My time in London in early December was given another bonus when the great TV On The Radio announced a three night run in Islington. The seminal New York band had sort of been on hiatus but there was a frenzy when they announced shows in New York, Los Angeles and London. It worked out perfectly for me that I was able to snare a ticket for their third show in London. So, on a Thursday night I ventured along to a small and intimate venue in the beautiful suburb of Islington for a spectacular night of music. The night was a great reminder of just how great this band are. Trust me, they have lost nothing at all. It felt like a night of celebration and great joy. They tore through a great selection of their catalogue, providing much joy and happiness to the lucky few that were there. Hopefully there will be more shows in 2025 and who knows, maybe new music.

Set List
Young Liars
Golden Age
Dreams
Halfway Home
Love Dog
Could You
Wolf Like Me
Repetition
Province
DLZ
Dancing Choose
Satellite

Ambulance

Trouble
Staring at the Sun

Vampire Weekend are just a very special group. I’ve been very fortunate to see them a few times over the years and they are consistently great. I made long term plans to be in the U.K. and London in December and when I saw they were playing shows I quickly bought a ticket. I was even more excited as their new album in ‘Only God Was Above Us’ is my favourite album of 2024. So on a Tuesday night I ventured to Brixton to see them play at the historic Brixton Academy. As expected it was a great show. They played plenty from their latest album and naturally they all sounded great. The band now consists of the three original members, but live they flesh the band out to eight for a full and rich sound. For a band with such a rich and varied catalogue set lists are just nominally great. My absolute favourites of the night were ‘White Sky’ and ‘Diane Young’. But honestly it was all great. The band also have a new tradition on this tour of taking requests in the encore. But not their songs. It’s all a bit chaotic but also a lot of fun. The night ended perfectly when they finally closed with one of their own in ‘Ya Hey’. I love this band so much and it was pure pleasure to see them yet again. 

Set List
Oxford Comma
Campus
Boston (Ladies of Cambridge)
Ice Cream Piano
Classical 
Connect
Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
White Sky
This Life
Sympathy
New Dorp New York
Pravda
How Long?
Capricorn
Gen-X Cops
Diane Young
A-Punk
Prep-School Gangsters
Obvious Bicycle
Mary Boone
Harmony Hall
Hope

Thunder Road (Bruce Springsteen cover)
Jealous Guy (John Lennon cover)
Sultans of Swing (Dire Straits cover)
The Boys Are Back in Town (Thin Lizzy cover)
Guns of Brixton (The Clash cover)
Both Sides, Now (Joni Mitchell cover)
Dancing in the Moonlight (Toploader cover)
Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? (Rod Stewart cover)
The Israelites (Desmond Dekker cover)
Big Shot (Billy Joel cover)
Total Eclipse of the Heart (Bonnie Tyler cover)
Twist and Shout (The Top Notes cover)
La Bamba
Worship You
Ya Hey

Waxahatchee has come a long way in a relatively short space of time. Otherwise known as Katie Crutchfield, the Alabama singer first came to Sydney to play her country tinged indie rock in very small clubs. She was last here in 2018 when she played the Studio in the Sydney Opera House. Monday night she graduated to the Concert Hall. And she filled it with ease. Her voice and style is very hard to resist, one of the very best shows of the year. Since 2018 she has released two highly acclaimed albums. 2020's 'Saint Cloud' and this year's 'Tigers Blood'. Her sound has graduated to magnetic Americana, so we didn't really hear any of her older material. It was a set basically filled with songs from her latest albums. But I wasn't complaining. Those albums are great and this show was great. Katie has a voice to stop a small planet. It's tender and powerful. With a great band behind her, including Spencer Tweedy on drums, she gave us 90 minutes of great music. A beautiful set, some highlights being 'Crimes of the Heart', 'Bored' and 'The Wolves'. Of course 'Lilacs' went down a treat, as did closing song 'Tigers Blood'. It was a warm and wonderful night from a truly great artist.     

Set List
3 Sisters
Ice Cold
Can't Do Much
Problem With It (Plains song)
The Eye
Hell
Right Back To It
Burns Out at Midnight
Bored
Lone Star Lake
Crimes of the Heart
Oxbow
Line of Sight (Plains song)
Witches
Crowbar
Ruby Falls
The Wolves
Hurricane (Plains song)
Lilacs
Tigers Blood

Evil Spawn

Much Ado About Nothing
365
Fire 

Real Estate are just reliably good. In this sad time of soporific pop it's great to see a band that write good songs with melody and touch and feel. It had been seven years since Real Estate were in Australia, so it was great to see them again Saturday night at the Manning Bar. They also had a new album to promote, another benefit of seeing them again live. The New Jersey band have been making great music since their 2009 debut and I believe this was probably the fourth time that I have seen them live. Led by Martin Courtney, their melodies are languid and lush. You can just drift away in their beautiful songs. Naturally they played quite a bit from their 2024 album and I especially enjoyed 'Water Underground' and 'Haunted World'. With a growing catalogue you always miss songs you wish they played, but I believe they gave us a pretty good spread of material from over the years. If I was being selfish I would though have loved to hear some from that very first debut record. Can't complain though, after a really fun night. Just hope we don't have to wait seven years for their next visit.

Set List
Somebody New
Darling
Primitive 
Flowers
Water Underground 
Green Aisles
Paper Clip
Younger Than Yesterday 
Haunted World
Say No More
Interior
Crime
Talking Backwards 
Suburban Dogs
Freeze Brain
Had to Hear
Stained Glass
Saturday 

Easy
It’s Real

Volume Festival returned to Sydney this July. A little earlier than 2023, but very welcome. My show of the festival was to witness the icon Kim Gordon on Friday night in the Art Gallery of NSW. The setting was the underground The Tank. A unique space for sure, dark and mysterious. Although the number of poles didn’t help for great sight lines. Gordon of course was a member of the legendary Sonic Youth and is now forging her own solo career. Earlier this year she released a wonderful album in ‘The Collective’ and in fact her set included every song from that superb album. It was a relatively short set, but a furious one. Gordon and her four piece band pounded through that album as well as a few songs from her debut album. It was a great set with her abrasive industrial tinged guitar rock banging loud through the cavernous space. Gordon is aging extremely well. Her music is vital and strong and vibrant. Powerful stuff. 

Set List

Bye Bye

The Candy House

I Don’t Miss My Mind

I’m a Man

Trophies

It’s Dark Inside

Psychedelic Orgasm

Shelf Warmer

The Believers

Dream Dollar

Air BnB

Paprika Pony

Cookie Butter

Hungry Baby

Grass Jeans

Dirty Three are a legendary iconic Australian band. If they're not Australia's greatest ever band they are certainly in the conversation. Formed in Melbourne in 1992 the original lineup of Warren Ellis, Jim White and Mick Turner has not changed over the years. Thursday night at the Enmore Theatre was their first Sydney show in a few years and I was not going to miss it. Their shows are epic and monumental and this one was no different. They also have a new album coming out next week, so it was actually exciting to hear some of those tracks. They opened and closed with new songs and they sounded great, with Ellis even playing some piano. But of course we most loved the classics. Which included an absolutely epic 'Indian Love Song' and of course the untouchable 'Everything's Fucked'. I think my favourite though was the transcendental 'I Remember a Time When Once You Used to Love Me'. It turned out to be quite a long set, nearly three hours in total, including a blistering encore. This is of course somewhat due to the blissful ramblings of Warren Ellis. Ellis is a phenomenal musician and his violin playing is quite incredible, but his rapport with the audience is strange and beautiful and funny. He goes on five minute streams of thought that are hilarious and touching. A true national treasure. Mick Turner and his guitar anchor the band, whilst I don't think I have seen a finer drummer than Jim White. Dirty Three should be cherished totally. I hope they return soon.    

Set List
Love Changes Everything I
Love Changes Everything II
Love Changes Everything III
Indian Love Song
Sea Above, Sky Below
I Remember a Time When Once You Used to Love Me
Everything's Fucked
Some Summers They Drop Like Flys
Authentic Celestial Music
Love Changes Everything IV
Love Changes Everything V

Hope
Sue's Last Ride

Two years ago The Hold Steady brought their Weekender to Melbourne and I was happy to fly down and attend one of the three shows. It was totally worth it. In 2024 they did it all over again and I flew to Melbourne to attend the third night of the Weekender. It was at the intimate Stay Gold in Brunswick. And what a wonderful night it was. The Hold Steady have been around for 21 years and thus have a large catalogue to draw on. Interestingly they are happy to play many old favourites. But I really love their latest two albums and I would have loved to hear more from those albums. But I’m certain the enthusiastic crowd loved every minute, as I did. We sang our hearts out to ‘Stuck Between Stations’ ‘Chips Ahoy’ and ‘Stay Positive’. It’s a dedicated fanbase, The Unified Scene. It’s real and not fake. If you hadn’t seen front man Craig Finn before you might think it’s a bit of an act. But it’s not, it’s all genuine. Finn speaks about the unique connection between band and fan. It’s truly unique. Long may The Hold Steady reign. 

Set List

Hornets! Hornets!

Constructive Summer

Magazines

Same Kooks

Family Farm

Party Pit

Don’t Let Me Explode

Sequestered in Memphis 

Carlos is Crying

Girls Like Status

We Can Get Together 

Yeah Sapphire

Chips Ahoy!

Modesto Is Not That Sweet

Denver Haircut

T-Shirt Tux

Stuck Between Stations 

Massive Nights

Unpleasant Breakfast 

Your Little Hoodrat Friend

Most People Are DJs

Certain Songs

Entitlement Crew

Stay Positive 

Killer Parties