Photographer at Blackshadow Photography
As 2011 draws to a close it’s time for a look back on my top ten musical moments of the year. These are in no particular order – I can’t rank them, suffice to say it was another stellar year of rock n roll in Melbourne. This was a pretty hard list to put together as it was very hard to work out who to leave out. I didn’t even get a chance to include any albums (but there were certainly some worthy contenders such as Tom Waits new one and Adalita’s solo outing).
Big Day Out
Although the temperature soared to over 40 degrees and there were the requisite idiots in attendance there were some sensational musical performances – The Stooges were hotter than the weather running through the Raw Power era tracks (with a few surprises), Grinderman, Jim Jones Revue, Children Collide and my personal highlight of the day Primal Scream.
Screaming Tribesmen at The Espy
This show brought back a heap of memories from the circa 1984 – it was an absolute cracker of a show and so good to hear such fine tunes again – I don’t think The Tribesmen have ever sounded better.
Died Pretty headlining Cherry Rock
AC/DC Lane, plenty of refreshments (liquid and otherwise) and Died Pretty playing in light rain – sublime.
Asteroid B612/Hoss at The Tote
It was great to see Asteroid B612 back on stage and blasting it out – an absolutely brilliant gig with Hoss also in fine form. It was one of those fun shows that I went and enjoyed without lugging camera gear.
Boogie
The best little music festival in the land. Held on a farm near Tallarook about an hour North of Melbourne over the Easter weekend. Musical highlights included the horror-country of Graveyard Train, the swamp blues of Tony Joe White, the Viking metal and pyrotechnics of Barbariön, the psychedelic distortion of The Laurels, the killer stoner riffage of Matt Sonic and The High Times and a classic set of covers by You Am I. The music is almost secondary at Boogie with a great relaxed atmosphere, excellent drinks and food.
Tote 30th Birthday
November saw the iconic Tote Hotel, the venue that has been the beating heart of Melbourne rock n roll for the past 30 years put on a month of shows to remember to celebrate 30 glorious years. I joined the celebrations by making it to some stellar shows by Warped, The Celibate Rifles, Black Cab and SixFtHick.
Some outside of Victoria may not be aware of the influence of The Tote, a couple of years ago the venue faced closure due to new liquor licensing laws that automatically saw live music venues classified as high risk premises – the closure of The Tote became a rallying point and led to the SLAM Rally that saw 20,000 music lovers march on Parliament House to get the liquor licensing laws changed.
Unfortunately I missed the Guitar Wolf shows – from all reports it’s a wonder the place was left standing.
Happy Birthday and here’s to many more wonderful years.
Sand Pebbles Dark Magic album launch
2011 saw the Melbourne masters of Psychedelic Rock, Sand Pebbles release their fifth album Dark Magic. Sand Pebbles really hit their groove at the Northcote Social Club; combining solid rhythms, three wigged-out psychedelic guitars that would soar before slamming home with power – special mention must go to Dave Graney who in his inimitable style almost stole the show with a guest appearance during the song Natalie where he wove a tale involving Natalie Imbruglia’s vagina, crystals and a Neighbours writer (who is also in the band).
Iron Maiden
As someone privileged to photograph a lot of concerts I get to see some great shows and some not so great shows. Every now and then I get the unexpected pleasure of a show blowing me away – this year Iron Maiden at Rod Laver Arena were my unexpected surprise band. I’ve never been a big fan of either the band or huge arena rock shows but I was blown away by Maiden – it was big, flashy and it rocked hard!
Children Collide at The Corner
I went to the Sunday night show (second of two sold-out shows) at The Corner as part of their national Loveless tour. If you get the chance this three piece are definitely worth checking out – big bass sound, songs with hooks and plenty of guitar mayhem. I was also pretty impressed by the support acts for the evening, DZ Deathray and Damn Terran, a couple of up and coming acts to keep on the radar.
Graveyard Train Halloween show
I’ve seen these guys a bit over the past couple of years, while the horror/country image may sound like some cheesy schtick, it’s not. But it is catchy, dirty, rhythmic tunes performed with excellent stage presence. It was excellent to see them in in full make up out front of a full Forum Theatre with a Children of the Corn type backdrop and a huge scarecrow. Fun times indeed.
Drink of the year
Mt Gay Extra Old Rum.
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Agree with the Boogie comment, and the Graveyard Train show was my Australian music highlight of the year