yeahhh Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

I watched this clip of them on David Letterman last year, performing 'Home', and I was won over.

They're playing in Sydney at The Metro on the 30th March, and at The Factory on the 1st April. Keen.

Peter Comes From Neverland

A shameless plug...

The lovely Pete Covington is about to embark on a US and UK tour (starting in March) but before he leaves, he is playing at the Bridge Hotel in Rozelle over the next 2 weeks... and stay tuned for an album launch!

Be sure to look on his myspace and website for the dates across America.

This Charming Man

"In my life, why do I smile, at people I'd much rather kick in the eye?"

Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
The Smiths

I first noticed this line about a year ago, and it's been saved in my phone ever since. Johnny Marr and Morrisey were 2 bitter, twisted men but created some of the most amazing songs. It was the 80s in all it's glory.. I have a big soft spot for this film clip too (the clip is a guilty pleasure, but the song is just so good)

Them Crooked Vultures

Them Crooked Vultures - Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) and John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin). I'm sure I didn't need to specify what bands they come from, but for those of you who didn't know...

I absolutely love these 3 musicians, so was quick to buy the album when it came out. While the album is good, it's very samey... I wanted to be surprised, but it is exactly what I expected - a complete blend of the Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age. A lot more QOTSA though, I suppose as Homme is the lead singer and driving force of both.

The concert was fun, very loud and lots of guitar - BIG sounds. John Paul Jones could strum/pluck one bass note for his solo, and still the crowd would go insane. Dave Grohl is always so good to watch, particularly on the drums, so much energy. And Josh Homme is the sexiest red head I've ever seen.

Note to the enthusiastic, afro'd fan standing next to me: I know that it is all so exciting to be at a concert, but just because the music is ridiculously loud, doesn't mean I can't hear you singing the guitar riffs when you're standing a mere few centimeters from me. I, have also paid to hear these musicians, and I do not want to hear singing straight into my ear, a human voice trying to imitate guitar sounds....

The Mars Volta can't put a foot wrong for me (besides getting rid of their incredible drummer, Thomas Pridgen), and this concert was no exception.

The Hordern was fairly empty, which always makes me feel uncomfortable - I feel so sad for the band when they can't fill out their venue. They even had to black out the seating areas to the side with curtain. But, in the end, having the hall empty made it all the more intimate. One of my friends pointed out that when he first went to the Mars Volta 2 concerts ago, it was sold out... when he went to their last concert, the crowd had shrunk and now this time, the crowd was... minimal.
Maybe as their albums have become weirder and stranger, they have thinned out their audience.

But any Volta fan would have frothed over this gig... it was a greatest hits show. It was as if they received my own playlist. What made this show all the more special, was that it was my little brother's first gig and my certain someone's first Mars Volta gig. It was so fun watching my 15-yr old brother manoeuvering his way through his first concert. His look of shock at the middle-aged men having a good dance/hug/sing/smoke in front of us. 'Why are they here?! They're pretty old.' (Apparently 50 year old men aren't allowed to be out of the house or listen to music.)

For anyone who hasn't listened to them yet... do yourself a huge favour. Just be sure to give it a bit of time to appreciate their oddness.

John Butler Trio

So much recently, I've been at gigs waiting for them to end. I get tired, restless, bothered and no-one has been very impressive. John Butler completely restored my faith. I've been to The Enmore countless times, but I realised I've never been there to see a gig, only comedy. It is such a great venue too - perfect amount of people and such a nice environment.

I wasn't particularly excited for this show, I haven't listened to him in ages, and i forgot (until he started playing) how much I actually knew of his back catalogue and how I identified with it. His songs have the perfect amount of political and social awareness, without his head being too far up his arse (like a certain frontman of U2).

Ocean is a song that I'm sure he performs at most of his gigs (and rightly so) but what I particularly love about this 10 minute-epic... is that it is a 10 minute instrumental. I don't think Sydney, or Australia has much room for indulgent guitar solos but Butler has managed to make it work for him, and people love it. It is a goosebump song, and there certainly aren't many of those around.

Even though I can go on and on about how much I adored him and the gig, it still isn't for everyone. This certain someone that came to the gig with me was all happy and joyful during the concert, however, I found out about 2 weeks later that he hated it. We were driving in the car, I put John Butler on, and I watched his mood drop. Finally it all came out - he just did not like Butler. He did point out though, that he pretended to like him because he knew how much I enjoyed it. This may not sound like much, but a year ago I dragged him along to British India, and I was reminded the entire show that he was not enjoying it. So I thank him for pretending for me. And I also tell him that he is wrong - John Butler is pretttay pretttay amazing.

Lyrics Born - Check out thaaaaaa MyyyyySppppaace

To say this Summer uni break has stretched... well, that's an understatement. Being unemployed and nowhere to go is a bit of a misery, BUT had some gigs lined up for all of January.

Lyrics Born was the first show in early January- my friends and I have happened upon him at quite a few different festivals over the past few years, Parklife, Splendour etc. Some of the only hip-hop I can say that I'm into, and he has the hottest band supporting him. I was interested to see him in a non-festival environment, at Oxford Art.

Little bit of a let down. He was good, but I don't think he read the crowd very well. It was clear that him and his band have a fairly set routine that they do at every show, and the audience just wasn't buying it tonight. He kept trying to rile the audience up to scream and shout but everyone seemed to just want them to stop talking and play the music. There were choreographed freezes - a' la Justin Timberlake. Then there was booing. Although, I think that is unfair - judging from the people in the audience, I can't see them getting up on a stage in front of a few hundred people and putting on a show.

It was a shame that he wasn't as good as I remembered, but maybe he is just suited more to the big crowd/big festival.