Live Review: Mötley Crüe

                                                       Photo credit: Dave Youdell

27 September 2011

by Poppy Reid

Friday September 23
Sydney Entertainment Centre

It may have been announced as a mini-tour, taking in just three Australian dates, but Mötley Crüe’s Sydney show was bigger than all the glam-rock vets' hair put together.

Returning with the original lineup, vocalist Vince Neil, guitarist Mick Mars, bassist Nikki Sixx and stickman Tommy Lee wasted no time reminding the black sea before them exactly why they’re still touring after thirty years and why it was worth it for most 40-something nostalgic parents to lock in a babysitter and take a hard, fast roll down memory lane.

From the elaborate stage set, complete with suspended, swinging microphones, three massive LED screens, Lee’s circular edifice-like structure and six fire and smoke canons at the front of the stage, it was any wonder bodies began spilling over the barricade before the band had even finished opening track Wildside.

A giant ball of orange ignited the entire stage during Too Fast For Love before a silver spandex and denim-clad Neil pretended to control the preceding explosions with his hand theatrics, and Sixx chucked his hanging mic into the crowd, letting it swing back and almost hit him.

“Holy shit it's been a long time,” said Neil, “and we're fucking back man.” He then reminded himself that some of us weren’t even born when they started out. (Looking around the packed Entertainment Centre, I begged to differ).

A glittery grand piano was brought onstage for Home Sweet Home, Lee’s first solo performance for the night. Dripping in sweat and eyeliner, the rocker greeted us with “Yes all the beautiful people in Sydney, What the fuck is cracking?” Mars then joined him on guitar while Sixx and Neil stood awkwardly over the piano. Wrapping an Australian flag from a crowd member around his shoulders, Neil had us like patriotic putty in his hands. “Man we gotta come out here way more often than every couple years,” he said.

Although the set list was entirely fan-picked, it’s highly doubtful the crowd asked Mötley Crüe to mash Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away) with a cover of Cee-Lo Green’s Fuck You, but judging by the flying black underwear aimed for the stage, the mix was monumental.

When the band exited and the stage went black, it meant only one thing: Tommy Lee was about to do something dangerous. The drummer did not disappoint as he seared into his only Australian 360° solo for the tour; sliding his whole kit up and down the circle frame, Lee got halfway before screaming, “Here we go motherfuckers!” Throwing his stick high in the air while his entire kit sat at 180°, the frame shook as he pounded the skins to electro beats. “You know I’ve got an extra seat up here.” The screams of middle-aged women incited one man to cover his ears; the same guy looked on enviously as a security guard lead one lucky fan to her seat next to Lee. The pair hung upside down and whizzed in full circles while Red Hot Chili Pepper’s Rollercoaster Of Love blasted our eardrums.

:: View all the live pics from the night here.

Before final tracks Looks That Kill and Live Wire, Sixx took the time to introduce each band member and make us boo Brisbane and Melbourne - unnecessary counterparts to a Mötley Crüe concert - but it was pleasant to see most of their traditions had remained in tact.

When the anarchists returned to the stage in grey boiler suits, we knew we were in for one hell of an encore. Kickstart My Heart was a blur of lights, constant fireworks, Neil’s high-pitched screams and instrumentals tighter than his silver pants; this is one band who’s unabashed ‘80s sentimentality will never get old.

Live Review: Counter Revolution, Sydney

                                                            Yellowcard. Photo credit: Ken Leanfore

27 September 2011

by Poppy Reid

Sunday September 25
Big Top, Luna Park, Sydney

It was never going to be the festival that pioneered a new era in hard rock commemorations; it was painted more as a booby-prize obligation for all the punters who cried into their pillows when Soundwave Revolution was cancelled earlier this year. But despite the fact Sydney's Counter Revolution was hosted under a half-full Big Top at an extremely wet Luna Park, and despite the release of a timetable the night previous with a disappointing revelation (The Pretty Reckless were nowhere to be seen); we weren’t there to eyeball each other in the dark or count the side fringes under black hoods; we were offered a storied lineup of pop, punk and hardcore bands who each delivered short bursts of crowd favourites packing more punch than the star of Funeral For A Friend’s circle pit.

As Alesana complained about the sound through tracks like Congratulations, I Hate You and The Murderer on the split stage, Go Radio was setting up to their right, no matter how captivating the band was, this would prove a half-hourly distraction throughout the day. When Florida alt-rockers Go Radio covered Adele’s Rolling In The Deep, even the toughest punk stalwart looked on in awe.

Hellogoodbye, always the biggest surprise band to be placed on a Soundwave lineup, attracted a heavily female audience, with panda-eyed fanatics pressed up against the barrier for electro-rock gems like Baby It’s Fact, Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn and Touchdown Turnaround. With a Summer Heights High instrumental prelude, a fake kiss between the guitarists and a mention of Angry Boys, these collared-shirted Californian kids will always be a welcome addition to any Australian festival bill.

Make Do And Mend win a mention for most hilarious comment made on the day when frontman James Carroll said, “whether it’s a fucking amusement park, whether it’s a basement, we’re still stoked to be here.”

Funeral For A Friend offered the most professional set on the day, inciting the only circle pit; they were also the only band to ask for one. “Let’s make a little circle of love,” said singer, Matthew Davies-Kreye. The decade-old quintet may have changed lineups a fair few times over the past ten years but with just five albums released, it’s clear the UK band have taken their time for a reason.

Story Of The Year drew the largest crowd of the day with tracks The Antidote, Falling Down and The Ghost Of You And I validating their large fanbase. The band knew exactly what we expected from them: crowd favourites only, punk jumps galore and a mammoth back flip from guitarist Ryan Phillips during final track Until The Day I Die.

Yellowcard followed with probably the most to prove; after a six-year hiatus and an additional band member, the band did play mostly Ocean Avenue tracks but did chuck in a sneaky new track with Sean O’Donnellon violin for With You Around.

:: View the live pics from Counter Revolution Sydney here

D.R.U.G.S are brutal beings at the best of times, but they just didn’t bring forth the insanity in Sydney. Those who expected a murderous blood bath of searing guitars and intoxicating (pun intended) vocals from former Chiodos frontman Craig Owens, looked a little dispirited. The sound may have been a little off, and the band may have been slightly out of time, but when a shirtless Owens stepped into the crowd and walked the quagmire of raised fists, all seemed to be forgiven.

Panic! At The Disco wrapped things up in just the style we expected. Playing a set pregnant with pop-punk radio hits, the band had the crowd dancing uninhibitedly from second track But It’s Better If You Do. Fortunately, they kept things as nostalgic as any seven-year-old band could. Rounding out the day with tracks Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off and I Write Sins Not Tragedies, Panic! created a poles apart - yet completely welcome - ending to a day that will be forever cemented in Soundwave’s history.

Album Review: The Kooks, Junk Of The Heart

19 September 2011

by Poppy Reid

In 2006, the year The Kooks dropped their debut, Inside In/Inside Out, throngs of cardigan-sporting indie kids flocked to gobble up the quartet’s loveable Britpop. The follow-up, Konk, sent them floating down the mainstream in 2008; when they debuted at #1 in the UK and charted at #8 on the ARIA charts thanks to singles like Always Where I Need To Be and Shine On.

Three years later The Kooks return with their sights even further set on conquering commercial radio. Third album Junk Of The Heart has a more pop-channeled core than The Kooks’ earlier offerings, with a tracklist fixated on reinvention. Junk Of The Heart is the first with Max Rafferty replacement, Peter Denton on bass and also marks the return of founding drummer Paul Garred who left in 2009; but while the energy is back, the rebirth comes across undeveloped. 

Kicking off with the summery single Junk of the Heart (Happy), frontman Luke Pritchard turns the opener into an introduction to the new Kooks. Backed up by Rosie and later track Eskimo Kiss, and the oft overused but seriously underrated implementation of 20 or so la la la’s, The Kooks are sure to alienate fans who expect another Konk record.

Muffled guitars, simple keys and even a string quartet translate well for the most part of the album, but there are moments when promising tracks morph into fillers. Taking Pictures Of You is so close to the mark that the disappointment is worsened when lazy lyrics and ill-timed organs turn what could have been Seaside Pt. 2 into a plethora of convoluted layering.

Is It Me is an example of when the band seem to achieve the level they’re aiming for; the single follows a simple formula, with backseat bass lines, poetic one-liners and hints of disco teetering over the drums, it was radio-ready before it even reached the chorus.

Junk Of The Heart could have been the definitive, transitional collection that captured their brat-like reputation and intelligent pop proficiency and although it only just falls short, this only adds to the regrettable anti-climax.

Junk Of The Heart is out now through EMI Music.

Album Review: Kimbra, Vows

Photo credit: Aimee Han

14 September 2011

by Poppy Reid

At just 21, Kimbra is well on her way to achieving a level of success that may well rival her influences.

Propelling her way into commercial consciousness with cameos on Miami Horror’s I Look To You and the more recent Gotye chart topping single, Somebody That I Used To Know, the New Zealand export couldn’t have dreamed up a better introduction into the public sphere.

Now, it’s Kimbra’s turn to step into the limelight and reap the fruits of three and a half years of love labouring; while that ubiquitous single experiences its fifth week at the top spot, her first long player, Vows has debuted at #5.

Produced by two polarising producers in Francoise Tetaz and M-Phazes, their healthy injection of indie-pop and R ‘n’ B is driven by underlying orchestral and jazz leanings; this experimental undercurrent will paint Kimbra as a genre-hybrid. Tracks like breakthrough single Settle Down (with its soulful funk and power-pop hook), the Prince homage Call Me and the blatant tribute to Nina Simone on cover song Plain Gold Ring, prove the young maven could lend her vocals to any style. It would come as no surprise if her next collaboration was with an artist like Lil Wayne or even Amity Affliction; those guffawing at this suggestion should hear the record in full before passing judgement.
With each track, Kimbra’s intent is clear: to revolt against the pigeonhole reflex of media and defy categorisation, whilst still paying tribute to her eclectic influences.

Kimbra encompasses much of the same stylistic maturity and perennial poise of those who have shaped her; it’s fair to say she is on the right track to becoming another of Australia's proudest adopted darlings.

Yellowcard: Through thinking

13 September 2011

by Poppy Reid

Ryan Key is feeling the full weight of his return from hiatus. Although Key has spent the past six months touring a comeback album, he still feels the need to remind himself of the axiomatic challenge ahead. The Yellowcard frontman and vocalist is a realist.

“We’re not hiding it, we’re not ashamed to talk about how much work we have to do,” he says. “It’s a steep uphill climb to go from here and this record is just the first step.” When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes is the seventh album from the Florida five-piece and their first in three years. After a tumultuous 2007 of obligatory tours, internal disputes and the slow ebbing of label reps, the band announced an ‘indefinite hiatus.’

“We were at a place where we just felt we weren’t doing anybody any good by being together,” says Key, 32. “We felt we needed to put everything back for a little while. “There was plenty of internal stuff going on too, it was all just not good. Everyone was exhausted, we were at each others throats all the time because everyone was frustrated with the way things were going; we decided we couldn’t do it anymore.”

The band’s ex-label Capitol Records cemented the decision when the bulk of their A&R team jumped ship for various other labels and projects. “We watched the record company really fall apart around us,” he says. “We just knew it wasn’t right.”

Today, Yellowcard is back on the indie route having made their comeback with Hopeless Records in 2010 after the first band meeting in over two years at the LA home of manager Missy Worth. With the addition of Key-propounded bassist/ vocalist Sean O’Donnell, Yellowcard can now count themselves amongst the few bands to return from a self- imposed hiatus in better form than when they left (ala Blink 182).

“As sad as the place we were in, in 2008 was, we’re in a really awesome place now,” says Key. While 2003’s breakthrough record,Ocean Avenue has proven a difficult height to meet, the band are currently engaged in the first of two world tours; Key is prepared to regain each fan, one gig at a time.

“The fans are slowly coming back but it’s going to take some time for us to find them all again. That’s why we’re touring so hard. We did lose momentum but I think we’re now gaining it back.”

It could have been an entirely vacuous idea to throw themselves straight back into the same routine that triggered their need for a break, but Key says his recharged batteries made him realise the need to do things differently. “Everything got so big so fast and we were just being dragged around the world everyday, it was crazy,” Key recalls, before explaining the band’s new touring tactic of longer breathers between treks. “I think that’s going to help a lot, and also being on Hopeless Records and not on Capitol.”

Although a hiatus brings with it many detrimental elements for the band’s career, the task of recovering fans along with their original sound is a drop in the ocean compared to the mess Yellowcard would have made if they were to continue working back in 2008.

“It really recharged our batteries as a band,” he says. We now wake up everyday and go through everyday just trying to make everything the best we can make it, every show, everything we’re doing right now is to make sure we’re the best version of the band that we’ve ever been.”

Yellowcard’s 14-year career has not only given them the smarts to know when to quit while they’re ahead, but also to look upon the future with pragmatic eyes. “I would love for our band to retain that level of success someday but we’re working smarter now and we won’t burn the candle at both ends this time.”

Live Review: Anberlin

                                                                          Photo credit: Court McAllister

02 September 2011

by Poppy Reid

Thursday September 1
Enmore Theatre, Sydney, NSW

Anberlin are quite possibly Florida’s most surprising export. The quintet has been touring their alt-rock serenades for almost a decade now, earning their place in Australia as the hardcore kid’s guilty pleasure.

When the band announced their seventh visit would be a more subdued insight into their career with the epithet An Evening With Anberlin, expectations for a formal sit down affair ensued. But from the first soaring guitar line in opening track Dismantle. Repair, it was clear all expectations were about to be exceeded. Frontman Stephen Christian spat a healthy glob of saliva on the amp behind him before he’d even gotten to the chorus.

Christian’s rasping vocal gymnastics in tracks Paperthin Hymn and Pray Tell proved he wasn’t just the dulcet-hued sonnet-singer that has become his trademark. The two-hour set was completely sans bells and whistles, the back banner didn’t change, yet it was structured with the perfect mix between acoustic tracks, covers and Q and A’s the band had pre-compiled from social network-loving fans.

:: Check out the live shots from the band's Perth gig here.

Of the few and far between sombre moments, drummer Nathan Young couldn’t have looked more bored and unnecessary in The Unwinding Cable Car. This was swiftly redeemed with the band’s impressive versions of Depeche Mode’s Enjoy The Silence and Crowded House track, Don’t Dream It’s Over. Tonight Alive frontwoman Jenna McDougall made an appearance for the Crowded House cover. Thankfully, the Lavigne-Williams hybrid sang her part with a delicate disposition, a persona that was worlds apart from her support set which was a forced, metaphrastic imitation of Paramore.

Christian then declared the band wanted to “meet every single one of us” and would wait at the merch desk until the last person left; just when you thought they couldn’t possibly love Australia even more, the band seared into a pristine edition of Adelaide.

 

“It's an amazing blessing to do what we do and to come out and have you guys rock your faces off it's an amazing thing,” said guitarist Christian McAlhaney who then proceeded to sneak in a speech with Christian about their work with World Vision.

Closing tracks Take Me (As You Found Me) and Dance, Dance Christa Päffgen rounded out the quickest 120-minutes the Enmore Theatre has ever staged. Anberlin returned to the stage for encore track Godspeed leaving us with the compelling reminder that they are one of the most relevant acts in the alternative-rock realm.

Jim Ward: A whole other level

 

01 September 2011

by Poppy Reid

As a founding member of At The Drive In 18-years ago and decade-old band Sparta, Jim Ward can list some of post-hardcore’s most existential moments in his bucket of fame claims. But he’s much more than just a slice of music history; Ward’s debut solo record Quiet In The Valley, On The Shores The End Begins, has arrived three years after Sparta announced its slumber. The cumulative project of three meticulously planned Eps, the album is as autobiographical as it is sonically disparate; the need for escape heavily embossed in every track.

“I remember when we took our break I said ‘I just need a year, just give me a year to just get this out of my system’,” says Ward as he drains his beer with shaking hands - he is still coming down from 53-hours of jetlag. “Someone said ‘what if it takes two years?’ and I said ‘Modest Mouse took off five years and they’re fine.’”

Ironically, Ward announced the waking of Sparta last month and with a fourth Sparta album set to start recording this year, the band will probably reach the five-year hiatus mark for the record’s release. For now though, Ward is concentrating on completing this Australian tour without pining too much for his gang of four.

“Usually I have a gang around me, but they’re all in the states right now,” he says, checking his mobile. “I need to be around people who have my back and care about me. It’s really important to me to be around people who I know care; and not just like a product, or a money amount.”

Ward started touring when he was 18-years-old, this tour is his first completely solo. “It’s lonely, it’s emotionally challenging,” he says. “I’m 30 and I’m more comfortable doing interviews than I am just hanging out with people.”

This ingrained, maladjusted disposition translates heavily throughout the album; first single Broken Songs sparked from a conversation with Tegan Quin (of Tegan and Sara) where they bonded on their mutual habit of bailing on situations.

“We were talking about how maybe it’s built into our horoscope, this urge to walk away from things.” The fellow Virgos were born on the same day and although Quin happily agreed to sing on the track, Ward is still hesitant talking about its roots. “I feel like I’m selling out her conversation and exposing her personal thoughts,” he admits. The opposite is true when it comes to his own though; at his Annandale show later that night Ward spoke openly of his cousin’s drug overdose in 2003 as a prelude to Mystery Talks.

“I hope that maybe if one person doesn’t do what I did then it’ll be worth it, you know?” he explains. “There’s a reason to talk about it, maybe if I’d been at a show and someone said that I would have called him up and said, ‘this is dumb! This is so dumb that we’re not talking, it really is.’ But it is what it is,” he adds.

As tortured a musician as Ward may seem, his veracious nature has permeated his projects since At The Drive In and although he, like most, has tried to steer clear of media malingering, a few have slipped through the cracks.

“Press has been interesting,” he smiles. “Somebody called the title ‘verbose’ the other day so I had to look up what that meant.” After explaining the word belonged to a review from yours truly he quipped: “well, you made me learn a new word!”

Ward is much less perturbed by media opinions now, his spell from Sparta and the reasons he needed it have taught him as much. “Part of the reason I left is because after you make a record and you start the tour, you get these reviews that are like ‘ho hum, it’s the other two guys from At The Drive In’,” Ward starts to madden. “It’s like ‘I don’t even want anything to do with your fucken’ world anymore, I want nothing to do with it. If you don’t get what that was then fuck you, I’m done.’ I needed a few years to get away from that before I could not be angry about it.

“I shouldn’t let any of that dictate my emotion. But it’s hard when you make a record that you think is insanely good and you read something that just pisses all over it.”

With a resolve to finish both a new Sparta record and a release from his project Sleepercar before the year is out, it does paint Ward as an overachiever; but the truth is he’s more content and excited now than he’s ever been.

“I’ve already lived through the shit, I’ve done it,” he shakes his head. “This feels good. It’s a whole other level for me.”