RVG- Malthouse Outdoor Stage

The Malthouse Outdoor Stage is hosting a number of COVID Safe shows this summer as live music returns to Melbourne. Belinda and I headed there this afternoon for the 5:30pm early show for RVG. I must admit it was a bit odd to be sitting at a table watching them play in the sunshine. They opened with "Alexandra" and included a number of songs off their latest album Feral in the set, including "Little Sharkie & The White Pointer Sisters," "Help Somebody," "Christian Neurosurgeon" and "I Used To Love You." Other highlights were "IBM," "Vincent Van Gogh," "A Quality Of Mercy," "That's All" and the set closer "Feral Beach." RVG is such a force of a band to watch live and today's show was no different. It was good to finally get to hear the tracks off Feral live now that they can play shows again.

 

Here's the video for "I Used To Love You"

The Living End- Sounds Better Together

The coronavirus pandemic has been catastrophic for the live music industry, with many music venues the first to close and the last to be able to reopen. The Mushroom Group and Victorian Government have partnered for a series of COVID Safe concerts across the state under the banner of Sounds Better Together. Tonight's show that I attended, which only went on sale last week, was The Living End at Forum Melbourne.

It was a bit strange to have seats on the floor of the Forum, but groups of ticket holders were safely spaced from each other. Opening the night was four piece Melbourne punk band Bakers Eddy. They played a very energetic set, with the lead singer taking out his microphone with his guitar during one song. They had people standing up out of their seats by the end of their set.

The Living End tried to begin the evening with "Pictures In The Mirror" but had two false starts as Scott Owen's bass wasn't working. Third time was a charm though and there was some relief from the band when they got through the whole song. The set list covered songs from throughout their extensive catalogue, with old favorites like "Second Solution," "Roll On," "Prisoner Of Society," "All Torn Down" and "White Noise" alongside some deeper album cuts such as "'Til The End," "Bloody Mary," "Hold Up," and "From Here On In." 

 

They also played a couple songs off their latest album Wunderbar with "Wake Up The Vampires" and "Drop The Needle." There was a lot of singing and dancing in the crowd, especially once everyone was standing up about a third of the way through the set. For the encore they played a rousing rendition of "Uncle Harry" to finish the evening. It was a great show full of energy and the usual musical prowess of this fantastic live band. I think everyone leaving the Forum felt their spirits lifted post-lockdown and that our city is coming back to life.

Here's the video for "Otherside"

Olympia- Rare & Solo

Tonight I attended the first of three sold out shows by Olympia at The Gasometer Hotel which are occuring over the next two nights. This was my very first gig since March 2020! Of course during COVID times things are a bit different: smaller audience numbers due to social distancing, early and late shows, and seating on the bandroom floor. The Gaso also has the added bonus of a retractable roof to assist with ventilation.

Opening the show this evening was Taylah Carroll, who played her set solo on electric guitar. Her songs were introspective and dreamy sounding, and I think it would be interesting to hear them played with a full band.

Olympia came out wearing a red turtleneck mini dress and started with "Biscuits" before segueing into "Somewhere To Disappear," both off her debut album Self Talk. Alternating between electric guitar and keyboard she played songs from all her releases, including "Atlantis" off her first EP, "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things," "Honey" and "Different Cities" from Self Talk, and "Hounds," "Two Hands" and "Nervous Riders" off her most recent album Flamingo.

 

The show was quite entertaining as she talked about the source material and inspirations for many of the songs, which ranged from films, tv shows and news events to tales from her own life. She also had copious notes printed out to refer to, with one of the funniest moments being a questionable review from Beat Magazine. After listening to these stories it was then interesting to pick up on lines in the lyrics and understand the songs a bit better. Olympia seemed to have kept herself busy during Melbourne's lockdown as she also played a couple new songs and even gave a shout out to everyone who was working from home and keeping the green light on, which I think many office workers could to relate to (myself included).

Here's the video for "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things"