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rinehearts

  •  crowbar stems dom julesDom Mariani and Jules Matthews.

    The Stems
    The Rinehearts
    Sydney Crowbar
    Thursday, April 24, 2025

    An annual run of shows by The Stems should be inscribed indelibly on the Australian musical calendar. Better still, make it bi-annual.

    Last year, The Stems notched their 40th anniveresary and marked it with gigs all around Australia, and a tour of Europe. This show, on the eve of Anzac Day, the national day of remembrance, brought out a crop of (mostly)  rock and roll soldiers, keen to relive their 1980s youth. All looked comfortable in the knowledge that a public holiday the next morning meant most wouldn’t have to front up at a workplace. 

    More than most of their peers, The Stems have a sound that’s timeless. Rooted in the ‘60s, riddled with hooks and melodies, the songs ride on the back of a powerful engine room of co-founders Jules Matthews and Dave Shaw, wrapped in Dom Mariani’s rich vocal and peppered by guitars.

  • kc bowlo 2024
    2024 TOP TEN-ish

    GIG OF THE YEAR- Just one? No.

    VICTORIA + DAVE MCCORMACK AND THE POLAROIDS at the Golden Barley, Sydney.
    I’d never heard nor seen either band before and both were rather excellent.

    POP CRIMES: JP SHILO, HARRY HOWARD, KIM SALMON, HUGO RACE, LYDIA LUNCH, TEX PERKINS, MICK HARVEY  AND MANY MORE- Factory Theatre, Sydney
    Those songs, played by these artists.