Blog — Page 234 of 283

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

Snakehips @ Metro Theatre

Posted by T • May 12, 2017

Snakehips

Metro Theatre

Sydney, AU

May 8, 2017

The London-based electronic chill duo Snakehips with their hypnotic, trap-inflected songs that are reminiscent of Odesza, Kelala and Cashmere Cat are the incarnation of the post-party cool-down with a jazzy flow and their funky sound mixed with hip hop beats clearly indicated that the night is not over yet.

For not being an actual band in the traditional sense, the stage presence and crowd interaction is not dissimilar to a rock show, with the visuals projected as a backdrop enhancing the setting with its animations and blue and white lights flickering to the extent that might be conducive to elicit epileptic attacks.

Their set was based on a solid foundation of a blend of tested and tried pop and R&B tracks running the gamut from smooth to funky and back.

The audience was completely captured by the thudding basslines, the smooth, down-tempo reworking of rap, swirling synths and had a good time dancing along.

A fun, dance worthy, highly energetic show the concept of which follows the distinct Snakehips narrative and attracted a sizeable crowd on a school night.

---

Photos by KAVV

T • May 12, 2017

Botanica @ Royal Botanic Gardens

Posted by T • May 8, 2017

Botanica

Royal Botanic Gardens

Sydney, AU

May 06 – 28, 2017

Botanica 2017, focused on the nexus between the disciplines of art and science, is Australia’s premier annual botanical art exhibition promoting and protecting Australia’s rich diversity of plant life, features works by some of its leading botanical and natural science artists.

In this bicentenary year of the Garden, Botanica explores the theme of Farm Cove, the original farm of the first settlement that was established on the current site of the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney.

Botanica explores the complex and remarkable relationship the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney has with its plants. The annual showcase, now in its 17th year, features work by some of the best Australian and international established and emerging botanic and natural history artists and is considered one of the foremost exhibitions of its kind.

2017's Botanica theme draws its inspiration from the multiple ways we need, love and should appreciate plants - medicines, oxygen, poisons, fragrances, in celebrations and more.

Curator Judy Dunstan says the 2017 exhibition comprised more than 200 original paintings representing the work of artists from across Australia and beyond: “Works were selected on the basis that they are scientifically correct in both form and colour, and artistically pleasing and balanced to the eye,” said Ms Dunstan.

“It is the perfect opportunity to acquire works by talented emerging artists as well as those by artists with well-established national and international reputations,” added Ms Dunstan.  

Botanica is a beautiful exhibition and encourages the sale of all its artworks. Proceeds go to the artists and to help Foundation and Friends of the Botanic Gardens continue to support horticulture, conservation, scientific research and education programs within the Botanic Gardens.

---

Photos by KAVV

Opening times and more details can be found under:

https://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/whatson/Botanica-in-Sickness-and-in-Health

T • May 8, 2017

The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus @ Manning Bar

Posted by T • May 7, 2017

The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Manning Bar

Sydney, AU

May 6, 2017

 

After their last tour in 2014, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus returned to the land down under for a headline tour that resembles a victory lap to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of their debut album Don’t you fake it in its entirety along with other ditties.

It would be an understatement to say that your humble narrator cannot claim to have ever been overly familiar with Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, but the line-up looked intensely diverse both in terms of aesthetics as well as age-wise as they were covering a broad age bracket, with some current members looking like they might have not even been teenagers when Don’t you fake it saw the light of day for the first time.

Musically, the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus is based on a foundation comprised of alternative rock with pop punk peppered in and served with occasional screamo interludes.

In other words, even though it is not easy to decipher what exactly they are going for, the influence of more refined acts like Jimmy Eat World and The Used is omnipresent in their oeuvre.

The standout songs of the band with the exotic name – both of the evening and the not exactly cohesive album Don’t You Fake It - are Face Down, an anti-domestic violence song, and Guardian Angel, which were enthusiastically eaten up and celebrated by the predominantly young and willing audience that granted Manning Bar a sold out night and radiated appreciation for the band’s Christian beliefs that inform the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus’ message of hope.

---

Photos by KAVV

T • May 7, 2017

$uicideboy$ @ Manning Bar

Posted by T • May 6, 2017

$uicideboy$

Manning Bar

Sydney, AU

May 4, 2017

Having joined forces in 2014, the prolific $uicideboy$, a.k.a. Ruby da Cherry, a gentleman with punk rock roots, and $lick $loth, former DJ and songwriter, they have become a staple in the spheres of horrorcore glitch-trap bubbling with booming bass, ominous atmospherics, and occultish, drugged-out rhymes.

In a live scenario and before a sold out crowd, their set is reminiscent of a more condensed and to-the-core version of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony peppered with streaks of Three 6 Mafia and based on a solid foundation of heavy sub bass, while retaining their own flavour and signature style:

Short bursts of trapped out bleak and grimy cloud rap sounds adorned with violent and grim lyrical content and delivered in a style that marries grungy cadences and leany, sizzurped fluid flow transitions, which was enthusiastically celebrated by the Sydney crowd.

While some of the $uicideboyS’ emissions take at times pages from the books of metal and punk, even their more traditional trap songs evoke crowd reaction that resemble in many aspects a traditional hardcore show, with crowd surfing, the occasional wall of death, mosh pitting and obligatory finger pointing singalongs, which is amplified by the stage antics and the way the two MCs work the crowd.

It is the mélange of their vocal flows that drone together while covering death, suicide, plans for suicide, drugs, violence and more of the aforementioned in combination with the interesting sound sequences that creates the twisted realm they capture their willing audience in and makes them an act you want to check out if you have a remote interest in cloud rap and trap of the more intense kind.

---

Photos by KAVV

T • May 6, 2017

Spanish Film Festival @ Palace Cinema

Posted by T • May 4, 2017

Spanish Film Festival

Palace Cinema

Sara Baras: All Her Voices

Sydney, AU

April 29, 2017

With food, live performances, films and drinks the 20th edition of the Spanish Film Festival in Australia was welcomed at Palace Norton Street under the ambassadorship of Spanish celebrity chef Miguel Maestre.

Program highlights included performances from Penelope Cruz and 2013 SFF guest Maribel Verdú, an award-winning thriller. Taking out four awards at the 2017 Goya’s including Best Film and Best New Director, the much anticipated debut feature from Spanish actor Raúl Arévalo The Fury of a Patient Man.

The festival kicked off with the sexy and daring Spanish box office hit Kiki, Love to Love (Kiki, El Amor Se Hace). The third film from director Paco León, this funny and complex comedy explores love, sex and marriage through five interwoven stories taking place over a long hot summer in Madrid.

In addition to the films, the festival featured a range of unique special events, one of which was the Flamenco documentary Sara Baras, All Her Voices, which was accompagnied by a Flamenco performance.

The highlight of the evening was the documentarry on the iconic and diminutive in statue, Sara Baras, which shed light on her passion an drive for Flamenco.

---

Photos by KAVV

T • May 4, 2017

Latest news stories

Win free stuff at Buddies Fest

Posted in Site News on July 30, 2026

Meet the Buddies Fest Prize Pack! Scene Point Blank has partnered with the upcoming Buddies Fest in Tillsonburg, Ontario, and features a hefty line-up that includes Ultrabomb, Mikey Erg, The Slow Death, Kepi Ghoulie, Danbert Nobacon, Ben Nichols, Cory Branan, ALL, Chixdiggit and a whole lot more this year, taking … Read more

"Revenge" now with DeeCRACKS

Posted in Records on August 1, 2026

DeeCRACKS returns, announcing True Nothing, a new album out on Oct. 23 via Pirates Press Records in the US (cd via in their home Austria via Lotterlabel). The band will follow its release with a European tour. They last released Serious Issues in 2021. Read more RELEASE SHOW and first … Read more

William H. Michael, aka BillMike, and Big Neck

Posted in Records on August 1, 2026

Multi-instrumentalist William H. Michael announced the pending release of Jazz Destroyer on Big Nect Records later this year, due to us on August 7. It features 9 songs, classed as an EP. Read more Read more

Scarves come out in September

Posted in Records on July 31, 2026

Scarves will release Strays Forever on Sept. 18, a new record from the Niko Stathakopoulos led indie project that initially began back in 2013 in Seattle, WA. Strays Forever will release via Tender Loving Empire. Read more tracklist: Self Soothing Marionettes Hey! Strays Forever Sour Things Berlin Chainsaw We Should … Read more

Tabs on the new Mad Tab

Posted in Records on July 31, 2026

After sharing a single earlier this year when the band first inked to InnaNuttshell Reekordingz (owned by Fishbone co-founder Norwood Fisher), Mad Tab has set a release date of Sept. 18 for Alas! The Bomb Voyage. Read more Read more

15 Years of Art As Catharsis

Posted in Shows on July 31, 2026

Australia label Art As Catharsis is celebrating its fifteenth anniversary with three celebratory shows set in Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney with sets by Black Adelph, Ghostsmoker, Deafcult, and others. The label has 201 releases thus far, hopefully with many more to come. Read more Ticket info. Sunday 16 August at … Read more

DCxPCxNY: Half Dizzy with ChumHuffer

Posted in Records on July 31, 2026

DCxPC Live is getting back to live recordings after a one-off studio changeup, opening preorders for a limited pressing new release: DCxPC Live Vol. 45: Half Dizzy / ChumHuffer Live. The record features Half Dizzy live at Mr. Beery’s in Bethpage, NY, with ChumHuffer live at Blue Point Brewing Company … Read more

Mr. Phylzzz returns

Posted in Records on July 30, 2026

Noise-rock band Mr. Phylzzz returns soon, announcing Fear the Lord, out Sept. 4 on Amphetamine Reptile Records. The band will be on tour in September as well. That's not all, though. There's a new single below. Read more Tour: Sep 3 - Kalamazoo, MI @ The Run Off Sep 4 … Read more

There is NØ MAN

Posted in Records on July 30, 2026

NØ MAN has a new album coming out just before Halloween, when the band will release Between the Sword and Neck on Oct. 30 via Iodine Recordings. Formed back in 2017, the band last relased Glitter and Spit in 2024, also on Iodine. While not a concept album, it draws … Read more

cowboyy and "the magic mountain"

Posted in Records on July 29, 2026

Math rock trio cowboyy (stylized and spelling wrong, as is the trend these days), has shared "the magic mountain" as the first single from the band's upcoming Big Scary Monsters debut, revocder, a 9-song EP out on Sept. 25 that follows-up their epic the movie EP. “‘the chair mountain’ was … Read more

Behold King Sans

Posted in Records on July 29, 2026

Chicago, IL noise-rock duo King Sans will release Sell The Cow next month, out August 21 on Dipterid Reocrds. It's the first full-length from the band, featuring Jake Steven James (guitars, synths, vocals) and Izabella Rose (drums, vocals) and features a myriad of influence ranging from distortion heaviness to buzzsaw … Read more

New Tom Morello album announced

Posted in Records on July 29, 2026

Tom Morello has been in the news already this year and this time he's back with new music, a forthcoming album called Everyone Gets Everything They Want, out Sept. 25 on Mom + Pop Music. Morello debuted the new single "Date Night" today. In addition, Roman Morello, Serj Tankian, Kneecap, … Read more

A not so scruffy new Nerf Herder

Posted in Records on July 29, 2026

Nerf Herder IV is coming out on vinyl for the first time in a limited edition released on August 14 courtesy of Oglio Entertainment. First releeased in 2008 after the band reunited, it initially released on CD only, also on Oglio. Read more The band will be playing live dates … Read more

Prisoner release date

Posted in Records on July 28, 2026

French psych-garage band Prisoner has announced their debut, self-titled album, out August 7 on Wicked Cool Records. The first single, below, is an energetic burst of synth, psych, and swagger -- with trombone. Read more TRACK LISTING La femme qui s’était faite toute seule — 2:59 Jeu de main, jeu … Read more

There is another Judy

Posted in Records on July 28, 2026

Featuring Blue Broderick (Diners) and Leah Levinson (Agriculture), rock duo Judy is back with their second EP next month, Death of a Ladies' Mutt, out on August 6. The duo's original is described as a joint effort to practice songwriting and DIY recording techniques, with new single "Denim Girls" sharing … Read more

Sleep In. this September

Posted in Records on July 26, 2026

New Jersey band Sleep In. will released Tangled In The Vines this fall -- their first album since The Stars On Your Ceiling back in '19. The new collection features 9 songs, with the band sharing "It's All Ratfucked" in advance. It eleases on Sept. 25 on Choke Artist label. … Read more

A brand new Charger

Posted in Records on July 26, 2026

East Bay rock 'n' rollers Chargers are back, announcing a 5-song 12" to release on Pirates Press Records on Oct. 23. The new EP is titled Last Call. While members also play in UK Subs, Rancid, and Jello Biafra & the Guantanamo School of Medicine, Charger is Motorhead-fuelled r 'n' … Read more

No more Ministry after this

Posted in Records on July 26, 2026

Initially forged in 1981, Ministry will conclude as a band following the Oct. 30 release of Hate To Go (Take Out Or Delivery), coming on Cleopatra Records. The album's release will be followed by US tour dates atn the Goodbye Europe Tour in 2027. The first single is streaming now. … Read more

Some new Body Stuff

Posted in Records on July 25, 2026

Curran Reynolds' Body Stuff is back, sharing "Hysteria" from the upcoming Body Stuff 5, the second full-length from the experimental project by the former member of Today Is The Day. Body Stuff 5 will release on Oct. 16 and includes collaborations with Andee Blacksugar (Blondie). Read more Read an SPB … Read more

Deaf Club live set

Posted in Videos on July 25, 2026

Annual Ohio festival The Skatopia Bowl Bash included a set by Deaf Club this year, and their set + a mini-documentary is online (below0. Besides The Skatopia Bowl Bash, the band recently released a limited, die-cut cover 7” EP, Contemporary Sickness (Three One G). Read more Read more