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anne mccue

  • edwin garland 2020

    EDWIN GARLAND
    Guitarist with Moonlight 5, Waxworks, Dwarfthrower  
    I-94 Bar reviewer
    Sydney, Australia

    I am sure many will say the same: This has been a shit of a year. Even so, I included much more than ten.  Who cares !!

    The passing of Greg Sawers
    One piece of news hit me in the guts: Greg Sawyers’ death. What more can be said about this real local legend and complete old school identity. He could be fit equally well at the Marrickville Bowlo or Annandale Hotel (R.I.P.) or the Wentworth Park dog track with his working -class dreams and love of supporting pure rock ‘n’ roll. Band manager Greg Sawyers took over when God got drunk. For Ian Rilen, Louis Tillet, Steve Lucasand Steve Balbi, he was their minder and advocate.  He always had a couch for those in need and was willing to cook up his bacon and eggs when they woke sometime after midday.  Greg was all heart and part of a Sydney music scene that is now gone.

  • col gray 2025Colin Gray (right) with Kim Salmon.

    It’s been another productive year at Vicious Kitten Records with new album releases by Kevin K & The Bowery Kats, Pillbox NYC and (next month) the new album by Melbourne outfit Girl Monstar, who have reformed and recorded a new album after a 30 year hiatus!

    Before I get to my top 10, I want to acknowledge the efforts of two cats who are responsible for the incredible sound and artwork on the Vicious Kitten releases – being sound wiz Ernie O at his Urban Fringe Compound, and the best graphic artist in the biz, Mark Rubenstein. I cannot recommend these two guys enough. If you need creative design/art for your project in 2026, Mark is your man. In terms of rock ‘n’ roll highpoints for the year just gone, it’s challenging to narrow it down to 10, but here goes……..

  • grrrr cvrGrrrr! – Girl Monstar (Vicious Kitten)

    The groove is the thing on “Grrrr!!” - and so it should be on an album with a name approximating one of the many Best Of collections by the Stones. Drummer Susan Shaw (nee Sue Wold,of The Wraylettes, The Wet Ones, The Exotics and Plastic Section)and  Janene Abbott lay down smooth ‘n’ slinky rhythms, and the rest follows.

    So to the review but first, the backstory: Girl Monstar existed in Australia a very different time. Home base Melbourne was artier than its rawer cousin Sydney but bands like Girl Monstar were spanning both. The Big Day Out festival juggernaut emerged at the tail end of their run and pushed the underground onto a different level.

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The Living Eye


Right eye

Mach Pelican
“A Secret Session”
Single Launch
+ Loose Lips + Elvis II
The Last Chance Bar, Melbourne
- Jan 31
Tickets

Peter Black solo tour
FEB
5 - Society City - Wollongong, NSW
Details
7 - Velvet Fog Records - Katoomba, NSW
Details
13 - The Cave Inn, Brisbane, QLD
Tickets
14 - Vinnies Dive Bar, Gold Coast, QLD (Matinee Show)
Tickets
19 - Medusa Bar, Geelong, VIC
Tickets
20 - Town Hall Hotel, Melbourne (two sets) 
Details
21 - Shedshaker Brewing Company, Castlemaine, VIC
Details
27 - Hopsters Brewery - Sydney
Details
28 - Flow Bar - Old Bar, NSW  
Details
MAR
1 - Hiss and Crackle Records, Newcastle, NSW
Details 

Dave Favours & The Roadside Ashes
Service Station Chcken Tour
JAN
30 – Link & Pin, Woy Woy, NSW
+ The Dunhill Blues
31 – The Oak Tighes Hill,Newcastle, NSW
+ Crank Williams and Patsy Decline
FEB
27 – The Main Bar, Ballarat, VIC
28 – Union Hotel, Brunswick, VIC
MAR
1 – Bendigo Hotel, Brunswick, VIC

The Gnomes
Dive! Dive! Dive!
Rock ‘n’ Roll Dive Bar Tour
JAN
30 - Last Chance Rock'n'roll Bar, Melbourne (8pm)
+ Winsky + Riviera
31 - Trash Cult, Bendigo (7pm)
+ Clydesdale
FEB
14 - Shotkickers, Thornbury (8pm)
+ Public House + Special Guests
20 - The Tote Front Bar, Collingwood (6pm)
+ Champ Ruby
21 - Kindred Bandroom, Footscray (8pm)
+ Stimpies + special guests

The Sugar Beats 
+ Plastic Section
Golden Barley, Enmore
- Feb 20

TsuShiMaMiRe (JP)
Australian Tour
FEB
19 - Shotkickers, Melbourne, VIC
20 – Trash Cult, Bendigo, VIC
22– Young St Tavern, Frankston, VIC
27 - Shadows, Canberra, ACT
28 – Moshpit, Sydney, NSW

The Jackets (CH)
Australian Tour
FEB
25 – Shotkickers, Thornbury, VIC
+ Plastic Section + Burning Effigy +  Special Secret Guest
26 - Vineyard, St Kilda, VIC
(Door sales only)
27 – Mixtape Bar & Brewing, Marrickville,
Sydney, NSW
(moved from Marrickville Bowlo)
+ The Strike-Outs + pocketwatch
28 - The Bendi, Collingwood, VIC
MAR
1 -– Trash Cult, Bendigo, VIC (arvo show)
+ Grinding Eyes, + The Damos
2  – The Last Chance, Melbourne, VIC
Tickets

Cosmic Psychos
"I Really Like Beer Tour"
JAN
29  — Whalers Hotel, Warrnambool, VIC
30 — Torquay Hotel, Torquay, VIC
31  — Riverview Hotel, Tarwin Lower, VIC
FEB
12  — Royal Oak, Launceston, TAS
13 — Forth Pub, Devonport, TAS
14  — Altar, Hobart, TAS

Bleak Squad
FEB
7 - Blue Mountains Theatre & Community Hub,
Springwood, NSW
8 - East Perth Power Station, WA
12 - .Her Majesty's Theatre, Ballarat, VIC
13 -  Theatre Royal, Castlemaine, VIC
14 – Riverboats Festival, Echuca, VIC
19 - Princess Theatre, Brisbane, QLD
20 – Imperial Hotel, Eumundi, QLD
21 - The Regent Cinema, Murwillumbah, NSW
MAR
4 - Canberra Theatre Playhouse, ACT
5 - The Factory Theatre, Sydney, NSW
8 - Golden Plains Festival, Meredith, VIC
Tickets

On The Loose Presents
Guitar Wolf Australian Tour
MAR
14 - Perth, Seasonal Brewing Co.
15 - Fremantle, The Buffalo Club
all WA shows with Aborted Tortoise
18 -  Gold Coast, Vinnie's Dive Bar
w/ supports TBC
19 - Nambour, The Ramp
w/ supports TBC
20 - Brisbane, Season Three
w/ Future Shocks & Evil Dick Industries
21 - Sydney, Factory Fusebox
w/ supports TBC
22 -  Wollongong, La La La's
w/ Itchy & the Nits
25 - Bendigo, Trash Cult
w/ supports TBC
26 - Castlemaine, Bridge Hotel
w/ The Freedom Wave
27 - Melbourne, The Tote
w/ Alien Nosejob & Cujo
28 - Frankston, Singing Bird
w/ Split System & DJ Centipede & The Worms
29 - Balnarring, Social Club
w/ Cry Cyclops
Tickets on sale January 29

“Surreal Science”

Music of the Scientists & 
Kim Salmon
and The Surrealists

APR

10 – The Corner, Melbourne
Tickets
 11 – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
Tickets
 18 – Rosemount Hotel, Perth, WA
Tickets

 

 

 

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