Last night Tash, Mary and I met up at the East Brunswick Club for Hungry Kids of Hungary's Shady Haze of Winter tour. After eating dinner in the bar we headed for the bandroom to catch the first act, Auckland's Artisan Guns, who were good. Next up was Sydney band The Holidays, who Tash and I last saw a couple years ago. They entered the stage to Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" complete with lights flashing along to the beat (quite funny). Their set consisted entirely of new songs off their upcoming debut album Post Paradise, which I thought was a brave choice. The standout track for me was "6am."
Hungry Kids of Hungary hit the stage to big cheers from the crowd. They opened the night with "Set It Right." This was their first sold out show in Melbourne, which was exciting. The set list consisted of a few new songs, but was mostly all of their released material. "Wristwatch," "Scattered Diamonds" and "Let You Down" had the audience singing along and it was also good to hear some rarely played songs such as "Arrest This Heart" and "One By One." The encore saw an invasion of about 20 members of the crowd onto the stage for "Lenny" and "Good Times." It was another fun show by the Hungry Kids, and I can't wait for the release of their debut album Escapades on October 1st.
Here's the video for their latest single "Wristwatch"
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.
Last night Tash, Mary and I met up at the East Brunswick Club for Hungry Kids of Hungary's Shady Haze of Winter tour. After eating dinner in the bar we headed for the bandroom to catch the first act, Auckland's Artisan Guns, who were good. Next up was Sydney band The Holidays, who Tash and I last saw a couple years ago. They entered the stage to Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" complete with lights flashing along to the beat (quite funny). Their set consisted entirely of new songs off their upcoming debut album Post Paradise, which I thought was a brave choice. The standout track for me was "6am."
