Deadmeat

I'm a big music fan, can anyone point me towards some of their favourite Aussie bands so that I can get a head-start on who to catch gig-wise?

It's obviously a subjective thing but it'd be nice to see what people think of the music scene there generally. Is it varied with plenty of small gigs or just concentrated in hot-spots?

Anything rock/indie/dance would be good but I'll listen to anything 'cept opera

Cheers,
Matt

Simone

What we listen to a lot/like:

Xavier Rudd
Powderfinger
Pete Murray
Jez
John Butler
Jet
Silverchair
The Waifs
Iota


This is all mainly blues/folk/rock I guess.

I'd guess here in Perth and surroundings it's mostly smaller gigs. Don't get much bigger concerts, though there are some. Big Day Out is a big thing with big names.

Rod Stewart and Brian Adams are doing a concert together soon here.
And Tom Jones.
Not my types though really.
This is also happening, this month:
Sunday 24 October – Rock It, Spring Edition, Joondalup
The Spring Edition will be headlined by Australia's greatest current rock export Jet who will share the stage with other Australian artists such as weirdo-rock revolutionaries Spiderbait, swinging punk rock heavyweights The Living End, local pop-rockers Jebediah, skate-rock heroes 28 Days and a swag of the rising stars including Hilltop Hoods, Rocket Science and Dallas Crane with more acts to be announced.
http://heatseeker.cluedesign.com.au/...=ROCK-IT&tid=2
Might go, if it's not sold out or anything

Hope this helps a bit

jodesmc

Hi Matt,
aussie music tends to be mainly rock/indie, although there are loads of other types around. One of the most popular aus bands is Powderfinger, Odyssey #5 is a fav cd. Also other bands such as Killing Heidi, Alex LLoyd, Mercury rev, The Living End are popular. Some of the golden oldies may include Cold Chisel(Khe Sanh-un-official aus anthem) as well as Hunters, Collectors, Anything( hunters) who sing Throw your arms around me( another unofficial anthem!) Kecey Chambers is quite popular, as is Missy Higgins. That should give you a start anyway

jodesmc

Sorry, thats hunters and collectors, was looking at my weddings, parties anything cd and got a wee bit confused......

tonyk38

Don't forget the mighty Custard! They're great!

jodesmc

Yes, Custard are very cool, as are spiderbait. you can search on www.triplej.net.au, it's a national radio station and will have loads of links to local music, they seem to play a fair load of local music.

Deadmeat

Thanks very much for the suggestions, I'm in the mood to shake off some old habits and get into something new.

I heard OF Powderfinger and Silverchair and definitely heard Jet, "Get Born" has been on the MP3 player for a while now.

I'm hoping the live scene is a bit more live than here at the moment, there used to be a lot of music in pubs and clubs but it's been overtaken by theme bars unfortunately.

Cheers,
Matt

jodesmc

I ca only vouch for Melbourne, but it does have a healthy band scene, RRR Fm is a good local radio station to listen to, that caters to all tastes.

Deadmeat

Oh yes, Mercury Rev, great band - got into them when they released "Deserters Songs" and saw them at a festival here a couple of years back ... The Flaming Lips (not of Australian origin, I think) are along the same lines.

I've got a couple of Cold Chisel albums too, not quite gelled with me yet but some things take time. Got some Jimmy Barnes solo stuff too, good straight ahead honest rock.

Deadmeat

They've got a nice slightly psychotic look about 'em!
http://homepage.powerup.com.au/~custard/story.html

jodesmc

there's a big music festival, similar to Carling, called the Big Day Out, that tours every Summer holidays, that has loads of local bands, there's also rock above the falls, on new year's eve at Lorne, that always sells out. Loads of music to listen to

Munchkin

I lived in Melbourne throughout the 80's and the Aussie music scene there was very diverse.

You would walk in off the street to see a band you'd heard of and find yourselves being blown away by the support act.

If you want to check this older stuff do yourself a favour and try to find the work of a guy named Ian Stephen.

He's not around on the scene there anymore, having emigrated to the US, but he still writes a regular column for the Melb music mag Rhythms.

My sis is over in Oz at the minute and is finding plenty of the older music now on CD at cheap prices.

You still see the 'bigger' bands. like Mental As Anything touring constantly and they're still doing the venues I used to go to! LOL! So, if the venues are still there it sounds like the music scene might still have a lot of life left in it.

And if you find yourself in one of those little venues have a VB for me

Deadmeat

My girlfriend mentioned that she saw the "Yeah Yeah Yeah's" at the Big Day Out before I saw 'em in London, I was most miffed to be behind the cutting edge of cool

Simone

I can't compare with the UK, but compared to Holland, the live music/band scene is great here! In Holland it was virtually none existent(stupid house music ).
Of course, there is the difference from going from a country town to a big city(what Perth is for us).
Though, we saw Jez in a pub in Bunbury (a small city in the southwest), and will be seeing Xavier Rudd at the Bridgetown Blues festival in November.

jodesmc

My boyfriend filmed the Libertines for a gig over there, ages ago, and is quite excited that they are pretty big here now, he thinks he's just so cutting edge cool. works both ways