One of our favourite new bands created a stir at their album launch in New York City this week.

Psych--glam-punks Beechwood played Berlin on Avenue A in Manhattan last Saturday to christen the "Songs From The Land of Nod" long-player...only find there were 14 undercover police in the audience.

According to their label Alive Natural Sound, they arrested drummer Isa Tineo: "What major felony had been committed to warrant such manpower? It was for jumping the subway turnstile in 2014 and not paying the $100 ticket."

The incident follows the arrest of two band members for playing a rowdy street party in Manhattan in 2016.  At least 14 extra payers through the door should off-set the fine. Word is the cops let him finish the gig - and liked it. But 14 to arrest one person? That's rock and roll in The Big Apple these days.

Seminal English harbingers of the ‘90s garage rock revival, Thee Hypnotics, are reforming for album rte-issues and live dates. A heavyweight vinyl anthology, including rare and unreleased material, is due out via Beggars Arkive, with an accompanying tour of France and the UK ovwr March and April.

Taking their cues from the Detroit militancy of The MC5, the corrupting output of The Stooges and the gospel according to The Cramps, Thee Hypnotics’ devastating brand of rock’n’roll was propelled by near punishing decibel levels and a fervour bordering on the evangelical.

They recorded three studio records and one live album between 1987 and 1999 and were considered highly influential in Europe and the USA. Past members include original drummer Mark Thompson, the late Craig Pike and bassist Adam Sharam.

Long regarded as one of Queensland rock and roll's most venerable singer-songwriters, Mick Medew is returning to a Sydney stage after a five-year absence with his band The Mesmerisers.

With one album ("The Mesmerisers") under their belt and another underway, Mick Medew and The Mesmerisers will play Marrickville Bowling Club on Saturday, February 24, with support from Loose Pills and The Dark Clouds. Tickets are on sale here.

The Sydney show has been added to follow a support to The Sunnyboys in Thirroul on February 23.

Vocalist-guitarist Medew is co-founder of the Screaming Tribesmen and more recently leader of Mick Medew and The Rumours, and he's been making a mark on Brisbane (and Australian) music for more than 30 years.

Originally a member of seminal inner-city Brisbane band The 31st, whose ranks included future members of the Hoodoo Gurus, the Hitmen and Died Pretty, Medew went on to front the Screaming Tribesmen, a band schooled in tough guitar rock overlaid with alternately hooky and plaintive melodies.

The Tribesmen outgrew their home town and moved to Sydney in the 1980s, becoming Australian independent music chart toppers with the classic single "Igloo".

The band lasted 16 years, signed to a US label, released three albums and toured North America and Europe (twice) before Mick moved home to Queensland and put them on hiatus in 1993. Reunions for tours followed in 2011 (Australia) and 2012 (Europe).

Acid house hedonists and shape-shifting rock ‘n rollers, Primal Scream, have built a 30-year career on the art of reinvention and are bringing their incendiary live show back to Australia next month.

Vocalist Bobby Gillespie is arguably the consummate rock 'n' roll star. Willowy, wispy and radiating swagger, he struts around the stage, mic in hand like the genetically-engineered love child of Mick Jagger and Jim Morrison. He and his band are playing an all-encompassing greatest hits set including tracks from their legendary 1991 album "Screamadelica".

Shayne Carter first emerged on the New Zealand rock scene in the ’80s with his high school punk band Bored Games and their “Who Colonel Mustard “ EP, which was one of the first releases on Flying Nun Records.

Part of the original “Dunedin Sound" scene, Carter went on to become a major player in the Flying Nun independent rock story as the singer-songwriter and guitarist in outfits such as Straitjacket Fits, Doublehappys and Dimmer. 

Carter is Melbourne-bound for three shows in February - hist first since 2016 when he and his band played a searing three-night residency at the Yarra.

Regarded as one of New Zealand’s greatest alternative rock figures, Carter has carved out a distinctive and innovative body of work that places him in the top pantheon of that country’s best songwriters.

His band Straitjacket Fits - a group that became well known to Australian audiences in the ‘90s - produced a blend of rock dissonance and melody that became hugely influential; predating both the shoe gazer movement and the angular rock of bands like Radiohead and others of a similar ilk that followed in Straitjacket Fits' wake. 

One of the UK's most important musical exports, The Stranglers, have announced their return to Australia and New Zealand in 2018 with their biggest tour in 30 years, "The Classic Collection".

Taking 20 of their most popular tracks from their revered album classics, chart successes and fan favourites from across their 40-year history, The Stranglers will prove their longevity and impact with a set made of of tracks including "Golden Brown", "Always the Sun", "Peaches", "Strange Little Girl", "5 Minutes", "No More Heroes" and many more.