An Intimate, Reimagined Evening With Kimbra

Kimbra is currently on tour in Australia opening for David Byrne, but decided to do two intimate shows in Melbourne tonight at The Gasometer Hotel to celebrate the released of her new EP Songs from Primal Heart: Reimagined. I attended the second sold out show for the evening, and it was a very stripped back and jazzy sounding set with just Kimbra on the microphone accompanied by a bass player and keyboard player.

Kimbra spoke about the origins of many of the songs that were played before launching into each track. The four songs off the new EP were featured with "The Good War," "Everybody Knows," "Hi Def Distance Romance" and "Black Sky." She also played some deep cuts from throughout her catalogue, including "Past Love" off Primal Heart, "Rescue Him" and "Waltz Me To The Grave" off The Golden Echo, and "Plain Gold Ring," "Withdraw," "Old Flame" and my favorite "Cameo Lover" off of Vows. For an encore she did a heartfelt rendition of "Version Of Me" to finish the evening. It was very special to get to hear these reworked versions of her songs, and her voice shined strongly throughout the night (even though it was the second show). This tour now heads to the US in December and Europe in March 2019 so if Kimbra is coming to your city make sure you go to see her.

Here's the video for "Version Of Me"

Fahrenheit 11/9

I have been wanting to see Michael Moore's latest film Fahrenheit 11/9 for a while now, but it only recently opened with a limited release here in Australia. Going into the movie after the mid-term elections meant I was feeling slightly more optimistic about things because of the blue wave and the Democrats winning control of the House (and therefore being a check on Trump).

The film began with the 2016 Presidential election and that horrible night when Donald Trump became America's 45th President. It spends some time on Trump, but the main focus of the film is on the corrupt and criminal behaviour that has led to some major issues in the country such as the Flint water crisis in Michigan, the West Virginia teacher's strike, and the Parkland school shooting in Florida. He also focuses on the political, from the disenfranchisement of Bernie Sanders delegates at the 2016 Democratic National Convention to meeting with several of the new wave of progressive candidates that ran for office this year. This is one of Michael Moore's stronger films and I highly recommend seeing it if you get the chance.

The Living End- Wunderbar Tour

The Living End recently released their eighth studio album Wunderbar and tonight's gig at the Forum was the first of their two shows in Melbourne. The opening act for the evening was South Australian seven piece band West Thebarton. They put on a very energetic set of Aussie rock as their charismatic front man Reverend Ray roamed around the stage.

The Living End began their set with "Wake Up The Vampires" and "Don't Lose It," two of the many tracks from Wunderbar that were played throughout the evening. Other highlights from the album were "Otherside," "Death Of The American Dream," "Proton Pill" and "Drop The Needle."

Considering the band's extensive back catalogue, it's always interesting to see what unexpected tracks will make the set list. Tonight we were treated to "'Til The End," "Bloody Mary," "Loaded Gun," "End Of The World," "Wake Up" and "One Said To The Other." They also played usual favorites such as "Roll On," "All Torn Down," "Second Solution," "White Noise" and "Prisoner Of Society," which had the mosh pit going and finished off the main set. For the encore Chris came out and played "Amsterdam" solo and then the band joined him for the epic "The Room" and a raucous version of "Uncle Harry." Once again The Living End proved they are still one of the top Australian live acts out there.

Here's the video for the latest single "Otherside"

Dave Dobbyn- The Evelyn Hotel

Dave Dobbyn returned to Melbourne tonight for a sold out show at The Evelyn Hotel. I got there as Adam McGrath from The Eastern was finishing his solo set for the mainly Kiwi crowd. It was packed and very hot in the venue by the time Dave Dobbyn and his band took to the stage. They began with "You Get So Lonely" off his latest album Harmony House, and played songs from throughout his long career. It was great to be able to hear so many of my favorites, including "Language," "Whaling," "Devil You Know," "Maybe The Rain," "Be Mine Tonight" and "Love You Like I Should."

Dave was chatty and telling stories throughout the night, while the crowd was in full voice singing along, especially when "Slice Of Heaven" was played to closed the main set. For an encore they played "Outlook For Thursday" and then invited Adam McGrath back onto the stage for the beautiful "Welcome Home" to finish the night. It's always a pleasure to see Dave live and he seemed to really enjoy getting to play in Australia again.

Here's a te reo Maori version of "Welcome Home"