GALLERY: Heroes and Villains Party @ Unibar

Photos by Tess Ellis, 5/4/12 @ Unibar

WEEKLY PREVIEW: May 9 – 15

GIG OF THE WEEK:

THURSDAY: Gay Paris, Mother and Son, Gentlemen and Vagabonds @ The Patch

8.30pm, $9, 18+

A great night of rock’n’roll coming up at The Patch this Thursday. Sydney’sGay Paris head to town to kick off their ‘4 Drinks Minimum’ tour, ably supported by hometown heroes Mother and Son, and Gentlemen and Vagabonds. Mother and Son’s album launch show in March sold out way ahead of time, and all reports (including Radar’s) commented on the outrageous amount of ass they kicked at that gig; they’ll be in a support capacity this time around, but don’t expect their dirty, bluesy rock’n’roll to be any less than awesome.

Make sure to come early and check out Berry’s Gentlemen and Vagabonds; they describe themselves as “a grimy blues band who make rough recordings in a shack just outside an old abattoir facility down the road from the infamous hanging tree,” this bio alone making them one to look out for.

Plus, it’s only nine bucks, so you really have no reason NOT to check out this show.

Also, check out Radar’s interview with Mother and Son, in the lead-up to their album launch show in March.

ALSO THIS WEEK:

TUESDAY: Wollongong Uni Band Comp @ Unibar
feat. The Bittersweet Empire, Avaine, Belials Lamb, The Grins & Annie Band, The Professors
7pm, FREE, 18+

WEDNESDAY: Lowrider, Joelistics, Jenny Broke The Window @ The Harp Hotel
8pm, $12, 18+

THURSDAY: Carpet (album launch), Vanguard Party @ Otis Bar
8pm, $10 (includes free copy of album), 18+

THURSDAY: Over-Reactor, Sidetracked Fiasco, Mind At Large @ The Harp Hotel
8pm, $12, 18+

THURSDAY: Mick Harvey (album launch), The Nice Folk @ Bulli Heritage Hotel
8pm, 18+

THURSDAY: Up Hill Always, I Soar The Eagle @ Wollongong Youth Centre
6pm, FREE, all ages

FRIDAY: Blue King Brown, Diafrix @ Waves Nightclub, Towradgi
8pm, $25, 18+

FRIDAY: The Bungalows, Sydney Girls Choir, Yardvark @ Dicey Rileys ‘Live and Local’
9pm, FREE, 18+

FRIDAY: Candied Limbs, Blackbear, Purr & Leafwrist @ Yours and Owls
8pm, $5, 18+

FRIDAY: Front End Loader, The Momos @ The Patch
8pm, $15, 18+

FRIDAY: As Silence Breaks, Wolfkhan, New Blood, Heart Set To Fail @ Wollongong Youth Centre
6pm, all ages

SATURDAY: ‘Laze’ festival @ Headlands Hotel, Austinmer
feat. Jenny Broke The Window (plus DJs: Phantoms, Kass Kids, Salilig & Alves, DJ Grimace, Tradehook DJs, Mark Longhurst)
2pm, $5, 18+

SATURDAY: The Sex Panthers @ Dicey Rileys
8pm, 18+ 

We’re always happy to help out! If you would like to include an event in Radar’s weekly gig guide, contact:
radar.illawarra@gmail.com

WEEKLY PREVIEW: 25 March – 1 May

GIG OF THE WEEK:
FRIDAY: Pom Pom, Vanguard Party + special guest @ Dicey Rileys
8pm, FREE, 18+

Despite an amazing lineup of talent – local, national and even international – making this week a very exciting one for Wollongong music fans, a relatively small gig in a pub on Crown Street is the one that Radar is encouraging you support.

Dicey Rileys, possibly known to you as “that Irish pub near the train station,” will host the first of its ‘Live and Local’ gigs this Friday; a weekly, FREE band night focusing on local talent. The venture will be launched by ex-Wollongong (now Melbourne-based) electro artist Pom Pom, alongside Vanguard Party and Tommy M & The Mastersounds.

Although the prospect of seeing two leading local acts playing for free should be more than enough to get you through the door, this gig is also important in the scope of the wider music scene and community. With similar ventures like Night Eats Day, Soundbreak Thursdays and Midnight Kamikaze closing down in recent months – and, of course, the closure of the Oxford Tavern – there is little live music activity in the Wollongong CBD. Without looking to discount the great work done by the awesome Otis Bar, or the great gigs put on at the Harp lately, there is really nowhere for louder acts to regularly play in the centre of town; one has to trek out to Fairy Meadow to The Patch to see loud rock acts.
The establishment of this venue at Dicey Rileys is a chance for music to be regularly available in the middle of town, so don’t let it go to waste by not supporting it; so get out to the opening night, and show the organisers and owners of Diceys that live music CAN be a viable and profitable idea for local venues!

As well, make sure to check out Radar’s interview with pom pom from earlier this week.

ALSO THIS WEEK:

TUESDAY: Oh Sleeper, The Chariot, Mary Jane Kelly, Totally Unicorn @ Harp Hotel
8pm, $28 presale (Tickets through OzTix), 18+

WEDNESDAY: Strange Talk, Pom Pom, Tainted Fist @ Harp Hotel
8pm, $10 presale (Tickets through Bigtix), 18+

THURSDAY: Steel City All Stars, The Kujo Kings, Rocksteady Dub Militia @ The Patch
8pm, $7, 18+

THURSDAY: King Tide, Tainted Fist @ Wollongong Unibar (Superheroes & Villains Party)
8pm, FREE for UOW students, (general admission $10), 18+

THURSDAY: Heart Set To Fail, Stay Down @ Wollongong Youth Centre
6pm, free, all ages

FRIDAY: Yellow Fever, Love Connection, Jack Reilly, Bec Sandridge @ Otis Bar
8pm, $10, 18+

FRIDAY: Mind At Large (EP Launch), The Watt Riot, Ye Luddites @ The Patch
8pm, $10, 18+

SATURDAY: Frenzal Rhomb, The Optionals, Totally Unicorn @ Wollongong Unibar
8pm, $22.50 presale, 18+

SATURDAY: Monstrocity @ City Diggers
Feat: Floating Me, Sleep Parade, As Silence Breaks, Elite Element, Earth Mechanics, Recoil, Arc Icarus, Kaleidoscope, Distract, The Wu’s and Won’ts
3pm-12am, $15, 18+

SATURDAY: Traces of Nut, Lost In Verona, Dr Johnson, Seek The Silence @ Nowra Youth Centre
6pm, FREE, all ages

We’re always happy to help out! If you would like to include an event in Radar’s weekly gig guide, please contact radar.illawarra@gmail.com

WEEKLY PREVIEW: 18-24 April

GIG OF THE WEEK:

SUNDAY: Grinspoon, Hunting Grounds, Strangers @ Waves Nightclub, Towradgi
8pm, $35 + bf, 18+

Say what you want about Grinspoon – “Triple M fodder,” “Dad-rock”, “sell outs” – they’re one of the hardest working bands in the business. They play the big venues, and are a staple at most Aussie rock festivals, but they play the small towns and do the hard yards on almost every single tour. Their August tour took in twenty-something dates, and not a single capital city; every single show was in regional, out of the way towns that aren’t usually accustomed to hosting the raucous, punk-rock show served up by Grinspoon. So, in the vein of Grinspoon supporting small towns, I’m supporting Grinspoon. Granted, their past few albums have been utter tripe; but they do tend to lean heavily on their older material. You know it well, the pop-grunge-rock that made up the soundtrack to your early childhood – ‘Champion,’ ‘Lost Control,’ ‘Chemical Heart,’ ‘1000 Miles,’ ‘Hard Act To Follow’ – and despite your best efforts, you can’t help but like it.
With support from two awesome up-and-coming Aussie acts in Hunting Grounds (formerly HOWL, Triple J Unearthed High winners from Ballarat) and Strangers, it’ll be the loudest, craziest, most enjoyable show of the weekend.

Stay tuned later this week for Radar’s interview with Hunting Grounds!

ALSO THIS WEEK:

TUESDAY: Vanguard Party, Pat Arnold @ Otis Bar (Music Scene Forum ‘after-party’)
9.30, 18+, free

WEDNESDAY: Kaleidoscope @ Wollongong Uni (Lunch on the Lawn)
12.30pm, all ages, free

WEDNESDAY: UOW Quake Appeal feat. Alloway, Liam Cooper, Belles Will Ring @ Wollongong Unibar
7.30pm, 18+, $12 (students)/$15 (general)

WEDNESDAY: Kira Puru & The Bruise, Mother & Son, The Walking Who @ Harp Hotel
8pm, $8, 18+

THURSDAY: Bennie James, Obscura Hail, The Bittersweet Empire @ Otis Bar
7.30pm, 18+

FRIDAY: The Watt Riot, Ye Luddites, Indian Mynah, Bugdust @ Headlands Hotel, Austinmer

SATURDAY: The Monster League feat. The Bungalows, A Cat Named Kessey, The Lavers, The Flat White Cats, Dlinkwint @ Kiama Leagues Club
7pm, $15, 18+

SATURDAY: ‘Day of the Dead’ @ The Patch
Featuring: Hytest, Gay Paris, Rukus, Baby Machine, Bulldoze All Bowlos, Chainsaw Mascara, The Toxicmen, Handlebar, Smasheddybash, Psychotic Numbskulls
12pm-12am, $10, 18+

We’re always happy to help out! If you would like to include an event in Radar’s weekly gig guide, please contact radar.illawarra@gmail.com

LIVE REVIEW: The Holidays, Gold Fields @ Unibar

Why have venues started employing poorly skilled DJs as the opening acts for gigs? Doors for tonight’s gig opened at 7.30pm, but a DJ (or perhaps a few – I wasn’t really paying attention) played for nigh on two hours before Ballarat’s Gold Fields made it onto the stage. The band weren’t late; 9.20pm was their scheduled start time, but it seemed ridiculous that the opening band were starting at a time more usually given to the headliners.

The five-piece wasted no time when they finally emerged from the dressing room, literally kicking into their set within fifteen seconds of taking to the Unibar’s stage. A huge tribal drumbeat and Foals-esque synthesiser-style guitars launched the set, instantly grabbing the audience by the throat and rarely relenting through their short set. In what is fast becoming a staple of modern indie performances, each band member variously took advantage of the bongo drums and floor toms scattered around the stage, adding another layer to the band’s complex sound. Shifting from Friendly Fires-style synthpop, into the foot stomping, high-energy dancerock made famous by Foals, Gold Fields have the musical chops to pull off both styles incredibly well; but at times, the transitions from more ambient synth-based tracks into guitar-heavy dance numbers were somewhat clunky and jarring. With time and experience – it must be noted that the band is less than twelve months old – these kinks will work themselves out; and if nothing else, it shows a band not wanting to be pigeon-holed as just another Aussie synthpop group. The highlight of a short set was their rendition of the complex, heavily-produced single ‘Treehouse’; a track that could have very badly in a live setting was reproduced beautifully, the lush summery jam getting the crowd well and truly moving. All catchy hooks, vocal melodies, fizzing guitars and lush synth-based soundscapes, it’s undeniable that these guys have a major gift for penning memorable pop songs; and while they’re now splashed all over blogs, street presses and magazines, it will be how Gold Fields navigates this initial media attention that will decide if they ascend to the level of – say – Cut Copy or fall off the radar like – say – Operator Please. If they can keep their heads and not fall into the trap of believing their own hype, expect to see them headlining big venues by this time next year. Definitely one of our most promising young acts.

In contrast to the excitement, passion and energy of the young Gold Fields, Sydney’s The Holidays promised so much but delivered comparatively little. After taking out the Red Bull Music Prize for best Australian debut album, and just returning from an American jaunt including an appearance at South By South West music conference, it was with high hopes that many would have attended the band’s first Wollongong gig since mid-2010; however, many would have left slightly disappointed. Kicking off with ‘Heavy Feathers,’ the opening track from their album ‘Post Paradise,’ the band instantly got the crowd moving; deeper and more full-sounding than its recorded version, opening with probably their strongest and most accessible tune was a good move. However, as the gig went on, it was clear that this was a band that were incredibly tight and well-rehearsed, but to the point where it became detrimental to their live performance. Each song was an exact reproduction of their recorded counterpart, almost as though the band were miming their instruments over the top of a backing track. It quickly became a boring, static performance, devoid of any real passion or energy; band members stood almost perfectly still, barely moving at all, and the crowd’s initial excitement soon levelled off. It’s a given that bands need to be able to reproduce their recorded material in a live setting; but when a live gig becomes merely a carbon copy of the album, it hints at a band either unwilling or unable to improvise or experiment. A live gig is based on energy, stage presence, and bringing something new and exciting to recorded work; otherwise, fans may as well stay at home and listen to the album on their stereo.

Tonight, two seemingly similar bands turned in two polar opposite performances. The youthful energy, exuberance and enthusiasm of Gold Fields was harshly polarised against the static, boring and conservative performance of The Holidays. I know which band I’d bet money on to be producing the more exciting music in future…