I knew that I would be in for another late night when I saw the tickets for tonight’s concert said doors open at 8:30pm (especially considering what time it is right now!). . The Zoo played host tonight’s acts consisting of Motor Ace and awesome support band Neon (wow, their website took a while to google). Even though Neon are mainly supporting many other bands at the moment (I also caught them at Jebediah a couple of weeks back), they have great music and know how to get the crowd rocking.

It has been a while since we had heard much from Motor Ace. Their last album was produced two years ago and the band has been through a lot since then, having dissolved, getting back together and somehow managing to find enough inspiration and effort for their latest album, Animal. When Motor Ace finally got on stage (almost at midnight mind you!), the crowd was more than ready for them. The crowd’s hunger was soon appeased with some songs from their first album, Five Star Laundry, followed by some songs from their latest album and then a select few from Shoot This. It was obvious this crowd had been following the band for sometime, with pretty much everyone I saw knowing most of the words to all of the songs played from previous albums. Another bargain act that is completely worth seeing for the measly $22 they were charging. I’d also keep a look out for their new album (its songs sounded were more reminiscent of their first album more so than their second though).

So I just got back from a brilliant performance by Jebediah at The Rev in Brisbane. Tonight was the 10th Anniversary Tour of the band sometimes referred to as Jebs. I remember their first CD (Slightly Odway) when I was back in high school and it was totally impressive to see this band still full of the same energy that is apparent in everyone of their albums. The Rev’s intimate size made for perfect place to host this band’s crazy grunge rock for the night, allowing for maximum exposure to the complete Jebs experience.

I turned up to the event a little bit late after grabbing something to eat after training, so I missed the first support act, Red Jezebel, who a couple of people I spoke to tonight said were pretty good. I arrived just in time to catch the second act, Neon, who also managed to shake The Rev with their classic rock riffs and tunes.

The Jebs came on about 11pm and kick-started the crowd with one of their more upbeat songs. The energy the band put into their performance was amplified and returned by the crowd, evident by the mass of arms waving and the large number of fans jumping around. Their song selection was fantastic covering most of their albums, a few B-sides and even a couple of covers songs that were lapped up by the frenzied crowd. The encore topped it all off with a couple of The Jebs’ probably most well known songs, Harpoon and Leaving Home. Although I think everyone was disappointed that the night didn’t continue past its 12:40am finish time, I think Jebediah probably made the right decision as the crowd was starting to get a little angry with excessive moshing and crowd surfing.

Tonight (or rather last night) Sydney based songwriter and artist, Lior came to perform at The Zoo. After I got back from my big three weeks abroad I was looking for gigs to attend. I hadn’t heard of Lior before but after reading a few reviews and listening to a couple of his songs from his site, I thought I’d hunt down his album. There were a few places online that seemed to have it, but a stop in at the local JB Hi-Fi seemed to do the trick. The sales person who was serving me said she really liked his stuff and it was a good album. She mentioned that she’d also just missed his last concert but managed to hang around outside enough to say that he was a good performer as well.

Tonight I can attest that his performance is really worthwhile actually visiting. Lior performed a few new songs and the ones that he played off his Autumn Flow album were superbly improvised and varied, making it just an amazing show to see. It was made even better considering that tickets were only $16.10! Tonight was such an amazing crowd as well, with the tickets for tonight’s gig completely sold out! So good that I think I’m going to go see him perform down on the Gold Coast as well.

Last year’s Splendour in the Grass was amazing. This year’s one includes acts such as Queens of the Stone Age, Moby, Interpol, The Finn Brothers, The Living End, Shihad, and Sarah Blasko. Despite tickets for this year only going on sale yesterday, it appears that they have already sold out! Such disappointment! It’s also amazing to see that people are already ebaying them for almost double the price!

With nothing to do this Friday, I somehow managed to nab myself a ticket to see Sarah Blasko at The Rev in the Valley and it was an amazing show. This artist is becoming ever more popular with looks somewhere between a miniature cross of (at least I think so when you see her live) Natalie Imbruglia and Sophie Ellis Bextor but definitely with a style distinctly her own. She has more recently been compared to the likes of Missy Higgins and although her voice and talent could easily be mistaken for Missy at times, Sarah’s own unique style of music contains an enchanting and almost haunting undertone. She was also one of the latest representatives for Australia at the South by Southwest Festival in the US.

The Rev made a perfect spot for this gig, with the intimate surroundings giving Sarah great opportunity to interact with the crowd. It seemed she was genuinely impressed by the Brisbvegas audience based on her comments and the way she responded to everyone’s reactions. What a bargain to see this Indie/Folk US signed artist perform for the measly sum of AU$15! (Especially considering she will be gracing one of the stages at Splendour in the Grass later this year). Fantastic night that went a little later than I expected but well worth staying up for!

The Gold Coast Parklands hosted yet another perfect Big Day Out, welcoming 50 000 people with bright blue skies and a pretty average Queensland summer temperature of about 29 degrees (Celsius). Three main stage areas, two amazing tents and a number of other smaller stages hosted a fantastic lineup of people from 11 in the morning to 11 at night. With huge names like The Chemical Brothers, Beastie Boys, Carl Cox, and the Freestylers (only to name a few), awesome tunes were enjoyed by all. See the image below to find out where I was during the day:

If you care to see how the rest of the day was (be warned it’s a long one) then brace yourself and read on. Read more “Another Year, Another Big Day Out”

Well I hope that everyone had a very good New Year’s Eve. Mine was a relatively quiet one, being a good time for reflections on the year just gone, contemplating both the good times and the not-so-great times had. New Year’s Day was spent attending BBQ Breaks held at Friday’s at Eagle Street Pier.

Yesterday’s perfect weather added to the fantastically charged atmosphere and the huge number of artists that played made it an awesome way to continue celebrating the New Year. Just a small sampler of those that played included: Kid Kenobi, Cut La Roc, Deadly Avenger, Kid Kay Ferris, Tipper, Tom Middleton, Soma Rosa and Ian Pooley.