Blog — Page 216 of 275

The infrequently-updated site blog, featuring a range of content including show reviews, musical musings and off-color ramblings on other varied topics.

Dan Sultan @ Metro Theatre

Posted by T • October 4, 2017

Dan Sultan

Metro Theatre

Sydney, Australia

September 30, 2017

Dan Sultan’s fourth, more personal, reflective and mature album, Killer, which he recorded with producer and long-time collaborator Jan Skubiszewski in Melbourne, exemplifies that the singer-songwriter has evolved, putting with a broader weighing of life’s ups and downs and introducing synthesizers and drum machines to lift rhythms, and heightening emotions with gospel backing vocals.

In a laid back live environment up front and supported by a full band, Dan’s wider repertoire and raw emotion resonates with a swag of differing ages and tastes that is reflected in the audience: Young and old; aboriginal community and folks that would have founded their way to tonight’s venues via FM broadcasting.

Sultan works his guitar like his heartstrings and breaks up the intensity of his songs with light banter and self-deprecating humour, which makes his audience feel at ease and his offerings relatable - especially when he is both exercising and exorcising his inner demons.

His lyrical explorations and homespun storytelling cover a range of topics including the Australian political climate, imagery of the Australian outback and of course an ample serving of love songs and tunes of longing, which are amplified by the heartfelt ladies adding soulful backing vocals to the mix, infusing even the harder rocking songs with gospel and Motown flavours.

The evening was testament to Dan Sultan furthering the path of Australian music by effortlessly playing the claviature from hard rockers to bare ballads in his signature style, and could not even be dimmed by an unplanned fire drill towards the end of the set.

A night full of passionate soul, rock and blues roots of an Australian artist who has grown to feel more comfortable in his own skin and manages to capture the Australian spirit with credibility.

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Photos by KAVV

T • October 4, 2017

Forever Crazy @ State Theatre

Posted by T • October 3, 2017

Forever Crazy

State Theatre

Sydney, Australia

September 28, 2017

Mesdames et messieurs - Le Crazy Horse de Paris!
Probably world’s best known cabaret, renowned for its diverse range of varietè shows and female performers.
It is not for nothing one of the iconic locations that Mötley Crüe referenced in their anthemic song “Girls, girls, girls”.

Since its inception in 1951, Crazy Horse Paris’ has collaborated with artists as diverse as David Lynch, Miuccia Prada, Roberto Cavalli, Kylie Minogue, Beyonce and Ellen von Unwerth as well as  guest performances with the troupe, including Dita Von Teese, Pamela Anderson, Carmen Electra, Arielle Dombasle, Clotilde Courau and Conchita Wurst.

Forever Crazy was created an an hommage  to Alain Bernardin, the founder of Crazy Horse Paris. It honours and preserve the cabaret’s DNA while taking it a bit further by incorporating modern touches mixed with classic performances. 

The attention to detail is remarkable - not just in terms of offerings in the realm of dance but also in terms of musical deliveries and costumes, which are all custome-made and tailored for each individual performer, with designers including the who-is-who of the fashion world.

The star of the show apart from the classically trained danced is the lighshow, whose mesmerizing sophistication give the production extra bite. Musically the performances are framed by French interpretations of classics and takes on pop songs, e.g. Britney Spears, and raunchy beats.

Two screens with prerecorded action that is often in sync with the respective performance on stage yet at times performed by a different lady bring the action close and personal to the audience in the back.

Artistic creation and women are the focus of the Crazy Horse cabaret and the token male, i.e. Mr Fantastic (Robert Muraine) makes more a comical than tantalizing appearance, contorting his body in every way possible.

Forever Crazy is an electric and playful perfectly choreographed and executed show, with established group routings, e.g. the traditional opener God Save Our Bareskin via Baby Buns and You Turn Me On, that please the crowd.

It makes for an entertaining evening of linear precision, whose perfect execution borders at times at the mechanical, which can at times run danger of going at the expense of sensuality.

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Photos from official website

T • October 3, 2017

Dune Rats @ Big Top

Posted by T • October 2, 2017

Dune Rats

Big Top, Luna Park

Sydney, Australia

October 1, 2017

Dune Rats are an Australian outfit from Brisbane, originally formed by Danny Beausa and BC Michaels as a duet with Beausa on guitar/vocals and Michaels on drums.

The band later became a three-piece with Brett Jansch of Bleeding Knees Club joining as bassist.

The Vines’ Brad Heald also made appearances on bass in 2012.

2017 sees the Queenslanders having put international shows and a release from their very own record label between themselves and their eponymous first album full of debaucherous nonsensical sing-a-longs, which documents a transition from a laid back, mellow surfey garagey rock to a more DIY punk influenced sound, infused with more anger, headiness and cynicism.

In a live context, Dune Rats would not need a whole lot of animation to fit into a Simpsons episode: They revel in the Australian art of condensing and stripping things back to its essence. Their sound is reduced to the most elemental and simplistic musical denominators, framed by melodies and bogan-esque pisstaking par for the course on an energetic show for young delinquents, including the obligatory inflatable oversized beer tinnies, which keep bouncing on top of the audience throughout the show. Good messy fun.

Odes to brew – the band has its own lager, a collaboration with Newtown based brewers Young Henrys - and the herb anthem “Scott Green” were enthusiastically received by the youthful crowd, which fed energy back to a self-aware band.

Dune Rats delivered their fun-loving, tongue-in-cheek, catchy tunes with aplomb yet have more to offer underneath the hood than celebrating the art of getting drunk and baked.

With the recent release showing bits of introspection and thoughtfulness, it should be interesting to see what their emissions amount to in the future.

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Photos by KAVV

T • October 2, 2017

At the Drive In @ Hordern Pavilion

Posted by T • October 2, 2017

At the Drive In

Hordern Pavilion

Sydney, Australia

September 29, 2017

At the Drive In are back at it.

Had previous incarnations of the El Paso quintet its up and downs, most notably what was perceived to be phoned in performances during 2012s half-hearted brief reunion, tonight’s show was impressive and all constituents of the band, sans Jim Ward who exited the band prior to the second go at the reunion, were enjoying themselves.

Afro intact, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, holds court relying more on refined singing and chanting than gimmicky shrieking, all the while amp hoping, not resisting the occasional surreal audience confusing aside and restlessly moving to the hectic, frantic miasma that makes the tapestry that the guitarists Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Sparta alumnus Keeley Davis weave.

Ever the fulcrum of energy and heady ideas, Zavala leads a band that is solidly steered by the rhythm section comprised of Tony Haijar and Paul Hinojos.

ATDI presented itself as a still anguished coherent whole fully in charge of the proceedings: Still mercurial yet a bit more tempered and mature than the combustible band that burned out at the peak of their commercial success in 2001.

At the Drive In in 2017 is still the blistering and volatile quiet-loud-quiet jagged jigsaw puzzle and what makes their performance endearing is that they manage to nail musical subtleties while still capturing the unhinged chaos they have become known for.

A re-ignition of brash straightforwardness rather than a mere nostalgic reunion trying to rehash the spirit of days past and gone.

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Photo by T

T • October 2, 2017

The Daily Grind

Posted by T • September 27, 2017

The Daily Grind

What's Sumatra With You?

 

T.S. Eliot had measured his life out with coffee spoons.

Some claim coffee is the most valuable trading commodity after oil.

A lot of folks have come up with their odes to coffee - Australia is obsessed with it and it comes with its idiosyncrasies:

Ordering coffee in Australia is a different sport compared to any other country.

Sure, there are still standards, e.g., cappuccinos, lattes, mochas and macchiatos. What is idiosyncratic for New Zealand and Australia is my favourite, the  “flat white”. If you dig what is elsewhere referred to as Americano, down under you would need to ask for a “short / long black” to not be disappointed.
Double and single shot servings are different depending on the coffee dispensary you frequent. The only constant is that flat whites demand double shots, whereas lattes and cappuccinos get single shots.
American double tall skinny latte orders translate to “large skinny latte double shot” where the sun shine.

The barista might take it upon themselves to correct your order to a doppio or may say that all their coffees are a double shot.

A science in itself.

Local cafes roasting their own coffee and distributing it are popping up like mushrooms.

Let’s have a look at some quality ones:

Since 2002 DC has been committed to roasting specialty coffee.

Based in Melbourne, where their manufacturing infrastructure is located, they have been servicing the Sydney and Adelaide markets since day one.

DC has an artistic side to it when it comes to their packaging, for which established as well as budding artists’ works are commissioned:

B-side tracks are always the unknown gems in on an artist’s album record. They are those certain songs separate from the main album that live a life of their own; perhaps a remix of a classic, a live performance, an instrumental or even a spoken word.

Whatever it is, the B-side always showcases raw artistic creativity without constraints and reveals something more about the artist. Paying homage to this, dc’s B-Side delivers a unique blend created by our roasters for themselves.

The dc blend we sampled is named “B-side” not only to signify the alternative ‘track’ to 100% Arabica coffee, furthermore it signifies dc’s endeavours to support and give emerging talent a leg up.

DC’s Reale comes with an aroma reminiscent of fruit and herbs, light-medium body and low acidity, it harbours flavours of sweet caramel, honey and nutty flavours, culminating in an aftertaste of citrus.

The packaging of Reale features artwork of artist Sindy Sinn.

His design for Ducale’s ‘Reale’ blend came about fairly naturally. He liked the idea of ‘keeping it reale’ and giving it some underdog fighting-spirit. So he just treated the Reale design like it was a gang, rooted in his fascination for the movie The Warriors.

DC’s Monsoon is a mellow tasting coffee with a sweet fragrance.

Featured artist for Monsoon is Thomas Townend, a Sydney based artist working mainly with acrylic inks on paper. 

His work is inspired by tattoo flash and all things tattoo related although recently getting inspired from early eastern art.

More into industrial strength coffee with a solid flavour?

Killer Coffee Co is on a mission to redefine what it means to drink strong coffee.

The post blended, small batch Killer Coffee is like an energy drink on steroids in coffee form.

We are talking a 100% Arabica whole beans.
Maximum caffeine content reminiscent of  Borusta coffee beans that results, as the head behind the brand guarantee, in “the strongest cup of joe you’ll ever taste in your life,” 


Despite the undeniable impact,  it is actually quite balanced and smooth, something that might be expected from the strongest cup of coffee going around.
 
Not into coffee?

Hmm...

How about we make your hot beverage golden?

Turmeric lattes are fast becoming the favoured morning pick-me-up for health aficionados and whilst it might not replace chocolate, it is an adequate replacement for that post-lunch sugar craving.

Turmeric Midas Cup comes with anti-inflammatory and immune boosting goodness, i.e. it is good for your gut bacteria and your hayfever  - all that needs to be done is adding a teaspoon of gold to some hot milk and sip sip sip. 

Midas Cup was born when nutritionist / food scientist Samantha Holdsworth, who was already obsessed with the benefits of turmeric, introduced her OCD stylist / ex-marketer friend, Elaine Marshall, to what is commonly known as “golden latte”.

After complaining about spending many hours and dollars searching Melbourne for the perfect golden latte, Holdsworth suggested that Marshall make her own.

After realising the merits of their own blend, they decided to share their Midas Cup magic with the world. 

Midas Cup is free from preservatives and pesticides, contains no traces of nuts, dairy or soy as well as being sugar and caffeine free.

All ingredients are 100% Australian Certified Organic from an organic supplier in NSW - raw, vegan and yummy with no downsides.

Like the pause that tea allows?

Well, fret not – the people behind New Philosopher and Womankind 

have launched their very own ‘literary’ organic tea called ‘poet,’ which can be found at their bookshop and tea atelier ‘poet store’ in Bangalow, where the book selection is curated by the editors of Womankind magazine and New Philosopher magazine.

They have a carefully selected range of ten certified organic fair trade teas – from the hills of Sri Lanka ranging from Ode Oolong to Poet’s White with Orange. 

Poet’s award-winning organic Earl Grey and English Breakfast teas are smooth, strong and fresh, the Green Tea crisp and light or alternatively mixed with rose petals, the Chai comes as a fine blend with spicy undertones and Poet’s Chamomile is one smooth and soothing companion that can be counted on.

Other variants come with whimsical names: The light and fruity Accent Orange, Quatrain Black tea with a hint of cinnamon, the Octave Black with a smooth vanilla taste,

All of Poet’s teas from in beautifully designed tins from the team behind New Philosopher magazine.

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Photos from websites of companies discussed above.

 

T • September 27, 2017

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