A quick scroll yet another stunning Clancestry lineup â the iconic event that has become a firm fixture in QPACâs calendar for the past 12 years â and the name Electric Fields demands attention; for they are a band that simply guarantees an electrifying show.
Tonight, the duo of vocalist Zaachariaha Fielding and keyboardist Michael Ross are backed by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, lead by renowned conductor Vanessa Scammell and with orchestral arrangement by composer Alex Turley. Itâs a combination on paper sure to produce special results, and one that more than delivers in person.
All the bandâs known and loved tracks are there; from early highlight âShade Awayâ, the spine-tingling âLore Womanâ, and the Hermitude collaboration âGloriousâ. Itâs a beautiful moment when Eddie Maboâs granddaughter Kristal West joins the band for âFrom Little Things, Big Things Growâ, with a sample of the voice of the great Vincent Lingiari woven neatly in, which then flows into âTjitji Lullabyâ and a humorous Fielding anecdote about wanting to share songlines but also needing to âkeep sh*t to ourselvesâ.
Later, Fielding isnât happy with the audienceâs seating arrangement; cajoling and encouraging until theyâre up and dancing to the likes of âOne Milkali (One Blood)â and the outstanding closer âDonât You Worryâ, and given they are eating out of the singerâs hand by now, itâs an easy command to follow.
Ross, when not thanking the audience for taking part in a happy birthday singsong dedicated to two family members present, jokingly laments the âpositive traumaâ of the bandâs Eurovision experience, while Fielding brushes off that particular chapter in their history with a laugh-inducing âWho gives a f**k?â.
At no time do the duo feel overpowered or outgunned with an orchestra as their house band for the evening. In fact, it only serves to lift their evocative, ethereal soundscapes to something approaching biblical. For theirs is music meant to be raised high, to soar across rooftops, to be exalted above the everyday with raw excitement and pure joy. And having just picked up the 2025 AIR Award for Best Independent Classical Album orâŻEP for their âLive in Concert (with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra)â LP, itâs not like they donât have a track record with this kind of thing.
What a triumphant evening of music by one of Australiaâs best bands.
It was a wondrous and wild evening for jazz lovers as the Emmy- and two-time Grammy-nominated Kamasi Washington returned to Brisbane for the first time since 2022 at QPACâs concert hall on Thursday evening (12th June).
What transpired was a journey of a thousand trips: a musical expedition that built up, crescendoed, climaxed, and broke down again multiple times, with high points a-plenty and too many triumphant moments to even try to describe.
For the music of tenor saxophonist Kamasi Washington has to be felt as well as heard; his bandâs musicianship seen to be believed. This was a show that was such a grand exploration of what music can truly be, that over an hour and 45 minutes containing just a handful of tracks this eight-piece collective seemed to have pulled just about every combination of possible notes out of their respective instruments and voice boxes to leave them exhausted, shot, broken.
Washington, when not letting rip on another scorching sax solo, was a softly spoken frontman, whose love for the power of music and family shone brightly.
âMusic is such a powerful and beautiful tool we have as humans,â he said. âIt can travel across time and space. Some of my best friends died a hundred years before I was born.â
Before âAsha the Firstâ, Washington shared a delightful anecdote about his four-year old daughter learning to play the piano and help him write the song, before a searing keys solo by Brandon Coleman. Similarly, before the slower âTogetherâ, Washington jokes about how writing a love song and lighting a vanilla candle meant he ended up fathering a child and trombonist Ryan Porter showed his significant skills throughout the track.
It was during the theme for âLazarusâ, the ShinichirĹ Watanabe’s anime series for which he has written the soundtrack, that Washington let rip with one of several almost unfathomable sax solos that builds and builds, and just when you think he canât go any more, builds even further. âLie In Memoryâ allowed drummer Tony Austin and double bass player Miles Mosley to flex their respective jaw-dropping skills, while vocalist Patrice Quinn starred on âVi Lua Vi Solâ to close out a special show.
Ultimately, this was as impressive a display of musicianship as youâre likely to see â anywhere, any time. Itâs clear to see why Kamasi Washington is considered one of the leading saxophonists of our time and this super-talented band made the show simply smoke.
Jazz has an exhilarating future if these guys are at its heart.
With the memories of a cyclone mostly behind us and Brisbaneâs cultural precinct relatively unscathed, it was back to business with the outstanding Chan Marshall, a.k.a. Cat Power at QPAC Concert Hall on Wednesday night (12th March).
As part of her âCat Power Sings Dylanâ tour, Marshall performs Bob Dylanâs landmark âLive 1966: The âRoyal Albert Hallâ Concertâ in full; a pivotal moment when the folk master was infamously heckled for switching from acoustic to an electric set of songs with backing band The Hawks (later The Band) for the second half of the performance. Dylan took the heckling on the chin and made history in the process.
It’s a milestone Marshall has been re-living for some time, having recorded and released her own version of the album from a performance at the Royal Albert Hall in 2022. It would be easy to roll off clichĂŠs to describe tonightâs performance with words like âmaking the material her ownâ, âpaying homage to a master at the peak of his powersâ, âhonouring heroesâ etc., and each would be entirely pertinent. She is a clear devotee of the music and the man, bringing many subtle interpretations of her own, and is a hugely engrossing performer in her own right.
The lengthy âVisions of Johannaâ and âDesolation Rowâ allow Marshall to get lost in the material, and âMr. Tambourine Manâ receives the biggest response of the first half of the set. âBaby, Let Me Follow You Downâ is a big highlight of the second half, while Marshall implores us to âget our dancing shoes onâ for âLeopard-Skin Pill-Box Hatâ. Thereâs no exclamation to play closer âLike a Rolling Stoneâ âf**kinâ loudâ, as Dylan did in 1966, but they do anyway.
Marshall makes adorably rambling small talk between songs, musing on the state of global politics, the joys of young love, and her hilarious failings as a stand-up comedian. It all adds to the charm and the cosiness of the eveningâs performance, drawing us closer to her despite the size of the venue.
Ultimately, tonightâs show brings about a revived appreciation of not only Dylan and The Band but, of course, Marshall herself. In this wonderful mix of moments, everyoneâs star shines brightly.
There’s a distinctly English thread to the audience pouring through the gates tonight; less tea-and-muffins and more aggro bulldog in heavy face make-up and Union Jack waistcoat topped off with Keith Flint-circa-‘Firestarter’ hairstyle. Throw these ingredients into a thick soup of humidity, sweat, and weed smoke and the Riverstage cauldron is bubbling.
The anticipation for the Prodigy is palpable as the stage goes dark before swirling lights, lasers, and noise build up the tension. When the band arrives on stage and launches into ‘Breathe’, it feels like an explosion. And when Maxim sings âCome play my game, I’ll test ya,â we don’t need convincing of his sincerity. âAre all my party people here? Are all my f**king party people here?â he demands. Brisbane gives him the response he wants.
‘Voodoo People’ is next, and while at first it feels conspicuously risky to toss off a couple of absolute bangers this early in the game, the rest of the show never suffers as a result. The thing about the Prodigy is they not only have an extensive, 35-year discography to pull from, but this gig feels like it could go in a hundred different directions at any moment and either one would be just as entertaining. Is this a dance party? A rave? A rock show? A psychedelic wig-out? It’s not at all clear. And it also doesn’t matter one single bit.
Talking of absolute bangers, by the time ‘Firestarter’, alongside a visual tribute to Keith Flint, comes around a couple of tracks later, the crowd is eating out of Maxim’s hand. For a dude approaching his seventh decade on the earth he’s making this all look ludicrously easy and doing it with bags of style to boot.
âNo Good (Start the Dance)â evokes the early-â90s for those old enough to remember those hazy and halcyon days and the intensity doesnât let up through âInvaders Must Dieâ and âDiesel Powerâ.
After a brief stage exit, Maxim, Liam and the boys stroll back on, and we all know whatâs coming next. âSmack My Bitch Upâ has often been simultaneously hailed as one of the greatest dance compositions and one of the most lyrically dubious tracks of all time. The simple truth is, 28 years after its release, it still slaps hard. No pun intended.
As the gig finishes and the Riverstage cauldron spills over into the streets and parklands all around, thereâs a feeling of having witnessed a performance by a band that continue to write the rule book exactly how they want it. The Prodigy have earned the right to do whatever they like. And long may that continue.
With his bandâs âBlack Betty 20th Anniversary Tourâ mere days away, Spiderbaitâs Kram is feeling nostalgic.
âI think I’m a quite a sentimental person and very reflective by nature,â he says. âEspecially if you manage to survive [as a band] and if you’re lucky enough to prosper in this mad, mad world. Whenever we have these milestones come up, it certainly makes me feel really stoked that we are still lucky enough to have the success that we’ve had but, more importantly, we’re proud of the work and the connection we have with each other and our fans, which is a beautiful thing.â
The ever-popular hard-rocking trio will play 12 dates across Australia from August to October to celebrate two decades since their single âBlack Bettyâ was unleashed into the world. The fact that it was a cover version that provided the band their biggest hit to date came as a surprise to everyone involved.
âWe always loved the Ram Jam version of the song that was released in 1978 or 1979,â Kram says. âWe’re all big fans of the pop show âCountdownâ, which was a really big influence on us as country kids. Every Sunday, we would watch it on the ABC, and you would see what music was on top of the charts, and who the latest bands were. I think it was a number one hit in Australia and we just loved the song, and it was actually quite a while after that that I found out that it was written by Leadbelly back in the 1930s and it was an African American blues song. Then, when we started putting it together, I thought it could be a really good thing to record and it was pieced together by us and our producer Sylvia [Massy]. When the thing was finished, we thought it sounded sick and it was really very similar in its energy to the Ram Jam version. We didn’t expect it to be the big hit that it was.â
The song went to number one on the ARIA charts and brought the band significant exposure in the States; the place where its parent album âTonight Alrightâ was recorded.
âIt was great to go and make a record in the States,â Kram says. âWeâd never made a record in another country before. Janet [English, bassist] had a really bad fear of flying in the early days and when we got offers to tour in America, we were a bit reluctant because it was very difficult for her to be able to travel outside of Australia. We loved working with Sylvia; she was the first woman that we’d ever worked with as a producer, and we just loved her energy and the bands that she’d worked with. We were always picking her brains about how she used to be an engineer for Prince. She’s a very spontaneous sort of creator, and I can really relate to that; it was such a wonderful energy she had. But the best things about the record, I think, are Janet’s songs. I think all of Janet’s songs are awesome. And one of the best things we ever had about that song is when it became a hit in America, we were contacted through email by Lead Belly’s family and descendants. And they told us they really loved the track and that we’d done a really good job. We were really blown away by that.â
Even after two decades of Spiderbaitâs version of âBlack Bettyâ being rocked out to all over Australia and beyond, the song continues to find new audiences.
âWe did Groovinâ the Moo a couple of years ago,â Kram says. âThat was a really young crowd and a lot of kids had never seen us before, but the energy of that song just made them go nuts. The same thing happened when we did the track together with Dom Dolla at the Myer Music Bowl last year. We did a signing on a tour once and this woman came up to me and said that the song had really saved her so many times because she had had some bad stuff in her life. She had had depression and she would put that song on and get into her Commodore and burn down the highway at 250km an hour. It would be her way of burning through the darkness. Maybe in a similar way to how we thought it was a Ram Jam song, people will now think itâs our song, but youâre going to have to do the research about Lead Belly and the legacy of African American music. Itâs really important to tell that story.â
The âBlack Betty 20th Anniversary Tourâ kicks off in Brisbane on 13th August and includes two nights at the Forum in Melbourne before finishing up in Canberra on 25th October.
âThe tour is going to be kind of like a combination of our greatest hits, but I think there’ll be a few different things thrown in,â Kram says. âIt’s always weird when we have such a big body of work to choose from. When you do a tour there are so many different places that you can go, so we’ll just see how it’s going to pan out as we as we start working through rehearsals which we’re at now. And weâll be culminating in celebrating âBlack Bettyâ. It’s a weird thing when you do someone else’s song. You try to make it your own and get into it in your own way, but also pay tribute to the person who wrote it.â
So, when the âBlack Bettyâ celebrations are done and dusted and Kramâs nostalgia is set aside, at least until the 25- or 30-year anniversary comes around, should Spiderbait fans be expecting something new?
âI bought a new guitar a couple of years ago,â Kram says. âAnd ever since I bought it, I’ve just been writing for a new Spiderbait recording. It’s been riff-o-rama; basically, thatâs the constant. I’m fully into the energised, heavy-as-fuck kind of space. John has got some awesome songs as well, so we’re piecing it together. But the plan is that after this celebration [of âBlack Bettyâ], to release a new record next year and head on into the future.â
How do you mark 25 years since one of the best albums of the â90s made the musical landscape a better place?
For singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer, Ms. Lauryn Hill, the answer is to announce two huge arena dates in Sydney and Melbourne to celebrate the milestone.
A quarter of a century since its release, âThe Miseducation of Lauryn Hillâ is still considered one of the best albums of all time and has sold over 20 million copies. It received widespread critical acclaim on its release, and its legacy has only grown as years have passed.
At the same time, Hillâs status as a hip hop icon has grown too. She was the first rapper to appear on the cover of âTimeâ magazine and has been hailed as an influence by stars like Kendrick Lamar, BeyoncĂŠ, Drake, and Nicki Minaj, among others.
She has also been recognised for her humanitarian work, has had multiple successful acting roles, and even influenced the worlds of hair and fashion. She is a true pop culture icon whose music still stands tall among the rest.
ââThe Miseducationâ album has been a consistently special artwork that has allowed me to tour for 25 years, sharing the message and energy with its loyal appreciators,â she said via press release. âIâm not even sure if it feels like 25 years have gone by to me.â
The Australian tour will be Hillsâs first appearances here since 2018.
âIâm excited to celebrate this landmark anniversary with the fans in Australia,â Hill said. âI look forward to this time capsule experience. The music itself was born to be anachronistic, at the same time reclaiming precious jewels from the past and infusing them with the potency and energy of the present, in order to enrich it and the future. Revisiting the album live has renewed my love and appreciation for the music and the period in which it was born, when hip hop was ripe with potential and uncomplicated enthusiasm.â
A member of the Fugees since her teens, Hill and bandmates Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel put in the hard work on the long road to commercial success. But when the trio were thrust into the international spotlight with the runaway success of 1996âs âThe Scoreâ, it was the beginning of the end for the band.
âItâs really hard to express in words the impact it makes [on you] when you come from East Orange, South Orange, New Jersey, and now there are people [worldwide] who feel you just as much as people on your street or on your block,â she told The Music Factory. âIt was a big, big thing. I never really adapted; I was just Lauryn Hill. It was important to me that I just continued to be Lauryn Hill.â
Following the dissolution of the Fugees, each member of the trio went on to work on solo projects, and âThe Miseducation of Lauryn Hillâ was born.
Recorded between 1997 and 1998 before being released in August 1998, it features such classic cuts as ‘Doo Wop (That Thing)’, ‘Ex-Factor’, ‘Everything Is Everything’, ‘Lost Ones’, ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’, ‘To Zion’ and ‘Nothing Even Matters’. It also featured collaborations with Carlos Santana, Mary J. Blige, and D’Angelo.
Its influence is still threaded through popular culture today.
âLauryn Hill, being such a fierce rapper and such a soulful singer? It was almost unattainable to me,â rapper Lizzo told Billboard. âShe set the bar. I was always afraid of being a singer, but then when I heard Lauryn Hill, I was like, âMaybe I can do bothâ.â
Maggie Rogers recalled being similarly inspired by the album in the same retrospective.
âI remember going to class one day and hearing my professor play âMiseducationâ,â she said. âMy jaw dropped. I knew every single word but had no idea what it was. Itâs like smelling a smell that you know from your childhood. Lauryn is just woven into my fibre of my musical DNA.â
ââThe Miseducationâ album is like an old flame,â said English songwriter Jessie Ware. âYou never really leave each other. All the memories come flooding back as soon as you put it on.â
The album won five Grammy Awards and led to a huge, worldwide tour.
âWith âThe Miseducationâ. there was no precedent,â Hill told Rolling Stone. âI was, for the most part, free to explore, experiment, and express.â
âI also think the album stood apart from the types and cliches that were supposed to be acceptable at that time. I challenged the norm and introduced a new standard. I believe âThe Miseducationâ did that and I believe I still do this.â
Just a few short years after the albumâs release, Hill had retreated from the spotlight and music almost entirely. She hasnât released another studio album since, despite fans clamouring for more. The singer has fiercely defended her independence ever since.
âI was being way too compromised,â she told Essence. âI discovered people could only acknowledge red and blue and I was somewhere between. I was purple. I had to fight for an identity that doesnât fit in one of their boxes. I was a young woman with an evolved mind who was not afraid of her beauty or her sexuality. For some people thatâs uncomfortable. They didnât understand how female and strong work together. Or young and wise. Or black and divine.â
The Australian shows in October will see Hill appear with support from 23-year-old, Grammy-Award-winning Jamaican reggae star, Koffee.
The exclusive concerts, Hillâs only headline appearances in Australia, will also feature classic tracks from the Fugees; most likely the timeless âReady or Notâ, âKilling Me Softlyâ and others.
âMy goal is to feel confident and free on stage,â Hill said via her website. âMy performances are heartfelt and authentic.â
What better way to mark 25 years of âMiseducationâ?
Fans of bold pop hooks, lyrical authenticity, and celebratory good times unite: Chappell Roan is set to bring the bangers to Brisbaneâs Melt Festival.
Direct from her sold-out North American tour, Roan will land in Australia to play the Brisbane Powerhouse-based festival on Saturday 25th November.
The Missouri native has just released her debut album, âThe Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princessâ, to strong reviews, including it being heralded as âbold and uproariousâ by Pitchfork. Her appearance at Melt will see her perform fan favourites alongside brand-new music.
Melt Festival, back for its eighth edition in 2023, is an annual celebration of queer art, artists, allies and ideas. Alongside music acts, the festival will feature theatre, photography exhibitions, textile art and installations.
It will get underway on 15th November with an official opening party in the Powerhouseâs main hall platform including appearances by Nigerian house/dance singer-songwriter Kah-Lo and emerging Wiradjuri and Bundjalung artist Djanaba.
Also appearing at the festival will be UK dance artist Aluna, previously half of AlunaGeorge, electronic producer and songwriter KUÄKA, alt-pop collective Alter Boy, Canadian indie-rockers TOPS, and Brisbaneâs own Matt Hsuâs Obscure Orchestra, among others.
At 17, Roan (born Kayleigh Rose Amstutz) signed a deal with Atlantic Records after uploading tracks to YouTube and garnering major industry attention, with her early music being described by Interview as a âpop sound infused with a dark and unsettling tone that underscores intense, sombre lyricsâ.
Roanâs Brisbane appearance comes eight years after being signed to a major label, but with many career peaks and troughs already behind her, her career has been more colourful than many. Still just 25, she has weathered the emotional storm of being dropped from her record label and moving home to Missouri from Los Angeles to start her career from scratch.
Making the transformation from an introverted midwestern girl growing up on a farm to a glitter-soaked queer icon performing all over the world hasnât been without its challenges, but in artistic expression Roan found her freedom.
âI grew up on Christian rock,â she told The Line of Best Fit. âAnd I will say, with my whole chest; itâs the worst music Iâve ever heard. But I was a teenager at an incredible time; Lorde had just dropped âPure Heroineâ, Lana had just dropped âParadiseâ and âBorn To Dieâ, Kesha was in full swing, and Gaga had come out with âThe Fame Monsterâ. âTeenage Dreamâ and Drake was just started to gain momentum and I was obsessed with it all.â
It was, ultimately, in pop music that Roan found her sweet spot for songwriting. Her 2020 breakout hit, âPink Pony Clubâ, tells of a strait-laced Tennessee girl who moves to Los Angeles to become a stripper.
âPop was shining a light on a part of myself that I was trying to dim,â she told DIY. âBut it was always deep down inside. I was just scared to be that version of myself – it seemed too big and loud.â
âI think Chappellâs a drag-queen version of me because it’s very larger-than-life,â she told Vanity Fair. âKind of tacky, not afraid to say really lewd things. The songs are kind of the fairytale version of what happened in real life. I think that the project has allowed me to be a part of the queer community in a deeper way because I’m not observing from the outside anymore. I feel like I’m in it. I am the queer community â itâs allowed me to just feel queer, feel like a queer person, and feel freedom in that.â
Now comfortable with her sexuality and celebration of glitzy pop, Roan uses her position to support the queer community wherever possible, including booking local drag acts to open for her at every show and encouraging fans to send them tips.
âFor me personally, itâs all about giving back and re-distributing money,â she told NME. âLike, a portion of every ticket on my spring tour went to a black trans charity. I told everyone at the show, like, âYouâre not just coming to have a fun night â youâre here supporting the queer community.’â
As fans here prepare to witness the joy of Roanâs appearance at Melt Festival, one thing to be certain of is the promise of good times and party vibes.
âLike, if I hear Lady Gaga or Nicki Minaj on a playlist, it instantly takes me to this place of âYeah, party!â,â she told NME. âAnd thatâs the place I want to take people to as well. I want to give them that emotion of âWeâre here, bitch; weâre here and weâre queerââ.
Call the cops and twist my melon, man: the Happy Mondays are bringing the party to Australia in October as part of their âTwenty-Four Hour Party People â Greatest Hits Tourâ.
The shows will be their first in Australia in over four years; having last played a run of headline concerts as well as a slot at Golden Plains festival in early 2019.
It will also be the bandâs first appearances here since the death of bassist and founding member Paul Ryder last year aged only 58.
âWe’re thrilled to be heading back to Australia and New Zealand,â frontman Shaun Ryder said via press release. âThe fans there have always shown us so much love, and we can’t wait to give them a show they’ll never forget.”
The Manchester band, formed in the early 1980s, achieved significant global success as leaders of the âMadchesterâ scene, fusing elements of indie, acid house, â60s pop, and psychedelia alongside like-minded bands including the Stone Roses, the Charlatans, and James. Drugs, particularly ecstasy, and fashion, particularly the âbaggyâ look of flared jeans, became almost as important to the scene as the music.
These days, the Mondays are re-living the songs and moods that still captivate audiences across the world 30 years after the fact.
Following on from the bandâs previous tour, which saw them play their classic 1990 album âPills ânâ Thrills and Bellyachesâ in full, the greatest hits set will see the sextet pull chart smashes and deep cuts from 1988âs âBummedâ and 1992âs âYes Please!â; the album that ended the bandâs original incarnation.
âWe may even go out and play âSquirrel And G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out)â,â Ryder told UK Music Reviews. âThe tracks on that album, I havenât heard since 1986.â
The band, and most especially Shaun Ryder and dancer/percussionist Mark âBezâ Berry, were known almost as much for their kamikaze-level hedonism as their hit music through the late-â80s and â90s. Ryderâs autobiography describes him taking LSD every day for a year, downing ecstasy for breakfast, and prepping for a headline festival set by smoking heroin for 48 hours.
âWhen we recorded âYes Please!â in Barbados, I often found Shaun either upside down on a road somewhere or offering another piece of furniture heâd stolen from the studio to swap for crack,â Berry told the NME. âIt was fun at the time, but the islanders werenât too pleased, because we were on the news when we left. The first day we got there, the leading dignitaries were out to welcome us, and by the time we left everyone from the Chief of Police to the Prime Minister were readying the flaming torches.â
The 2023 Mondays may have cleaned up in middle age but remain determined to bring the party on their Australian tour.
âPeople always ask if I miss the drugs and the partying,â Ryder told the Guardian. âIâm a 58-year-old man â no, I donât! It was great when I was 18 but things are fucking great now. Theyâre better now.â
âWe are playing better than ever,â he told the Big Issue. âWe are older and wiser, and the bullshit is gone. We go on stage and do a professional job because the sex and drugs have gone out the window. Itâs just pure rock and roll.â
Multi-Grammy-winning Texan country-pop juggernauts the Chicks will make a triumphant return to Australia in October alongside special guest Elle King.
The band formerly known as the Dixie Chicks, made up of Emily Strayer, Martie Maguire, and Natalie Maines, is making its first appearances in Australia in six years, following sold out 2017 Sydney and Melbourne shows and a headline slot at CMC Rocks in Queensland.
A generous run of arena and winery concerts across Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Geelong, and the Hunter Valley has been lined up, before the group heads to New Zealand.
A recent Guardian review described the Chicks live experience in 2023 as âbarn-burning virtuosity and cut-glass vocalsâ, so come to these concerts ready to party.
âOur fans are fantastic,” Maines told the Houston Chronicle. “It feels awesome to have grandmothers through little kids there. I think we get a little worried at the start of every tour if the crowds are going to be the same, are they going to stand up the whole time and sing every word. And they do.â
Since forming in 1989, the band has had many successes while facing considerable challenges as renegades of country music. The thing that has held them together is the bond the trio has always had, says Maines.
âFor me, thereâs a comfort and a trust,â she told Elle. âItâs never hard to be around each other. You can really feel free to say, âNo, thatâs not good, but what about this?â âYouâre a little out of time.â âCan you re-sing that, youâre a little pitchy?â Nobodyâs getting their egos bruised. Youâre never walking on eggshells. Thatâs what makes working together an easy place to always go back to, and a great place to always go back to.â
The shows will the bandâs first in Australia since dropping âDixieâ from its name in 2020. It was a move to extricate themselves of the negative connotations associated with slavery in the former confederate states of America and came in the wake of the killing of George Floyd and the intensification of civil rights movements across the US.
An official press release at the time simply stated, âIf your voice held no power, they wouldnât try to silence youâ, while 2020 album âGaslighterâ, the bandâs most recent and their first in 14 years, was critically acclaimed and commercially successful.
This followed years of being outspoken on political and social issues, including an early-2000s critique of George Bushâs push towards war in Iraq which saw the band caught up in a media backlash and receiving death threats.
However, there was a positive side to many notoriously conservative country music fans turning on the band.
âIt set us free,â Maines told the LA Times. âIt got us out of this box of country music, which we never wanted to be in and never felt like thatâs who we were. We didnât have to do any of that bullshit anymore.â
They may have been one of the first victims of cancel culture before it was even a thing, but the band has learned to take it all in their stride.
âThese days, everybodyâs saying anything and everything that crosses their mind and people are getting cancelled left and right,â Maines told iNews. âIâm kind of proud to have been the first.â
A weed cloud dense enough to snuff out every mosquito in the Boondall Wetlands and the plethora of â19 Crimesâ adverts behind the bars are sure indicators of things to come: tonightâs gig is going to get loose.
Here for his rescheduled âI Wanna Thank Meâ tour and performing in Australia for the first time since 2014, the rap legend promised a show that will be âall about the musicâ. So how did Snoop Doggâs triumphant return go down?
First up were multiple support acts, beginning with DJ Malo, who, despite the early start, plays to an already half-full arena and does so with style.
Next were Irish rappers Versatile, who have âcome all the way from Dublin, Ireland to buzz in Australia tonightâ on their first visit here. Settling into the local âcultureâ, Casper and Eskimo Supreme volunteer to do shoeys upon footwear being hurled to the stage (you didnât have to do it, lads). That aside, the group get a big response from a pumped audience and will most likely be back under their own steam soon.
Versatile
DJ Invisible is next and, having been a master of his craft for decades, sets about upping the class and style of the eveningâs proceedings with a masterclass in turntabling. Ripping off his shirt to reveal a t-shirt adorning the Aboriginal flag and receiving a huge cheer as a result was a nice moment.
DJ Invisible
A short time later the veteran DJ was joined by D12âs Kuniva and Swifty McVeigh. Despite the ability to get an entire arena of people to raise their pistol fingers to the air, their set is ultimately one of good vibes and a whole lotta love; especially for ex-bandmate Proof. âNasty Mindâ goes over particularly well, as does a brief appearance onstage by Quaden Bayles.
D12
When it comes time for the man himself, the audience is just about ready to unleash an unstoppable tidal wave of adulation and joy. Snoop strolls onto the stage, surrounded by dancing girls, gesticulating dancers in monkey suits, and perhaps the loudest and most enthusiastic audience the Entertainment Centre has hosted for some time. âThe Next Episodeâ, âBoyz-n-the-Hoodâ, and âNuthinâ but a âGâ Thangâ are a dynamite start, and the reverberations of love and joy between rapper and audience only increase in intensity when he asks/demands, âSo, yâall wanna get fucked up with the Dogg tonight?â to rapturous response, before âGin and Juiceâ cranks the dial even higher. Kudos to the security staff at this point for doing a stellar and almost impossible job of policing the smoking laws inside the arena. âBeautifulâ follows shortly, which is dedicated to âall the beautiful women Down Underâ, while â(Smile) Living My Best Lifeâ and âSnoopâs Upside Ya Headâ keep the flow going, and âDrop It Like Itâs Hotâ features late on as expected.
Snoop Dogg
Covers feature throughout, including Katy Perryâs âCalifornia Gurlsâ (complete with an excerpt of the Beach Boysâ similarly named banger), and tracks from House of Pain and DJ Khaled. But itâs the eclectic mix of Snoop Doggâs own tracks and the fact he doesnât actually need pole-dancers and bouncing monkeys to put on a rap show of the highest level in 2023 that are testament to the longevity, diversity, and quality of the 51-year-old Californianâs career and certified place among rap royalty.
Itâs been over 30 years since the release of their debut album, 24 since the release of their most recent, and 13 years since their last shows in Australia. So how is Pavementâs return to Brisbane going to go down on a Tuesday evening in Fortitude Valley?
First up is Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever. They are a seriously bloody good band, and are having a âgood Tuesdayâ, says singer-guitarist Tom Russo, having been plucked out of their Melbourne hometown to play warmer climes up north.
Rolling Blackouts C.F.
The quintetâs eight-song set is a gloriously sunny collection of Australian indie-rock of the highest order, with highlights âMainlandâ and âTalking Straightâ sounding perfect for a balmy mid-week evening and closer âFrench Pressâ finishing in a long and stylish jam not unlike something you might hear at a War on Drugs gig.
With almost no fanfare from band or audience, almost as if they are unsure of what to make of each other after so long apart, Pavement take to the stage and begin what turns out to be a somewhat sprawling, at times chaotic, and at times discordant set from across the Californian quintetâs relatively short recording career â and they do it while seemingly enjoying each otherâs company at the same time.
âSpit on a Strangerâ passes by without any real reaction from the as-yet unsure audience, unlike âHarness Your Hopesâ. âWe first played here in â93. Itâs good to be back. This song is from that era,â is the introduction to âAngel Carer Blues/Mellow Jazz Docentâ, but itâs during âStereoâ that it truly feels like singer-guitarist Stephen Malkmus and his crowd are relaxing into the evening, and each other, although there is an ominous feeling that the set may have peaked with less than 15 minutes gone.
Thankfully âGold Soundzâ provides another predictable peak a few songs later, as does the reverberating melancholy of the chorus of âRange Lifeâ. âConduit for Sale!â, âMajor Leaguesâ and âCut Your Hairâ also feature late-on in a 25-song set that bounces around like an off-kilter pinball.
Among the handful of highlights, the evening threatens to fall apart at any moment, set to the sound of unintelligible drivel backed by a band of the standard of your average high school talent show act thrashing at their respective instruments while simultaneously and somewhat pathetically rooting around in a skip bin filled with metal cans.
Is a Pavement show in 2023 the sound of a band being intentionally oblique? Possibly. Is the wonkiness still a major part of the appeal? Probably. Is it at times painfully tedious? Absolutely.
On their first Australian headline tour in 18 years and with more than 40 million albums under their belt, punk-rock stalwarts the Offspring have both nothing to prove and everything to prove on a balmy Brisbane school night at a sold-out Riverstage. So how did the much-lauded Californiansâ set go down?
First up was Sum 41; the Canadian pop-punk quintet wasted no time getting boneheaded with a series of their greatest âhitsâ mixed in with some clinical annihilations of classic rock standards and painfully contrived and contradictory audience requests ranging from âLetâs get crazy motherfuckers!â and âLetâs get a circle pit going!â to âLetâs look after each other tonight and make sure nobody gets hurt!â courtesy of dufus frontman Deryck Whibley.
Early-career lowlights âMotivationâ, âThe Hell Songâ and âOver my Headâ kicked off proceedings; the latter during which Whibley attempted to get the aforementioned circle pit happening (which wasnât quite getting past first gear on a hot South-East Queensland evening), before the singer urged the audience to get their phone torches out for dirgy ballad âWalking Disasterâ.
âAll Killer No Fillerâ singles âIn Too Deepâ and âFat Lipâ had the capacity audience breaking (even more of) a sweat, but perhaps the most drippy moment came when Whibley & Co. showed their only flicker of a sense of humour for the evening with excerpts of âSmoke on the Waterâ and âSeven Nation Armyâ, and the execution of a crime against musical majesty with a brutal demolition of Queenâs âWe Will Rock Youâ.
The headliners are, thankfully, immediately classy from the off; it was clear the Offspring were here to play like the seasoned musicians they are, but not take themselves too seriously and be smart enough not to try to be too smart, despite the assorted PhDs and tertiary qualifications famously sported by various band members.
Early setlist highlights included âCome Out and Playâ, âWant You Badâ, and the Trump-baiting recent single âLet the Bad Times Rollâ, which fitted among earlier career tracks particularly well. âOriginal Pranksterâ felt like it had been thrown away early at only 8:50pm but went down a storm before the silly mid-show âNoodle Plays With Himselfâ section saw guitarist Noodles thrash through an entertaining medley of excerpts of âSweet Child Oâ Mineâ, âBack in Blackâ, âThe Trooperâ, and Edvard Greigâs âIn the Hall of the Mountain Kingâ. It was all deeply silly and infectiously good fun; just like the guitarist himself, who claimed âItâs hard to tell where Jimi Hendrix ends and I beginâ, with tongue firmly in cheek.
The fun continued with an appropriately high-octane cover of âBlitzkrieg Bopâ (excellent choice), and career classics âWhy Donât You Get a Job?â and âPretty Fly (For a White Guy)â caused all phones in the vicinity to be held firmly aloft, and âThe Kids Arenât Alrightâ provided the big finish before the band exited stage right to a Riverstage reverberating with appreciation.
With the venueâs infamous council-enforced 10pm cut-off time looming, there was no time to waste, and the Californians return to complete a deserved encore including âYouâre Gonna Go Far, Kidâ in a big finish.
To bastardise a soccer metaphor, it was a gig of two halves with one side ultimately coming away with the plaudits, just like 9,000-odd Queenslanders likely came away sweaty and satisfied.
Itâs been an age between drinks for Tame Impala and Brisbane, and with a sold-out Entertainment Centre clamouring to greet Kevin Parker and the boys, what couldnât go perfectly right?
First up was local legend-in-the-making Sycco who looked born to do it on a stage this big and received a huge response from an already half-full Entertainment Centre for her efforts, most especially on final track âDribbleâ.
Sycco
Next came Genesis Owusu and a lesson in owning a stage by sheer presence and force of personality alongside an energetic vocal performance and some killer lyrics. Itâs hard to nail down just one thing that makes the Ghanaian-Australian such a powerful act when he seems to have it all; recent track âGTFOâ went down particularly well and lyrically could be Rage Against the Machineâs âKilling in the Nameâ for a new generation. Thereâs absolutely no stopping this guy based on this performance.
Genesis Owusu
The members of Tame Impala saunter onto the stage amid a retina-searing light display, dense dry ice, and reverberating screams of appreciation from a heaving Entertainment Centre, with Parker looking entirely unfazed by the circumstances in which he found himself. This is a band that has grown from its relatively humble WA psych-rock roots to be the international festival headliner it now is, so itâs easy to see why this experience is all in a dayâs work for the multi-instrumentalist master. His show takes a simple approach: give the audience what it wants, do it in style, and do it BIG.
Tame Impala
This is the âSlow Rushâ tour, so that albumâs songs feature heavily at all the big moments, including opener âOne More Yearâ and early tracks âBorderlineâ and âBreathe Deeperâ. However, having been around for over 14 years and with a back catalogue that most bands would die for, Parker and the gang can pull from all corners of their varied career and strike a chord with anything they pull out of the bag, as with âNangsâ, âApocalypse Dreamsâ, and âElephantâ, before which Parker enquires of the crowdâs willingness to âget a little wildâ â which it does in spades.
It was during an extended âLet it Happenâ that one of the bandâs trademark moments comes with the launch of the confetti cannons at the drop, before a chilled-out âFeels Like We Only Go Backwardsâ provided a cool counterpoint. This left only the need for a big finish to top off the show, which came in the form of âThe Less I Know the Betterâ and âOne More Hourâ.
It was all a truly mind-melting visual experience; the lighting was simultaneously mesmerising, trippy, and, at times, almost difficult not to turn away from. But in terms of Australian music, this bandâs live experience is up with there with the very best. It definitely wasnât slow; it definitely WAS a rush.
It promises to be a party over 20 years in the making when Irish pop royalty The Corrs return to Australia for the first time since 2001 later this month.
The family quartet and touring band will perform at an exclusive one-night affair at Hope Estate in the Hunter Valley on 26th November, with their only other Australian appearance being a 250-person-capacity Q&A session at Sydneyâs Carriageworks the evening prior.
Drummer Caroline Corr speaks of the bandâs eagerness to return to one of the first countries outside of its own that took the Dundalk band to its heart from its early days.
âWhat was brilliant about Australia was it was the first territory where our first record sold and that people actually knew who we were,â she says. âWe were still kind of obscure, but, bizarrely, âForgiven, Not Forgottenâ did really well and so when we arrived there, we were wondering how so many people recognised us. Unbeknownst to ourselves, the record had been selling and it was a great feeling, and we had some amazing shows there. It was just so new and great. Weâve always talked about going back to Australia and finally we have an opportunity to go back.â
The multi-platinum selling band has sold over 40 million albums since their 1995 debut but last released an album in 2017, so does the Australian show announcement feel like a comeback?
âI suppose it does,â Corr says. âAlthough it depends how long we come back for. Maybe thereâll be many comebacks [laughs]. We seem to do a record and a tour, take a long break, then come back together and do something. The pandemic was obviously devastating for the music industry, and we probably postponed about three tours as it was impossible to go anywhere. Once the pandemic was over, we could figure out how to come back together. Weâre talking about more touring and itâs just getting the right tour in place. For me, itâs how it feels to do it again. Itâs nice to go to places where people havenât seen us in a long time; itâs new for them and itâs new for us. Thatâs why Australia feels so nice for us.â
As a family affair the band has a unique musical understanding but that doesnât mean they donât still have to work at it.
âWhen we come back together it clicks, because it has to click,â Corr says. âWe all have our own personalities and our little quirks, but we know each other so well. Weâve all obviously grown together and, as family, it wasnât always easy being on the road together and it wasnât always easy working together, but weâve become much better at listening to each other and talking things through. Of course, thereâs going to be things that piss you off, but you just move on.â
With 20 years between drinks, the band has set its sights on giving Australian fans â and undoubtedly a multitude of Irish ex-pats â exactly what they want.
âFor Australia we are going to play what people really like and what people really know,â Corr says. âAustralia has so many Irish ex-pats who have lived there for long periods of time, and itâs nice to connect with your country of origin and hear some Irish music, and we will be playing Irish music, of course. There were also certain songs that were released that did really well in Australia. Weâre working on the setlist in our rehearsals in Dublin. Obviously, weâll be doing âDreamsâ. Weâll do âBreathlessâ. Weâll do some Irish music. I think itâll be a good show.â
Itâs night three of BIGSOUND 2022 â hands up if you can still feel your legs. No, me neither. What else is to be done but get right into it?
The string of Rage Against the Machine tracks that played over the house system at the Loft gave some indication of whatâs to follow when The Riot took to the stage. The Gold Coast quartet is made up of four very different musicians stylistically, but when it all comes together it works beautifully and provides the perfect start to another night of outstanding music.
The Riot
Over at the Outpost, Selve laid down some catchy grooves and upbeat vibes before a hugely appreciate audience with the levels of throwaway fun right on the money. Led by Jabbirr Jabbirr man Loki Liddle, the band provided one of the highlights of the evening early on; all killer synths and even more killer basslines, joined by much-loved Auslan interpreter Mikey Webb. A finale of Fatboy Slimâs âPraise Youâ lifted hearts and spirits â these guys deserve a lot of attention from all the best people.
Selve
In the mall, Bluteâs was once again packed to sardine levels as Platonic Sex took to the stage. The buzz around the Brisbane alt-rock four-piece was palpable, and early track âDevilâs Advocateâ; all about letting go of the ball and chain of toxic masculinity showed why.
Platonic Sex
Wooly Mammoth Mane Stage was similarly rammed for an assured performance from Beckah Amani, who played a clutch of songs from her recently released EP, including the excellent âSmoke and Mirrorsâ, highlighting the singer-songwriterâs passion for ethical fashion choices and tackling climate change. The towering âStandardsâ elicited enthusiastic audience participation Radio Ga Ga-style as Amani repeated âFor a black woman like me / I’m standing up for my needsâ alongside some deft guitar licks.
Beckah Amani
At OâSkulligans, up-and-coming folkie Sam Windley performed songs that appear soft and lovely on first listen but are laced with confusion and pain through the lyrics, while over at BLVD, Brisbaneâs Yb grinned from ear to ear amid a smooth set of genre-bending indie/pop gems and tight musicianship.
Sam Windley
Dallas Woods promised he was âgonna take you all home to the East Kimberleyâ amid several audience interactions sprinkled through the Noongar rapperâs set at Summa House. Early track âColorblindâ from the recent âJulieâs Boyâ EP hit home hard, and when joined by both members of Fly Boy Jack (who impressively upped the swear count immediately), the set kicked up several gears towards an epic finish.
Dallas Woods
At Sound Garden, bass player turned produced Tentendo described his BIGSOUND experience as âfull-on, as Iâm pretty introvertâ, while producing an instantly classy, instantly catchy, instantly danceable, and instantly generally bloody impressive set of dance tracks alongside his keyboard player and drummer. What a find.
Tentendo
At the Loft, Jerome Farah set about unleashing something particularly special â even among so much bright talent over the past three days. From the second the Melburnian opened his lungs it was a show-stopper; the former dancer moved from smooth soul to soaring strength to rap and back again with ludicrous ease. âWhen my hair isnât in braids, itâs in a huge afro,â he explains, mocking the constant requests from people wanting to touch it before âAfroâ kicks in. The lyric line âWhy you gotta go and do that for? Please, white boy, donât touch my afroâ is delivered with humour and power, and the audience reacted with appreciation in spades. This was one of the best performances of the festival, and the perfect point to call it a day for this reviewer.
Jerome Farah
Now itâs time for that sweet, sweet sleep. Thank you and good night.
Paul McBride 