Tag Archives: event

Event, Faster Louder, Review, Writing

Australasian World Music Expo @ Hifi Bar

Leave a comment

Rocking up to the Hifi Bar on a very warm Thursday night, we were greeted by a packed house, digging the sounds of an invisible DJ. Not entirely sure where they were playing from, maybe the top bar section, but it was a nice blend of afro and dub beats. Fairly appropriate, given this was the opening night of the Australasian World Music Expo.

AWME is the Australia-Pacific region’s premier music industry conference and showcase of Indigenous, roots and world music. It features films, talks and shows concentrating on music from our neighbours and the more far flung areas of Australia. And it also has a hell of a lot of talented musicians who come to showcase their skills at gigs like this.

Not long after grabbing a beer, the first of many drinks I had to consume to combat the heat of the underground venue, Dubmarine stepped up to play. Hailing from Queensland, this young group of musicians funked it up with their own take on dub reggae, jumping around and generally having a grand ol’ time. I recognised some of their tunes, including Point The Bone, probably from PBS radio. Cat Walker, the female vocalist, has an amazing voice for such a petite girl. D-Kaz the lead singer has a very interesting stage presence, reminding me a lot of the front man of Adelaide band Bliss. Don’t worry if you don’t know them – I’m old and they disbanded in the late 90s – let’s just say he has an over-abundance of energy.

We wandered outside for a smoke, and got to talking with some of the sizable crowd outside. Now, I don’t smoke myself, but my friends do, and I really don’t like this smoking outside business. It really kills the vibe inside the club. Sure, it prevents you from getting lung cancer or at least smelly clothes, but at what cost? After all, this is a reggae gig, there needs to be a haze of funky smelling smoke above the crowd!

It also invites trouble as drunken wankers walk past and hurl abuse at you for no good reason. Good thing the bouncers moved him along quite quickly, but if people are wondering why there’s an increase of violence, this is why! If we were all inside, there wouldn’t be any drunken wankers hassling us for having a good time; not at this gig anyway.

Heading back down we were greeted by the sight of 17 people gracing the stage, showing up how tiny it really is. The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra belted out some great African rhythms, with the girls shaking their thang and the guys jumping around. About half way through they were joined on stage by Tumi, a South African MC who was quite good, with what I heard any way. I’m not sure if it was because of where we were standing, or the size of the band, or just poor sound engineering, but they sounded quiet and muddy severely disappointing given the venue’s reputation, and worrying given the Red Eye’s need for good bass sound.

However, when the Red Eyes did take the stage, the sound was back to its superb self. I saw the Red Eyes open for Easy Street All Stars, and was very impressed with the authenticity in their sound. Here was no different, as they played their more popular tracks like Rude World and Arms Over Jordan amongst others, plus a new track called Curious. The band is tight as the proverbial, and lead vocalist El Witeri has an amazing stage presence, a real old school feel like Mick Jagger, as he prances and struts around stage. Although I have to wonder if he is sponsored by bonds, as every gig he rips his singlet.

The Mad Professor joined them on stage half way through. I thought he was just going to DJ, but was pleasantly surprised when he started tweaking their sound live on stage. The sound this man can get out of a live band is incredible. Running everything through about half a million filters, the bass became phenomenal, and the effects on El’s voice and the horns section simply astounding. They did covers of tracks such as A Little Way Different by Errol Dunkley – which was sampled by drum and bass pioneers DRS and Kenny Ken and the reason I know the tune – plus Waterhouse Rock, originally done by Big Youth, amongst others I knew, but couldn’t tell you the names of. I thoroughly enjoyed this portion of the gig, but was exhausted after jumping around all night. I left when the Mad Professor and the Red Eyes took their bows and exited the stage, but the crowd was screaming for more, so am unsure if there was an encore.

Given this was the opening night of the Australasian World Music Expo, I couldn’t help but draw comparisons to Womad. Sure, Womad is held over 4 days outside in Adelaide’s beautiful parklands, but the vibe of the crowd was exactly the same. It was hot, people were drinking, but they were happy, excited, gracious and fun. ‘United by Music’ is a phrase hippies like to throw about so often, but this was honestly true of this gig. It’s just a shame it could have been ruined by an idiot outside the venue, but hats off to the bouncers for making that scenario not come to fruition.

dB Magazine, Event, Review

Parklife @ Botanic Gardens Adelaide on Sun 23 Oct 2007

Leave a comment

“All the people, So many people” pretty much sums up Parklife in Adelaide on Sun 23 Oct. And it has to be said, Adelaide really came to the party. The sun, the park set up, the crowd, and the music were absolutely perfect. The inaugural Adelaide show proved that Adelaide has the population and the will to go out to a large event that isn’t rock orientated.

I got there and did my usual scoping out of the joint. There was a lot of eye candy of both the male and female variety, and it’s the best looking crowd I’ve been a part of in Adelaide, by far. There were three stages spread across the park, a good number of bars and toilets, and enough variety in food stalls to fill up the fussiest eaters.

I really wanted to see Greg Packer, and was very surprised to see MPK behind the decks, which were promptly moved to the side of the stage so Shapeshifter could do their thing. MPK looked bemused, but coped well with the disruption, and still danced and clapped although almost invisible behind the roadies and equipment.

Shapeshifter began with their mellower dnb, but brought in the rolling basslines quickly and amped up the crowd as their set progressed, concluding with an almost hard rock feel leaving the crowd screaming for more. I was so entranced by Shapeshifter that I only saw two of the Greenskeepers tracks, but they had a decent crowd who were really enjoying the performance which was high energy and full of fun.

As I drifted back between Shapeshifter and Stereo MCs, who were playing nice beats to a small and enthusiastic bunch of nutters, I thought I’d at least try and understand why Ajax is inthemix’s number one DJ. Unfortunately I still don’t see the appeal. Kid Kenobi and MC Sureshock didn’t inspire me much either though.

DJ Craze was up after Stereo MCs, and although I’ve enjoyed Craze in the past, there was something not quite right about it this time. It was a little more varied musically, but was a bit messier. A friend mentioned that it was a bit like Z-Trip, and I have to agree, but where Z-Trip excels is his flow. Craze lacked that, and was poorer for it. Still enjoyable though. The Herd were their usual self – great and lots of fun, although they seemed to be lacking a bit of volume. Adam Freeland was pretty predictable, although the crowd loved it.

The Scratch Perverts were the highlight of the night, their ability on the decks unsurpassed. Although it was a mash like Craze’s set, the flow was a lot more conducive to jumping around and having fun. Following them was Lyrics Born, who is always a fine performer and didn’t disappoint this time either.

Digitalism were great musically, although all I could see was smoke and flashing lights and two silhouetted figures behind keyboards and boxes. Busy P joined Justice behind the decks for a massive mashup, starting with the Jackass theme song, and playing all sorts of funky shit. MIA ended the night with her own brand of crazy hiphop and amusing stage antics.

One of my favourite things about Parklife, and the reason I’ve journeyed to Sydney in the past to be a part of it is the variety of music. And although I felt there was a lack of variety here in Adelaide compared to previous years, I wasn’t left wanting at all. I just think there could have been different styles of breaks beyond the electro stuff, and a little more dnb thrown into the mix. But all in all it was an excellent day full of great music and wonderful people.

dB Magazine, Event, Review

Future Music Festival @ Garden of Unearthly Delights on Mon 12 Mar 2007

Leave a comment

I must admit I was a bit dubious when I first heard about the Future Music Festival. Dance music festivals organised by out-of-towners tend not to do as well as our home grown shows like Enchanted and Stardust. People not from Adelaide tend not to recognise Adelaide’s fickle musical nature.

Sure, the line up was huge, but other events, Two Tribes for example, had impressive line ups and yet never attracted too many people in Adelaide. Add the fact that it was on the same weekend as the Fringe Opening and Womad, and one could be excused for thinking that it might not do as well as it would in other states.

However, I am more than happy to report that Future Music Festival was an absolute success. The set up at the Garden of Unearthly delights was excellent, one of the best set ups I’ve experienced in Adelaide. I’ve heard varying reports about the numbers, from between 4 and 6,000 people, but the place was busy and bumping from the moment I got there. There was even a line up to get media passes!

First up was dnb maestro LTJ Bukem, and there is nothing better than listening to MC Conrad’s dulcet tones wax poetically over Bukem’s cruisy dnb on a nice, sunny day. Although Bukem’s label Good Looking Records hasn’t released an album in years, Bukem plays new stuff unlike any other dnb DJ on the scene today. The crowd were really enjoying it, with most dancing on the slight incline of the park, and a few kicking back under the shade.

Being a breaks lover, I spent the rest of my time in the So Co Cargo area. Patch and MPK played a wicked set of harder dancefloor dnb to an eager home crowd, playing Pendulum and other crowd favourites; although I thought it was unfortunate that the only 2 dnb acts on for the day clashed.

Ali B stepped up, and started playing some bass heavy breaks. He had some sound problems, apparently his monitor wasn’t working too well, but that had little effect on his mixing. I didn’t know many of the tunes, although I spotted some Stanton Warriors, Bassbin Twins and Drumattical Twins in there. Towards the end of his set he got a little funky, playing Slyde amongst others, and this seemed to fill the room a little more.

JDS stepped up next, and I didn’t know what to expect. I’m not a fan of his signature tune ‘Purple Funky Monkey’, but his set consisted of much harder, more dancefloor breaks orientated tracks that just grooved along. If I knew only a few of Ali B’s tracks, I knew even less of JDS, but that doesn’t bother me and didn’t seem to bother the crowd either. I’d much rather hear new music and find out what it is after the fact.

During this time I wandered about, and caught a bit of Princess Superstar on another stage. I actually enjoyed what I heard her play, but I’m sure I heard one of the tunes she played at least 3 times on that stage during the entire day as I wandered past. Maybe I’m just getting old and it’s all starting to sound the same to me.

Much to my disappointment, Rex The Dog wasn’t a synthesizer playing German shepherd, but instead a rather first-class (but merely human) performer playing on synths and turntables. He played lots of really cool, techno-electro breakbeat driven stuff which the crowd really got behind. Chris Lake followed and there was barely breathing space in the small So Co Cargo area, but that made Chris’s bump and grind techno funk even more enjoyable.

But if there was a crowd for Chris Lake, there was a horde for Carl Cox! One of the biggest names in dance music for the last 10 years, Cox always goes off in Adelaide and this was no different. Playing off a Mac notebook on what I assume was either Serato or Final Scratch, the big man of the music scene simply smashed it!

I was simply too smashed to continue the night (I had been at Womad all weekend too) but the Future Music Festival was a huge success, and the promoters did an amazing job. The sound was clear and crisp wherever you were, and although there were many people, it never felt claustrophobic. I look forward to next years event!

dB Magazine, Event, Review

Big Day Out 2007 @ Adelaide Showgrounds

Leave a comment

Another year, another Big Day Out, and another disappointing Boiler Room line up. Sure, all the acts that played this were top notch, but I don’t know, maybe the all-dance events like Good Vibrations, Field Day and Parklife keep scoring all the crowd pullers, but I wasn’t too impressed with the Boiler Room this year and spent a good deal of my time seeing bands.

Having said that though, the Herd were the first band I saw, and testament to the draw of hiphop, especially in Adelaide, they had the Boiler Room packed and pumping in the early afternoon. They have such energy and vitality on stage, and bringing John Schuman out for their cover of Redgum’s “I Was Only 19” was a very pleasant and welcome surprise.

The floor thinned out considerably for Digital Primate, which was a shame because he was really good. Playing his own tunes, with his rappers jumping up next to him and kicking some delicious rhymes, he was better suited for a later time slot. Also at this time I decided to get a drink. What a farce that was! Lining up for 30 minutes in the hot sun just to get tickets to go line up again for a drink? From a logistics perspective I can see why they did it – only a few places that deal with cash so no money goes missing from the bars, but from a punters point of view the idea is almost as stupid an idea as trying to prevent people wearing the Australian flag.

Spank Rock surprised me. I knew MC Spank Rock was a no show, but I expected the Spank Rock DJs DJ Devlin and DJ Darko to be far more hiphop orientated than they were. They only did a couple of their own tunes and played a lot of dance orientated stuff in mashup style, mixing up Mylo and AC/DC and the Rocky Theme, with Pacerock hyping the crowd rather than rapping to the music. They reminded me of the Nextmen or Z-Trip, and I really wonder how different they would have been if Spank Rock had made it.

I went for a wander after this, managing to catch My Chemical Romance, who, I grudgingly admit, were rocking the crowd far beyond my expectations. I’ve never really listened to them, and what I’ve heard on the radio I can’t say I like them, but I didn’t run away with my fingers in my ears screaming “You Suck!” at the top of my lungs like I have to other bands in the past.

Making my way back to the Boiler Room for Peaches, I was not disappointed by her on stage shenanigans. Sucking water out of fake boobs during Shake Your Dix, ripping off her tight black jumpsuit to reveal porn style electric pink underwear, she dominated the audience with her sexy style and on stage presence. And I love how many instruments they swap for every song – I much prefer to see people playing samplers on stage than relying on DAT backup tape.

Needing a rest, I wandered over to the Lilly Pad, and managed to catch King Kapisi, New Zealand’s king of hiphop. I don’t care what people say about Scribe, King Kapisi wipes the floor with him. Better rhymes, better attitude, just simply better. After Kapisi came Afra & the Incredible Beatbox Band. And my word, they are aptly named! Beginning with the Shadow’s Apache, made famous by Michael Viner’s Incredible Bongo Band, the proceeded to box out various beats from Michael Jackson to James Brown, and classic hiphop like ‘Let Me Clear My Throat’. The Japanese rapping was pretty cute too, and these guys are the best beatboxers I’ve seen to date. Although I’m seeing Rhazel next weekend, so my opinion is open to change.

After Afra, I went and checked out the Streets, who played far too much of their slow stuff, so I went to see Jet instead. I must admit in the past I’ve not liked Jet, thinking them to be too derivative, but seeing them live really made me appreciate their sound a little more. Speaking of sound, Muse blasted some awesome rock, but not knowing too much of their stuff I sought out something I knew and could bop along to. Enter You Am I, another Australian band I have never given much credit to, but on the smaller Green Stage they seemed much more intimate and comfortable than last time I saw them.

Tool kicked off their set with probably the only Tool song I could identify as them, but I stuck around for a while and enjoyed the heavy rock, until hunger got the better of me and I went to grab some food. Here I was subjected to the wailing of Her Latest Flame, which made me glad I don’t go out to see local bands anymore. I understand you’re an angry teenager, but do you have to scream about it? Listen to the other bands on the line up – Tool and Muse didn’t produce eardrum busting yelps!

After dinner, it was time for the Violent Femmes, and I was happy as a pig in mud dancing and singing along from the first note of ‘Please Don’t Go’ to the last I heard, ‘Add It Up’. I loved the fact they played ‘Country Death Song’, one of my all time favourite Femmes tunes, and Brian Ritchie was great on the Xylophone for ‘Gone Daddy Gone’.

Leaving the Femmes before the end of their set was a heart wrenching decision, but I had a job to do. I had to go see Crystal Method to see if they’d disappoint me for a fourth time. In the past they’ve been average or simply downright crap. The ease I got into the Boiler Room confirmed my suspicions that the Crystal Method aren’t as popular as past BDO closers, but I grudgingly admit they played an alright set. Recognising their own remixes of Prodigy, New Order’s ‘Blue Monday’, along with their own ‘Born Too Slow’, and capping off with their squealchy and tough ‘Keep Hope Alive’, they exceeded my expectations, but my expectations were pretty low.

dB Magazine, Event, Review

Enchanted Forest @ Adelaide Showgrounds on Sat 9 Dec

Leave a comment

Enchanted Forest brings the Adelaide Rave community out in force. Even though it was a stinking hot day, over 5,000 souls braved the harsh summer sun to head to the Royal Adelaide Showgrounds for the first Enchanted held during the day. I got there and met some friends at the Goodwood pub, and even that early it was clear people were in a party mood.

After a short line up, a line up to get a wristband, then another to get a wristband to drink, I was confronted with two stages immediately together. This normally would concern me, but even with very little people near the stage (they were all in the shade or at the bar) there was little sound bleed, a testament to the professionalism of sound engineers in this day and age. In fact, the whole set up impressed me greatly, and I have to admit it was the best use of the showgrounds for a rave yet.

After grabbing a drink and catching up with everyone, it was time to get into the music. John B was the first act I wanted to see, and he didn’t disappoint. Dressed in his 1980s short shorts, “I’ve been Stalking You on MySpace” shirt, big hair and make up, he certainly put on a show. The music was unusual, with dnb mixed with 80s stuff, but it was lots of fun. The crowd cleared noticeably for CJ Boland live, mainly because of the change in tempo, but I loved hearing the old school techno played live off his PC.

Killa Kella was the standout of the day for me. MC Trip ripped rhymes about Steve Irwin and Michael Jackson, whilst Killa Kella did his best beatboxing with the sun right in his Pommy face. Credit to him – I could barely raise enough energy to talk in that heat, and he tore it up! Goldie started on the second main stage, and I listened to him for a few minutes and liked what I heard, but it was a little too lively for me in that heat.

Funkoars played on the main stage during this time, and one of the MCs forgot his lines during one of the tracks, allowing the others to totally rip on him. It was funny how they kept dropping F and C bombs, then freaking out because Peter Coomb was after them. “He’s gonna think ‘who are these disgusting cunts'” was one of the shout outs. The crowd thickened considerably as anticipation for Peter Coomb grew, and he was welcomed by a hearty cheer when he stepped out. It was hilarious seeing thousands of grown people singing along to his kids songs, and clearly Peter, his band and the crowd were thoroughly enjoying themselves.

During this time I went walking about, catching up with friends. I also managed to catch John Doe play some awesome breaks, and then got to catch MPK back to back with Patch with MC Grif and Pase on the mics. I’ve got to hand it to our locals – they were a rocking it as well as any international I saw. I tried to get into Kid Kenobi and MC Sureshock, but their set was much like when I saw him in October at Parklife, which was disappointing, and I tend to find their brand of breaks to be a little lacklustre.

Another highlight at this time, besides the cool change sweeping through, was the Danger Zone area. Based on the Mojo West night of the same name, DJ Quazza span some classic 80s and 90s rock and dance anthems, much to the laughs and joys of the crowd. Quazza was resplendent in 80’s afro wig, Def Leopard T-shirt and bandana. He was joined on stage by Pratty, also in wig, rocking out the tennis guitar and giving shout outs on the Mic. Funny stuff indeed!

I really did try to give Kevin Energy a listen, but just found it dull and repetitive. I must have been the only one though, because the crowd was massive and everyone was jumping and cheering. But the crowd got even bigger for El Hornet of Pendulum, who whilst a little disappointing to me – I wanted more new tunes – rocked the crowd and turned in a very fine performance. It was a great end to a fabulous day, and I hope Enchanted at the showgrounds becomes an Adelaide tradition like the Shutzenfest and skyshow.

dB Magazine, Event, Review

Suicide Girls @ Fowler’s Live

Leave a comment

Last time I covered for Eddie Chan, I got to interview a hot Asian naked female wrestler, and watch one of the funniest DVDs I had ever seen, which also happened to feature hot naked chicks wrestling. So, when Eddie pulled out of reviewing the Suicide Girls, I jumped at the chance to review them. I mean, come on, free naked chicks, how could a single heterosexual man pass on that offer?

Well, having spent the evening surrounded by non-conforming conformists all dressed in black listening to crap music, I can safely say I will NEVER cover for Eddie again. I used to think the most un- erotic thing I could witness was a Liberal Party orgy. I was wrong. The most un-erotic thing I can witness is staring at the back of some greasy haired wannabe goth wanker whilst hot topless girls bounce around on a stage I can’t see.

Because the way Fowlers Live was set up, if you were anywhere but at the front you got the glimpse of a beautiful perfectly formed breast bounce into your vision, then spent the next 5 minutes staring at the gel fighting with the hairspray in some stupid ‘I’m so hip’ hair. You may think that’s harsh, but the dude had a rats tail for Christ sakes. In 2006! That’s just WRONG!!

As for the show itself, if it was burlesque then I’m a trained ninja assassin whose next job is to kill the president of Zimbabwe so that America can continue enforcing its New World Order! In case you don’t know me from a bar of soap, I’m not a Ninja Assassin – In typical Napoleon Dynamite fashion, I don’t have any skills – and even if I did I wouldn’t be in the employ of GW Bush. The suicide girls put on a simple strip show, devoid of the humour and social commentary of a typical burlesque show. In fact, the Simpsons episode where they sing ‘we put the spring in Springfield’ was more burlesque, and thus more erotic, than this pile of, it has to be said, rather good looking flesh.

I also have to make mention of the fact that after a 3 hour wait for this particular act, I was a little inebriated by the time they come on. I’m normally a sober, patient man, but waiting 3 hours whilst some moron in a mask does boring magic tricks with a dildo, followed a band with a lead singer dressed in a blouse, is enough to drive even the Pope to drink. So once the girls started strutting their stuff, I whipped out my phone and started writing notes, knowing I’d be unable to remember most of the show afterwards, considering the fact I could even see my phone was a miracle even Jesus would be proud of. The next thing I know I had some fucking ape clench my arm, and demand I stop taking photos. I tried to patiently explain I was writing notes, and even showed him my phone, but the hairy cunt threatened to throw me out if he saw my phone in my hand again.

So, would I recommend the Live Suicide Girls Burlesque show to anyone? Not on your life. I suggest you go to the website www.suicidegirls.com and sign up, because you’ll see more titties there, and you can join the massive number of FOUR South Australian’s who’ve actually contributed money to them and their website.

dB Magazine, Event, Review

Tripod

Leave a comment

I hate reviewing comedy shows. How can you tell other people how funny a show was without spoiling it? But what I can say is, I thought Tripod were funny on Skithouse and Triple J, and I can say they’re absolutely fabulously hilarious live.

Beginning with the theme song from Highlander, Princes of the Universe, sung by Queen, the boys started with a full on rock show, with flashing T R I P O D sign rocking out while they posed on stage. They then picked up their acoustic guitars and began to do their own tune. Their song was decidedly less rocky, but quite funny nonetheless. After their first song they started their banter, wondering why we didn’t cheer for the sign, claiming it cost them a lot of money. The sign was the focus of many puns, my favourite being when they were talking about merchandising and selling out to corporations; the ipod part of the tripod sign started flashing.

Another funny but unintentional prop gag came from Gatesy’s guitar string breaking. Whenever a guitar string breaks I always have Jello Biafra saying “Ray’s guitar broke” speech from ‘Night of the Living Rednecks’. Now I’ll have the image of Yon (the little one) picking a fight with Scod (the tall bespectacled one) because they were pretending not to know each other and Scod kept looking at Yon. Ok, so it doesn’t work on paper, you just had to be there…

They did a collection of old and new material, including Lingering Dad, Frustration, Gonna Make You Happy Tonight (my favourite because it’s all about playing video games) and Oil in the Congo. Their “Show Us the Fucking Monkey” was a hilarious stab at Peter Jackson for taking so long to show us the monkey in King Kong, and “the Prison Song,” about a man who is arrested for suicide bombing a bus (think about it) was both political and incredibly funny simultaneously.

Tripod are accomplished musos, playing together really well and using their voices wonderfully. Their in-between song banter was genuinely funny and never seemed forced or rehearsed. Whilst once they may have been a DAAS knock off, they’ve definitely come into their own and now outshine the former comedy trio in both originality and musical style. They could get better haircuts though.

dB Magazine, Event, Review

Big Day Out 2006 – Boiler Room @ Adelaide Showgrounds

Leave a comment

This year the Big Day Out was rather disappointing, especially in terms of the Boiler room. There wasn’t anyone really huge, like the Chemical Brothers, and although Soul Wax / 2ManyDJs were headlining, I couldn’t help but feel a little let down by the whole affair.

Sounding like a cross between early Joy Division crossed and Devo, the Presets rocked the Boiler room with live drums and synth player. They remarked on how today they had one of the biggest crowds they ever had in Adelaide, which is always a good sign for a budding live outfit.
John Ferris played hard dance, which is not music to my liking, especially that early in the day, but he played it well and the crowd were definitely up for it, with lots of party people boogying to his set. Vitalic were a very welcome surprise, playing some really good tunes in a techno vein. Live techno always sounds good, and I thoroughly enjoyed this set. It was definitely one of my highlights.

Although I enjoyed Wolf Mother on the big stage, and they played most of their big tunes, including Apple Tree, Woman, Joker and Thief and Minds Eye, and played them well, when I saw them last year I appreciated the more intimate feel the smaller stage provided.

I thought Kid Kenobi was rather pedestrian. His set today didn’t seem to have the punch that it has in the past. Having seen him on New Years Day may have tempered my feelings, but I’ve heard him play much better sets. However, he certainly got the crowd dancing, buoyed by MC Sureshock busting some excellent rhymes on the mic.

Sonic Animation were a last minute addition to the Big Day Out, and I’m glad I got to see them, even though they have meant to have called it a day. The cheeky Mylo sample at the beginning of their set was pretty cool, and shows they’ve still got their sense of humor.

dB Magazine, Event, Review

The Herd @ Adelaide Uni Bar Sat 5 Nov

Leave a comment

Initially I thought the Adelaide Uni Bar was a little bit of a weird place for the Herd. I’ve seen a few acts there, including hiphop acts like DJ Vadim a few years ago, but I’ve never been a fan of the sound in there. The windows reflect the sound back weirdly, and if it’s a hot and humid night like it was on Saturday, when standing out on the balcony the windows produce the most god-awful racket. But that’s where most of the crowd had gathered early, as it was perfect for sitting and chatting and drinking on such a balmy night. However, when at the bar you could hear the warm up DJ BVA playing funky, alternative hiphop like DJ Shadow, Jurassic 5, and Aussie hiphop like Katalyst and Koolism.

When Mindfield hit the stage, the crowd quickly filtered in, and were presented with a fine representation of South Aussie hiphop. Sounding as though the come from the Hilltop Hood School of party hiphop, this talented local trio busted lots of fun rhymes about drinking, smoking, and having a good time with just a little hint of political edge. Working mostly off CD, with DJ Mark One not only scratching but joining in the rhyming, a harsher critic may call them derivative, but I was much more impressed that not all Aussie hiphop has gone harder and ‘gangster’, and that party hiphop was still very much where Aussie hiphop is at.

Following them was BVA, but I returned to the balcony to have a breather, so only heard distorted bass slamming against the windows.
Not having seen the Herd before, I was impressed with the amount of stage space they took up, and the presence they projected. As they began, I couldn’t help but get caught up in the energy of nine people partying on stage. As I looked around the crowd, I noticed I wasn’t the only one, as people were smiling and cheering and clapping and singing along. I was very impressed with the addition Jane Tyrell, who has an amazing voice and complimented the three MCs Ozi Batla, Urthboy and Bezerkatron wonderfully. I’m not sure who was at the back, although I spied Uncle Ho (whom I recently saw in Sydney) jamming on his laptop, but what impressed me the most was the piano accordion that was pulled out for more than a few tunes – not usually an instrument associated with hiphop, but it sounded damn cool amongst the guitars, beats and scratches.

I surprised myself by knowing more than a few of their songs and singing along, such as We Can’t Hear You and 77%, and with the clear rhyming and banter between songs, it was more than apparent what Starship Trooper is about. The anti-war sentiment is cemented with their cover of Redgum’s I was Only 19 (A Walk In The Light Green), and they gave a shout out to John Schumann to riotous applause. Although on reflection it seemed a lot like they were preaching to the perverted – a university crowd is usually going to be anti-government and anti-war. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but such powerful sentiment performed by such charismatic people should be seen by a greater audience. Hopefully The Herd will be seen and heard (forgive the pun) by a wider audience in the future, as they have the talent, skills and energy to take on the world with their poignant lyrics and fantastic stage presence.

dB Magazine, Event, Review

DJ Krush & Freq Nasty @ Black Cat

Leave a comment

Black Cat is a great little club, and now that Traffic has closed it’s sure to get a lot more business. DJ Krush was my first experience of an international DJ at the place, and there’s one thing that stands out about the place – it needs better sound! The sound on this night was all over the shop, and it really impacted on many people’s enjoyment of the night.

I got there early in order to see the New Pollutants, who were their crazy selves. The crowd seemed to be full of chin strokers and wallflowers, so Mr Speed utilised the wireless mic by running out into the audience and singing, dancing and generally being mischievous with us, bringing us out of our shell. Next up were a group called Devine Interruption and going by their debut performance they are going to get very far. Consisting of a DJ, beat manipulator and MC, these guys performed a range of tunes down tempo to banging in vibe. Utilising both the MC and pre-recorded lyrics, they got many a head nodding, and even some booty shaking.

It was during their set that the sound started to go wonky, and, whilst the MC was beating himself up for it afterwards, they did a very good in dealing with it, especially for their first show. I’ve got to say I was unimpressed by the next few DJs. Sure, I was waiting for Krush, but these guys just didn’t grab me in any particular way. Muksrat on the other hand, after some technical problems trying to find a decent mic for himself, and then a second mic, he busted it out in his own inimitable style.

Krush stepped up next, drawing even more people onto the dancefloor, and the master of the scratch played a set that blew most of us away. Using normal scratch techniques through a filter, he played some atmospheric beats that slowly built up and up, then turned mighty tasty, with just a hint of dnb style, but without being anything but hiphop. Like last time I saw Krush, I only knew two tunes, a Krush tune and DJ Shadow tune, and truthfully, I loved it! There’s nothing better than hearing a true master play tunes that you’ve never heard before.

Attaché stepped after Krush, sounding muddy as all hell, and it was quite a let down after Krush. What I could hear was really interesting as there’s not many Adelaide people making music like that, and it was kind of a shame to hear it played with bad sound. When Freq Nasty stepped up, the crowd had thinned noticeably – it was a school night after all – but the volume was excessive and made more people leave. Once they turned the damn system down, it was evident that most of the damage had already been done as there were only about 70 people left, however most were getting down to the Freq sound, which was good to see. Freq Nasty played lots of dark breaks and a few bootlegs, the AC/DC thunderstruck one being one of the highlights.