That's TJ down the front at his second home The Tote, welcoming the Second Coming of Grong Grong. Carbie Warbie took the photo.
Ten things of note that I noticed in 2009
New Christs- “Gloria” CD Appropriately named- this is indeed a glorious album. It sounds as fresh as ever- Younger has lost none of his edge, vocally or lyrically. And this has more musical crunch and energy than a dozen other CDs I could name. They played a few shows here in Melbourne but I managed to miss them every time.
Marf Loth- “Cigarettes In Paintbuckets” CD This arrived in my hands pretty much at random- 11 tracks of primitive, sloppy rock concocted on the fly by a young Sydneysider called Nathan Roache, with the assistance of Owen Penglis of the Straight Arrows. This is his third album, apparently- I have no idea whether he will ever record anything ever again but if he doesn’t, this will do.
Boogie Now, I don’t really like festivals. But I went to three this year- Mistletone Records’ “Summertones” event at the Esplanade Hotel, the Sydney leg of Flip Out, and Boogie. All three were great, for different reasons. Summertones pulled together a wide range of bands, in a good venue, at a decent price. Flip Out turned large parts of inner Sydney into a kind of open air playground, with bar. But Boogie, a small event held about 100km north of Melbourne, was the best of them. It was like a large private party – only 500 tickets are sold- featuring ECSR, Dan Auerbach, great food, excellent cocktails and dust. I’ll be back there in 2010.
Stabs- “Dead Wood” CD The noisy Melbourne trio became part of the Spooky Records stable with their second album. The excellent launch show at a sold-out Tote was one of the most memorable gigs of the year. There’s a video floating round for “Split Lips” but despite spending an afternoon being herded back & forth by the egomaniac behind the camera, I still haven’t seen it.
Butcher Birds- “Set My Bones” CD. Excellent guitar rock from some Brisbane youngsters. This ebbs and flows nicely, from the grinding boogie of “Stone Fox” to the launguid “Yoko Coma”. They were a bit of treat live, too, when they made the long journey south.
Last Tram Home presents… A while back I asked the drunken idiots dashing entrepreneurs who run the Old Bar if they could spare me a regular evening to present bands, play records, show off, etc- and to my surprise they said yes. Drawing on the same ideas behind my blog, they are intended to pull together a diverse bunch of local acts on one bill. The first one in November went well, planning of the second is well underway for mid-January, and they are pencilled in roughly every two months for 2010. See you there.
Reissues. Aztec Records gave us an amazing range of reissues this year- Levi Smith, Died Pretty, X and the Master’s Apprentices. OMNI let Melbourne’s fabled freaks the Shower Scene From Psycho loose, with a double CD that even the band suggest is too much to listen to in one hit. Finally having 80s scene movie “Dogs In Space” on DVD was good but the bonus disc documentary “We’re Living On Dog Food” was better. But for my money, the Reverberation records Grong Grong collection tops them all. This is the sound of bleating madness, as unique now as it was then. Their reunion shows drew awestruck appreciation from everyone brave enough to attend.
Lux Interior I just went and watched a load of old Cramps on YouTube, and I’m as sad now as I was back in February. Enough said.
Witch Hats- “Solarium Down The Causeway” EP. The bratty Melbournians somehow came up with a six song collection of noisy, fucked up gems, while getting all noisy and fucked up themselves during their US tour. It all sounds much more natural than last year’s “Cellulite Soul” album. They saved their best for late in the year, with a couple of big gigs including their first appearance at the Meredith Festival.That Kris Buscombe is one to watch.
Rowland S Howard- “Pop Crimes” CD While the influence of the Birthday Party on Australian music is undeniable, and shows no signs of abating, former BP guitarist Howard left his younger acolytes in the dust with this. An effortless-sounding collection of unashamedly clever and stylish tunes, it is satisfying within itself while still leaving you wanting more. Howard’s year ended on a low, with him battling illness, but here’s hoping he pulls through soon.
And for 2010- well apart from the stuff already mentioned, there are new albums from Sixfthick and the Bittersweet Kicks on the way, our licensing laws look like they may become a bit more sensible/flexible, too. The biggest deal is probably that ticket I bought for ATP NY in September- a veritable posse of Melbournians and one Norwegian are heading over to catch the Stooges, Scientists and Mudhoney.
You’ll find Last Tram Home here.
