Reviews

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emmy-manning-wide _{Emmy Etie photo}

The tour is almost over and the verdicts are in following a re-tooling of the line-up with the controversial omission of guitarist Chris Masuak. We present divergent views of the sold-out Australian run of Radio Birdman shows.

Go here to read an appraisal of the Adelaide gig by Robert Brokenmouth and here to read Edwin Garland's read-out on the band's two Melbourne gigs. You can leave comments on both reviews. Photos are by Emmy Etie and Kyleigh Pitcher.

Details: By The Barman; 12 November 2014; Hits: 15015

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15k views

fistful The cover - taken by Lydia Lunch - shows the ruins of an ancient desert city. Could be Jericho. Whether Jericho is in the Mid-East or the West of the USA makes little difference. We’re dealing with perennial humanity in a perilous place with a mythological backdrop. But, you know, the Israelis and the Palestinians are still killing each other, and as I say, it’s a big thing on a big, operatic stage with no solution and no apparent beginning, never mind end…

… and there are plenty of abandoned towns in Australia… it doesn’t take much, just a bit of intolerance and a bit of ignorance, and idealism for a hopeless, not very sensible cause…

Details: By The Barman; 04 September 2014; Hits: 13571

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13.5k views

bloodyholliesjpg If one of those great, booze-soaked rock and roll weekends like Garage Shock or the Las Vegas Shakedown were still a going concern (correct me if I'm wrong and one of them still is ) the Bloody Hollies would have been one of those bands that came in unheralded, blew everyone away and sold a ton at the merch table. And anyone who picked this album up would have been plenty satisfied 'cos it's 30 minutes of fire-breathin' punk fury.

Details: By Andrew Molloy; 05 January 2014; Hits: 12232

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12.2k views

All The Covers (And More) – Streetwalkin’ Cheetahs (Heavy Medication/Ghost Highway/Take The City)

Cover songs may be the realm of both the rogue exploiting the stupid and the jobbing musician. They're not one and the same and sometimes you can’t begrudge someone for making a dollar. But covers also serve a practical purpose - especially for bands starting out.

Covers give players and their audiences something familiar to cut their teeth on before original compositions take over. They're a reference point that indicates where a band is coming from. And in the olden (pre-Internet) days, they educated the unitiated about music they may not have heard.

Details: By The Barman; 03 October 2025; Hits: 393

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393 views

Death Crossed The Street – Reverend Beat-Man & Milan Slick (Voodoo Rhythm)

In a world content with the cute and besotted with the bland, Reverend Beat-Man is the ultimate trashman. Whether he’s in one-man band guise or fronting the four-headed fuzz-fest that is The Monsters, this intense Swiss eccentric has been touring the garages and licensed shitholes of this world since 1992 peddling primal rock and roll, both live and via his own Voodoo Rhythm label.

The label’s slogan is “Records to ruin any party” and it’s home to some of the most esoteric, trashy and weird music that rock and roll’s hatched. “Death Crossed The Street” is no exception.

This time out, it’s Beat-Man on vocals, guitar and drums and a younger collaborator, Milan Slick, on vocals, guitar and keys. Of course, they met while soundtracking a vampire film. What else do you do in Switzerland during a pandemic?

Details: By The Barman; 27 September 2025; Hits: 2173

1 comment

2.1k views

Trauma Magnet – Van Ruin (Crankinhaus Records)

It has been an explosive 12 months for Van Ruin, a band formed in Sydney only a year ago that almost immediately began recording their first mini album. Band leader Phil Van Rooyen had a batch of deeply personal songs he had written about his years of counselling substance abuse in the underbelly of the city's Northern Beaches.

Phil threw himself into a flurry of writing and recording, working with his decades-long mate and Al Creed, of local legendary bands like Dr Fruitworld and Panadolls, as well as the New Christs.

Enter Stuart Wilson (Lime Spiders, New Christs, Chris Masuak’s Dog Soldier and The Crisps) on drums. There were a couple of the raggedy, under-rehearsed gigs that were hanging by a thread at times, and as thrilling as they were they did not capture the brutal darkness and brilliance of what would the debut EP, “Jails, Death and Institutions”.

Details: By Ed Garland & The Barman; 21 September 2025; Hits: 9184

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9.1k views

Calling From Nowhere Land: Live in Vancouver 1994 – Pillbox (Vicious Kitten)

Pillbox wasn’t a household name in the 1990s – unless you lived in what was left of New York City’s Lower East Side tenements and had a big jones for swaggering sleaze rock.

The band’s solitary long-player, “Jimbo’s Clown Room”, came out on CD way back in ’93 and despite being re-released on vinyl, their output remains so far from the mainstream of modern popular music to qualify Pillbox for lifetime outsider status. Just like you.

Details: By The Barman; 18 September 2025; Hits: 5278

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5.2k views

Badlanding – East Coast Low (Crankinhaus Records)

It’s been a decade since they formed and four years since East Coast Low hit their straps on the “Seas on Fire” album, and “Badlanding” shows a band that’s even more self-assured and in control.

Is it coincidence that some of the best Australian albums of the last few years have come from satellite cities of Sydney? “Badlanding” proves that East Coast Low are as good as anything to have emerged from the grit-flecked city of Newcastle in the last 30 years.

“Badlanding” rocks hard but has an unmistakable swagger. With Rob Younger at the production helm, its varied collection of songs sounds powerful and coherent and there’s an array of sonic exclamation points apparent. Rick O’Neill’s mastering widens the soundscape nicely with no loss of edge.

Details: By The Barman; 08 September 2025; Hits: 8070

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8k views

Shout It On The Mountain – Neverland Ranch Davidians (Heavy Medication Records)

Any band with a name that fucks with the memories of cult leaders Michael Jackson and David Koresh in equal measures has to have something going for it. Snappy nomenclature is one thing, but this Los Angeles outfit also has substance to back it up.

Neverland Ranch Davidians trade in scuzzy punk rock intertwined with funk and greasy R ‘n’ B. “Shout It On The Mountain” is their second long-player and it’s on Polish label Heavy Medication, a refuge for acts like The Primevals, Streetwalkin' Cheetahs, The Meatbeaters and Pat Todd.

Details: By The Barman; 23 August 2025; Hits: 10274

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10.2k views

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Oz punk supergroup

Datura4 on the Gold Coast

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The Living Eye

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The Cha Cha Chas
Back in Oz Australian Tour
OCT
4 - The Gem Bar VIC 4pm
16 - Link and Pin NSW 6pm Tickets via Try Booking
17 - The Grand Hotel Newcastle NSW 8pm with Black Tiger DJ
18- Hiss & Crackle Records (1pm - All ages)
18 - Golden Barley Hotel NSW (8pm - 2 Sets!)
19 - Enmore Hotel NSW
+ The Dunhill Blues
24 - The Tote VIC
(Album Launch)
+ Stu Manchu & His Chosen Few
+ Jungle Jim Smith + DJ Twistin’ Fever
NOV
1 - Tyldenvania, Tylden Hall VIC
(5pm - All ages)
4 - Social Club, Balnarring, VIC
(3:30pm - 2 Sets)
9 - Desert Highways Reservoir VIC
(2pm - All ages)
15 – The Gem
+ The Breadmakers
w/ The Fadeaways (JP) +) DJ King O.P.P + Mystery band
16 - TBA, VIC
22 - The Drunken Poet, VIC
(9pm - 2 Sets)

The New Christs
Tote Hotel, Collingwood, VIC
- Oct 25

Soundpressing presents
Datura4
+ The Spivs
Iron & Resin Garage, Currumbin, QLD
- Oct 24
Tickets

The Johnnys
+ The Mick Medew & Ursula 4
+ Scrambler
Mos's Desert Clubhouse, Burleigh Heads
- Nov 28
Tickets

The Soft ‘n’ Sexy Sound Tour
Dave Graney and the Coral Snakes
OCT
3 - Factory Theatre, Marrickville, Sydney
Tickets
4 - Waves, Wollongong, NSW
Tickets
5 - The Street Theatre, Canberra
Tickets
10 - The Corner Hoyel, Richmond, Vic
Tickets
11 - Bundy Hall, Bundalaguah VIC
Tickets
24 - Freo Social, Fremantle WA
Tickets
25 - The River Hotel, Margaret River WA
Tickets
31 - Brisbane Crowbar QLD
Tickets
NOV
1 - The Imperial, Eumundi QLD
Tickets
2 - Mo's Desert Clubhouse, Gold Coast QLD
Tickets
7 - Byron Bay Theatre NSW
Tickets
8 - Bellingen Memorial Hall NSW
Tickets
13 - King Street Bandroom, Newcastle
Tickets
14 - Avoca Beach Theatre NSW
Tickets
15 - The Lounge, Chatswood NSW
Ticket s
16 - Dangar Island Bowlo NSW (matinee)
Tickets
21 - The Gov, Adelaide SA
Tickets
28 - Royal Oak, Launceston TAS
Tickets
29 - The Pier, Ulverstone TAS
Tickets
30 - Longley International Hotel, Longley TAS
Tickets

4ZZZ presents
“ZED 50”
The Saints ’73-‘78
+ Regurgitator
+ Tropical Fuck Storm
+ Full Flower Moon Band
+ Big Noter + Butterfingers
+ Screamfeeder
+ Nice Biscuit + Party Dozen
+ Frangipanis + Dancingwater
+ Platonic Sex + Velociraptor
Roma St Parklands, Brisbane
- Oct 25

The On and Ons
New Album Preview Show
+ Velvet Parade
+ Jupiter 5
Marrickville Bowlo, NSW
- Nov 8
Tickets

“4ZZZ Joint Effort 50”
Dave Warner’s From The Suburbs
+ X + The Survivors + XERO
+ The Black Assassins
+ Pineapples From The Dawn of Time
Hamilton Hotel, QLD
- Nov 8

Asteroid B612
Australian Tour
NOV
6 – La La La´s, Wollongong NSW
7 – Marrickville Bowling Club, NSW
8 – Avalon Beach RSL Club, NSW
14 - The John Curtin Hotel, Carlton VI

The Saints ’73-’78
North America and Europe
NOV
5 - Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Ballroom
7 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
8 - Portland, OR - Revolution Hall
9 - Seattle, WA - Neptune Theatre
11 - Chicago, IL – Metro
13 - Toronto, ON - The Phoenix Concert Theatre
14 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
15 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer
16 - Washington, DC - Union Stage
21 - Bristol - Trinity Community Arts
22 - Leeds - Project House
23 - Glasgow - The Garage
24 - Manchester – Academy
26 - London - Electric Ballroom
28 - Stockholm - Debaser
29 - Malmo - Plan B
30 - Berlin - Astra
Tickets

Punkest, Lockdown, Renegade Playground & 4ZZZ present
GIG CITY
Custard + The Johnnys
+ Gazoonga Attack
+ Monster Zoku Onsomb! + Dad Fight
+ Mark N [Bloody Fist Rec.] + The Disables
+ Combat Wombat + Paul Abad + Fat
+ Viper Snatch + Mitch Please + Gurridyula
+ Coral Outcrops Half Star Band + The Distained
+ The Stress of Leisure + Kunt
+ Red Devotchkin + Evil Dick Industries
+ Strange Stains
The Brightside, Brisbane
- Nov 29 from 3pm
Tickets

Cosmic Psychos
"I Really Like Beer Tour"
NOV
7 — Singing Bird, Frankston, VIC
8 — Theatre Royal, Castlemaine, VIC
9 — Corner Hotel, Melbourne, VIC
12 — UC Hub, Canberra, ACT
13 — Uni Bar, Wollongong, NSW
14 — Crowbar, Sydney, NSW
15 — King Street Bandroom, Newcastle, NSW
19 — Racehorse Hotel, Ipswich, QLD
20 — Vinnies Dive Bar, Gold Coast, QLD
21 — Solbar, Maroochydore, QLD
22 — Crowbar, Brisbane, QLD
23 — Bangalow Bowlo, Bangalow, NSW
26 — The River, Margaret River, WA
27 — Rosemount Hotel, Perth, WA28 — Indian Ocean Hotel, Scarborough, WA
29 — Queenscliff Music Festival, Queenscliff, VIC
JAN
1 — Edge Hill Tavern, Cairns, QLD
2 — Dalrymple Hotel, Townsville, QLD
3 — Magnums, Airlie Beach, QLD
4 — Metropolitan Hotel, Mackay, QLD
7 — Harvey Road Tavern, Gladstone, QLD
8 — Grand Hotel, Childers, QLD
9 — MO’s Desert Clubhouse, Gold Coast, QLD
10 — Seaview Tavern, Woolgoolga, NSW
11 — Bellingen Brewery, Bellingen, NSW
14 — Moonshiners Honky Tonk Bar, Tamworth, NSW
15 — Finnian's Tavern, Port Macquarie, NSW
16 — Avalon RSL, Avalon, NSW
17 — The Marlin, Ulladulla, NSW
18 — Beer Deluxe, Albury NSW
22 — Tanswells Hotel, Beechworth, VIC
23 — Sooki Lounge, Belgrave, VIC
24 — Westonport Hotel, San Remo, VIC
25 — Social Club, Balnarring, VIC
26 — Volta, Ballarat, VIC
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