[Gallery] Jack Johnson @ Kings Park & Botanic Garden, Perth 29/11/2022
Jack Johnson
Ziggy Alberts
Emily Wurramara
[Gallery] Alex Cameron @ The Triffid, Brisbane 25/11/2022
Alex Cameron
Sean Nicholas Savage
Interview with Joel Vanderuit (Kisschasy)
Kisschasy are an Australian rock band whose music varies from catchy pop to emo-tinged ballads to hard rock. A fateful meeting took place between Darren Cordeux (vocals, guitar) and Joel Vanderuit (bass) in the crowd at the 2002 Warped Tour. The two youths had both been tinkering with bands of their own, but inspired by the world-class music all around them, they decided to start fresh with a new band: Kisschasy. Two of Vanderuit's friends joined them — Sean Thomas (guitar) and Karl Ammitzboll (drums). Their first recordings were the 2004 EPs Darkside/Stay Awake and Cara Sposa, released on indie label Below Par Records. A year later, they recorded their debut album, United Paper People, a gentle pop/rock record. Over the next two years, songwriter Cordeux worked on two albums' worth of songs for their next release. One set was made of country-tinged songs that he described as “Lemonheads-y,” with the rest being heavier rock numbers. The band decided to go with the louder songs and released Hymns for the Nonbeliever in 2007.
Recently Joel had a chat with STMs Kynan about what we might expect from their appearenne at Good Things Festival next weekend.
GOOD THINGS FESTIVAL LINE UP:
Bring Me The Horizon | Deftones | NOFX (performing ‘Punk In Drublic’ in full + all your favourites) | TISM (Exclusive: First shows in 19 years!) | The Amity Affliction | Gojira | ONE OK ROCK
In Alphabetical Order:
3OH!3 | Blood Command | Chasing Ghosts | Cosmic Psychos | Electric Callboy
Fever 333 | Jinjer | JXDN | Kisschasy (Performing ‘United Paper People’ In Full)
Lacuna Coil | Millencolin | Nova Twins | Polaris | RedHook | Regurgitator
Sabaton | Sleeping With Sirens | Soulfly | The Story So Far | Thornhill
DATES AND VENUES:
Friday 2nd December – Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne (LIC AA 15+)
Saturday 3 December- Centennial Park, Sydney (18+)
Sunday 4 December – Brisbane Showgrounds, Brisbane (LIC AA 15+)
Early Bird pre-sale tickets on sale Tuesday 21 June @ 10am AEST Time
Sign up now for early bird pre-sale tickets at www.goodthingsfestival.com.au
General Public tickets on sale Thursday 23 June @ 10am AEST Time
https://www.oztix.com.au/
GOOD THINGS FESTIVAL | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK
Interview with Rich “The Duke” Ward (Fozzy)
It has been a two years for Australian rock fans with no new international tour announcements but that changes now. With borders finally open and restrictions lifted Silverback Touring is saying “f**k it” and giving fans a 1,2,3 count of unashamed rock n roll with two of the hottest live bands on the planet, BUCKCHERRY and FOZZY.
BUCKCHERRY recently dropped their incredible new and possibly best yet, album Hellbound and just this past week a frantic new video and single ‘5,4,3,2,1’. Whilst FOZZY have been tearing up the U.S. Billboard charts with their latest single ‘Sane’ whilst their anthemic track ‘Judas’ continues to amass huge numbers.
Multi-Platinum selling rockers BUCKCHERRY return to Australia armed with a new album Hellbound. BUCKCHERRY staunchly uphold the commandments of rock music with an arsenal of anthems primed to explode on impact live on stage and teeming with riotous energy, sexy swagger, and primal chops intact. It’s something that the boys have done since day one, but it’s more necessary now than ever. With an array of classic such ‘Lit Up’, ‘Crazy Bit*h’, ‘Sorry’, ‘Say F*ck It’ and ‘All Night Long’, BUCKCHERRY are ready to once again party down under.
BUCKCHERRY is unique, complex, simple, passionate, explosive, original, and always a good time. BC has been my love, my pain, my passion and I'm so proud of what we have accomplished. I never knew when I started this that dedicating myself to music would be taking on so much responsibility. For a guy who never thought he was going to live past 30 this has been an incredible journey. Our ninth record Hellbound marks 22 years since our debut self-titled release and what an amazing roller coaster we have been on. From hit songs to platinum and gold records and millions of fans worldwide – all during a time period when traditional sounding hard rock bands didn't exist – except for BUCKCHERRY. We beat the odds and built our reputation on the live shows, and our “one of a kind” approach to every opportunity. – Josh Todd
After touring the world with the likes of Metallica, Kiss, Iron Maiden, Avenged Sevenfold, Shinedown and building a loyal fanbase for the better part of twenty years, FOZZY is the epitome of what a great rock n roll band should be: catchy, groovy, hooky, sweaty and most importantly, an AWESOME F**KIN TIME! With five consecutive TOP 30 singles, FOZZY is steadily becoming one of the most successful bands on Modern Rock Radio with one of the most electric live shows.
Buckcherry Tour Dates
Ticket link here: https://www.silverbacktouring.com.au/buckcherry-fozzy-australia-2022/
Crowded House @ Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne 22/11/2022
Crowded House dried off after a wet and muddy A Day On The Green performance in Geelong over the weekend, to deliver a showstopping career celebration.
Following stunning sets from openers Grecian acoustic four-piece Maistrato and ‘Sea of Love’ songstress Cat Power, Mitchell Froom, Liam Finn, Elroy Finn, a kilt wearing Nick Seymour and a blue velvet blazered Neil Finn emerged on the Rod Laver stage for a two and a half hour exploration of their own legendary, and adopted, catalogue.
Purple and golden hues lit up the stage as they launched into ‘Distant Sun’ from their 1993 Together Alone, opening the evening in style. By way of introductions bassist Nick Seymour exclaimed his excitement for being back in his hometown of Melbourne, with Neil continuing to introduce each band member from where they hail from; ‘Now you know about the world where we live, and here is ‘World Where You Live’’, he says before the band jump into the track from their self-titled debut. This would trigger a location theme that continued throughout each song, as the band entered down memory lane (or street), pinning each song to its birthplace address, mapping out Melbourne’s Crowded Houses.
Whilst the arena was seating only, the energy was palpable for the Australian darlings, a sentiment duly noted by Mr Finn. With a quick guitar change to bare an acoustic, he commented ‘Get your singing voices ready Melbourne’, before acknowledging an audience members’ “polite but stern” ‘Go Neil’ heckle. It was time for a stunning rendition of ‘Fall At Your Feet’, as written at 11 Osborne Street. ‘I can sense Melbourne has beautiful voices’, Finn comments, leading the audience in an acapella chorus of heavenly proportions.
Joining the stage with his sons Elroy Finn on drums and Liam Finn on guitar and backing vocals turned the house into a home. The chemistry amongst the musicians was undeniable and their sound was crisp and impeccably tight. It also allowed for quality banter between Neil and Liam, with discussion around birth stories and delirium being shared around the conception of ‘Pineapple Head’.
Following ‘Show Me The Way’ and ‘Goodnight Everyone’, the upright piano discreetly tucked into the corner of the stage became the centre of attention. A spotlight illuminated the frontman as he sat at the antique instrument to undertake his Split Enz composition ‘Message To My Girl’. Finn’s vocals did not waver throughout the entire 2 and a half hour performance, and on this ballad it was evident that nearly 40 years post formation, his pipes are as strong as ever.
Jumping back to the centre of the stage with his guitar, the band re-emerged to take on ‘Nails in My Feet’ and ‘When You Come’, before being joined by support act Maistrato for an instrumental jam, ‘Private Universe’, ‘Some Greater Plan’ and ‘Four Seasons In One Day’ with Elroy Finn up front on brushes. A stage left exit of the four piece, meant for a stage right entry of Noel Crombie who brought back the artform of playing the spoons in a solo and for ‘Sister Madly’. “He’ll have a bruise on this knee tomorrow,” joked the frontman.
After a gorgeous version of ‘Whatever You Want’ as dedicated to Dr Claire, it was time for a trio of hits and massive crowd singalongs. ‘It’s Only Natural’ got the ball rolling feeding into the crowd’s energy. Dun di, dun dun di, dun dun di… the phone torches start to illuminate the arena for a captivating, showstopping performance of ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’. Melbourne definitely had their singing voices ready for this number, with Finn playing into the powerful acoustics for singalongs and harmonisations. A moving moment from a well-rounded set that would conclude on a high note with ‘Something So Strong’.
A quick fakeout before a full encore saw the band return to play brother Tim Finn co-write, Split Enz power-piece, ‘I Got You’. In a night of family affairs, memory lanes and Australian anthems being celebrated, it was only fitting for Nick Seymour to be reunited onstage by brother Mark Seymour of Hunters and Collectors for an angelic Finn/Seymour duet on ‘Throw Your Arms Around Me’.
For a third time that evening Maistrato appeared on the stage to help close out the night. ‘Weather With You’ was simply delightful, with Finn again leaning into the singalong setting supplied by the Melbourne crowd. The crowd engagement was a major player in the evenings proceedings, and helped to shape the setlist with Finn warranting a request from an audience member “because she asked nicely” to play ‘She Goes On’; resurrected for the first time live since 2010 with Finn commenting “I’m glad I remembered it!”.
What better way to send a crowd home after an epic evening of classic songs than with the Temple of Low Men star, ‘Better Be Home Soon’. The stunning harmonies, the gelling of guitars and drums, the vocal offering of the crowd, the Grecian twists from Maistrato elevating it, the final silent pause before the legendary frontman drove us home on the prolonged ‘soon’; a perfect send off.
Crowded House invited us into their many homes last night across Melbourne and we left as part of their family with full bellies from the 24 courses they served. We can’t wait to visit again!
Crowded House final 3 shows
Kings Park & Botanic Garden, PERTH
November 25th, 26th and 27th
Tickets here
Keshi @ Palace Foreshore, Melbourne 22/11/2022
Fresh off a show being moved from the new Palace Foreshore venue, the storm clouds forming over St Kilda didn’t seem to bode well for another outdoor show at the new space, but luckily, Keshi’s fans had better luck than The Black Crowes. The weather may have been chilly, but the mood was electric as the evening’s entertainment began.
Rei Brown, Japanese born and New York based R&B singer opened the show, with a brilliant display of his talents as a musician and performer. Often, a support act for a pop or hip-hop artist can struggle to wow a crowd, due to not being given the full access to a venue’s features, such as lights and screens, but that didn’t stop the young artist from showing his true colours.
Brown played a short, tight set, highlighted by the killer track Haunt Me from his most recent record Xeno, released earlier this year. The song acted as the emotional centrepiece for a passionate and spacey decent into’s Brown’s melancholia. Honest was also a fan favourite, garnering immediate applause from keen audience, who sang along to every word. The icy crowd was truly warmed up by Rei Brown, a well selected opener for a fantastic crooning headliner.
When it came time for Keshi to finally take the stage, the crowd were so excited that they would all raise their phones whenever an engineer or technician crossed the huge festival-style stage, expecting their idol to have finally commenced his performance, so the clear passion for the music on display was clear before I heard a note of the music.
Keshi took to the stage on time and wowed me immediately. He opened with a fresh banger, GET IT, the first track from his new album GABRIEL. The song had the crowd jumping, and initially gave me major Brockhampton vibes, but grew into something bigger. The inspiration of the boy band, especially that of Kevin Abstract, Bearface and Joba was clear, but the depth and quality of the song writing was something entirely further than that the band missed when I’d seen them live years before.
Keshi’s band was something beyond any of his peers I’ve seen before. Many hip-hop artists perform with nothing more than a DJ, and many can do so much with this, but many also fall flat, especially when performing at festivals and outdoor venues. Keshi throughs this idea completely out the window, with one of the best hip-hop R&B bands I’ve ever seen. His drummer balanced traditional flashy drumming with trap-style hip-hop flow, mixing acoustic drums and sample pads like bread and butter. His guitarists and keyboards flawed me further, with an almost orchestral use of layering, and dynamics on display.
The 28 himself also took to the guitar and piano for a few tracks, singing beautiful ballads such as less of you, and the fan favourite drunk, which he called for the new-school phone torch filled crowd for, creating a seriously intimate experience for a show with almost five thousand people in attendance.
He also took a page out of the artists of yesteryear and chose a few sweet stories to share as part of his performance. These included stories about sharing the first song he wrote for the new record, touch, with his manager, and receiving radio silence only to find out it was his favourite. These tales added to the charming demeanour of the artist, who only once missed a cue and apologised to humbly begin the song again perfectly. Keshi teased the crowd, taking off and putting back on his jacket, to show a little skin, only to hide again when quote “my nipples are standing to attention!”, showing his cheeky sense of humour and love for his fans. Ending with a scream for an encore, and satisfying the fans with one last track, Keshi left the fans ecstatic.
With his humble beginnings as a Soundcloud rapper, many would assume lesser of a musician such as Keshi, but this show proved that he is more than just a rapper or R&B singer – he is a true showman, and a real rockstar, with a hell of a legacy on the way.
You can still catch Keshi with limited Tickets remaining
BRISBANE, November 23rd – Eatons Hill Hotel
SYDNEY, November 24th – The Roadhouse
Tickets here