LOOKIN' BACK ON 2010

2010 has been a pretty special year for music around these parts. Here are some of my favourite performances I've filmed over the last 12 months. It's worth noting that a lot of the venues that this stuff is from have closed down (The Hangar, Cubby Hole) or are about to close down (Burst City). Keep supporting these bands/venues etc. stupid rant etc.

Grab a six pack of your favourite brew then lets look back on 2010, eh?


DUD PILLS - Cubby Hole (June 5)



Only about 20 people came to this show, and a lot of people seemed to have the attitude of 'meh' towards this depressingly underrated Adelaide band. Not me though, Dud Pills fucking owned.


CIRCLE PIT - Cosmo's Rock Lounge (October 1)



Not many people came to this show either, and considering it was a fundraiser to help Circle Pit tour the USA, well bloody hell. Circle Pit played an awesome fuck off set.


ROYAL HEADACHE - The Annandale Hotel (October 3)



The RIP Society Records Success Summit was the most epic show I've seen this year. Frontman Shogun was apparently on the tail end of a brutal 3 day bender, and whatever was going through his head at the time definitely added to this performance.


FABULOUS DIAMONDS - Burst City (September 3)



Brisbane absorbs the swinging pendulum of nihilistic glory from inner city Melbourne hypnotists Fabulous Diamonds. That there is the lamest metaphoric sentence you have ever wrote Matt but I will keep it here where no one but you will read it.


NAKED ON THE VAGUE - Burst City (July 30)



NOTV hadn't played in Brisbane since 2006, way too long considering how many people love them here. They had just released their already legendary album 'Heaps of Nothing' and things were good. Damn good.


SUPER WILD HORSES - The Hangar (July 17)



'Fifteen', the debut album from Super Wild Horses has been a big favourite at my place, it always gets a play when we're all hanging out on the stoop. This video was from their first show in Brisbane, and it was a very decent set. I think I bought a pie from 7/11 on the walk home.


CHROME DOME - Burst City (April 23)



Every time Chrome Dome appear in my life I know a few more years are going to get cut off of my life expectancy but it's always worth it as I would probably waste those years anyway. Chrome Dome + Burst City was a perfect match.


BOOMGATES - Repressed Records (October 2)



I mostly like bands that have a passionate dedication to getting wasted and live on the edge of death but sometimes you just want one of those other kinds of bands that promote the almost unthinkable idea of optimism. Filming Boomgates at Repressed Records was a great pleasure.


BLANK REALM - Burst City (September 3)



A massive year for Blank Realm, and no doubt they will be filling stadiums by the end of 2011. I was completely trashed at this show and I think they were too, hell I think everybody was. Burst City.


MEAT THUMP - Alloneword (September 12)



Members of White Cop / cult zine writer form a new band in the shitty outer burbs of Brisbane, lug their shit into a shitty Fortitude Valley venue to play a shitty show on a shitty Sunday afternoon to a bunch of shitty people and the result? total transcendence of said shittiness. Meat Thump's shit is pure and this live debut was nothing short of brilliance.


WHORES - The Annandale Hotel (October 3)



It's hard to write about Whores, they're a band that just make sense to me. I filmed a few of their sets this year and they were all great but this show was perfect.


ABSOLUTE BOYS - Cubby Hole (June 19)



Absolute Boys make me wish I actually spent time trying to learn music, at least enough so that I could 'funk it out' or whatever you kids do. Their first time in Brisbane, and the first time I realised my camera had a motion sensor thing that seemed specifically designed to bring the head nods.


ALPS - Newcastle house show (April 16)



Alps put on a guitar and played a solid set of noisy folk tunes on a Newcastle patio. Reminds me that it's sometimes good to get out of Brisbane. Actually it's always good to get out of Brisbane.


SKY NEEDLE - Burst City (July 18)



Sky Needle sound like a band that prehistoric humans from thousands and thousands of years ago would have created if they had been visited by aliens, harnessed the awesome power of electricity and then invented a foot pump related musical instrument to annoy the moon. This afternoon set at Burst City was great.


SCIENCE - Brisbane house show (January 26)



A show from the beginning of the year, Science (later they changed their name to Psy Ants and became a 3 piece and still haven't released anything and haven't played in awhile) playing in a lounge room in Paddington, down the road from my house. Cops came and shut the whole party down soon after this set.

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That's it for 2010. Thanks to everyone for taking an interest in this blog. I haven't updated much lately as a large amount of beer was spilt on my laptop a month ago and you'd think that shit would be easy enough to fix but no.

CARBORATOR / WHORES / BLANK REALM / WOOLLEN KITS / ROYAL HEADACHE AT THE ANNANDALE HOTEL 3-10-10

Over the last year R.I.P Society Records has achieved a lot for all of the bands and people involved. The Sydney label has maintained a strong sense of quality in everything it releases, from Circle Pit to Lakes to Zond, it all rules. This show celebrated a damn good year for R.I.P, it was a great day and one of my fav shows of the year.


CARBORATOR



Sorry about the sound quality on this one, was standing too close to the PA. R.I.P's description of Carborator is pretty definitive - "Carborator are a band formed by Dead Farmers guitarist David Akerman having recorded a bunch of Velvet Underground inspired demo’s on his trusty four track cassette recorder. He’s enlisted Songs drummer Steve Uren, Royal Headache/Bed Wettin’ Bad Boy member Joe Sukit on guitar and fellow Bad Boy/R.I.P Society CEO Nic Warnock on bass. Although the VU’s presence still remains, live the band has a thrust-worthy, primitive hard rock sound reminiscent of early 70’s Rolling Stones, Small Faces, “proto-punk“ and CCR."


WHORES





Whores are criminally underrated as they are one of the best punk rock bands in the country. Pass the goon, mate.


BLANK REALM



This is Blank Realm performing at their very best. The whole set was amazing to witness but this new song "Full Moon Door" is unreal. One of the best songs I've heard this year (The song is off 'Deja What?' which was released as a CDR by Albert's Basement earlier this year but has since been remastered by Mikey Young and will be re-released on vinyl in November through Bedroom Suck).


WOOLLEN KITS





Melbourne's Woollen Kits are a band I've wanted on this blog for awhile now and here they are - great pop tunes and friendly dudes.


ROYAL HEADACHE





Royal Headache are one of those rare bands where everyone agrees on how great they are. I've never met someone who doesn't like this band. This was their last show for the year as they take a break from performing to focus on finishing their debut album which will be released early next year. Definitely something to look forward to.




The second photo of a cake I've put on this blog in the last month. Hopefully not the last.



"HEY WAIT MAN WHERE'S ZOND?? THEY WERE FUCKING AWESOME, WHY DIDN'T YOU PUT THEM ON YOUR BLOG????" I lost the disc with the seminal Zond footage I shot somewhere on the drive back to Brisbane and I'm as destroyed as you. Pass the goon, mate.

BED WETTIN' BAD BOYS / ROYAL HEADACHE / DEAD FARMERS IN THE VALLEY MALL 29-05-10

Label Parties is a tax payer funded, Brisbane City Council sponsored (!!!!) free monthly event held in the middle of Brunswick St. Mall, each one showcasing a different Australian independant record label. This was event #3 and the label chosen was Sydney's R.I.P Society Records. I had my doubts about the show being in the valley mall right next to McDonalds and the Police Beat, but it turned out to be heaps of fun and hopefully introduced a few randoms to some good n' decent australian bands. The sound engineer deserves an honourable mention too for doing a great job.


BED WETTIN' BAD BOYS





The most solid set I've seen from Bed Wettin' Bad Boys, mostly due to the sobriety of the early slot and also playing with decent equipment and sound. Reinforced the acknowledgement of being Australia's most awesome party band.


ROYAL HEADACHE





Royal Headache's "soul influenced garage rock" (defining music is lame but that one is pretty accurate) sound works surprisingly really well in this outdoors mini-festival environment thing mostly due to Shogun's billion dollar vocals. He's one of the best frontmen of our times and the whole band put on a damn good performance.


DEAD FARMERS





On tour promoting their new album "Go Home", Dead Farmers are freaking good at what they do. No bullshit garage rock played with passion. Grab a beer and watch.

ROYAL HEADACHE BRISBANE HOUSE SHOW RETROSPECTIVE

Royal Headache are one of the best live bands around at the moment, for sure. I was thinking about this show today, it happened at my house in September last year and it was one of those amazing good times you would never forget if you weren't so drunk. I already put up a song awhile back but here's two more.

Footage guaranteed to include great tunes + mosh pit + crowd surfing. They're releasing a new 7" right about now and you can get it from R.I.P Society Records.







Credit for filming this goes to Sarah Spencer who took the reins so I could get all bruised n junk.

116 LATROBE TCE. HOUSESHOW 26-09-09

ROYAL HEADACHE:



BED WETTIN' BAD BOYS:



Brisbane lets loose for Sydney bands Royal Headache and Bed Wettin' Bad Boys. Blank Realm also put on an awesome show. Good time had by all. Thankyou to Sarah Spencer for filming Royal Headache.

REDFERN HOUSESHOW 15-08-09

ROYAL HEADACHE



Best afternoon ever.