Frenzal Rhomb play even more shows

It seems Frenzal has been a constant touring since they dropped their last album, Smoko at the Pet Food Factory. Being the hard working Australian punk band they are, they don't just hit up the major venues in major cities. In fact, they're coming up for some shows in Queensland and aren't even going anywhere near Brisbane.

While I'm on my nostalgia kick, there's a Recovery video of them. Including an interview conducted by Dave McCormack of Custard fame.

June 8, Kings Beach Tavern Sunshine Coast

June 9, Parkwood Tavern Gold Coast

Great Australian tours

As a country, isolation is a great thing, especially when you produce as many kick-ass bands that we do, that also like to tour. A lot. So you should go to these shows with me.

DZ Deathrays

This two piece from Brisbane channel DFA 1979. No doubts about it. Just two guys making some noisy-ass garage rock with excellent hooks that get your toes tapping. I was lucky enough to see them on their first Australian show in over a year at Fucked Up last year. These guys have blown up incredibly in the few years since I first saw them (as the DZ). They're touring for the new album, which you can get with your concert ticket in a cheap package that includes a t-shirt.

Touring with them are another Brisbane garage rock band, but on the other end of the stage-size spectrum. Velociraptor are a 12 piece (on a good day when everyone turns up) garage rock noise juggernaut.

April 12 - Elsewhere, Gold Coast

April 13 - The Zoo

April 14 - Great Northern Hotel, Byron Bay

As far as I can tell, all shows are 18+. And loud.

The Go Set

The Go Set are a celtic punk band from down south, who I saw play a punkfest a few years ago. Featuring all of the essentials of the genre: tin whistle, bagpipes, tartan. They also make some very good punk music to go along with it.

April 12 - Surfers Beer Garden, Gold Coast

April 13 - Kings Beach Tavern, Caloundra

April 14 - Prince of Wales Hotel

Given the type of venue, they are probably all 18+.

Jamie Hay/Jen Buxton

Do you like your punk to be acoustic with excellent sing alongs you can do with one arm around a friend and one holding your beer in the sky? Then get along to this song. It's so folk-punk acoustic that Frank Turner wrote a song about Jen.

March 22 - Snitch (X and Y), 18+

March 23 - Between the Walls, all-ages (BYO)

Guttermouth

It's been a little over a year since the crude and rude skate punks Guttermouth did a regional tour of Australia, but apparently we're a great market, because they're coming back to do it all over again, with even more dates!

And proving both their love of Australia and their old school punk-ness, here's them on Recovery in the 90s:

If you want to revisit your punk past, there's a handful of Queensland shows to see them: (all 18+):

January 27, Woodland (Brisbane)

January 28, Billy's Beach House (Gold Coast)

January 29, King's Beach Tavern (Caloundra)

February 2, Magnums (Airlie Beach)

February 3, The Venue (Townsville)

The Grates

1) I'm in love with Patience of the Grates.
2) I love this song so much:
(removed the video because it auto played. Click here instead)

3) Did I mention I'm in love with Patience from the Grates?

She's one of the best performers I've ever seen. She dresses up, dances around to every beat of every song and just looks like she's always having the best time of her life.

Oh she's very cute too.

And writes some great music.

She, and the band she is part of, the Grates, will be playing a bunch of shows in our area to celebrate their new album.

October 27, Spotted Cow, Toowoomba
October 28, the Tivoli
November 17, Coolangatta Hotel
November 18, Kings Beach Tavern

EDIT: Someone should hook me up with a photo pass to this. I'd love to photograph her dance moves. It would be a fun challenge.

Mercy Beat

Brisbane is home of some of the best music in Australia right now, especially if you like your music heavy. And one of my favourite local bands is the Mercy Beat. Imagine if Queens of the Stone Age still had Nick Oliveri singing all the songs and played even more hardcore style.

That's these guys. And they fucking rock.


Last year they put out a tops CD called How To Shampoo a Yak. And although they plugged it a lot then, they've decided to do the whole East Coast run to play it to the whole goddamn country.
We get 3 shows out of it.
July 15 at Kings Beach Tavern in Caloundra
July 16 at Runaway Bay Tavern on the Gold Coast
July 29 at the Beetle Bar

I've blogged about these guys plenty of times before, and there's a reason for it. They're awesome

Regurgitator

Oh hey, it must be that time of year again. Regurgitator's going on tour.

It's becoming an annual event, kind of like that two weeks of freezing cold mornings we get in Queensland when our cars actually ice over. Well it's not that bad, as I actually like Regurgitator. And this Brisbane band is still putting out music, occassionally, and still rocking out.

Sure it's been a while since their heady days of the Unit album, when they'd play Recovery seemingly every few weeks with a new hit single (gosh, I miss that show). Trust my though, I go out and see them every year and they still put on a good show.

There's quite a few shows in our area for this tour:
18th August - Hotel Great Northern, Byron Bay
19th August - Coolangatta Hotel, Gold Coast
20th August - The HiFi, Brisbane
21st August - King's Beach Tavern, Caloundra

Here's Johnny!

A line from a classic Simpson's episode and from a classic Stephen King-inspired movie.

And now it's being used as a pun-title for a new tour featuring two of Australia's indie darlings: The John Steel Singers and Jonathon Boulet (of the band Parades). The tour is shaping to be a bit of a collaborative effort, with them both promising surprises and a little magic in all of the shows.

Here's a video I took (and re-mastered using my audio ninja-ness) of the John Steel Singers (and others) covering the Saints:

Maybe they'll do something like that again? But without Robert Forster I imagine.

March 9, Great Northern, Byron
March 10, Spotted Cow, Toowoomba
March 11, Kings Beach Tavern, Caloundra
March 12, HiFi

News news news!

I'm watching the cricket and have been meaning to blog about few things, so here's that entry where I squeeze everything into one, much like a ladette squeezing into a tank top a size too small to dress sexy for a night out at the Vic.

And yes. I went there.

The Chariot
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, the Chariot were announced to play for Easterfest in Toowoomba. I had it from a fairly reliable source that there were going to be a few other Queensland tour dates on the back of the festival appearance, but it appears no longer happening. We'll get them playing Easterfest on April 22 and then they're buggering off to NSW the next day. Sad. Although looking at the tour dates, it's going to be a very tiring tour for them, crossing the country back and forth in what seems to be a baffling order.

MySpace

Motorhead/Black Label Society
Heavy metal legends Motorhead are teaming up with guitarist extraordinairre Zach Wyld (and his Black Label Society) to shred our ears off next year. They've announced the tour dates, but no venues have been mentioned yet. Which is really odd. But we will get them here April 3rd.

Motorhead
Black Label Society

Philadelphia Grand Jury regional tour
Following a successful return to Australian shores last month, Philadelphia Grand Jury have decided to take their show on the road to regional Australia, dancing the nights away with fellow rockers Bluejuice. The gigs in our area are:

Tuesday 4 January – Ballina RSL, Ballina
Wednesday 5th January – Kings Beach Tavern, Caloundra
Thursday 6th January – Coolongatta Hotel, Gold Coast
Friday 7th January – Great Northern Hotel, Byron Bay

Philadelphia Grand Jury
Bluejuice

Wolf Parade
Apparently are on a very extended break now. Rather sudden, especially since they've been saying they'll tour here since October. I only just listened to their new album this week, and it's pretty damn good.

MySpace