The Underground Stage
“Hunch are no strangers round here, and are well and truly in the groove now of running a show; tonight, they treat us to the continuing evolution of a band growing ever-bigger teeth. With more Ian Dury-ish spoken word amid the grunge, there’s a ton of balance in the set now, but it’s still the […]
“Richard Cuthbert has been around the block, and tonight he’s here with his three-piece band who, as per the Courtney Barnett Act 2015 that governs the naming of three-pieces, are now nicknamed the RC3. Stepping in at the last-minute to cover for Neighbours, we get treated to one of the most charming and lovely sets […]
“By the time the latest six-piece incarnation of long-time faves Velociraptor take the stage, the party is off to the races. We can’t know that in less than 24 hours, Donald Trump will become the President-Elect of the US, but there’s a distinct feeling of the last party before the Apocalypse in the air. If […]
“Australia are one of those bands I’ve been meaning to catch for a while, and happily they’re easily as good as I’d figured. It’s danceable but laced with a sense of doom, guitars that want to be disco but can’t help but feeling a bit miserable about it. Maybe it’s the baritone vocal. Either way, […]
“Barefoot Alley are Brisbane-brother-and-sister but there’s very little sunshine here. Whatever shack this two-piece live in, it has a hole in the roof, the landlord’s coming for the rent, and the rats have eaten all the food. This is dirty stuff, bluesy White-Stripes-y eeeeooaargh, thumping and distorted into weird shapes. They sound like they’re having […]
“The Pretty Littles are the sort of band that can cover “Chop Suey” and reference Bush (“they used to be kind of a big deal”), and not only get away with it, but smash the living heckers out of it musically and make us all laugh like idiots. It’s pure good times tonight – despite […]
“Neighbourhood Youth make massive sound. This is song as architecture, towering and looming and as big as the damn sky. Recent-ish release “Atlantic” was well-regarded in most quarters and is suitably gigantic tonight, but the whole set is full of technical skill and enormo-sound. It’s like watching a jumbo jet take off – the last […]
“The Brighton Up Bar has a habit of lighting up joss sticks during gigs, and while I usually recoil a bit at it, it perfectly suits Sun Sap’s smoky West Coast garage groove. It’s my second time catching this six-piece – crammed onto the Brighton’s stage like a pair of meggings – and it’s a […]
“It’s almost two years since I last saw Unity Floors (back at the beloved and missed Lansdowne in 2014) but they’ve clearly not been resting on laurels or taking it easy. They were always an accomplished pair, comfortable playing live and full of tune, but tonight they’re in another gear. Their 2013 Exotic Goldfish Blues […]