short break before the band return to the stage as a five piece with Lol Tolhurst joining for the Faith set. Tolhurst's keyboard playing and cymbal washes fill out the sound perfectly, recreating the dark dense moods of the Faith album. Primary is great as is All Cats Are Grey, but for me the highlight of the night so far is the big romantic wave of sound that is The Funeral Party.

After more than five minutes of applause and cheers for more, the band return for encore number one, early career b-sides World War and I'm Cold are great but the biggest cheers are saved for the classic singles Boy's Don't Cry, Killing An Arab and Jumping Someone Else's Train.

For encore number two, the band have moved forward a few years playing Decent, Splintered In The Head, Charlotte Sometimes and the gloomy as death The Hanging Garden.

After nearly four hours the band return for a third encore and this time they are ready for some fun: Let's Go To Bed is followed by the always popular The Walk, ending with The Lovecats.

No whater what seat you were in The Cure: Reflections was a massive event and massive fun.

Danger Beach - Apache

If you like this as much as I do you can get it on Danger Beach's 2010 album Milky Way; purchase ($7) or download (free) via Dream Damage.

Trent Reznor and Karen O cover Led Zeppelin

When I first heard 'they' were making Hollywood version of Stieg Larsson's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo staring Daniel Craig as Blomkvist, I cringed and swore that under no circumstances would I see the movie.

My resolve was softened when it was announced that the film is to be directed by David Fincher (Fight Club, Seven, The Social Network) and the soundtrack was being worked on by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

Now this bootleg quality recording of the films trailer has won me over. The action sequences look awesome but it is the sound track that really excites me. Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Karen O teaming up to cover Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song, awesome.

Rumour has it that the preview is screening before The Hangover: Part 2, is this enough for me see a sequel to The Hangover - No.

THE CURE “REFLECTIONS” LIVE AT SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE

After weeks of speculation Sydney Opera House have announced that the world’s most enduringly influential bands, The Cure will perform for Vivid LIVE at Sydney Opera House. Appearing onstage with a uniquely evolving line-up of band members past and present, The Cure “Reflections” will see the band perform their first three albums live, in their entirety, in an extraordinary concert experience exclusively for Vivid LIVE on May 31 and June 1.

Expect the shows to be filmed for a concert film to be released later in the year.

Live Review: Eat Skull, Slug Guts, The Phoenix, Canberra, 10/04/2011

On Sunday night the Phoenix hosted a massive bill of punk flavoured music.

The night starts early with local bands Killing Birds and Bad Lifers playing short sets before the self proclaimed tropical punk kings of Canberra The Fighting League take to the stage. The Fighting League have been playing around town for a few years now and while front man is still ridiculously self-assured, I think on tonight's performance their talent is starting to catch up to his confidence. More good things to come from these guys?

Slug Guts vocalist James Dalgleish - dressed in leather gloves, pants, and jacket (no shirt) with dark aviators and a moustache on his face - looks the every bit the filthy rock star. His drawling uninterpretable vocals are a perfect fit for the band's raw swampy sound. Raw and swampy should not be mistaken for poor and lazy - Slug Guts are a tight act, with slow heavy drumming backing up thick baselines and weaving guitar/saxophone rhythms. On paper it sounds like a disaster but they are good enough to pull it off.

The only criticism I have of Slug Guts is that, for the first time listener, their consistent sound makes it hard to distinguish one song from the next.

Finally Eat Skull arrive on stage, but are unwilling to start their set until those lounging on the back room couches stand up and give them their full attention. The couches are pushed to the corners of the room (you will never guess what I found under a couch at the phoenix - yuk) and everyone crams in at the front of the stage.

A snapped guitar string, some poor jokes and a few lame but loud heckles give the show a slow and shambolic start. This is not at all helped by the near constant flow of people over the stage, ducking behind the band and into the toilets. Once things do get going, the songs vary from the quick and catchy noise pop of Cooking Our Way To Be Happy and Don't Leave Me On The Speaker to stretched out psych-garage Happy Submarine.

Singer Rob Enbom's cartoon-like facial expressions are amusing but it is the wild ungainly percussion of Rod Meyer that demands the most attention. When Meyer is not banging his tambourine against a BBQ hot plate or hitting his drum sticks on an empty keg, he is downing shots and rolling around on the filthy floor. The show gets really loose when, during The Doors cover and rock standard Roadhouse Blues, the now sweat-drenched Meyer shoves his way into the audience to dance with, hug and rumble anyone (un)fortunate enough to get in his way. Everyone else steps back and sings a chaotic version of the "Roll Baby Roll" chorus.

At the end of this fun night, I leave the Phoenix with a dull ringing in my ears and a confused smile on my face.

Grinderman and The National make Record Store Day Evil

Today is a Record Store Day, an annual celebration of all that is good about wandering in to your local record store, rummaging through the racks, and coming away with something that you didn't even know you wanted.

In these times of poor sales and free downloads Record Store Day has also become a way for artists to promote, new or collectable releases.

2011 Record Store Day releases include new songs The Butcher and Supercollider from Radiohead, limited editions of Gorillaz iPad recorded album The Fall, a Flaming Lips box set, and a very special limited edition red glitter vinyl 12" from Grinderman. Its four tracks include the original album version of Evil, an early demo and two new remixes, the most excitingly of these has to be The Silver Alarm remix: a woozy remake of Evil featuring lead vocals from Matt Berninger of The National. Love It.

Listen Here

A more complete list of releases and the independent record stores that will be selling them can be found at http://www.recordstoreday.com, Australia, World Wide.

Live Review: Oh Mercy, Gossling, ANU Bar, Canberra, 06/04/2011

Back at the ANU Bar for another night of live Australian music - tonight, Gossling and Oh Mercy.

First up Gossling: playing solo, the Melbourne songstress with the muppet-esque voice had some good moments (a Snoop Dogg joke, and set closer I Was Young) but largely struggled to capture the attention of small talkative audience.

Oh Mercy's latest album Great Barrier Grief has been getting great reviews and a lot of radio play, naturally I was looking forward to hearing the songs live. The headliners started well, opening song Keith St had everyone singing along as they rushed from the bar back while Confessions kept toes tapping.

For the most part though, the show was a little flat - the songs were nice enough and the band seemed entirely likeable, but the room lacked any real energy. It was only when Gossling returned to stage to play keyboards on Lenard Cohen cover Memories that the show really came to life, sadly Memories was the last song of the night.