Fri 6 May – Kyuss Lives!

It’s Kyuss, but not as we know it.

The difference is that Josh Homme is not playing guitar, of course. They’ve slightly changed the bandname to respect such a thing (though the Queens of the Stone Age and Them Crooked Vultures frontman has approved their reformation, which is nice). Yet as soon as they take to stage and start playing…who could give a fuck? It immediately becomes apparent that his replacement, Bruno Fevery, is a total six-string wielding demon. He’s the first to make noise tonight, eking out the evocative opening bars of –…

Tue 3 May – UNKLE

The first time I saw UNKLE was at the 2008 Big Day Out. I didn’t know much about them beyond the single ‘Burn My Shadow’, which featured Ian Astbury on vocals and was plastered all over triple j at the time. There must have been a gap in the timetable that night, so I walked into a darkened Boiler Room and, unexpectedly, was confronted with one of the most powerful performances of the day. While the specifics of those moments have since been deleted from my memory, one salient point sticks in my mind: UNKLE…

Tue 12 Apr – Reggie Watts

It’s a strange feeling to be sitting in a room full of Reggie Watts fans. As a performer, he doesn’t attract an identifiable type of follower. After touring with the Big Day Out a couple of months ago, he’s back in Australia as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival; due to popular demand, one presumes, given the number of bodies perched atop rows of too-close-for-comfort seats.

Though Watts hasn’t yet achieved the ubiquity of some of his comedic peers, his profile in this country continues to grow. Which is odd, in a way,…

Fri 8 Apr – The Herd, Joelistics

"One day, in a perfect world, we don't have to do that track anymore," says Ozi Batla after The Herd tear through '77%'. "But right now, we need it more than ever."

Even 10 years on, it's striking to witness how consistently overt The Herd are when it comes to hammering home a message. In their case, it’s not just base, desirable concepts like peace and love, but fervent dismissal of those who oppose them. Political parties, racists, xenophobes; none withstand the gaze of these eight Sydney-siders, who formed their hip-hop collective in…

Sun 27 Mar – Foo Fighters, You Am I, Cloud Control, Giants of Science

Behind the Riverstage, at the edge of the City Botanic Gardens, the Brisbane River silently ebbs in the night. As ferries pass by, their flashing beacons reflect off the body of water that snakes though the city. A few months earlier, that river rose too close for comfort; for a week in mid-January 2011, Brisbane effectively came to a standstill while its inhabitants rallied first to escape the water, then to salvage what was left in its dreadful wake. It was a scary, surreal thing to…

Sat 26 Mar – Ric's Big Backyard Festival

What makes a good music festival? Let's make the educated assumption that, for the vast majority, value for money is the key determinant. If a buyer perceives a festival to be worthy of their time - and, more importantly, money - there's a high likelihood that the festival has a line-up that appeals to them. If not, the buyer refuses to part with their money, and spends their day elsewhere. Such is the dilemma faced by the first Ric's Big Backyard Festival - '#1 Autumn 2011', according to a note on posters…

Wed 23 Mar – Stone Temple Pilots, Grinspoon

Watching Stone Temple Pilots, I can’t help but wonder how things would’ve turned out for the Californian quartet if singer Scott Weiland had stayed clean. His long-term addiction after the band found worldwide success is well-documented, and as they churn through a set packed with songs that have since become alternative rock staples, I can't help but wonder what might have happened if he’d avoided drugs and kept it together. Who knows how big they would’ve gotten? Their first two albums, Core (1992) and Purple (1994), contain some monstrous musical statements; the…

Thu 10 Mar – Eddie Vedder, Evil J & Saint Cecilia

Several times tonight, Eddie Vedder makes mistakes while playing guitar; big, crucial mistakes that cause him to lose concentration and stop the song. Each time, he handles these disruptions with grace and self-deprecating humour. He jokes about how the left and right sides of his brain are blaming each other, and how he’s the parent in between, telling them to calm down. To which they spitefully respond, “You’re the one who raised us.”

The crowd titters at such comments; they're smitten from the moment he reveals himself. Most of…

Sat 26 Feb – Soundwave 2011

Click here to read the below review on The Vine, which includes better formatting and a photo gallery. It's better than reading it here. Promise.

2011 marks Soundwave Festival's fifth year as a national touring entity; five years old, and already rivaling the Big Day Out in terms of sheer artistic firepower. The most recent BDO was headlined by Tool. This year's Soundwave features Iron Maiden - one of the biggest bands in the world - closing each night with a two-hour set. What a coup.

Besides that classic British metal act, nearly 70…

Sat 19 Feb – Good Vibrations 2011

Click here to read the below review on The Vine, which has better formatting and a gallery of photos. It's better than reading it on here. Promise.

On show day, wide open spaces are among the last things that festival promoters want to see. So Jam Music, the team behind Good Vibrations, must be pretty bummed by this year’s turnout. Half price tickets were offered to the Sydney show, and there were reports of lacklustre attendance in Melbourne and - to a lesser extent - Sydney, while punters at the Gold Coast leg…