First Australia, now The Saints '73-78 take on the world

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By The Barman

The Barman

28 February 2025

Hits: 1366

The Saints ’73-’78 are celebrating 50 years since their first-ever shows this November with a month-long international tour, taking in New Zealand, USA, Canada, the UK, Sweden and Germany.

The Saints ’73-78 are surviving members from the original Saints, Ed Kuepper (guitar) and Ivor Hay (drums), joined by Mick Harvey (The Birthday Party, Bad Seeds) on guitar, Peter Oxley (Sunnyboys) on bass and Mark Arm (Mudhoney) on vocals. They will be augmented by a three-piece brass section and the band is fresh from a sold-out Australian tour.

UK tickets are available via Alltickets and dates are after the fold. NZ, Europe , Candian and US tickets are at feelpresents.com

• ed kuepper
• american
• USA
• mudhoney
• mark arm
• ivor hay
• the saints '73-'78
• world tour
• canada

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Sonny and stars shine brightly on "Parallax in Wonderland re-boot

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By The Barman

The Barman

27 February 2025

Hits: 1267

Parallax In Wonderland – Sonny Vincent (Dead Beat Records)

Tracking the career of New York City punk original Sonny Vincent is a tall order. The man is nothing if not prolific and he’s has had more labels than a printshop out the back of a bootleg distillery.

This album was first unleashed in 1998 (on vinyl only as “Hard In Detroit”) and the latest iteration, on CD and LP on Cleveland label Dead Beat, has been re-mastered and is a marked sonic improvement.

First, an aside: The original wasn’t my entry point into the raw music of Sonny Vincent, but it's where the relationship really took off.  You can draw a line through earlier bands like Testors and Shotgun Rationale, but “Parallax” coalesced everything that makes Sonny’s music great: frenzied punk energy, guitars and melody, laced with passion and verve.

• wayne kramer
• scott asheton
• ron asheton
• sonny vincent
• dead beat records
• bob stinson
• parallax in wonderland
• capitain sensible
• hard in detroit

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Tassie trip for guitar great Charlie Owen and his stories

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By The Barman

The Barman

25 February 2025

Hits: 1267

Fresh from blistering Melbourne and Sydney shows with The Beasts last weekend, guitarist Charlie Owen is taking his “Searching For Charlie Owen” spoken word and music show across the Bass Strait to Tasmania, teaming with local comedian Anthony Morgan.

The Charlie Owen band history includes Beasts of Bourbon, the New Christs,  Tex, Don & Charlie, Tendrils and Working Class Ringos, and he’s collaborated with Paul Kelly, Chrissie Amphlett and Louis Tillett. 

"Searching for Charlie Owen” is a much more intimate affair than the recent Beasts gigs. It's a heartfelt trip through Charlie’s back pages full of warmth and reflection, and has sold out venues in Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

The shows are supported by Sound Pressing Records and I-94 Bar. 

Charlie Owen
Tasmanian Tour
with Anthony Morgan
FEB
27 - Cygnet Bowls & Community Club, Cygnet
Tickets
28 - The Grand Poobah, Hobart
Tickets
MAR
2 Mar - Valentino Safe Co, Lilydale
(2pm)
Tickets

• beasts of bourbon
• new christs
• paul kelly
• louis tillett
• searching for Charlie owen
• anthony morgan

Hoax returns from the grave, three decades later

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By The Barman

The Barman

23 February 2025

Hits: 1430

Hoax – Hoax (Driving South)

Hindsight is a fine thing and it’s clear that the combined impact of grunge, corporate clumsiness and the commodification of music through disgitisation did many bands a disservice in the 1990s. Hoax was probably one of them.

Hoax was a staple of the live circuit in Newcastle, Australia, in the late 1980s and early ‘90s, opening for a slew of touring bands while building a local fanbase. Hoax took their lead from punk rock (whatever that is) and suffered constant line-up changes. They came and went, with the core of Geoff Mullard (vocals and guitar) and Anthony Dean (drums and vocals) going on to many other bands.

• newcastle
• geoff mullard
• hoax
• anthony dean

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Iggy live again and he's no Passenger

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By The Barman

The Barman

18 February 2025

Hits: 1393

Montreux Jazz Festival 2023 – Iggy Pop (Ear Music)

Live is where it’s at for Iggy, Always has been. These days, the tours aren’t as frequent and stage diving is out of the equation, but he remains a peerless live performer at age 77.  But yet another live album?  

The obligatory scene setter: This is a “greatest hits and deep cuts” show on which Ig is backed by a seven-piece band. The three-piece horn section includes Leron Thomas, who featured on the “Free” album, and Corey King, who plays with Mary Bilge.  Sarah Lipstate (aka soundscape guitarist Noveller and also from "Free") is on board with French foil Greg Fauque (handling the lion’s share of the lead breaks), as well as jazz pianist Florian Pellissier.

• iggy pop
• stooges
• leron thomas
• noveller
• live at montreux 2023
• sarah lipstate
• ear music

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"Jangleland" foreshadows new folk-pop album for Dom Mariani

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By The Barman

The Barman

18 February 2025

Hits: 1142

Dom Mariani, legendary frontman of garage rockers The Stems and power pop heroes DM3, steps away from his current blues-heavy outfit Datura4 to return to his jangle pop roots with a brand-new solo single, "Jangleland."

“Jangleland” is a breezy, country-tinged ode to the electric folk rock of the late '60s and the sun-kissed West Coast vibe of the early ‘70s.

It was recorded in Perth, Western Australia, and features Joe Grech (Datura4) on bass, drummer Salv Di Criscito, Peter Busher (The Lone Rangers) on acoustic guitar and backing vocals, and Luke Dux (The Floors and Kill Devil Hills) on pedal steel.

"Jangleland" is the first taste of Mariani's forthcoming self-titled solo album, showcasing the unique West Australian guitar pop flavour he helped pioneer from the late '80s onwards.

"I'd written 'Jangleland' some time ago and kept revisiting it, playing it at the odd solo show," Mariani explains.

"I'd accumulated enough material over the last decade that didn't fit with Datura4, and I thought it was time to put them all on one album. I've been a Byrds fan my whole life, and I'm still in awe of their sound. I was inspired to bring some of that spirit to this tune."

Dom Mariani's new single "Jangleland" b/w "Day After Day" is out now via Alive Naturalsound Records  and can be streamed or bought as a download here.

• dm3
• alive naturalsound
• datura4
• dom mariani
• the stems
• jangleland

Twenty years on, Dead Moon lives again on Aussie silver screens

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By The Barman

The Barman

18 February 2025

Hits: 1464

^{A screenshot from “20 Years in The Crypt: Embedded With Dead Moon”.}

Dead Moon is a revered name in Australia. They also had a firm following in Europe and across the underbelly of the USA. Now, a new documentary on Dead Moon will have exclusive screenings in Australia in March and April.

“20 Years in The Crypt: Embedded With Dead Moon” delivers two-hours of live footage and candid off-stage vision, shot in 2001 and edited down from 180 hours of footage. 

It’s the work of US filmmakers Jason Axel Summers and Kate Fix, who also brought you the “Unknown Passage” documentary about Dead Moon and, more recently, “I Should Have Been Dead Years Ago”“I Should Have Been Dead Years Ago”, the doco about Australian underground rock'n'roller Stuart Gray (aka Stu Spasm, of Lubricated Goat).

• dead moon
• stuart gray
• jason axel summers
• 20 years in the crypt: embedded on tour with dead moon
• kate fix
• unknown passage

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First one to quit the Marrickville moshpit is a lawn bowler

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By The Barman

The Barman

18 February 2025

Hits: 777

They were a first-time band for many underage gig-goers in the 1990s so there’s a certain irony in  Melbourne hardcore exponents Nursery Crimes paying a visit to Sydney with a show at Marrickville Bowling Club on April 26.

It will be a night of old and new with O.G. support in the form of Herbal Lunatics (Ben Brown singing songs of  his old band, The Hellmen) and Fun Again! (members of Bored! and Massappeal), with Northern Beaches upstarts The Darrans and newcomers Bugg Music opening proceedings.

Nursery Crimes were Australian pioneers of all age shows in the ‘90s and many who saw them back in the day now have kids of their own. The good news is that U18s are good to be at the Bowlo if accompanied by a (responsible) adult.

In their first life, Nursery Crimes were support-of-choice for international tourists like L7, Henry Rollins, Faith No More and Fugazi. They released two full length albums before breaking up the first time in 1994 and have reformed a handfull of times since 2006. This will be their first Sydney gig in 15 years and tickets are on sale here.

• bored!
• hellmen
• marrickville bowling club
• massappeal
• nursery crimes
• herbal lunatics
• fun again!

Ups and Downs mark anniversary tour with vinyl variant

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By The Barman

The Barman

17 February 2025

Hits: 1895

In the 1980s, they were at the forefront of Australia’s own version of the Paisley Underground. Now, jangle-pop veterans Ups and Downs are celebrating the 40th anniversary live shows with The Crystal Set that we told you about with a vinyl anthology, “Stained Glass Memories”,  in March 2025.
 
The album is available for pre-order in coloured wax and can be had here.

The Sydney show is sold-out (you can be on a waitlist via the link below) and Brisbane and Melbourne are going the same way.

Ups and Downs and special guest
The Crystal Set
MAR 
8 - Marrickville Bowling Club, Sydney - waitlist
14 -  Brightside, Brisbane - tix   
22 - Brunswick Ballroom, Melbourne - tix

Formed in Brisbane in the early 1980s, Ups and Downs quickly became known for their jangly guitars, melodic hooks, soaring harmonies and introspective lyrics, cementing their place in the hearts of indie music fans. 

• ups and downs
• australian tour
• the crystal set
• stained glass memories

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