2011: Best of gigs

2011 was my most musically productive year, in regards to gigs. Over the last 365 days I went to 64 gigs/festivals. This smashes my previous years by a long margin. I imagine the increase is due to my photography, but I like to think it was just a great year for live music in Australia!

There was the normal year starter of Future of the Left, followed by festivals in torrential rain, festivals in crazy heat, multiple trips to Melbourne and Sydney for shows, in-store performances, orchestras, flood-benefit shows, cover bands, friends' bands, classic bands playing arena shows, bands I've waited most of my life to see, my favourite band of all time and lots of new bands I'd never heard of before yet became instant fans. What a year.

Despite my bemoaning of the death of the festival, there were too many good ones for me to pass up this year. Most years I'll go to 2 or 3, but this year I went to 6, 2 of them as a photographer. Considering one of them was a 2 day festival (in torrential rain a few days before the floods), it was quite a tiring year.

With so many gigs (I think I saw 237 different sets), it's really hard to do a top 5, so I made an internal compromise and came up with my top 8 gigs of the year that was 2011.

8. Off With Their Heads/Against Me! (4 May, 2011 @ the HiFi)
If you've ever seen Against Me! live, you'll probably realise their inclusion in any best-gigs-of-the-year list is mandatory. Through an extended set you could just see them enjoying playing as much as we were enjoying watching. It's rare to get a synergy between a band and a crowd at a venue of a large size like the HiFi, but everyone in the band and the crowd had massive smiles on their face. Throw in a long set list full of classic songs designed to get the crowd pumping their fists and singing along, bring along another great international punk band in Off With Their Heads and you get a great night of punk rock.

(click here for the original review)

7. Sufjan Stevens (26 January, 2011 @ the Tivoli)
This was my first time seeing Sufjan. Although more of a fan of his acoustic-folk, I knew this set would lean towards his newer electronic stuff. I figured it was worth going just to see the few songs I really, really like. What it ended up being was an ethereal all-encompassing experience. Not just a gig, but a whole show. Sufjan conducted a light, laser and balloon show that added incredible depth to his music, allowing me to appreciate it at a new level. And he still played some of the folk classics.

(click here for the original review)

6. Melvins/Primus (3 March, 2011 @ the Palais Theatre, St Kilda)
No surprise this was going to be on my list. Primus is my favourite band, no matter what, and my trip to Melbourne was purely for this show. The venue was sitting only (heavily enforced by the ushers), but it was in ridiculously comfortable leather seats with plenty of room. Kim and I were right near the front of the upper balcony and we first watched an all-out aural assault by the Melvins with 2 drummers following a classic set of Primus, including a few new songs as well.

(click here for the original review)

5. The Chariot (20 April, 2011 @ Sun Distortion Studios)

Their first tour of Australia and they absolutely slaughtered the venue. The opening bands weren't really to my taste, but when the Chariot came on I no longer cared. The stage broke and was carried out in pieces. A yellow pages phone book was ripped in half and thrown in the air. The bass guitar broke a string, something I thought was nigh on impossible. The bass player was carried out of the venue still playing. Everything was destroyed in a full on noise-assault. It ended with everything in pieces and the band slumped to the floor and me wanting to see it all over again.

(click here for the original review, picture gallery and bonus video)

4. Modest Mouse (21 July, 2011 @ the Prince of Wales Bandroom, St Kilda)
I travelled to Melbourne just for this show. There was a fight in a mosh pit (what the fuck Melbourne indie fans?), there was no Johnny Marr, but it was still one of the best times I've seen Modest Mouse play. They played something off almost every album (fairly rare) even a few impromptu acoustic songs that Isaac has obviously forgotten most of the lyrics for... stopping to apologise at the second or third verse. The kicker for me though was the fact the encore saw them playing for an hour and a half longer than they were supposed to. Is there such a thing as too much Modest Mouse? No. Not at all.

3. Harvest Festival (Kevin Devine/This Town Needs Guns/The Holidays/The Walkmen/Mercury Rev/TV on the Radio/Clap Your Hands Say Yeah/Bright Eyes/Mogwai/The National/The Flaming Lips/Portishead) (19 November, 2011 @ the Riverstage)

Granted, any festival featuring the Flaming Lips will blow you away with their fully immersive spectacular. But this festival was enough to make me actually enjoy the whole day, instead of suffering through a day of mediocrity just to see one or two bands I really like. Harvest restored my faith in the music festival. It wasn't just about music, there was plenty other things to do that were actually interesting as well as plenty of art and installations. The grounds were laid out perfectly with no noise-pollution between stages and the bands were top-notch. I may have also cried when the Walkmen played The Rat. What a magnificent day it was. I wish all festivals were even half as good as this.

(click here for the photo gallery I shot of the day over at Tone Deaf)

2. The Mercy Beat/Trash Talk/H2O/The Bronx (25 February, 2011 @ Step Inn)

The night before the Soundwave festival and this was a hard-to-get-tickets-for flood fundraiser in the tiny-ass band room of the Step Inn. Originally supposed to be featuring Terror on the line-up, flight connections meant they missed out, but it didn't stop one of the greatest gigs I've ever been to. Trash Talk played an insane (as always) set, going all out with amazing energy. H2O showed why they are one of the best hardcore bands and featured guest spots by members of New Found Glory and Terror (who just showed up) and the Bronx wowed us all the way through to the wee hours of the morning, even playing a song they never play live: Strobe Life.

(click here for the original review and photo gallery)

1. DZ Deathrays/Fucked Up (9 December, 2011 @ Alhambra)

They put out one of the best albums of the year and then they came out on a stadium tour with the Foo Fighters. Luckily they threw this gig together quickly. Alhambra didn't know what hit it. Fucked Up played an awesome set that had security confused and saw Damian spend most of his time shirtless in the crowd with everyone going crazy (which of course is his normal routine, but it's still great to see). He even stopped the band and retrieved an evicted punter when security got a bit too over the top. It was full of great songs, DZ Deathrays were the secret opening band playing their first Australian show in god knows how long and Fucked Up were nice enough to stay behind afterwards and meet everyone. Of course there's a bit of fanboy-bias in this choice, but it was just an amazing night.

(click here for the original review and here for my Tumblr-based photo gallery)

Fat Wreck Tour 2011

Fat Wreck Chords. You may not them, but you'd probably know most of their artists. They are the punk label of labels in this modern age. It helps that it's owned by Fat Mike of Nofx. What they do though is sign some of the best modern punk bands, and give them a great go. So it's good to see a tour coming over to Australia of some of their smaller bands. So you could say I'm a little more than excited for this tour:

Pour Habit was one of my favourite bands of the last few years. They are one of those bands that just combine partying, skating and punk into a great fun package. And Smoke or Fire are just a good all around punk bands I've been enjoying for a long time. They will be playing two shows around our area, in very small venues. You'd be an idiot to miss this great punk show.

October 8, Miami Shark Bar, Gold Coast
October 9, Step Inn

Smoke or Fire
Pour Habit (Check out the song Bad Luck Drunk, it's one of my favourite drinking songs)

Review: The Bronx/H2O/Trash Talk/The Mercy Beat, Step Inn, 25th February 2011

This gig was special for me on so many different levels. To start with, it was a fundraiser for flood relief (the flood which, of course, I was affected by). It was featuring a bunch of huge international punk and hardcore bands, playing a rare enough sideshow to the Soundwave festival the next day. It featured one of of my all time favourite live bands, the Bronx, having them play in a venue three or four times smaller than the last one they played in Brisbane. And because of that, it also let me, as an amateur/crappy photographer, get closer to these bands than I normally would ever be able to.

And I had a bloody kick-ass night.

I was also really pumped for it, as I had stumbled into the Bronx soundchecking earlier in the day. And the sound for such a small PA was amazing.

Terror were originally supposed to play, but their flights made it impossible to get to the venue on time. So they were replaced with local band The Mercy Beat.


I did not know of this band before coming in, but I was mightily impressed. Although they hit the stage early to a still filling band room at the Step Inn, they put on a great set. Full of high energy and plenty of loud guitars, they sounded as if a Nick Oliveri era Queens of the Stone Age wanted to play punk.

Of course, they were no replacement for Terror, but their 30 minute set made a fan out of me and a few of my friends.

But if I thought they were high energy, I have no idea how to explain the next band: thrashers Trash Talk.


The face of the guy on the side of the stage says it all. This band is one of the most high-energy crazy-stage-antics bands I've ever seen, almost on par with Dillinger Escape Plan.

Their short thrash songs were perfect for screaming...

...jumping in the air


and just all sorts of crazy. The lead singer was stage diving into the crowd most of the time, climbing the walls and just having a great time. And surprisingly, the music still sounded damn good, even with all of the insanity.

I wish I knew more of their songs coming into the gig, but regardless, they've got a new fan in me. Even just for their live show. Taking pictures was horrible, with the poor light and the speed these guys moved, but I tried anyway.




Not to mention, it was bloody hot.

I will definitely see these guys again.

H2O were next, with a bit of a change of pace. They play NY style old school straight-edge hardcore punk, and it was their first time playing Australian in over 9 years. In fact, they said it would be their last time playing Australia. So I am glad I got along to this show.

Their set was fringed by punk royalty (at least in regards to the Soundwave tour). Crammed on the stage behind them were Polar Bear Club, Sum 41, New Found Glory and members of pretty much every other punk band on the Soundwave bill. We were even lucky enough to get Chad from NFG come out and play a song on guitar/vocals.

These guys might be old, but they still show the passion for the music they had when they started. They even gave the crowd a serving for being lame and not stage diving or moshing.


But all the way through it, they showed why they are one of the best hardcore bands, putting on a set with almost as much energy as Trash Talk.

There was plenty of crowd sing alongs


And the bass player just loved his punk jumps in front of me.


At some point during the show, Terror's plane must've landed. The singer made it out, in a wind jacket for some strange reason, and sang Guilt By Association for us.


One of the best old-school hardcore bands out there, it'll be sad to never see them come to Australia again.

But the disappointment of H2O finishing was quickly outweighed by the stage going dark, the strobe light going overtime and the sounds of Knifeman coming through the air. Yes, the Bronx were here.


It's no secret that they love Brisbane and they put on a gig that made us love them even more. Despite the technical issues of a guitar amp being replaced over and over again.


They played a stunning set, covering all of their releases. I couldn't think of any song I still wanted to hear when they finished. Here's the set list:


And there's really nothing to say about this gig that I haven't said about the Bronx millions of times before. They were passionate about what they were doing and as such put on a great show. And so humble too, thanking Brisbane over and over again. I really get the feeling that they like it here.

The lead singer, as always, went a bit mental. He spent quite a lot of time riding the crowd while singing, or dancing around in the middle of the mosh. Or just grabbing on to fans.

When the set wrapped up over an hour later, almost at 1 am, everything was a mess. The stage was trashed, the audience was drenched in sweat, there were bodies and broken glasses everywhere and we were all dehydrated. But that's what you get when you close with the great song Kill Your Friends.

It was a great night in such an intimate venue, and I'm sure I won't get to see something of this calibre again. A big thank you to the Step Inn crew, Soundwave touring and all of the bands for putting such a great show together for a great cause. All up they raised over $13000 for the flood relief. Although it's helpful, for people like me, it was just as good seeing such a great show.

Sidewave/Flood Relief/HUGE SHOW

I'll be quick so you can read this and buy your ticket, because there's only about 80 left. It got announced earlier today and it's already almost sold out.

But on February 25 a bunch of Soundwave bands will be doing a flood relief show at the Step Inn. They are Trash Talk, Terror, H20 and the headline act will be the Bronx! This is a massive show. MASSIVE. At a tiny venue. Something like ~150 people only will be in there.

The ticket revenue will be going straight to the flood relief. So not only is it a great show (featuring one of my favourite bands, the Bronx), but it's helping people out as well.

To get a glimpse of how awesome this will be, here's a recording of the Bronx last time they were here, going on about how much they love Brisbane: http://www.thehifilive.com.au/concert/2009-09-09/The_Bronx

DO NOT WAIT. This will sell out by tonight probably.

Numbers Radio

Numbers Radio are a great rock and roll band from Brisbane, who blew me away when they opened for the Bronx last year. It was an unexpected combination, as they play more of an alternative/indie rock style than the Bronx's hardcore punk, but they were still great.

These boys are still young, but they've already played in other great Brisbane bands. Numbers Radio started as a side project, but it's starting to go off. They've released a debut album and you can get some of their tracks on their Unearthed website for free.

They've got a few shows coming up in January, touring with some other great Australian bands:
Jan 6, Boys & Girls (X&Y), 18+
Jan 25, Lifeboat (Southbank Ferris Wheel) with Cola Wars
Jan 27, Noosa RSL (with Cola Wars)
Jan 28, Beenleigh Tavern (with Cola Wars)
Jan 29, Runaway Bay Tavern (with Cola Wars)
Mar 18, Step Inn (with Trial Kennedy)

MySpace

Phantoms/I Exist

I know I've talked about this a fair bit, but one of the best shows I went to this year was in a little-ass basement rehearsal room in West End, featuring Phantoms and I Exist, before I headed over to the HiFi to see Converge.

I'm standing next to Ellis in the background of that picture. You can see the side of my head. As always, thanks to JHat for taking the kickass photo. Hopefully with a few more years of practice I can take gig photos as good as him.

These two had such fun times on their tour up here, that they fell in love with Wet n Wild. And are currently in the process of recording a split EP about their experience. If you know me, you know Wet n Wild is my favourite place in the world, where I take my yearly pilgrimage.

In celebration of the EP, the two are hitting the road again.

Catch them February 10 at the Step Inn. 18+. It's within a week of my annual Wet n Wild pilgrimage, so maybe they'll be up earlier and want to come along? Guys? *nudge*nudge*

Phantoms are probably my favourite Australian band of 2010. I love their new album.
I Exist may be a close second.

You can also order the new split 7" here.

No Trigger/Such Gold

I had only started listening to one of these bands mere minutes before this tour was announced.


Both Such Gold and No Trigger are doing this genre crossing thing, where they mix pop-punk with melodic hardcore punk. And both do it pretty bloody well. Better than a lot of other bands (especially ones I saw at Soundwave, no names here).

If you can't see the poster, catch them at the Step Inn on January 27. The day after La Dispute. Make it a trifecta of great punk/hardcore shows! Unfortunately, it's 18+. Which is a pity, I'm sure a lot of kiddies will love this.

Such Gold
No Trigger

Toe to Toe

One of my favourite 90's hardcore punk bands is Toe to Toe. And they're Australian.

(I was going to put a music video here, but on my search I couldn't stop laughing. See why: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=toe+to+toe+slave&aq=f And then watch the first 3 videos).

They're not on tour, but for some reason or another they've decided to come up to Brisbane to play a show! 17th of December at the Step Inn.

MySpace