The first time I saw Little Red live in 2007 I knew they were something special. After winning the hearts of Melbourne with their entertaining live shows and a couple EPs, they finally released their debut album Listen To Little Red in 2008. It is full of their self proclaimed "doo-wop punk" style and some of the sweetest vocal harmonies you may ever hear. The three main songwriters take turns singing lead throughout the album, with highlights including Tom Hartney on "Coca Cola," "Little Annie" and "Jackie Cooper," Quang Dinh on "Witchdoctor," "Fool" and "If You're Lonely," and Dominic Byrne on "It's Alright," "Stare In Love," "Misty, I" and "Fight Song." This album is how I will always remember Little Red, with all those fun gigs around town and watching them become more and more popular.
Favorite Lyric: If you ever need a shoulder to cry on, well honey I got two shoulders and they're strong ("If You're Lonely")
I have recently discovered that I am in yet another music video! This time it is Little Red's "Get A Life" which uses footage that was shot during their show at The Palace earlier this year. You can see me around the 0:29 and 4:18 marks in the crowd to the right of the soundboard. Look for Mary who has her camera up blocking her face and I'm next to her on the left. For those of you in the US, Little Red are coming to the States and playing some shows in October/November, so go check them out!
Last night I met up with Mary and her friend for dinner at HuTong Dumpling Bar (I still can't believe we managed to get a table) before heading to the Palace Theatre to see Little Red. The first act of the night was Passport for Amy, a young band that I found quite bland and boring. They were almost a paint by numbers style of emo guitar rock- not good. Next up was the new wave dance sounds of World's End Press. While a lot of their beats sounded like they were slight variations of an assortment of famous 80s/90s songs, the band members were energetic with their continuous dancing and sounded good overall.
Little Red began their set with album opener "Get a Life." Most of the songs played were off the Midnight Remember album, including "Slow Motion," "Lazy Boy," and current single "All Mine." During the rarely played "Chelsworth," Taka managed to fall off his bass drum into the left side of his drum kit (the first time I've ever seen that happen). We were privileged with two brand new songs and I was also happy to hear old favorite "Witchdoctor." As expected, their break out single "Rock It" got the biggest audience reaction of the night. I do wonder how the band view this song as it has been such an unlikely hit for them and has changed the type of audience they now attract. The boys finished their set with "It's Alright," and then came out and played "Coca Cola" for an encore, which was the final song for the night.
Here's the video for "All Mine" which was shot around Melbourne (including near my work):
When I was offered a free ticket to see children's tv show Yo Gabba Gabba! live on stage at the Palais Theatre this afternoon, how could I say no? It was the second of three shows they were doing today, and the audience was filled with parents and their young kids. The staging for the show was simple but effective with a large movable screen at the back and an open stage for characters to move and dance around on. DJ Lance Rock was exactly as he appears on tv (and is even like that in real life according to my friend). They did many of their well known songs, including "Name Game," "I Like to Dance," "Party in my Tummy," "Get the Sillies Out," "The Freeze Game" and "Bubbles" (complete with actual bubbles which had the kids going crazy in the aisles trying to pop them). Another reason I went was that Little Red was the Super Music Friends guest for the Melbourne shows. They sang their hit single "Rock It," which DJ Lance Rock liked. They also had Biz Markie there to do Biz's Beat of the Day, and he got some kids in the audience to do some beatboxing with him. Overall it was a very entertaining show, and Yo Gabba Gabba! is definitely one of the few tolerable children's shows on tv.
Last night I went to the Forum Theatre to see the sold out first night of Little Red's Midnight Remember tour. The opening act for the evening was New Zealand native Kimbra, who I saw a couple years ago when she first moved to Melbourne. She has gone from a singer/songwriter to more of a jazz-soul chanteuse, looking much more glamorous these days. Although she has a full band now, she still does samples of her vocals and loops them into the songs. Besides playing her own material she also did a cover of Prince's "I Wanna Be Your Lover" in her set.
Next up was Sydney band Sparkadia, who I missed seeing on their last album tour and have been wanting to catch live for a couple years now. They have been on a bit of hiatus, but are now back and about to release a new album. Their set consisted of songs from Postcards as well as a few new ones. It was so great to hear "Too Much To Do," "Morning Light," and "Animals." The new songs are pretty amazing as well, with the audience singing along to the chorus of "Mary" and their new single "Talking Like I'm Falling Downstairs." They closed the set with "Jealousy."
It continues to amaze me how popular Little Red have become. Each time they play in Melbourne they are in a bigger venue and selling it out. They opened the night with one of my favorites, "Lazy Boy." For these shows at the Forum they had a horn section along, which really adds so much to the songs. Dom, Quang and Tom alternated lead vocal duties throughout the night, playing songs from both Listen to Little Red and Midnight Remember. Taka added his usual flair by wearing a fantastic white suit and standing up on his drum kit to get the audience to clap along. Highlights of the night were "Get a Life," "Slow Motion," "Forget About Your Man," "Witchdoctor," "Jackie Cooper," "She's Not The Only One" and "It's Alright."
The crowd for the show was interesting to watch, because they really did not seem to know any of the album songs except ones that were singles. I wonder if the success of "Rock It" is what brought most people to the gig as that was one of the few songs to get a massive reaction. It's a bit of a shift from previous shows where everyone in the crowd has been singing and dancing along to every number. For the encore they started slowly with "Follow You There" and then picked it up to another level with "Coca Cola." The last song of the night was my other favorite, the fabulous "Misty, I."
Here's the video for the latest single, "Slow Motion"
Last night I met up with Tash for dinner at SoulMama, a vegetarian cafe at the St Kilda Baths. It has a cafeteria set up where you pay by how many different sides you want and then get into a serving line to make your selections. The food was good, flavorful and filling.
After eating we headed over to the Prince Bandroom for Little Red's sold out show. First band for the night was the eclectic outfit Richie 1250 and the Brides of Christ. Richie may be a good DJ, but I'm not so sure about his band. Next up was Melbourne duo Big Scary. Most of their songs were played on guitar and drums (a bit of a light version of The White Stripes), but I preferred it when the lead singer Tom switched onto the keyboard for the songs "Autumn" and "Falling Away."
The crowd was already cheering even before Little Red hit the stage. It was good to see them sell out their biggest venue to date, especially since they have been out of the spotlight for quite a while. They opened the evening with "Stare In Love" then segued into "She's Not The Only One." The setlist was an even mix of old songs and new ones from their upcoming album. Standouts of the new material were "Slow Motion" and "Forget About Your Man." Their new single "Rock It" got a big reception, as did old favorites "Little Annie" and "Jackie Cooper." The band sounded great with the addition of a horn section for most of the songs, as well as having Tom on keyboards to fill out the sound. They finished off their set with "Coca Cola" and played "It's Alright" for an encore. I can't wait for the second album to finally be released in a couple months.
I had a very interesting tram ride down to Richmond last night as the tram was chockers with a large group of senior citizens. My guess that they were heading to Rod Laver Arena was correct as about 40 people got off at that stop. I could also see more groups of older people streaming down from the pedestrian bridge but had no idea who was playing (turns out it was Andre Rieu). Tash also got caught in the Rieu traffic, but we eventually met up at Mexicali Rose so I could treat her to a belated b-day dinner. After eating and chatting we headed down the block to The Corner Hotel for a one off show by Little Red before they head to London for some shows in November.
When we arrived The Box Rockets were playing their set. I really should like this band because they have an 80's British guitar inspired sound, but I still find them to be dull. The next band, The Vasco Era certainly weren't boring and had lots of energy in their set of bluesy rock. I was, however, concerned about singer's throat as his screams sounded like he was shredding his vocal cords.
Little Red came out to lots of cheers from the hometown crowd. The set was an equal mix of new songs and ones from their debut album. There were also a few older new songs like "Lazy Boy" (complete with a faster chorus), "In My Bed," and "Rock Until The Break of Day." Many of the new songs show a maturity and growth in the band's sound but still have elements like the harmonies that you identify with Little Red. The Hunters & Collectors horn section came out to play on several songs and Wilbur Wilde played saxophone on "Jackie Cooper" (as he did on the album). The boys played for an hour and finished up the set with "Coca Cola" and "It's Alright" before coming back on for an encore of "Fight Song." I hope the band have a successful trip to the UK to launch their album Listen to Little Red and also start working on recording the new one.
Last night Belinda and I headed to the Hi-Fi Bar on Swanston Street to see the triumphant return of Little Red to the live music scene in Melbourne. It has been months since I saw them play and this mini-tour was done as a last taste before the boys head off into the studio to record their second album.
The show opened with the Young Lovers, a new wave sounding band with some good and uplifting tunes. Next was Ground Components, a solid band with interesting songs. Their guitarist played the show from a lounge chair since he broke his foot the night before but that didn't bring down the energy level of the other band members. The lead singer's voice is a bit rough, but the group is a very talented bunch of musicians.
Little Red came onto the stage to huge cheers from the sold-out crowd. They played songs from their previous releases as well as some new ones. The audience was singing along in full voice for most of the night, with "Little Annie" and "Jackie Cooper" getting big responses. I was happy as always to hear "Misty, I" and "Lazy Boy." The newest songs sounded really good and showed a lot of growth in the band's sound. Members of Ground Components came out on stage to play along to the last song of the main set "It's Alright." For the encore they played "Cry Cry" and finished the night with "Coca Cola." It was a fantastic show and confirmation of what a great live band Little Red have become.
Friday night Tash and I flew up to Sydney for Homebake, a festival which features all Australian bands. On Saturday morning we grabbed some breakfast and then walked to The Domain. There was a brief wait in line before we eventually got into the venue. It was a very hot day- 35/95 degrees! After stopping to buy some bottled water we headed to The Dome stage for our first act of the day, The Holidays. Next up on the stage was Melbourne female duo Dash & Will in their first ever festival appearance. Their set was a lot of fun as they used tennis rackets to lob lollies into the audience and brought out a beach ball for the crowd to toss around.
We then headed to the Main Stage for another Melbourne band I've been wanting to see for a while, Eddy Current Suppression Ring. They played a great set of their old school punk songs, and I really enjoyed hearing "Which Way To Go." After a wander to refill our water bottles, we went back to The Dome stage for my favorites Little Red. They played a high energy set with a mix of old and new songs and had the crowd singing along. I was very happy to hear "Lazy Boy" and it was good to see such a positive response to the boys outside of Melbourne. After retreating to the shade under a tree to cool down a bit we were ready for End of Fashion. Their set was really good and included their first big hit "Oh Yeah" and the single "Fussy" off their latest album.
British India was our next act on the Main Stage. They really had the crowd going with their indie rock tunes. Unfortunately we were right in the sun for their set, so my goal of avoiding sunburn failed (even though I had on sun block). Besides the multiple stages, Homebake also set up a Cinema Pavilion to show a variety of short films. After grabbing some food we headed down to enjoy some films and relax in the dark for an hour and a half. My favorite of all the shorts we saw was "Mankind Is No Island" by Jason van Genderen. It's a really moving and thought provoking film.
When we emerged from the cinema the weather had gotten much cooler, which was a big relief. We headed back to The Dome stage for Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson. They mostly played songs from their album together "Rattlin' Bones." They are both great songwriters and musicians, and Kasey was very funny and sweet with her song introductions. "The Devil's Inside My Head" was stomping bluegrass number that had the crowd dancing. When their set finished we made our way through the crowd to the Main Stage for dance act Sneaky Sound System. They played a lot of their hits including "Pictures," "UFO," "I Love It," and "Kansas City." The crowd was totally into it and singing and dancing along.
The headline act of Homebake was Crowded House. Tash and I got as close to the stage as we could. I thought the set was a bit flat in comparison to the other shows earlier in the week. Neil had a bit of a raspy voice and the sound from where we were in the crowd was a bit muddy and hard to hear. Their set list probably needed a few more energetic hits in it considering this was a young festival crowd. The big hits though went down really well and the band were nearly drowned out by the singing of the crowd. I also got to hear "Hole in the River" which hadn't been played in Melbourne. In the encore some idiot threw their flip flop and hit Neil, which really pissed him off. He told the guy if he threw up his other shoe and took off his pants that he might let him stay. Security ended up carting the guy away and the show continued. They finished up the night with "Better Be Home Soon" and had the crowd hold up their lit mobile phones in the air- the modern equivalent of the lighter. All in all it was a fantastic day of music.
Today Tash and I started off with breakfast at a cafe along Cockle Bay Wharf, then had a wander around Darling Harbour. Next we caught a bus to The Rocks and checked out their Sunday market. After ice cream at Circular Quay we walked over to the Opera House as it began to rain. We hid for a bit inside the Opera House and once the weather cleared headed back outside. We spent some time at QVB having coffee, cakes and conversation before heading off to the airport for our flight home.
It has been fun with Little Red over the past week with several shows starring the boys.
September 12 This was the second sold out show at the Corner Hotel. The opening bands were the same and last month, and this time I got to see Andy Bull play. He was entertaining and has a bit of a soul/funk sound to him because of the horns section. The Holidays started out good but after a while their songs began to get repetitive.
Little Red were in excellent form on the night as they tore through their set list. I was really happy to hear "Isabella" and "Believe In Your Man" tonight, as well as the unreleased "Forget About Your Man." We got some new songs as well, and it's good to see Tom playing keyboards on those numbers (an added instrument to the Little Red repertoire). Unfortunately due to Andy Bull starting late I had to miss the encore so that I could catch the last tram back to the city.
September 18 The Hondas came and played a show at the Brunswick Hotel so of course I couldn't miss it being so close to home. It has been a while since they played together, so their set was a bit messy at times but still entertaining. They played songs from the first album as well as brand new ones they have just written. I was glad to hear "God Save My Soul," "When I Was Young" and what could be the gay anthem for 2008 "I Am A Homosexual." It was all over in about 50 minutes and I went over to Taka afterwards to thank him for playing. Hopefully he'll get his visa sorted out.
September 20 Yes, I know what your thinking, "But you just saw them a week ago." I probably would have skipped Little Red's last date at The Corner Hotel except for the fact that The Fearless Vampire Killers were opening and I've been wanting to see them for a while now. Thankfully they did not disappoint and put on a fantastic set of 60's inspired psychedelic rock. I was very impressed by them and it's no surprise that they were named one of the "10 Bands To Watch" for 2008 by Wireless Bollinger.
Little Red put in another great performance, and Mel was impressed by them. They played a similar set to the previous shows, and of the new songs "Lazy Boy" is my personal favorite. The show closed with a rousing rendition of Coca Cola and all the bands came on stage to sing along (if anyone knows people who work for Coke, that song is begging to be used in some advertising). It will be very interesting to see what the future holds for Little Red and hopefully they will continue on their upward trajectory.
You can watch Little Red live from The Annandale Hotel in Sydney on 23/8/08 here.
Last night was the first of three shows that Little Red are playing at the Corner Hotel during their first national headlining tour. Belinda, Ruth, Danny and I started the evening with a great Mexican dinner at Mexicali Rose. Tash joined us for dessert, and then we walked to the Corner for the show. We entered just as Andy Bull finished his set, so I will need to get their earlier next time to catch him. Next up was The Holidays, a young indie band from Sydney. I thought they were good and they've got a bit of buzz around them.
Little Red came out to loud cheers from the sold out hometown crowd. It's amazing how much success the boys have had over the past year. They played the majority of their debut album as well as a few new songs. The call and response during "Little Annie" and "Jackie Cooper" was fantastic and everyone had a great time throughout their hour-long set. There was a lot of energy and goodwill in the room and Taka was his cheery self behind the drum kit. They finished up the night with a rocking version of "Coca Cola." I can't wait to see them again when they come back in September towards the end of their tour.
Tonight after work Lucas and I headed over to Polyester Records on Flinders Lane for Little Red's in-store performance to celebrate the release of their debut album "Listen to Little Red." I last saw them play in March during a lunchtime concert at Melbourne Uni, so it was good to see the five boys together on stage again. Their 40 minutes set included many songs from the new album and it was one of the tightest performances I have seen them do. Everything sounded really great. I highly recommend that you go out and buy their album- those of you overseas can order it from JB Hi-Fi.
Here's the video for the first single "Witch Doctor."
I have spent the last two evenings attending concerts. On Tuesday night Belinda and I headed over to the Northcote Social Club to see Little Red play at one of their Tuesday night residencies in February. Opening this week was Oh Mercy, a young Melbourne band that I was curious to see. I really enjoyed their set and they are another up and coming band to watch. Little Red was fantastic, as usual, and played for a bit over an hour. One of best things about the night for me was that I finally got my hands on a copy of their debut EP "Get Ready!" which I have been trying to get for months.
Photo by Tash
Wednesday night I joined Tash at the Prince Bandroom for Gotye and The Basics. I have been wanting to see The Basics live for a while now, and while I didn't get to hear the album tracks, we were treated to an acoustic set of all new material. Those three-part harmonies were so lovely. Gotye, otherwise known as Wally de Backer (and the drummer for The Basics), came out and played an amazing set of music. Wally's songs are created from a compilation of samples and vocals that he pastes together. It was amazing to watch him create this all on stage by himself. This show was scheduled to allow him to try some stuff out before the upcoming Laneway Festival, and while the lighting and visuals may not have gone quite to plan, it was still an entertaining evening. He finished up the night with a crowd sing-a-long of "We Are The World," which was quite funny.
Here's the video for "Hearts A Mess" by Gotye
Watch Gotye live at the Metro Theatre in Sydney on 29/7/07 here.
Last night Belinda and I ventured down to SoCo Cargo in St. Kilda to see Little Red play as part of the Sunday Soul Sessions. SoCo Cargo is a live venue made out of shipping containers that has traveled around the country. It was very comfy inside- especially since we got to sit in lounge chairs facing the stage. The boys played two sets of 40 minutes each and had many people up and dancing by the end of the night. The harmonies were gorgeous, as usual, and it was good to hear the old favorites along with newer material (really liked "Sad Song.") They have such a diverse range of songs it will be interesting to see what ends up on their debut album when it comes out sometime this year.
Here's the video "Waiting" for your viewing pleasure:
My cousin Missy has come to stay with me for a week, so we have been out having fun around town. On Tuesday night we headed down to the Corner Hotel in Richmond to see Clare Bowditch and the Feeding Set in concert. The first opening act was Whitley who was drunk or on something because he didn't make much sense when talking. We thought shoegazer music was over, but he is bringing it back. He even did an emo version of Bjork's "Hyper-Ballad." The real stars of the night were Little Red, who played a very energetic set on the smaller second stage, including my favorite song of theirs, "Misty I." Missy was impressed and deemed them a band to watch. We stayed for most of Clare Bowditch's set but left around 11 pm as it was hot in the venue and we were both tired.
On Wednesday we were joined by Belinda and went to the Night Market at the Queen Victoria Market. It was another hot evening, but we checked out all the various booths and sampled the food. We had gozleme first and then the honey dumplings with chocolate and ice cream. While wandering around we even ran into Michelle and Ruth.
Tonight Missy met me at work and we headed across the road to The Commune for dinner and jazz, which is a regular Thursday night event. Mel had reserved a table, and it was good to see both Carlene, who is teaching at the Victorian International School of Sharjah, and Marg, who is doing teacher coaching at schools in New York. They were both back in Melbourne for the holidays. The jazz music was good (they played some Jobim) and my dish of pad thai was yummy. Missy and I had a delay of 20 minutes at the train station because of all the thunderstorms, but we managed to make it home safe and dry.
Last night Belinda came over to my place for dinner and then we headed to The East Brunswick Club for Queensland band Operator Please's EP launch. This young band plays very happy indie/electropop and the crowd was bopping along. They reminded me of The Grates with their enthusiasm on stage and sound.
The second band of the night was Treetops, who have been around for a while. They have that unique Melbourne sound which is hard to describe but you know it when you hear it. From what I have read they have gone through many line up changes over the years (their current drummer seems a lot younger than the rest of the band). The songs sounded good- very nice melodic pop.
Of course, the real reason I wanted to go was to see my new favorite band Little Red who opened the night. They were fantastic and the harmonies were in top form. Three of the guys take turns singing lead on the songs, and you can't help but love them. They are unsigned at the moment, but I doubt that will be the case for long. Little Red are opening for another band next week, so I may have to go see them again and bring along more people to convert into fans.
You probably never thought that an "Iron Chef" inspired cooking contest mixed with rock music would be a good way to raise money for charity, but that's what happened tonight at the Corner Hotel. The beneficiaries were Good Shephard youth and family services. Ruth, Michelle, Belinda and I were treated to the mad culinary skills of Scott Owen and Andy Strachan from The Living End, Died Pretty’s Ron Peno, Ally Spazzy, Rebecca Barnard, Macromantics, Dan Kelly, Angie Hart, Lindsay MacDougall (Frenzal Rhomb), Candy Bowers (Sista She), Bob Log III, Link Meanie, Lisa Miller, PBS’s Kene Lightfoot, Paddy Donovan (The Age), RRR’s Holly C, Mia Dyson, and Dallas Crane front man Dave Larkin. The food was judged by Epicure’s John Lethlean, Mecca’s Cath Claringbold, and Andrew McConnell from Three One Two and we were given updates from the commentary panel of Helen Razer (774), Clem Bastow (The Age), and Melbourne Food & Wine Festival’s creative director Matt Preston.
There were two 30-minute heats with two teams competing each round, and then the winners took part in a 15-minute dessert challenge. The secret ingredients were mushrooms (heat 1), chicken (heat 2), and bananas (final heat). Some of the dishes were fantastic, others were shocking, but in the end the best (and my favorite) team prevailed: Rebecca Barnard, Ally Spazzy, Ron Peno, Scott Owen and Andy Strachan! We were lucky enough to get to taste test Andy's chicken dumplings from heat 2, and they were delicious. Best band of the night was Little Red- I was impressed with their gorgeous harmonies and songs. One reviewer called them "The Beach Boys meets The Strokes." I think they could become huge and I eagerly await the release of their debut EP.
