Julia Stone - Live at the Forum, 7 September 2012

You know I've been a fan of Angus and Julia Stone for many years now - I guess about six. I've loved their solo albums too, so when I saw Julia was touring solo, I just had to see her live. Last Friday night was the concert - and though windy and cold, it was well worth going out to see her.

The opening band - The Trouble with Templeton - were lovely. They were folky, upbeat and reminded me a little of Angus and Julia in their early days. I bought their CD at the end of the show and am looking forward to listening to it. My friend Clare described them as 'Sping-y'. I think that is a good description. Read more about them here.



Julia's stage design was simple yet pretty, with lovely star lights hanging from the ceiling. She had a five piece band who were excellent. The audience was mostly young females, but there was (as usual) the occasional male yelling out "I love you Julia".









She started off a little nervous and excited to be at the Forum, admitting her voice was a bit low, and forgetting the words, but she soon warmed up.



Perhaps due to her being solo, she didn't dance around as much on stage, staying close to the mic stand for most of the show. She said she misses Angus on this tour, but she seemed very comfortable playing alone too. It was also the first time I've seen her wearing shoes on stage!

She was very funny between songs, telling long winded stories of love lost and her broken heart. Her honesty and vulnerability is just beautiful, and I felt very empathetic toward her. I do hope she finds her true love soon!

And surprisingly, after someone requested Big Jet Plane, she said "I wish I could play it but I don't know the chords"!



Most of the songs were from her two solo albums - The Memory Machine and By the Horns, but there were also some Angus and Julia favourites in there, including the amazing For You and And the Boys, plus two covers. Though her style is very distinct, the covers of Olivia Newton John's You're the One that I Want and Fleetwood Mac's Dreams showed she is versatile - she really made these songs her own. I was mesmorised through Dreams and I hope she releases it as a song to buy.



Her voice is so powerful, and the way she moves her hands and her dress on stage shows just how much her songs become her. She is an incredible lyricist. I watched from the front row amazed and emotional. Her lyrics really hit home for me, after the week I had.



Thank you so much for playing, Julia. You were a delight.

Megan Washington at The Forum - concert review

There are some musicians I wish I'd known about before they hit the big time. And others I heard about because they'd hit the big time. Megan Washington fits into both of these categories. I've loved her music since early last year and her debut album I Believe You Liar has been on constant rotation. She was my favourite thing about last year's ARIAs. I'd booked a ticket to see her last year but I missed the show due to illness. So I was excited to see her touring again and snapped up a ticket on the day of release.

I saw her live on Friday night and I have to say, I was disappointed. Maybe my expectations were too high. But I felt there was something lacking.

She can sing so well. Her voice is pretty amazing. And she's written great, danceable songs (my favourites at the concert were Sunday Best, Rich Kids and Cement) and also some slower songs (I love Underground and it was so moving on Friday) and also songs about 'shame and pity' - her words.

The show was packed with pretty young things, in cool clothes sourced from the op-shop, who looked like Frankie and Yen readers, after alternative intelligent musical role models compared to the offerings of Lady Gaga and Katy Perry (I also fit most of this profile!). Most of the girls and guys around me looked like they enjoyed the show - singing and dancing their big Australian music loving hearts out. I sang along too. But I still left the concert underwhelmed.

Megan Washington has a sexy stage presence. Her dress was amazing. She bared milky skin on her arms and shoulders, sultry eyes, and a short dress that at times would have aroused the boys and girls in the room. She moves on stage like she's having sex. Standing at the keyboard, her legs writhe, her shoulders are languid. I was envious of her body. She's beautiful.

But a sexy stage presence is all she has. She lacks charisma. I love the banter musicians make between songs. Megan Washington told stories - one about a man in the US who carried a sword, another about how she tried not to swear at an all ages gig, but they weren't that funny or heartfelt and a times were a bit nervously delivered. The best bit was when she said she was told Lisa Mitchell was prettier than her at a show she played on her birthday in Tarthra, and her drummer asked if she had a dollar.

At times she came across precocious - playfully mocking a guy who asked her to play Sunday Best midway through the set - she replied along the lines of 'do you really expect me to play that now?  Have you ever been to a gig? Do you understand the natural progression of a gig?'. And someone asked her to tell a joke - fair enough she is a singer - but her reply was 'the comedy festival is over', said in quite a sarcastic way.

 

She admitted she was drunk. Maybe that explains these comebacks. While she wasn't hideously messy-drunk, I thought the drunkeness hampered the show. I heard some guys after the show say she'd put heaps of swearing into songs where originally they didn't feature swearing. A lot of the time she sort of looked tired and somewhat bored - she flopped her arms over the keyboard or hung doubled over nearly touching the ground - I wondered if she was going to fall over, or was she just playing with passion?

I spoke with some people while walking out of the show after it'd finished. They said they were disappointed too - they thought she just played without feeling. They found her pretentious. And didn't think she did much to get the crowd going. I told friends of mine I was sad to be disappointed by her concert. 'She has no charisma! Seen her at Falls and it was a let down. Very uninteresting', J said. Another friend said 'I was  disappointed to find that she was not particularly engaging at Falls'. And lastly, C said ' I agree. also disappointed when I saw her at Falls :( great voice though! Also I really want to like her more and I remember thinking/hoping she'd have been better in a more intimate setting before she'd hit the big time...'

 

I have struggled with writing this. I hope to only write good reviews here. But I can't be won over by every band I see, and I want to be honest. I wish I had seen Megan Washington before she hit the big time too. While she thanked the crowd for supporting her, and her music really sounded good, I don't think she gave enough of herself to us, or even was truly respectful. It's surprising given that she gives a lot of herself to her Facebook fans. I read this in depth interview on The Vine. She says 'I don't feel like being a musician is any different than my personal self. I feel like that's evident in my really close dialogue I have with everybody on Facebook and stuff. I want to be accountable'.

I want to try to change my mind about her. She's worked so hard for years at her craft. She's intelligent and quirky and a great writer. I love her music. So I am wondering why her onstage presence has disappointed me so much when I don't know her personally? I want to like her. I really do.

The Basement Birds at the Forum

Filming didn't go ahead as scheduled yesterday because of the weather. But last night was the Basement Birds gig. The night sky was heavy with clouds and it was icy, but my rainy, windy and slightly disappointing day had a silver lining :)

For the uninitiated, the Basement Birds are Australia's limited edition supergroup, comprising Kav Temperley from Eskimo Joe, Kevin Mitchell from Jebediah and also known as Bob Evans, Josh Pyke and Steve Parkin who used to play with Bob Evans. I've been a fan of he former three musicians for many years so it was an honour meeting them and seeing them live.

My ticket included the concert, a soundcheck, tshirt and meet+greet. Not bad for $90.

The tshirt is very cool – it is always nice to get an arty tshirt, and not a lazy one with just the album cover printed on the front.

The soundcheck was more of a very intimate acoustic couple of songs. It was in the smallest room I've ever experienced seeing a band in. So small that I was too close to get the full band in my photo (a nice problem to have!).

Before they played two songs (Waiting for you and Ghosts), Kevin said that Steve likes a bit of Q&A.They called for questions. And I actually had two questions prepared – I wanted to dabble in music journalism last night. I asked them one question in front of the other VIPs at the meet and greet. I was a bit nervous.

Because of your other musical commitments, The Basement Birds are a (sadly) fleeting band. I see you as a bit of a modern day barbershop quartet. Is there a chance that when you're all in your 60s we will see you appearing in barbershops across the country doo-wopping away?

They laughed at this question and answered it with lots of humour. I wasn't able to record thei answer but here is a summary.

Kav said the Basement Birds are setting them up for retirement, and they can perform like this when they are young and handsome. Josh said their next album will be called 'Superannuation'. Kav said he saw a barbershop quartet on TV before Friday night's gig and thought that could be the Basement Birds someday! They also did a bit of a do-wop at the end of Waiting for you.

After the performance, we queued to meet them and have photos taken and stuff signed. As my Basement Birds CD is already signed, I took in my Bob Evans and Eskimo Joe CD covers and told them to all sign them. Kav said it's the first time he'd signed a Bob Evans CD. They also signed my ticket.

They also asked me what my other question was. So I asked them this:

You have all been around playing music for a while. You currently have a huge social media presence - blogging, Twitter and Facebook. How has this made a difference to the promotion of your music compared to before social media was huge?

The question wasn't really answered, but they did nod at the mention of the social media stuff. There was a discussion of the age of their respective bands and I said Jebediah were too out there for me back in '97 as I was listening to Savage Garden. Kevin laughed and agreed Jebediah were far more out there than Savage Garden.

I was so honoured Kevin remembered my name, too.

Thee pics were taken – an attempt to be tough, where Kevin laughed, a Blue Steel one, and me with the band. They were all so nice. It was a great opportunity.

Tough one. Except for Kevin's dimples,

The Blue Steele one.

And the one with me. Sigh.

The stage had vertical rows of kite like birds. They looked cool in different colours of stage lighting.

I met an old friend there who I met back in 2006 at a Bob Evans gig at the East Brunswick Club. I made a new friend, Stephanie, and met a friend I've been talking to for a year on Twitter and Facebook – we 'met' due to Bob Evans tweets, and also share a love for Rush. Clare has an awesome blog about Art Attack.

The Sun Orchestra played first. They were folky and melodic. The singer then went on to play keyboard and lapstrings in the Basement Birds. I liked them but I need to listen to more of their music to get a proper feel.

Then Old Man River came on. I'd seen them a few years back at The Sleepy Jackson, but don't remember much. The band was so joyful last night – it was a great set. I'm going to be following more Old Man River from now on.

And then the Basement Birds. Wow. It really struck me how distinctive their voices are. Kav's is beautifully husky. Josh sings with Australian strine – I love how his accent shines through. Kevin sounds like Bob Evans but every so often I think 'this song sounds like Jebediah'. And it was brilliant to hear Steve Parkin sing for the first time. Together they are harmonious, melodic and funny.

They played most Basement Birds songs, plus covers of Sarah Blasko and The Presets. My favourites were Holly, Bus stop and Waiting for you.

During Bus Stop, which usually features Julia Stone, four girls from the audience got up to sing 'never been that good with numbers'. They were so cute, it was a great opportunity for them. I talked to two of them afterward – of course they said it was amazing! Thinking back now, I would have gotten up there too, but I didn't hesitate due to potential embarrassment, but for the fear of climbing over the barrier!

Sorry for the quality of the pictures - it's so hard with the smoke machine, lack of flash and movement.

Thank you Basement Birds for coming together - I really hope this project will continue for a bit longer, or that we'll see you 'round as a barbershop quartet.

The Temper Trap review

The Temper Trap
The Forum 12 January 2010

My friend and I saw the Temper Trap last Tuesday night. I'm not much good at writing music reviews, but I'll try.

After the relentless heat over the previous weekend and Monday's 43 degrees, I wondered whether I’d be ok at a rather small venue in a crowd seeing a band. But fortunately the weather had cooled down to the high teens by the time I left to meet my friend in the city. Bliss.

We went for dinner at Movida Next Door – a fantastic tapas bar next to The Forum. It can be hard to get into Movida Next Door as it’s so small and popular, but my friend arrived early enough to secure a table for us.

The food was wonderful – we selected about 10 dishes from the menu to share. It was interesting and cooked to perfection, and the perfect amount of food for the hot summer’s days we’ve had. Each dish was a small meal in itself, different from the previous. It was a real adventure.

We had:
Quail (which I was dubious about but it was great!)
Calamari stuffed with corn and pine nuts and fruit and served with capsicum and bread sauce with squid ink
And skewered lamb
And sheep's milk cheese with dried baby figs
And crumbed anchovies on curd
And scallops in citrus dressing
Oysters
Croquettes
Churros with custardy chocolate.

My favourites were the churros with custardy chocolate and the croquettes – I could eat the deep fried crumbed cheesy-jamony mash forever.

Afterwards it was delightfully cold outside. I usually get so cold and it’s unlike me to ever wear a dress without a long sleeved top underneath or a cardi over, but last night I had bare arms until about 10:30 when my skin got too itchy. I relished the cold and liked the breeze on my arms, which I don’t feel very much.

My friend and I sat in the booths towards the middle of The Forum. This may have been the furthest back from a band that I've been at a general admission gig. It was a great view, and I had the option to kneel on the chair or sit on the table (until security told me off in the second last song) for a better view. The Forum is a picturesque venue.

The Temper Trap were amazing! I read a review from their recent Sydney concert that described their music as ‘Starting with slow build-ups, swelling with energy until, like a well-shaken bottle of Fanta, the whole thing bursts and froths over in a flood of guitars and voices.’ I completely agree with this beautiful analogy.

I have been a fan since I heard Fader on the radio last year. Conditions has been on constant replay for me this past year.

Their live show wasn’t just a choice between spectacular music or spectacular vocals. It was a combination of both.

Leader singer Dougy Mandagi's vocals are interesting, and when I hear them, I feel immersed in the music. It’s both falsetto and anthemic. Most songs build into a beautiful crescendo.

Every song performed on the night was a hit. It wasn’t like one of those gigs where you’re struggling to know what song they’re playing because it’s an album filler. They were all great tracks.



My favourite songs of the night were:
Sweet Disposition
Fader
Science of Fear
Love Lost.

Love Lost is now my new favourite Temper Trap song.

'keep me in mind
when you're ready
I am here
to take you every time'

Sigh.

The Temper Trap definitely have the potential to become stadium rockers. But I was happy to see them at a smallish venue.

They were brilliant.