Kanye West @ Sydney Entertainment Centre 27.1.2012

Strangest thing happened... Leading up to the concert I wasn't very excited to see Kanye. Prior to this show I had seen him four times throughout his career at different times and I was kinda over it all. The second I walked into the arena last night I felt like a kid the night before Christmas. I was so pumped for him to get on stage I couldn't contain my excitement. Why? I love Dark Twisted Fantasy, big fan of Watch The Throne and I generally just thought, shit, I think Kanye IS BACK... and definitely because I couldn't wait to lose my shit to All of The Lights (see the video below, how could you not?). Yeezy split his show into 3 acts and the first act was by far the best, belting out some of his sickest tracks like Dark Fantasy, Power, Touch The Sky, Jesus Walks etc. I was losing it. Then Kanye lost me. Act 2 was all about his 808's and Heartbreak phase and it really fizzled. I like Heartless but that whole act was just depressing. Ye, you're not John Legend, stop singing about women like that. A real come down from Act 1. Act 3 picked it back up a little, I think that's when he played All of The Lights which was FUCKING UNREAL (again, see the video below!) but he killed me with his 3 hour rendition of Runaway. Good song but just played that shit way too long. Kanye, Imma let you finish, actually, no, just stop pressing that fuckin 'who got ya?' sample button on your drum machine. Fuck. (and no tracks from Watch the Throne! No N***as in Paris? FUCK!)

As a whole, I think three and half stars is a decent rating for the show but the highs were so fucking high that I've left this show ridiculously satisfied last night. Best three-and-a-half star performance ever.

All of the Lights

Dark Fantasy

Run this Town

Good Life

Odd Future @ Enmore Theatre Sydney 24.1.2012

Ok so, I'm not a big Odd Future fan. Of all the stuff I've heard, I probably only really like about 4 songs and the rest is ok. Yet the minute I heard they were coming to town I was super excited to see them live. Not to hear my favourite songs but just because this group intrigues me so damn much. This is a group of kids, aged between 17 and 23 I think, that JUST DON'T GIVE A FUCK. They're weird, they're crazy and march to their own tune and they've built quite a following. Their live show is something else. They all get up there and perform their songs and seem to be having more fun than the crowd. Not in a bad way because the OFWGKTA crowds eat this shit up but these guys are just on another level and it's actually very satisfying to see these guys up on stage enjoying what they do. I've only given this three stars because I'm not a massive fan of their stuff so I didn't get fully into it but their stage performance was very good. Watch the videos below...

Favourite Odd Future character: Gotta be Hodgy Beats with Mike G a close second

Hodgy Beats - Turnt Down

Tyler, The Creator - Yonkers

Mike G - Everything That's Yours

Radicals

Immortal Technique @ Metro Theatre Sydney 19.1.2012

Prior to the announcement of Immortal Technique's tour, I had only heard his 2001 record Revolutionary Vol. 1 and it had been long time since I'd listened to it so my lasting impression/memory of it was that it was pretty political. I also remember Dance With The Devil so vividly despite giving it a lack of spins. Anyway, I bought the ticket and listened to his 3 other records in time for the show. Needless to say, Revolutionary Vol. 2, The 3rd World and The Martyr are all very good albums in there own right. I generally don't really like political-ish charged music with the exception of the likes of Public Enemy and KRS-One but there's just something about Immortal Technique. I always feel like other musicians are trying to force their political beliefs or agendas on you but Immortal Technique, just like P.E and KRS seem so genuine that you've got not choice but to listen and most importantly make up your own mind. Anyway, back to the show... It was a sell out crowd at the Metro and Immortal killed it. The crowd went fucking ape shit when he walked out. They had mad love for him. Backed up by three other rappers, two of which performed before him, he ripped through a large portion of his catalogue so effortlessly and had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hands throughout.

It was such a good show. Immortal Technique really engaged the crowd and talked to them and seemed to have a really genuine and fun personality, it was really refreshing to see. I'll definitely go see him again.

Peruvian Cocaine

The Martyr

Black Vikings


Point of No Return

Manu Chao La Ventura @ Enmore Theatre Sydney 9.01.2012

MANU F**KING CHAO!!!

Yesterday afternoon the only thing I knew about Manu Chao was his name. After seeing him in concert last night with his band 'La Ventura' I'm almost upset with myself that I hadn't heard his stuff before... This was one of the best concerts I have seen in a long time. So much fire, so much energy from Manu, the band and the crowd. When they went off stage before the first encore, the crowd was so loud that it was distorting in my ears. Haven't heard a deafening crowd like that for years. It seemed like only 20% of the crowd were Aussies, the rest, South Americans and Spaniards etc. The second the band walked on stage, the crowd absolutely erupted and by the end of the first song I was hooked. Two and a half hours of Me, Manu and 2499 of my closest friends.

GZA (Wu-Tang Clan) and Pharoahe Monch @ Waves, Wollongong 8.01.2012

Wow...
One day after playing to a packed out Metro Theatre in Sydney, Pharoahe Monch and GZA traveled down to little old Wollongong to play in front of 100 people. ONE HUNDRED. I was initially embarrassed for my home town when I got there but the poor turn out (due to late announcement of show when most probably already had Sydney tickets) was a blessing in disguise. The small crowd made it a very intimate couple sets from the guys from NYC and it was amazing. Pharoahe rocked with the same energy he did the night before and got the fans going. Simon Says goes off, regardless of how many people are around. Desire was much better than the night before as well because they used the original backing vocals of the singer that did the chorus. GZA? I didn't want to wait for him to come out an hour late but decided to stick around and boy was I glad. He came out and spat for a minute, then took a seat for a minute at the edge of the stage, got up and proceeded to perform his one hour show smack bang in the middle of the moshpit. It was unreal. It was special. The Genius. The Wu-Tang legend playing in front of 100 white kids in the Gong. Wow.

GZA (Wu-Tang Clan), Pharoahe Monch and Jean Grae @ The Metro Sydney 7.01.2012

I'm always super excited to see Pharoahe Monch live and I'm also a fan of Jean Grae. While I'm not a big Wu-Tang guy it was a bonus to see GZA as well. This was the third time I've seen Jean Grae and probably the best. She came out with a fire and a bit of a mouth on her but that's Jean and it was pretty cool. Pharoahe was Pharoahe. Always gives it his all and thrives in front of an intense crowd. He absolutely rocked the sell out Metro crowd. The dude that sings the chorus to Desire wasn't there so some chick took over and it wasn't terrible but it just wasn't Desire. Oh well. How many concerts I've been to, for the first time ever, I saw a spectator rush the stage and DIDN'T have love for the act. During Pharoahe's "Fuck You" he got up on stage with his middle fingers in the air screaming "Fuck You" to Pharoahe, but not like a fan getting into the song but a scum bag. Pharoahe laughed it off but DJ BoogieBlind was having none of it. He came out from behind the 1's and 2's ready to deck that mutha f**ker but cooler heads prevailed... on with the show.

I didn't know what to expect from GZA because Wu-Tang are a little funny some times... So I wasn't fully disappointed when he came out and pretty much stood in one spot all night spitting Liquid Swords. At one point he did run into the crowd and do a song there which was pretty nuts though.

Aloe Blacc @ Enmore Theatre Sydney 4.01.2012

Such a great night. Aloe Blacc is a very cool cat. So smooth. Kind of reminded me of the last time I saw Mos Def at the Enmore not too long ago. Had the audience captivated and it didn't matter if you didn't know half his stuff... "I need a dollar" was obviously great but "Momma Hold My Hand" was very moving

Chali 2na @ Oxford Art Factory Sydney - December 11 2011 - GIG REVIEW

It's the verbal Herman Munster!
I love J5, I love Chali 2na and I love the Oxford Art factory. Perfect venue for a hip-hop show. Chal 2na absolutely killed it last night. He played for 2 friggin hours!.. and he only played 3 J5 songs. The crowd didn't care though, he played a little bit of everything and even had the band just bust into a jam session while he moved the crowd. ("Move the crowd, that's what MC means" - KRS One).
Great night!

Foo Fighters @ Sydney Football Stadium - December 8 2011 - GIG REVIEW

Foo Fighters are one of my favourite rock bands. Live? They are no joke. These guys are real entertainers. Dave Grohl is an entertainer. Last night was the fourth time seeing the Foo Fighters live and they played for two and a half hours in front of a packed out Sydney Football Stadium. It was a great show. I will watch these guys every single time I get a chance.

Lupe Fiasco @ The Enmore Theatre - 24/1/2011

Lupe's baaaack!!!

We are back baby! We are f**king back! We are back! We are baaaaack! We are getting LUPE BACK!!!

I'm not high, there is a reason I've just quoted The Hangover. Not because Lupe Fiasco came back to Sydney but because LUPE IS BACK!

Ok, ok, I'll explain... January 24th marked the fourth time I've seen Lupe. First time I saw him was at the Metro in Sydney back in 2007 touring for Food & Liquor. It was a fantastic show. He lived up to the hype as a rising star, a "breath of fresh air for hip-hop". While he had his following back home, I think at that stage he was still sort of coming up and he played with so much energy, zest, passion and just straight up looked ecstatic to be there but at the same time had the professionalism of a veteran.

Visits two and three, after the release of The Cool were both at the Enmore Theatre and were both good but disappointing at the same time. It seemed like his jump to super-stardom between visits one and two really affected his attitude toward his shows (not commenting on his personality or his other shows). He kind of came across as having an attitude of "I am king, you're paying for the privilege to see me, I'll do my thing, you guys just watch". That's just what it felt like. He still put on good shows but I just saw a different Lupe these times around and it was dissapointing because it felt like he was turning into "just another rapper", not, hip-hop's saviour. Kind of like how basketball fans were all disappointed when LeBron chose to "Take his talents to South Beach" with his superfriends instead of becoming the air (ayr? Maybe Air is fitting in this example) to Michael Jordan's throne. That being said, I went to shows two and three with Lupe newbies who absolutely loved both shows, so...

Which brings me to visit four. LUPE IS BACK!
I saw the old Lupe that hot summer night in Sydney. The fun loving performer that was happy to be on stage, happy to be in Sydney and equally happy to see Sydney like Sydney was happy to see him. He wanted to be Lupe Fiasco for us. He was the guy I wanted him to be. He was to hip-hop that night, who I wanted LeBron to be in the NBA. He played a bunch of stuff from both albums, which rocked of course and also gave us a preview of his new LP that drops soon. Most musicians will play about three new tracks before an album is released but I think he knew that'd we'd be all over his new stuff so he hit us with five new tracks which the entire crowd was fired up to hear and bump to.

Truely impressed. Welcome back Lupe Fiasco.

Shining Down


Hip Hop Saved My Life


Superstar


Words I Never Said (Brand New)


The Show Goes On (Brand New)


Daydreamin

Mos Def @ The Enmore Theatre - 23/1/2011

Almost 5 years after supporting DJ Shadow's Australian tour, Mos Def finally returned to our shores for his first and hopefully not last headlining tour. After so many of his peers, especially Talib Kweli had visited Australia on numerous occasions over the years, it was a surprise that it took him so long to grace us with his presence. It was well worth the wait though.

I can't remember too much about his set before DJ Shadow back in 2006 but I remember feeling that he was the smoothest cat I had seen on stage. That still holds true today. Playing to an absolute packed house at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney, Mos Def put on one of the more amazing hip-hop shows I've seen in a very long time, if ever. It seemed like he had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand before he even got on stage. The second he strutted out I could feel and hear the entire crowd just become instantly mesmerised by him. Something you don't see often at a hip-hop show.

From the very first song that Mos punched out, he delivered it with such a swagger, a confidence, a smoothness (that should be a word if it isn't already) and a stage presence that I've never seen in a musician of the hip-hop genre. The crowd was in a collective wow for the entire set. Mos Def isn't the type of rapper that comes out, delivers his lyrics, smiles at the crowd, pays tribute to a dead rapper, says "I love you Sydney" and then walks off stage. I don't want to say I went to the Mos Def concert, I want to say I spent an evening with Mos Def, much like the Common show I caught as part of the New Yorker festival in Manhattan. Though, I didn't have to listen to a 40 minute interview with Mos Def, like I did Common, to feel like I got to know this guy. He came out and rapped, sang, danced, spoke to the crowd and he didn't have to even try to entertain us. It seemed like he was just being himself on the stage, a self portrait, not an airbrushed Sex and the City poster that shows us what we want to see.

I haven't been blown away by a performer like this since I saw Ben Harper on his Burn to Shine tour at the Hordern Pavillion back in 2000.

You're probably thinking how can I only give this show four and a half stars after describing it as one of the best shows I've ever been to but there were a couple flaws. Talib Kweli was billed to be a special guest but didn't make it so I was a little disappointed we didn't get to see Black Star together. Also, as much as I love his album, The Ecstatic, almost every single song he played that night was from that album and not much old stuff or any Black Star which we've become accustomed to at Talib Kweli shows and even when Mos opened for DJ shadow... So those things stopped this from being a 5 star show.

Life In Marvelous Times

Cypress Hill @ Smokeout Festival, LA - 16/10/2010

Rating:  
It was actually billed as "Cypress Hill's Smokeout Festival". No surprise that the kings of kush would organise something like this. With Blink 182's Travis Barker on the drums, Cypress Hill banged out their entire debut album as the main event to the festival and it absolutely went off. I'm not gonna lie, I may have had a toke or two throughout the day but none the less, it was pretty cool to see a band play an album front to back. Of course it meant there were some songs that just didn't do it live.

Pigs (Ft. Travis Barker)


Insane In The Brain


Rise Up (Ft. Travis Barker)


Rock Superstar (Ft. Travis Barker)


How I Could Just Kill A Man (Ft. Travis Barker)

Nas and Damian Marley @ Smokeout Festival, LA - 16/10/2010

Rating:  
As I'm writing I just realised that I left out their album, Distant Relatives from my top 10 albums of 2010 list. Fuck. How the hell did I forget it? It's top 5 material. I'm a big fan of both these guys so it was a no brainer that I'd love their collabo. Back to the concert... It was a funny vibe around the Smokeout Festival because as per the name, it was all about smoking weed and promoting the legalisation of it in California (The vote was coming up soon). So, everyone was high and it seemed like the crowd lacked energy. Anyway, they put together a rather short set at 45 minutes that just didn't feel right. Possibly because of the mix of an ordinary crowd, big outdoor stage and being day time. They finished strong though, with Bob Marley's could you be loved. (Just saw them at Good Vibes on the weekend, so much better, my review and videos should be up next week)

Strong Will Continue


Welcome to Jamrock


Road to Zion


Could You Be Loved (Bob Marley Cover)

Common @ Le Poisson Rouge, NYC - 2/10/2010

Rating:  
Finally, having a twitter account payed off! Was in New York on holiday when Common tweeted about this show 2 days beforehand. Naturally I was on that! The show was part of the New Yorker (Magazine) festival so it wasn't strictly a gig. It began with an interview/chat with one of the editors from the New Yorker which went for about 40 minutes. They talked about a whole range of things from Common's life to hip hop to poltics to his acting, all sorts of things. I'm a big fan of Common's work so to see such an in depth interview with him was very cool. After the interview he banged out a tight 50 minute set with a live band to an intimate audience of about 100 people which was absolutely fantastic. The highlight of the New York leg of my trip.

Testify

Universal Mind Control

More concerts from the past

Its been a busy time seeing 12 concerts in the last 6 months so I thought I'd compress some reviews.

The XX @ The Chicago Theatre - 28/9/2010
Rating:  
I'm gonna be honest with you, I only saw these guys so I could get into the Chicago Theatre, which is beautiful by the way, and was pleasantly surprised by how good these guys were. The venue was fully seated so it wasn't about dancing around, it was pretty chilled out. We just sat back, drank some beer and enjoyed a very cool show... I can't even remember one of their songs but I gotta get their stuff soon because from memory they were very cool

(Photo via Microphenia @ flickr)

Ice Cube @ The Big Top, Luna Park - 22/10/2010
Rating:  
One part of the legendary N.W.A, when Ice Cube comes to town. You go see him. He didn't let us down this time either. Although his new album sucks and except for Raw Footage (2008) most of his stuff from this decade has been lacking. But, being who he is, Cube brought the heat, playing stuff from every single album in his catalogue. Naturally, Check Yo Self absolutely ripped.

(Photo by Liza Moscatelli)

Pharoahe Monch @ The Metro Theatre - 26/11/2010
Rating:  
If you've scanned through my blog in the past you'll see that Pharoahe is one of my favourite rappers and holds the title of best concert I've ever been to for his set at Good Vibes a few years ago. This was the 3rd time I saw him and while his gig at the Gaelic in 2009 seemed to lack a bit of fire, he absolutely tore the house down at The Metro. Everybody loves "Simon Says" and lose their collective shit when he plays that but I actually think his best song live these days is "Desire". If you know Pharoahe, you know what I mean.

(Photo by Hosking Industries)

Dropkick Murphys @ No Sleep Til Sydney, Entertainment Quarter - 18/12/2010
Rating:  
Nothing too out of the ordinary for these guys, they bring that same energy and fight to every gig they play. Up there with one the best bands to see live and maybe even "They sound better live" status.

Linkin Park @ Acer Arena - 15/12/2010

Rating:  

Saw these guys back in 07 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre and was absolutely blown away. The most electric concert I had seen to date. They played every song I wanted to here and were supported by Chris Cornell who rocked some solo stuff, Audioslave and Soundgarden. Really good show that night.

So, by default I tried to lower my expectations because concerts are generally better the first time unless you've got highly talented performers that re-invent their shows for every tour. The two things that ultimately killed this show for me was that they played so much of their new stuff which, I'm not a big fan of and it's not like Linkin Park's old stuff. It lacks that fire and aggression we're used to. The two best parts of the show were the crowd singing the chorus to Shadow of the Day, which was mesmerising and the intro guitar work on No More Sorrow was epic. The second thing that killed it was the venue. I hate Acer Arena, not everyone can rock that mammoth venue. Linkin Park can't.

N.E.R.D @ The Hordern Pavillion - 7/01/2011

Horrible photo, I know, but I only had my iPhone

Rating: 

Pharell and the rest of the gang from N.E.R.D. rocked out Sydney a couple weeks ago in a mega bill along with Tinie Tempah, Chromeo and Boys Noize. At least they tried to make it a mega bill. I didn't see TT but I watched Chromeo, Boys Noize and N.E.R.D. all rock one hour sets.

Chromeo were pretty cool, I knew like two songs before I saw them but their style makes you feel like you've heard it before (in a good way) and immediately get into the show. Boys Noize did nothing for me. An hour straight of that electic/techno sound he has absolutely did my head in. Boys Noize would be perfect for a 20-30 minute set to get you amped before the main event. Regardless of what I thought, a capacity crowd was there to rock out to Chromeo and Boys Noize and not just for N.E.R.D.

N.E.R.D. was amazing. It exceeded my expectations with the type of stage presence that Pharell had during the set. Shay Haley did his bit but you really just felt like the stage and the show belonged to Pharell Williams. Even after listening to N.E.R.D. for years, only that night did I realise how amazing his flow is. He's such a talented rapper/singer and really came to life on stage. The entire band played with a lot of energy and the sound was almost flawless. The mic on Shay could have been better though.

I suppose they only played an hour because of the way the night was set up with the other acts but I could see these guys easily playing at least 90 minutes with that same energy and still keeping the crowd interested too. That was the difference between 4 stars and 3 and a half.

Public Enemy @ The Metro Theatre - 4/01/11

Ok so I know I just posted about not having done anything for a while on here so I couldn't help but jump into a review already...

Rating:  

"Harder than you think is a beautiful thing..."
I saw these guys a couple years back but Flava Flav actually missed his flight (thats the official story they're rolling with) so it was just Chuck D (The brother don't swear he's nice, he knows he's nice!). Didn't matter. Chuck D, the S1W's, DJ Lord and the band rocked it. A couple years later, celebrating the 20th anniversary of their album "Fear of a black planet", P.E. including, say it with me, FLA-VA FLAAAAVVV! came back to our shores, The Metro in Sydney more specifically for an epic performance.

Although scheduled to play 90 minutes, I suppose in an effort to make up for Flava Flav not making it last time and because Public Enemy are just awesome, they played for two and half hours, not just doing the entirity of "Fear..." but a whole bunch of other stuff too. Chuck D brought so much energy to the stage and Flava Flav showed (to the uninitiated) that he isnt just that crazy dude off that show "Flava Flav's flavour of love" with stints on the guitar and the drums and a truely inspiring speech at the end of the show about peace and togetherness and love and all that stuff made for a truely complete experience.

Favourite track of the concert? Harder Thank You Think
The horns on that song ripped the speakers to shreds. Truely an inbelievable song live.
Check out the music video for it and picture it 700 times better live.

Slash @ The Hordern Pavillion - 16/8/10

Rating: 

(If you don't care for my writing, there are 6 video clips below)

I watched an episode of Mythbusters recently where they wanted to see if you really could knock somebody's socks off. The Myth was confirmed, but I didn't need those guys to tell me because last night Slash knocked my socks right into the nosebleed section of the Hordern Pavillion.

The Rock n Roll God, Royalty, Legend, Pioneer, whatever you want to call him rocked the fuck out of a packed house at the Hordern Pavillion last night. Playing about 20 tracks from throughout his career with Guns N Roses, Velvet Revolver, Slash's Snakepit, this year's solo album and even a sneaky little cameo from Angry Anderson to cover Rose Tattoo's Nice Boys, this was the ultimate guitarist's concert. Oh, how could I forget, there was also a blistering 15 minute solo, the first 10 minutes without the backing of the rest of the band. Absolutely mesmerising.

On vocals for the touring band was Myles Kennedy, the front man for Alter Bridge, who also featured on two tracks from Slash's debut solo album. This guy was amazing. It was always going to be hard to satisfy hardcore Gunners fans with him taking Axl's place for the covers but the guy was brilliant. He didn't try to replicate Axl but when he sang the songs just felt right.

I actually hadn't heard any of Slash's stuff from his solo album before but what they played last night sounded absolutely sick, including By The Sword which featured Wolfmother's Andrew Stockdale. There wasn't one point in the night where I started to fidgit while waiting for the next song.

As expected, the house came down for the 5 Gunners tracks which were Night Train (Slash's favourite to play live), Rocket Queen (One of my fave tracks), Civil War, Sweet Child and Paradise City.

After being notoriously late starters with Guns N Roses due to the unpredictability of Axl Rose, it was no surprise that Slash came out on time and played an extra 15 minutes over his 2 hour alotted time slot. While I can't wait for Axl to get his shit together and reunite with Slash, Duff and Izzy to bring back the real Gunners, it was an absolute treat to see a concert the way Slash wanted it. To see him showcase his talent and play tracks from throughout his career that he wants to play and the crowd wants to hear. While he was obviously the top dog of the night, it was an excellent band effort last night and was great to see him up close because if the dream of a Guns N Roses reunion comes true, there's no way we see Slash like this at the Hordern again. Can't wait till Feb when he comes back for Soundwave.

By the way, I was actually gonna give this show four and a half stars because a perfect, five star concert for me would have included "You Could Be Mine" but it actually worked out well that he didn't play it because I got to blast it on my iPod while racing home like John Connner, except I was on my pansy 100cc scooter!

I recorded a bunch of songs as well. Some good quality shit.

The Strokes @ The Hordern Pavillion - 29/7/10

Rating: 

Caught The Strokes at The Hordern Pavillion last night. Absolutely electric.

Being a long time fan it was awesome to finally get out and see these guys. Right from the get go the crowd were into it and so were they. Lead singer, Julian Casablancas, did a bit of talking but it was pretty much all business as they blasted out tune after tune and the crowd just ate it up. A very lively concert where the entire crowd knew every song made for a great atmosphere. The stage show as you can see in the photo above and the videos below was relatively simple but very cool... I'd see them again.

I recorded some snippets of the concert. Check em out.