Another year, another youthie. Except this year the annual free outdoor concert underwent a major revamp and became the Sounds Loud festival and boasted its biggest line up yet. These events are great for discovering new bands and for bands to open up to an audience that they might not otherwise be exposed to. And the best part that is all for free. I must admit that it is a very long day and that even after 6 years of attending, I’d never stayed for the whole day. But Queens Park is perfectly located so that if you did get a little bored you could wonder off and get coffee or go for a walk down to the shops. Having a stage of bands, a dance stage and an rnb stage meant that there was a little bit of everything for everyone.
Neon Love is a band that I’ve heard a lot about but have never been to a gig that they’ve played at or even really listened to them. Some people I’ve talked to love them, others not so much, so I was glad to finally be seeing them for myself. They burst on stage with a lot of energy and what seemed to be a lot going on. But really, I think they just had their singer playing an electronic drum kit. It was just the way they moved around on stage frantically that gave the impression that a lot was happening. Neon Love have a very fun, makes-you-want-to -dance-around indie rock sound and the crowd seemed to dig it. Honestly, their music isn’t really my thing, but I thought they were pretty good and would probably listen to them on the one-off occasion if in the right mood. I can definitely see how they’ve received so much exposure. What I was most impressed by though was the shuffling of instruments between the three members who weren’t the drummer or the bassist. It’s a clever way to show to your audience just how talented you are. The vocals were shared between these three guys, and each were very solid in the part that they played. KEEP READING →→
Firstly, I’d like to say that I should not be allowed to review my favourite band. I grew up listening to Brand New, so all of their songs are attached to specific memories and moments in my life. I’ve been told that I can gush about this as much as I want, but I’ll try to be as objective as possible. So with that aside, this show was AH-MA-ZING! Everything about the night was perfect; the venue, the crowd, the support band, the headliner. I think Brand New sold out (or came close to selling out) every show on this tour, something that neither of their last two headlining tours managed.
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 Push Over is an annual festival that displays an array of amazing local talent every year, and this year was no exception. There are your few bigger bands to draw in the crowd of course, but the majority of bands on the bill are lower profile who always acquire a huge benefit from the audience that Push Over draws.
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Getting to this show, and not getting lost and being stranded in the middle of nowhere, was our first concern. I always hear of people in America travelling 5hrs to get to shows, but here, travelling for over an hour is a big effort (unless you’re going interstate). So we got the train to the other side of town and thankfully, found our way quite easily. Once the stress of having to find the venue was erased, we grabbed some food before the show at the local Subway.
While sitting in Subway, who other than the one and only Aaron Gillespie should stroll on past. There’s a moment of “OH MY GOD! IT’S AARON GILLESPIE” before we wave, and he “peaces” us back, a look of confusion on his face. The people walking with him, assumingly the event organisers, chuckle to themselves at our reaction, but we don’t care because it’s the second time in two days that we’ve had close encounters with Aaron.
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 Click to see more! Owl City, the musical brain child of Adam Young is a tribute to the power of the internet. From uploading tracks recorded in his parent’s basement late at night when he was suffering from insomnia on his Myspace page in 2007, to scoring a #1 single on both the Billboard 100 and UK charts, his uber catchy songs have led to a viral success which most musicians only dream of. The first time I came across his Myspace page, sometime in 2008, the only live photos of him seemed to be at small parties with teenagers. Tonight, it’s a different story. The O2 Academy in Oxford is packed with a variety of people, ages ranging from 12 to 50, all excitedly awaiting the night’s music. Due to a variety of inconveniences, from traffic to ticket issues, I show up just before the support act, Lights hits the stage, and battle my way to the front, which I can assure you is no easy task!
Canadian native Lights is the perfect opener to Owl City. Unlike some concerts where support acts’ genres clash horrendously with the headliners, her fun synthpop music really gets the crowd going and is a brilliant lead up. She is pretty and charismatic, rocking a keytar while smiling excitedly and talking about her first UK radio interview earlier in the day. The crowd seem to love her, some members calling out things like ‘Don’t go home!’ ‘You can stay at my house!’ ‘You can stay in my bed!’ to which she laughs bashfully. The mood is happy and buzzing, and when she asks who’s looking forward to Owl City the cheer is deafening. Her set is relatively short, but her music is uplifting and her voice sounds great. You can tell she is really enjoying herself, and her enthusiasm bounces through the audience. KEEP READING →→
After a year in the US, Closure In Moscow returned to Australia and this show at Bang was their first show back home, how fitting that it would be in their hometown of Melbourne. Taking place at a venue that is better known as an alternative club than a venue, many younger fans were begrudged at Closure’s only Melbourne show being an overage show.
Arriving late, I missed opening band Gatherer and half of Secrets In Scale’s set. But what I did see of Secrets In Scale’s set, I liked. They’re a band worth checking out, and you can find their EP for free on myspace. Secrets In Scale’s myspace informs me that they’re currently working on their debut album with Kris Crummett, who worked with Closure In Moscow on both their EP and debut album. Keep your eyes on these guys. Up next was Madonna, who were a little too metal for me. Every song in their set just sounded like the previous one, and I just didn’t enjoy them. The creepy masks that they donned didn’t help either. But hey, if that’s your thing, then good for you.
Closure’s set was a good mix of songs off their album (“Vanguard,” “Kissing Cousins,” “Sweet#Hart”) as well as a few crowd favourites off the EP (“We Want Guarantees, Not Hunger Pains”). The new songs translated very well into a live setting and the band were very tight, proof that they’d spent all year in America touring. Chris’ stage antics were just as strange and captivating as always. I was skeptical as to whether Manny and Michael would be able to pull off the guitar parts live, but they surprised me and sounded just as good as they do on the album. Drummer, Beau, was as solid as ever and Brad played his bass with ease. The crowd in the front and the middle were going nuts, but everyone else… well, they KEEP READING →→
9:55pm, October 9th. In the Oxford O2 Academy, the atmosphere is electric, as excited fans surge towards the stage. It’s almost time for the headlining act of the Eastpak Antidote Tour, which is travelling across the UK this month featuring Ghost of a Thousand, Four Year Strong, Anti-Flag and, the real reason I’m there: Alexisonfire. After the fast paced, politically charged set of Pennsylvanian punk-rockers Anti-Flag, (which included helping audience members on-stage to sing and dance, bringing the drummer, Pat Theic and his kit down into the pit, and a circle pit which consumed most of the floor) everyone is definitely in the mood. Chants of ‘Alexis! Alexis! Alexis!’ echo around the venue, which, with a capacity of just over 1000, is packed from wall to wall. The stage becomes dark, and the crowd is turbulent as pink and green lights start to flash and music begins to play, marking the imminence of the band’s entrance.
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