australian tour

Tickets for the previously announced Radio Birdman Sydney Manning Bar show on Saturday, October 6 are selling fast, with a sell out expected. The band has announced a second show at the same venue on Friday,  October 5 and tickets are on sale here.

Radio Birdman is doing a limited number of Australian East Coast shows over two weekends this coming September/October before heading off for a 22-date tour of Europe. Supports on the Australian tour will include Adalita (Melbourne), Brisbane's HITS (Brisbane and Sydney) and all shows will feature special guests from Spain, Los Chicos.

Last year's Australian tour with co-headliner Died Pretty was surrounded by the buzz of the limited cinema release of "Descent into the Maelstrom", the Jonathan Sequeira-produced documentary about Radio Bifrdman. The local release on DVD with bonus content will coincide with the tour with a special edition available at the band's shows.  

Hugh Cornwell
The Manning Bar, Sydney
Thuirsday, May 9, 2019

The Stranglers were the first UK Punk/New Wave band I ever saw. It was February 25, 1979, at the State Theatre in Sydney with opening band, The Hitmen.

Of course, The Stranglers were not punk or new wave or pub rock or ANYTHING. They played Strangler Music (god bless their drug taking, karate fighting, foul mouthed socks). A band like that couldn’t last forever. Lead singer/Guitarist Hugh Cornwell went one way, the rest of the band went another way…que sera sera …what ever will be will be.

If they were here any more often, they'd claim residency. The Stranglers have announced their February 2020 return to Australia. Even they will have lost count how many times this makes...

Hailed for their highly original sound, brilliant melodic touch, dark aggression and effortless cool, The Stranglers are now recognised as one of the most credible and influential bands to have emerged from the punk era. Now comprising Jean-Jacques Burnel, Dave Greenfield, Baz Warne and Jim Macaulay, The Stranglers remain strong drawcards after 45 years with 24 top 40 singles and 18 top 40 albums under their belts.

 _{Ravin Divito photo}

Portland outfit Jenny Don’t and the Spurs have been recording and playing for the last 10 years and show no signs of slowing down. A supergroup combining members of Don’t, Wipers and Pierced Arrows, the Spurs combine the fast energy of garage and punk, with the attitude of outlaw country. If Patsy Cline started a band with some ratbags hanging around CBGB, it would sound like this.

We spoke with singer/guitarist Jenny Connors and her husband, and also Spurs bass player Kelly Halliburton from their Portland home just before they land in Australia for their second Spurs tour. 

Legendary garage rockers, The Stems, have announced supports, an extra show and one venue shift on their tour to celebrate 40 years. .

Power-pop rockers The Prize will kick off the national run as support for both the August 24 show at The Corner Hotel in Melbourne and a newly-added date at the Theatre Royal at Castlemaine in August 24.

Adelaide can expect the dark folk-pop of Romana Ashton & The Reeds as support. Acclaimed indie-pop rock outfit Ups And Downs are set for the Brisbane gig, which is now at the Mansfield Tavern.

In Sydney, The Stems will be joined by The New Christs. The Rinehearts have the main support in WA with Fremantle alt-rock four-piece Vancool opening.

The Stems
40^th Anniversary Australian Tour
AUG
+ The Prize
23 - Theatre Royal, Castlemaine. VIC
+ The Prize
24 – Corner Hotel, Melbourne
+ Romana Ashton & The Reeds
25 – The Gov, Adelaide
+ Ups & Downs
30 – Mansfield Tavern, Brisbane
+ New Christs
31 – Manning Bar, Sydney
SEP 
+ The Rhinehearts
+ Vancool
5 – Freo Social, Fremantle
Tickets here

Blues-punk rockers Daddy Long Legs are embarking on their first tour of Australia this month.

Starting out on Norton Records, home of legends such as Andre Williams, the Sonics and Link Wray, the New York City-based group recently dropped their new single, "Nightmare", a cracking and frighteniing tune that sums up what we’ve all gone through the past few years. They even got their mate Wreckless Eric to do backing vocals.

Singer/guitarist Brian Hurd spoke to me on the zoom machine while the band was mid tour in Europe.

I-94 Bar: Dave Laing, who teed up this interview up, told me he can’t stop listening to the new Daddy Long Legs single, "Nightmare". Once I heard it I kept pushing repeat as well.

Brian: Right on, thank-you!.

It’s certainly a song of the times, did you write it about all the stuff that happened in the last few years?

Brian: Yeah it’s absolutely of the times, and inspired by everything that’s happened all around us. The story behind it is, in January 2021 I got sick, I had the COVID bug, and I had these crazy dreams that were super vivid, and every night I would dream a different song.

One of the nights that I was under the weather, I had a dream that I was hanging with all these leather clad, denim clad rockers, long hair dudes, and they were telling me how much they dig Daddy Long Legs and they were telling me their favourite song was called "Nightmare".

Well pre-COVID, before all this happened you made a LP called "Lockdown Ways" (2019), so you really have nailed the current times before it happened, AS WELL!

Brian: (Laughs) Yeah.

Here's news to make it This Perfect Day or send you down a One Way Street...

The Saintsare reforming with Mudhoney's Mark Arm up front for a six-date Australian tour in November.
 
Arm, founding Saints members guitarist Ed Kuepperand drummer Ivor Hay will be joined by bassist Peter Oxley of Sunnyboys and former The Birthday Party/Bad Seeds member Mick Harveyon guitar.

The dates will be in celebration of a vinyl box set release of the 1977 classic debut album "(I’m) Stranded" on In The Red. The sets will be largely drawn from it, "Eternally Yours" (1978) and "Prehistoric Sounds" (1978). 

Wed Nov 13 Hindly St. Music Hall, Adelaide, SA
Fri Nov 15 Theatre Royal, Castlemaine, VIC
Sat Nov 16 Northcote Theatre, Melbourne, VIC
Wed Nov 20 Freo Social, Fremantle, WA
Fri Nov 22 Enmore Theatre, Sydney, NSW
Sat Nov 23 Princess Theatre, Brisbane QLD SOLD OUT
SUN Nov 24 Princess Theatre, Brisbane QLD 
Tickets via feelpresents.com

Jody Stephens, sole surviving member of iconic early '70s power pop legends Big Star, and latest song-writing partner Luther Russell are bringing their band Those Pretty Wrongs to Australia in August.

With a third album under their belt, Those Pretty Wrongs recall the soulful jangle of Big Star and ‘90s alt-country. Stephens’ presence will instil adoration among fans of his previous work. 

Stephens is the only man other than Alex Chilton to play on all three of Big Star’s peerless original albums. He was also a member of supergroup Golden Smog, alongside members of Wilco and the Jayhawks.

_{Joe Lallo, Anthony Pirog and Brendan Canty. Antonia Tricarico photo.}

“There’s no line between improvisation and self-indulgence!” It’s all the same thing, so just be forewarned before you come to our shows. It’s rampant self-indulgence, 100% of the time!” laughs Brendan Canty, drummer with Washington DC band The Messthetics.

Canty’s reply to my question is deliberately facetious: The Messthetics explore the jazzier side of rock’n’roll, eschewing the melodic and lyrical hook of a vocalist for an improvisational instrumental sonic aesthetic enabled via guitarist Anthony Pirog’s reedy guitar lines. But the contrast between The Messthetics’ exploratory style and the brutal discipline of Canty’s former band Fugazi is stark.

“We don’t have a vocalist, so I like to think that Anthony’s guitar lines are the vocals,” Canty says. “There are times of course when we do rampant self-indulgence but for the most part we have written music, and we try and diversify what we play and make it interesting for everyone.”

About 15 years ago, a burn of a CD turned up unsolicited in my mailbox, courtesy of the inimitable Dave Laing, then working at Shock Records. The band was Endless Boogie (named after the John Lee Hooker album) and the album was “Focus Level”.

It was eight songs, about 80 minutes, a heavy psychedelic smorgasbord of riffage, punctuate with Paul Major’s growling vocals. If ever there was a band that could take you to another dimension, it was Endless Boogie.

Having had to abort their most recent planned Australian tour in 2020 due to the plague, Endless Boogie is preparing to hit Australian shores again with Howlin Rain. I spoke to Paul Major from his home town of New York City.

Australian seminal psych-guitar masters, The Church have just announced a national headline tour of Australia - their first in four years - playing shows and will be playing shows in Sydney, Melboubne,  Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Margaret River this September.

Fans can access early bird tickets by signing up prior to pre-sale commencing here. Pre-sale starts Friday, June 17, 12pm local time.  General public tickets go on sale Tuesday, June 21, 12pm local time.

Entering their fourth decade of making music and playing live shows with all the fierce creative energy of their early years, ARIA Hall of Fame inductees, The Church will treat fans with two remarkable sets over 2 ½ hours with a taste of new songs from the band’s forthcoming 26th studio album, "The Hypnogogue" - plus performing a string of hit songs across their expansive music career including "Under The Milky Way", "Reptile", "The Unguarded Moment" and "Almost With You".

The 2022 epic five-piece line-up is bassist, vocalist and founder Steve Kilbey; with long-time collaborator Tim Powles, drummer and producer across 17 albums since '94; guitarist Ian Haug formerly of Australian rock icons Powderfinger, who joined the band in 2013 and Jeffrey Cain (Remy Zero), touring multi-instrumentalist who is now a full-time member of The Church since the departure of Peter Koppes in early 2020. The band has also recruited Ashley Naylor, long-time member of Paul Kelly’s touring band and one of Australia’s finest and most respected guitarists (Even, The Grapes, The Stems).

The Damned - arguably the greatest surviving British punk band, bar none - are back to inflict their brand of insanity on Australia in August for three shows only.

Still firing on all cylinders and breaking all the rules, this most spiritually chaotic of all punk groups have never been away, never surrendered their ideals, always forged onwards. When Lemmy of Motörhead famously referred to them as “the only real punk band” you know they are the real deal.

Their live show is still as riotous as ever. As The Independent said: “They have become, if possible, more eccentric and outrageous as they grow older, with many of their live traits coming across as delightfully raucous.” Tickets go on sale Thursday 18 April at 9am here. 

TOUR DATES:
Thursday 22 August – Factory Theatre, Sydney 18+
Friday 23 August – The Triffid, Brisbane 18+
Saturday 24 August – Croxton Bandroom, Melbourne 18+
  
 

The Damned are the unassailable living gods of Punk Rock; and for the have assembled the absolute classic line-up of the band for their farewell Australian tour in 2024.

Drummer Rat Scabies has rebuilt bridges and will rejoin the ranks, which these days comprises vocalist Dave Vanian, guitarist Captain Sensible and bassist Paul Gray.

The word from the Rat: “It seemed like the right time. We wanted to do this while we are all still upright, breathing and capable of doing it at a high level and challenge ourselves and each other for the fans. 

“We will play the best of ‘Machine Gun Etiquette’, ‘The Black Album’ and ‘Strawberries’ albums and chuck in all the other classics. Paul’s playing great (just did the Professor and the Madmen album thing with him), as is Captain and Dave’s singing great too so it’s going to be amazing to be back."

You know the history: “New Rose” is recognised as the first single by a punk band, coming out five weeks before the Sex Pistols’“Anarchy In the UK”… the first British punk band to tour the United States…pathfinders for Goth Rock. 

The Damned havce been regular Australian tourists but the band is billing this as their last tour here. They'll be doing it on the back of a 2023 album, "Darkadelic" that comes 46 year after their debut LP.

Pre-sale tickets are on sale here at from December 5 

The Damned Australian Tour
2024
MAR
20 - The Tivoli, Brisbane
21 - Enmore Theatre, Sydney
22 - Northcote Theatre, Melbourne
24 - Hindley St Music Hall, Adelaide
26 - Astor Theatre, Perth

_{Richard Sharman photo.}

The label "Elder Statesman" doesn’t do Ed Kuepper justice. His career started in 1973 and spans the Saints, Laughing Clowns, The Aints! and scores of bands bearing his own name. His solo work explores a wide range of musical styles, including punk (whatever that is), folk, rock, blues, and jazz. 

His landmark solo records, "Electrical Storm” (notably his first) and "Honey Steel's Gold" (his break-out effort) were recently re-mastered and re-issued. Sounds like a good excuse for an Australian tour, not to mention an interview at the hands of Robert Brokenmouth. Here’s how it played out. 

The Mark Of Cain - the band dubbed least likely in their high school year book - return to Australian stages this August in celebration of being the South Australian Music Awards' most recent inductee into the SA Music Hall Of Fame. 
 
TMOC join previous recipients like Jim Keays, Masters Apprentices, Glenn Shorrock, Cold Chisel, Archie Roach, Bart Willoughby, Sarah McLeod and The Zoot. The band will accept the award at a simple ceremony on August 19 at The Gov in Adelaids prior to taking the stage for a full career spanning set.

The Mark Of Cain will also play shows in Sydney, Melbourne this August under the banner “A Different Kind Of Tension”, a nod to legendary UK proto-punks Buzzcocks and their influential third album of the same name:

Beloved fuzzy noise makers The Scientistsare finally heading off around Australia to promote their newest album, “Negativity”.

The record released in 2021 as their first full-length studio effort in 34 years, attracted some rave reviews including this pearlerfrom our own Robert Brokenmouth. The five-state tour spans February and March, 2023.

The Stems, Perth's most popular and iconic 80s garage rock band, celebrated the 30th anniversary of the release of their classic debut album "At First Sight Violets are Blue" with a successful all Australian capital cities tour in November 2017. To coincide with the tour, "At First Sight Violets are Blue" was reissued as a limited edition tour CD.

The tour garnered enough interest in Europe for Spain’’s Fuzzville Festival to make an offer for them to appear at the festival. More shows naturally followed and the band are now set to embark for a three week European tour over April/May which will cover Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Sweden and the UK. 

The UK leg includes a show at London's historic 100 Club.

 
_{Murray Bennett photo.}

The Stems
+ New Christs
Manning Bar, Sydney
Saturday, August 30, 2024
Photos: Tony McNamara unless otherwisde credited.

Shows by The Stems are reverential experiences, And for good reason. The band’s membership is scattered over two coasts of Australia and gigs don’t occur often. When they do, you know they're going to be something worth bottling.

What’s the special sauce? It’s Dom Mariani’s timeless pop songs being delivered by top-shelf players who have a chemistry that can only come from most of them playing together for years.

The foundation is Mariani on guitar and vocals, drummer Dave Shaw and bassist Julian Matthews, with a guitar foil of Ash Naylor(this tour) or Davey Lane, who are both ubiquitous and gifted in equal measures.

As far as recordings go, The Stems have not been prolific, with just two full-length studio albums since 1987, so it’s all about the quality and not the length. Their first LP, “At First Sight Violets Are Blue”, was a fully formed pop classic, and the 2007 “follow-up”, “Heads Up”, was substantial in its own right, although is not as well-known.

The Stems have kicked off their 40th anniversary year with a new single ahead of their national tour, a live LP and dates in Europe.

“Falling from the Sky “is the band’s first recording since their 2007 album “Heads Up”. Recorded at Revolver Studios and mixed at Pet Rock studios in Perth, it features original members Dom Mariani, Julian Matthews, Dave Shaw and current guitarist Ashley Naylor (Even, The Church, Paul Kelly). 

Dom: “I’d written the song about five years ago and had always envisaged the Stems doing it if we ever had the opportunity to record it. Lyrically, it’s a commentary on how attitudes change as one gets older and a little more cynical about things with the hope of love as the redeeming theme in the choruses.

“Dave and I initially tracked the song with Dave suggesting the groove and fuzz tone idea.

:It worked great and we sent it across to Jules to add his distinctive bass and backing vocals.

Iconic British punk and new wave rockers, The Stranglers, have announced they’ll be touring Australia, playing shows across five cities in April 2023.

First forming in 1974, the band's no bullshit attitude saw the band blaze an experimental trail, from Art Rock to Goth to New Wave Pop, inspiring a wave of prog rock guitar players and confrontational vocalists to find their roots in The Stranglers’ unabashed confidence.