TOUR GUIDE FEATURE TOUR
CANNON
TOO POOR FOR SPLENDOUR
SATURDAY 28 JULY, SOUTHS LEAGUES CLUB, DAVIES PARK By now it doesn’t matter how cashed up you are, if you ain’t got a Splendour ticket you ain’t going to Splendour. Which is why you should thank your lucky stars for Too Poor For Splendour 2012, a fab collection of local artists going hammer and tongs for 10 hours this Saturday at Souths Leagues Club in West End. Kicking off at 2pm, you can catch an array of bands including Cannon, Cheap Fakes, Running Gun Sound, Tiny Migrants, The Mouldy Lovers, The Otchkies, Pink Services and many, many more fine bands. It’s all ages, but bring ID if you want to drink, and you can buy tickets now from Rocking Horse for $15+BF or on the day. And if you’re still pining for festivals, walk outside into Davies Park where Livid was held all through the ‘90s, now THAT was a festival...
TIME OFF PRESENTS THE MEDICS: QACI Aug 4, The Northern Oct 5 RUFUS: Oh Hello Aug 10 PASSENGER: The Hi-Fi Aug 16
CARTEL: Crowbar Sep 5, Surfers Paradise Beer Garden Sep 6 THE BRAND NEW HEAVIES: The Hi-Fi Sep 6 PATRICK WOLF: The Tivoli Sep 7 EARTH: The Zoo Sep 9
THE LAURELS: Beetle Bar Aug 17
RUFUS WAINWRIGHT: QPAC Sep 12
THE JUNGLE GIANTS: Elsewhere Aug 17, The Zoo Aug 18
INGRID MICHAELSON: Spiegeltent Sep 12 SUBHUMANS: Prince Of Wales Sep 13
LONG PLAYER SESSIONS: Brisbane Powerhouse Aug 18
SIX60: The Tivoli Sep 13
LONG PLAYER SESSIONS: Brisbane Powerhouse Aug 18
JONAH MATRANGA’S ONELINEDARWING: Crowbar Sep 15
XAVIER RUDD: Rumours Aug 29, The Tivoli Aug 30, LKCC Aug 31, Coolangatta Hotel Sep 1, Byron YAC Sep 2
RIVAL SCHOOLS: The Zoo Sep 14
MACY GRAY: Jupiters Casino Sep 19, QPAC Sep 20 HANSON: The Hi-Fi Sep 20
PLUS ONE RECORDS SHOWCASE: The Zoo Sep 11
ENTER SHIKARI: Eatons Hill Hotel Sep 20 EIFFEL 65, N-TRANCE: The Hi-Fi Sep 21
BIGSOUND 2012: Fortitude Valley Sep 12-14
FUTURE ISLANDS: GoMA Sep 21
JULIA STONE: Spiegeltent Sep 19 and 20, Byron Community Centre Sep 21
WHEATUS: The Hi-Fi Sep 23
OH MERCY: The Zoo Sep 21, Joe’s Waterhole Sep 22
SCISSOR SISTERS: Arena Sep 25
TIM & ERIC AWESOME SHOW: The Tivoli Oct 4 CLARE BOWDITCH: Old Museum Oct 11 GROUPER: Brisbane Powerhouse Oct 11 BASTARDFEST: The Hi-Fi Oct 13 LAST DINOSAURS: Alhambra Oct 13, The Hi-Fi Oct 19 MUMFORD & SONS: Brisbane Riverstage Oct 17, Gold Coast Convention Centre Oct 31
AMERICA: Twin Towns Sep 15 MARIANA’S TRENCH: The Zoo Sep 25 FEAR FACTORY: The Hi-Fi Sep 26 FERRY CORSTEN: Family Sep 28 JAMES MORRISON: Eatons Hill Hotel Sep 28 ULCERATE: Beetle Bar Sep 30 DEFEATER, BLACKLISTED: Mount Gravatt PCYC Sep 30, Byron Bay YAC Oct 1, The Zoo Oct 2 JOE BONAMASSA: QPAC Oct 3 STEEL PANTHER: Eatons Hill Hotel Oct 4 TIM & ERIC: The Tivoli Oct 4
GOLDEN DAYS FESTIVAL: Coolum Beach Nov 17-18
GRANDMASTER MELLE MEL: Coniston Lane Oct 6
BLOC PARTY: The Zoo Jul 27 SHIHAD: Kings Beach Tavern Jul 27 ED SHEERAN: QPAC Jul 31 TIM BARRY: Sun Distortion Aug 3 MARK GARDENER: The Hi-Fi Aug 3 BILLY TALENT: The Hi-Fi Aug 9 NASUM: The Hi-Fi Aug 17 COLD BLANK: Electric Playground Aug 17 OPOSSOM, WHITE ARROWS: The Hi-Fi Aug 18 SLASH: Brisbane Riverstage Aug 23 CHRIS LAKE: Family Aug 24 PENNYWISE, THE MENZINGERS, SHARKS: Coolangatta Hotel Aug 23, Eatons Hill Hotel Aug 24 THE BEACH BOYS: BEC Aug 28 PITBULL, TAIO CRUZ: BEC Aug 29 APOCOLYPTICA: The Hi-Fi Aug 30 KATCHAFIRE: The Hi-Fi Aug 31, Kings Beach Tavern Sep 6, Caloundra RSL Sep 7 THE REMBRANDTS: The Tivoli Sep 1 32 • TIME OFF
RUSSIAN CIRCLES, EAGLE TWIN: The Zoo Oct 5 CANNIBAL CORPSE: The Hi-Fi Oct 8 MARTIKA: The Hi-Fi Oct 10 EVERCLEAR: Coolangatta Hotel Oct 10, The Hi-Fi Oct 11 GROUPER: Brisbane Powerhouse Oct 11 TORTOISE: The Zoo Oct 12 GOMEZ: Coolangatta Hotel Oct 13, The Tivoli Oct 14 GRAILS: The Zoo Oct 17 MUMFORD & SONS: Brisbane Riverstage Oct 17, Gold Coast Convention Centre Oct 31 XIU XIU: Brisbane Powerhouse Oct 18 SMASH MOUTH: Jupiter’s Oct 21 HOT CHELLE RAE: BCEC Oct 23 SUNN O))), PELICAN: The Tivoli Oct 24 WEDNESDAY 13: The Zoo Oct 25 THE BLACK KEYS: BEC Oct 26 AT THE GATES: The Hi-Fi Oct 31 RADIOHEAD: BEC Nov 9 BEN HARPER: BCEC Nov 9
OF MONSTERS & MEN, THE FALLS
Built on a foundation of low-key harmonies, Sydney duo Georgia Fair’s poppy folk wasn’t built for such a cavernous room and their attempts to compensate fell rather flat. Although clearly grateful for the opportunity and earning lukewarm applause, twangy guitars and all top end resulted in an overly abrasive, somewhat dull half-hour.
Although it may seem like a thin midweek bill on paper, it’s very much a case of quality over quantity tonight, the packed room attesting to the fact. Warming the stage are Sydney duo The Falls, and they are consistently magnificent, the former lovers of Melinda Kirwin and Simon Rudston-Brown spilling the highs and lows of their time together across the stage. As well as more established tracks like first single Home, the duo also treat Brisbane to an exclusive taste of their soon-to-be-released EP Hollywood. Their drifting folk pop is vulnerable and raw; the music, and even at times their facial expressions, capturing those former times of love and heartache like a tuneful snapshot in time
There are reunions rock fans figured would never happen (Refused, At the Drive-In) and others appearing impossible (the original Guns N’ Roses lineup anyone?). The Tea Party’s reformation exists somewhere else entirely, the outlook bleak a half-decade ago but seeming increasingly inevitable until last year’s confirmation. Led by frontman Jeff Martin, strolling on stage with a demeanour cooler than the crowd at a Bondi café and booming in his rich baritone, the Canadian trio was not surprisingly afforded a heroes’ welcome. Reports other members (Stuart Chatwood and Jeff Burrows) had been merely going through the motions at recent appearances were negated, their chemistry immediately apparent.
XIU XIU: Brisbane Powerhouse Nov 18
INTERNATIONAL
THE TEA PARTY, GEORGIA FAIR THE TIVOLI: 18/07/12
BARRY ADAMSON: Beetle Bar Sep 16
RED DEER FEST 2012: Samford Sep 1
BLACKCHORDS: Ric’s Sep 29
THE TEA PARTY @ THE TIVOLI PIC BY STEPHEN BOOTH
Oozing charisma and swapping guitars like the rest of us change socks, Martin’s banter spanned from the band’s music as a source of inspiration for procreation to reminders the show was being captured for their first concert film. He even addressed the proverbial white elephant in the room, revealing the reunion was for keeps and a new record may arrive in 2013. This run though was about celebrating their achievements up to this point. The Bazaar, Correspondences and Sister Awake fed into The Edges Of Twilight-heavy theme. A solo rendition of Jeff Buckley’s Last Goodbye seamlessly segued into a fully-fledged band version of The Messenger, a stirring Psychopomp was uproariously received and Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir directly referenced the band’s immeasurable debt to ‘70s rock. A mid-set acoustic interlude was unfortunately an invitation for many punters to have a loud, lengthy chat among themselves; expect the DVD’s mix to be adjusted accordingly. While such intricate, textured and Middle Easternflourished prog-rock probably wasn’t initially intended for such large venues, the wall of sound and clear mix alleviated such concerns. The upside was they still had a couple of genuine arena anthems at their disposal (an All Along the Watchtower-infused Heaven Coming Down, Temptation) to match such conditions. While some have decried the band for allegedly forcing a reformation due to the cash, after two hours-plus it was evident an extended layoff hasn’t hurt The Tea Party’s potency. Welcome back, lads. Brendan Crabb
themusic.com.au
THE ZOO: 18/07/12
Icelandic sextet Of Monsters And Men have brought with them a boatload of hype on this, their first voyage to Australia. They’ve seemingly come out of nowhere in the past 12 months, but after spending an hour in their company it’s obvious that the plaudits and attention are justified. The band open with Dirty Paws, just one of the many “la la” heavy songs that make up their debut LP My Head Is An Animal, and a genuine joy immediately exudes from the stage, a vibe that doesn’t dwindle throughout. Led by twin vocalists Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir and Ragnar þóhallsson, the collective run at seven tonight with an additional mystery blonde multi-instrumentalist. They are scattered about the stage, battling jetlag against a contradicting backdrop of shimmering gold, pink and blue, but they don’t for one second let lethargy slow their momentum. The show is crammed full of grand folk highlights; the dancing piano and gleeful chorus of Mountain Sound; the nomadic joy found in From Finner; the climatic eruption of Lakehouse. But two tracks stand tall as the pinnacles of the evening: Lionheart is a breathtaking moment that makes you feel like you can take on the world, while Little Talks, the track that’s helped generate their mushrooming international profile, wraps you up like a warm woollen blanket, the accordion and brass dancing about the room, forcing the crowd to jig and swing like drunken sailors. As contrived as it might sound in an ever-cynical world, it’s hard to watch Of Monsters And Men and not forget all your problems. Their grasp on harmony is disarming and welcome, and the performance tonight has been easy to lose yourself within. The group’s fresh-faced youthfulness is masked by confident playing, honest chemistry and a swag of songs that most bands won’t accumulate in a lifetime. Forget the blogs, forget the buzz. All you need to focus on here is the music, and tonight it was simply transcending. Benny Doyle