Christie's Tour News
Posted: 1:24PM, Tuesday 2nd March, 2010. Updated: 6:03PM, Tuesday 2nd March, 2010.
Christie Eliezer penned the Music Managers Forum's "The Music Industry" and wrote the book on seven Australian movers and shakers in the Oz music biz "High Voltage". Formerly contributor to Billboard magazine, he continues to write for Billboard, as well as a range of magazines including BRW and Australian Musician. His weekly music industry column, hailed as among the Top 10 music blogs by UK's "Music Week" trade publication, is syndicated to Beat, The Brag, dB and Rave. He was editor of Juke Magazine, Australia's top rock weekly for over a decade.
There'll be a column for the week of March 16th. Then Christie takes a break for a week or two while he workshops his movie. He's not sure how long for, but keep checking back to the site.
Visit the IMM Archive to view last week's column, or any of Christie's previous stories.
Jamie Cullum
The Frontier Touring Company is bringing Jamie Cullum back this April behind his new album "Pursuit". Australian audiences were introduced to him through his successful album "Twentysomething". Following its release and the popularity of singles 'Everlasting Love' and 'These Are the Days', the BBC reported him to be UK's biggest selling jazz artist of all time in 2003 and that is still the case today. 2005's "Catching Tales" widened his demographic and he continued to live up to the nickname 'Sinatra in sneakers'.
Friday 16 April The National Theatre, Melbourne All Ages
Monday 19 April The Basement, Sydney 18+
Tuesday 20 April The Basement, Sydney 18+
Urthboy feat. Jane and Elgusto
The Sneakquel tour throughout April and May features Urthboy, joined on stage by Jane Tyrrell and DJ/producer Elgusto. Their Spitshine tour in Oct/Nov 2009 was a huge success playing to over 10,000 people. This year's trek is through Elefan Traks and New World Artists. Opening is gun-lyricist Mantra, whose debut album drops in March on Obese Records.
Fri 23rd April - Mojos, Fremantle
Sat 24th April - Prince of Wales, Bunbury
Sun 25th April - Rosemount, Perth
Thur 29th April - Hotel Great Northern, Byron Bay
Fri 30th April - Step Inn, Brisbane
Sat 1st May - Neverland, Gold Coast
Thur 6th May -The Pub, Bendigo
Fri 7th May - Corner Hotel, Melbourne
Sat 8th May - The Gov, Adelaide (Licensed/All-Ages)
Thur 13th May - Capital, Wagga
Fri 14th May - ANU Bar, Canberra
Sat 15th May - The Factory Theatre, Sydney (Licensed/All-Ages) - Presented by FBi Radio
Thur 20th May - Mona Vale Hotel, Mona Vale
Fri 21st May The Cambridge, Newcastle
Sat 22nd May - Bizzos, Caringbah
Fri 28th May - Fitzy's, Loganholme
Sat 29th May - Ripe Festival, Noosa
Fri 4th June - Gearins Hotel, Katoomba
Sat 5th June - Republic Bar, Hobart
DECAPITATED, Psycroptic, Origin & Misery Index
April 1st -Transmission Room, Auckland, Lic/AA
April 2nd - The Esplanade Hotel, Melbourne, 18+
April 3rd - The Factory Theatre, Sydney,Lic/ AA
April 4th - The Hifi, Brisbane, 18+
April 5th - Fowlers Live, Adelaide, Lic/AA
April 6th - Black Bettys, Perth, 18+
Thousand Needles In Red (update)
Reaction to the Butterfly Effect's Clint Boge's new band Thousand Needles In Red has gone off. A preview of their 9-track EP has gained a lot of attention for its eclectism and strong songs like "Black Bird". Their MySpace site got 7,900 hits and 21,000 downloads, and their booking agent Emmanuel Kyriakidis of Pushworth has expanded their dates:
Sat 27 March - BRISBANE Kallangur Tavern + Calling All Cars
Thurs 1st April -BYRON BAY Great Northern Hotel
Fri 9 April - WOLLONGONG - Waves
Sat 10 April - CANBERRA - ANU Bar
Sun 11 April - WAGGA - Capitol Saloon Bar
Fri 16 April - GEELONG Bended Elbow
Sat 17 April - FRANKSTON Peli Bar
Peter Green & Friends (update)
Legendary British blues guitarist who emerged with Fleetwood Mac before ending up with mental problems, has had a resurgence in the past two years. He's just finished a European tour. Band leader Mike Dodd brought together a cracking group of musicians: keyboard ace Geraint Watkins (Van Morrison, Nick Lowe, Bill Wyman) stand-up bassist Matt Radford (Peter Molinari, Nick Lowe), drummer and ANdalucian resident Andrew Flude, plus rhythm guitar of Mike Dodd. Aside from their appearance at the Bluesfest in Byron Bay, they are also at:
Wednesday March 31 - The Basement - Sydney
Thursday April 01 - The Basement - Sydney
Friday April 02 - Prince Bandroom - St Kilda
Darren Emerson
The one time Underworld member who these days is better known as the brainchild behind the Underwater label is here to play two shows and to spruik up his new record label Detone through which he'll release his club productions like Hard For Slow, Gracelands (co-produced by Jamie McHugh) and Decisions.
Apr 2 - Brown Alley, Melbourne
Apr 3 - Chinese Laundry, Sydney
James Keelaghan
Renowned Canadian performer James Keelaghan attended the Celtic Colors Festival in 2008. "The producers locked six of us in a house for a week, and the company included Dave Gunning, David Francey, and Rose Cousins, it was an amazing experience,"he says. Some of the resultant songs ended up on his critically acclaimed "House of Cards."
Friday 16th April - The Merry Muse @ The Canberra Southern Cross Club With Kim Churchill
Wednesday 21st April - The Harp Tempe NSW
Saturday 24th April - South Australian Folk Centre (www.folk-sa-asn.au) Cnr South Rd & George St, Thebarton SA including workshop on the Sunday
Wednesday 28th April - Spenserslive West Melbourne
Patti Larkin (update)
Well regarded troubadour whose "Watch The Sky" is one of the great records, will do some club dates before she plays Bluesfest in Byron Bay on April 3 to 6. These are at:
March 30 - East Brunswick Club, Melbourne
March 31 - Trinity Sessions, Adelaide
April 1-3 - National Folk Festival
Kid Sam
Melbourne cousins Kieran Ryan and Kishore Ryan comprise Kid Sam, whose debut album from last year showed a real chemistry (it was nominated for the J Awards and the Australian Music Prize). Now they're about to head off on their first national headline tour, revealing a compelling live show. Along for the ride will be labelmates Seagull (all shows), as well as guest spots from Deep Sea Arcade, Mick Turner and Batrider.
MARCH
Thu 18 The Harp, Wollongong, NSW w/ Seagull & Deep Sea Arcade
Sat 20 The Troubadour, Brisbane, QLD w/ Seagull & Deep Sea Arcade
Sun 21 Bon Amici, Toowoomba. QLD w/ Seagull & Deep Sea Arcade
Wed 24 Hoey Moey, Coffs Harbour, NSW w/ Seagull & Deep Sea Arcade
Fri 26 Cambridge, Newcastle, NSW w/ Seagull & Deep Sea Arcade
Sat 27 The Annandale, Annandale, NSW w/ Seagull & Deep Sea Arcade
Sun 28 Front Gallery, Lyneham, ACT w/ Seagull & Deep Sea Arcade
APRIL
Thu 1 Alley Cat, Hobart, Tas w/ Seagull
Fri 2 NSC, Vic w/ Seagull & Mick Turner
Sat 3 NSC, Vic w/ Seagull & Batrider
Thu 8 Karova Lounge, Ballarat, Vic w/ Seagull
Fri 9 Metro, Adelaide, SA w/ Seagull
Paolo Mojo
On his way to the Winter Music Conference in Miami, UK prog-house exponent stops in for three club dates:
March 12 - Brown Alley, Melbourne
March 13 - Family, Brisbane
March 20 - Chinese Laundry, Sydney
Har Mar Superstar
The flamboyant one calls his new album "Dark Touches" as sounding "like a retro-futuristic dance party". You have no idea what that means. Mr Superstar might provide a clue at:
Saturday 24th April 24th - Corner Hotel, Melbourne
Sunday 25th April - Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
Wednesday 28th April - The Zoo, Brisbane
Boys Noize (update)
In between their Future Music, the German techno outfit will also do their own shows at:
March 7th Canberra Lot33
March 11th Brisbane The Met
March 12th Perth Villa
March 13th Wollongong The Grand
March 18th Adelaide Electric Circus
March 19th Melbourne Billboard
March 20th Sydney The Forum
Los Amigos Invisibles (update)
In this part of the world for Flipart Festival in Canberra, WOMADEAIDE and the New Zealand International Arts Festival, Frank Madrid & Guzman y Gomez present the Grammy winning Latin funksters who were discovered by David Byrne at their own shows. The band's "Commercial" is through Fuse Music Group:
March Sat 6th & Sun 7th Womadelaide, Adelaide
March Tuesday 9th The Basement, Sydney (with special guest DJ Nickodemus)
March Wednesday 10th The Brewery, Byron Bay
March Thursday 11th QPAC, Brisbane
March Friday 12th The Monkey Bar, Canberra
Switchfoot
The San Diego quintet which formed in 1996 around a mutual love of surfing and a passion for rock music, Switchfoot regard their latest album "Hello Hurricane" as their best. "I think it is a landmark record for us," says drummer Chad Butler. "It's a new chapter in so many aspects of our lives, personally and professionally. I think we're in the best possible place we've been in as a band." They're playing three shows to show why.
Wednesday April 21st - The Hi-Fi Bar BRISBANE
Thursday 22nd - Billboard MELBOURNE
Friday 23rd - The Forum SYDNEY (all ages)
The Sunny Cowgirls (update)
Their tour keeps being extended, especially in Victoria and the ACT. See www.sunnycowgirls.com. Meantime, the good news for Sophie & Celeste is the video for the first single "Summer" is #1 on The Country Music Channel's Top 50 Countdown — their fifth chart topping video. "Summer" is the 3rd highest selling Australian Country Music album on ITunes and #2 on the Jagermeister AIR 100% Australian Indie Albums chart - the only country act on the chart.
Tegan and Sara (update)
Their shows in Brisbane and Melbourne sold out in record time, so just added to the schedule are:
Monday 3 May - The Tivoli Brisbane
Wednesday 12 May - Forum Theatre
Melbourne
Grigoryan and Tawadros Band Of Brothers
This collaboration through Top Shelf Production sees the blending of Egyptian, Brazilian, and Eastern European into a very uniquely Australian whole. Slava plays a midi guitar allowing him to experiment wildly with different sounds, Leonard plays guitar, Joseph plays Oud and James plays Req (Egyptian tambourine). Kazakhstan-born Slava & Leonard Grigoryan, although mostly known for their classical work, are focusing on world fusion for this project. Egyptian born and Sydney bred brothers Joseph (24) & James (19) Tawadros are lauded as to be the upper echelon exponents of Egyptian music. They have recently completed a tour as principal soloists with the Australian Chamber Orchestra presenting a program of Egyptian orchestral music. The brothers were invited recently to be soloists with the Slovenian National Orchestra. Joseph has just been granted a 3 month secondment to study in Paris with some of the world's greatest musicians.
March Friday 12th: Thornbury Theatre, Melbourne
March Sunday 14th: A Day In The Gardens, Hobart
March Wed 24th: Byron Bay Community Centre
March Thurs 25th: The Brisbane Powerhouse
Lulo Reinhardt
Gypsy guitar legend Lulo Reinhardt comes to Australia as part of a world tour for a series of concerts across the country with an international five piece band featuring violinist Daniel Weltlinger (Sydney), bassist Harald Becher (Germany), drummer Uli Kramer (Germany), and keyboardist Sean Mackenzie (Sydney). His credentials are hopelessly impeccably: one of the most famous gypsy families in the world, and grand-nephew of jazz legend Django Reinhardt and nephew of gypsy violin master Shnuckenack Reinhardt. The tour is through Pixie Michael Management & Planetmuzic Productions.
MARCH
TUE 2 - Williamstown RSL, Melbourne VIC
WED 3 - Broken Hill Theatre, NSW
SUN 6 - MON 8 - Port Fairy Festival VIC
MON 8 - Eastbanks Centre, Sheperton VIC
TUE 9 - Capital Theatre, Bendigo VIC
WED 10 - Blackiston Theatre, Geelong VIC
THU 11 - Friends, Perth WA
FRI 12 - Fly By Night Club, Freemantle
SAT 13 - Queens Park Theatre, Geraldton WA
SUN 14 - Mandaring Weir Hotel, Mandaring WA
MON 15 - Friends, Perth WA
TUE 16 - Governor Hindmarsh, Adelaide SA
THU 18 - The Basement, Sydney NSW
FRI 19 - Glasshouse Theatre, Port Macquarie, NSW
SAT 20 - Lismore, NSW
SUN - Joe's Water Hole, Brisbane QLD
MON 22 - Gold Coast Theatre, Brisbane QLD
TUE 23 - Brisbane Jazz, Brisbane QLD
WED 24 - Southern Cross Club, Canberra ACT
THU 25 - BPAC, Benalla VIC
FRI 26 - TBA Melbourne, VIC
SAT 27 - Thornbury Theatre, Melbourne VIC
SUN 28 - Harmony Row Winery, Keyton VIC
Matt Costa / Neil Halstead / Zee Avi
Matt Costa on the strength of his debut release, the folky, beautiful "Songs We Sing", earned a reputation as an L.A. buzz act, crisscrossed the U.S. in a van, performed at all the major North American music festivals and released his "Unfamiliar Faces" on Brushfire Records.
Neil Halstead, who fronted UK cult bands Slowdive and Mojave 3, now lives in the English coastal town of Newquay. The singer and guitarist made his solo debut in 2002 with "Sleeping On Roads" and a follow-up on Brushfire in 2008, "Oh! Mighty Engine".
Zee Avi was born on the island of Borneo, later moving to Kuala Lumpur, Avi learnt to play guitar at 17. Beginning to write and perform, she posted her songs on YouTube for a friend to hear. The viral buzz around her postings eventually resulting in the release of her 2009 self-titled debut album on Brushfire/Monotone Records.
Mona Vale Hotel, NSW - Saturday March 27
Northcote Social Club, VIC - Tuesday March 30
Jason Isbell
Former singer and songwriter with US band Drive-By Truckers is touring with Justin Townes Earle, headlines shows in Sydney and Melbourne, and appears at Boogie and Bluesfest. He lives lives in Florence, Alabama, just outside Muscle Shoals, and is visiting Australia for the fist time, courtesy Love Police.
03 Apr Tallarook , Boogie Festival
03 Apr Byron Bay, Bluesfest
07 Apr, Brisbane, The Zoo, w/ Justin Townes Earle
08 Apr Newcastle, Lizottes, w/ Justin Townes Earle
09 Apr Sydney, Factory Theatre, w/ Justin Townes Earle
10 Apr Sydney, The Vanguard
11 Apr Milton, Milton Theatre, w/ Justin Townes Earle
14 Apr Belgrave, Ruby's, w/ Justin Townes Earle
15 Apr Castlemaine, Royal Theatre, w/ Justin Townes Earle
16 Apr Melbourne, Corner Hotel, w/ Justin Townes Earle
17 Apr Geelong, The Studio, w/ Justin Townes Earle
18 Apr Melbourne, East Brunswick Club
Brittle
Melbourne rock band Brittle has just finished recording an EP "The Owls" at Sing Sing studios with Mark Opitz, choosing six from a list of twenty songs written over five months. When asked to describe what this record is about, lead singer Ben Whiting said: "The Owls is an open book to what the band is all about. In the past we tried to write songs for radio and what we thought labels wanted. When we sat down to do The Owls with Mark, we decided to throw the so-called radio-friendly formula out the window and make music that represents the band so it would tell our story and not someone else's."
Nothing was off-limits and some of the tracks (like "Weak Spots") touch on subjects like greed and frustration that surrounds the music business.
This sums up some of the experiences we had with people in the industry who told us that our songs weren't good enough and that we should try to be more like other mainstream bands. At the end of the day we wanted people to know who we are and if there are a few people that hate us because of that - well that's ok too!
The band has also made a pact not read any reviews of The Owls. We believe too many bands focus on what reviewers say and lose focus on what they are doing or become unstuck trying to change in an attempt to make everyone happy.
After all, a review is just one person's opinion and has no bearing on what we are doing or how we live our lives. We were put here to write songs that make a connection with real people and eventually someone behind a desk will catch on and get it."
"There are many musicians that put way too much focus on creating a radio hit so they end up losing themselves." says Ben O'Dwyer the bands guitarist.
The band will be doing a short run of shows in April and May taking in major cities over 3 states under the title "Previews" to showcase the new material and give fans a chance to hear the older material one last time.
10th April Melbourne Evelyn Hotel
15th April Sydney Live @ The Wall
17th April Byron Bay Great Northern Hotel
18th April Kyogle Kyogle Memorial Hall (all ages)
23rd April Adelaide Syke @ Electric Light Hotel
30th April Geelong The National Hotel (18+)
1st May Melbourne Rats @ Colonial Hotel
8 Ball Aitken
Queensland's favourite banana picker turned full-time guitar picker, 8 Ball Aitken, has been announced as a finalist in the International Song Writing Competition. "Yellow Moon" is a finalist the blues category, and "Cowboy Movie" is a semi-finalist in the Country Category. He's been touring around the world last year, and returns this month with his band to play three free shows. The shows are supporting the release of the video for the single "Black Swamp Creek". He explains, "Black Swamp Creek is a song which I wrote about a real life swamp in Queensland, where gold was stolen by bush-rangers in the Gympie gold rush. The song is also a metaphor for the greater world, but I am still inspired by the wild conditions of the far north of Australia, and my days growing up there in the bush."
March 11 - Beach Hotel, Byron Bay
March 12 - Royal Mail Hotel, Goodna, QLD
March 13 - South Burnett Food & Wine In The Park Festival, Kingaroy, QLD
Brewster Brothers
Classically trained members of The Angels, the Brewsters released a live album in 2007 ("Brewster Brothers In Concert at the Port Fairy Folk Festival") and last year a studio album "Wounded Healer" which had critics drooling for its inventiveness and its energy.
Friday March 12 - Lizottes, Kincumber
Friday March 19 - Milanos, Melbourne
Sunday March 21 - Way Out West Club, Williamstown RSL
Wed March 24 - Brass Monkey, Cronulla
Thurs March 25 - Heritage Hotel, Bulli
Friday March 26 - Lizottes, Lambton
Sat March 27 - Coogee Diggers Club
Sun March 28 - Notes, Newtown
Shai Hulud
Florida-bred Poughkeepsie, New York-based hardcore/metal are touring for the second time this coming May. Since their early beginnings in 1995, Shai Hulud have released three studio albums and toured relentlessly across the world. The band continues to tour in support of their 2008 album "Misanthropy Pure". one of their most critically acclaimed efforts to date.
Joining Shai Hulud on tour are Sydney's Shinto Katana whose second release "We Can't Be Saved" is out early May through Dogfight Records, and Canberra's Iexist who will be releasing their debut album "I: A Turn for the Worse" is out early May through Dogfight Records.
Thursday 13 May - Hot Damn, Sydney (18+)
Friday 14 May - Jannali Community Centre, Jannali NSW (AA)
Saturday 15 May (Arvo) - The Fort, Brisbane (AA)
Saturday 15 May (Night) - Thriller Nightclub, Brisbane (18+)
Sunday 16 May - Shed 5, Gold Coast (AA)
Tuesday 18 May - Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle (18+)
Wednesday 19 May - The Warehouse, Canberra (AA)
Friday 21 May - Enigma Bar, Adelaide (18+)
Saturday 22 May - The Arthouse, Melbourne (18+)
Sunday 23 May - Seaford Community Centre, Melbourne (AA)
Joel Myles
Joel Myles, one of the casualties of the cancellation of the Lost Weekend festival, is going ahead with launching his debut "Kaleidoscope The Keys" EP. Recorded and produced by Caleb James (Yves Klein Blue, Skipping Girl Vinegar, Rhubarb) Myles is joined by his band, drummer Joal Pascoe (Blonde on Blonde, Mary Trembles), bassist Jay Coates (The Kidney Thieves), Jeremy Lunnon (keys) and Duckboi Bones (guitar).
Mar 12 - Elsewhere, Surfers Paradise (SOLO show) w/- Jonathan Boulet
Apr 9 - The Troubadour (EP Launch), Fortitude Valley
May 13 - The Set List, Treasury Casino
Melbourne and Sydney shows to be announced.....
Imogen Heap
Red Ant Touring is bringing the darkly sensual electronica driven Grammy award winning artist/producer/engineer Imogen Heap on her first visit to the country. It is part of her world tour to promote her new album "Ellipse" which famously appeared on EBay before its release and her fans bid up to £10 million to stop its auction! Heap has come to attention in many ways, least of all the 1.3 million twitter followers she has! Her songs have appeared on "O.C." — the most known being "Hide And Seek" which has been sampled on the US #1 "Watcha Say" by Jason Derulo. Heap's side project Frou Frou's "Let Go" was featured in Zach Braff's film "Garden State" featuring Natalie Portman.
21 Mar, Metro Theatre Sydney
22 Mar, Metro Theatre Sydney (sold out)
24 Mar, Billboard Melbourne (sold out)
25 Mar, Billboard Melbourne
26 Mar, The Hi-Fi Bar Brisbane
The Wireflys
The Wireflys are touring behind the release of their track "Brown Suits, Black Ties" from their forthcoming debut album "The World We Live". According to the singer Chris Tester, the track is "A reaction to stuffy old drunks that think they are way more important than they are".
March 24, Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle
March 31, Stro UNE, Armidale (with Bluejuice)
April 30, Rics Bar, Brisbane
May 1, Shark Bar, Gold Coast
May 5, Oxford Tavern, Wollongong
May 18, Revolver Upstairs, Melbourne
Visit the IMM Archive to view last week's column.
