Gigs This February

Here are a list of some Australian gigs happening this month that I recommend. Hopefully I’ll be able to repeat this kind of thing once a month and make it more comprehensive.

Acid Mothers Guru Guru (dates)

Alice in Chains - Soundwave Sideshow (dates)

Black Mountain (dates)

Chick Corea and John McLaughlin 5 Piece Band (dates)

Crabsmasher (dates)

Cult of Luna supported by Laura (dates)

Damo Suzuki [ex-Can] (dates)

David Byrne (dates)

The Dillinger Escape Plan, Poison the Well, Every Time I Die and Evergreen Terrace - Soundwave Festival Sideshow (dates)

El-P (dates)

For Tet – Laneway Sideshows (dates)

Inappropriate Tough Guy Behaviour (dates)

Kid Koala (dates)

Lamb of God – Soundwave Sideshow (dates)

Laneway Festival featuring, amongst others, Stereolab, Pivot, The Drones, Jay Reatard, For Tet and No Age (dates)

Leonard Cohen (dates)

Monarch (dates)

Nine Inch Nails – Soundwave Festival Sideshow (dates)

Propaghandi (dates)

Scissor Lock (dates)

Soundwave Festival featuring, amongst others, Nine Inch Nails, Alice in Chains, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Lamb of God, Poison the Well and Every Time I Die (dates)

Stereolab – Laneway Sideshows (dates)

Summer Tones Festival featuring, amongst others, Dan Deacon, Beaches, High Places, Lawrence Arabia and Mark Barrage (dates)

Send your listings to adrianclement (at) me (dot) com.

Filed under: Acid Mothers Guru Guru, Agonhymn, Alice in Chains, Brian Eno, Cult of Luna, Damo Suzuki, David Byrne, El-P, Evergreen Terrace, Every Time I Die, Everything that Happens Will Happen Today, Experimental Music, Festivals, Grindcore, Heathen Skulls, Kid Koala, Lamb of God, Laura, Monarch!, Nine Inch Nails, Poison the Well, Post-Metal, Post-Rock, Soundwave Festival, Sydney Opera House, The Dillinger Escape Plan

Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno at SOH 2009

David Byrne will be performing The songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno at Sydney Opera House on the first of February, 2009. Consisting of material from My Life in the Bush of Ghosts and Everything that Happens Will Happen Today, which just got released recently through Topspin. Supporting them will be 1980s Australian rock band The Church. More info below:

David Byrne 2009 Australian Tour
“Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno”

“Byrne delivered a two-hour show as enigmatic and adventurous as his three decades-long career. …… In short, the man was the same as he ever was: brilliant.” (The Boston Globe Nov 1)

Does anyone get better live concert reviews than David Byrne? Seriously. If there is a more uplifting, stimulating, innovative, memorable or just plain joyous concert than David Byrne’s, we’d like to hear about it.

And so it is with great pleasure that Andrew McManus Presents announces the return to Australia of the wonderful David Byrne in February 2009 to perform his extraordinary new concert “Songs Of David Byrne And Brian Eno”.

Byrne’s new album ‘Everything That Happens Will Happen Today’ is set for release in the US on November 25 (and for purchase via iTunes and as a stream and digital download through everythingthathappens.com) and is his first collaboration with long-time friend Brian Eno in 25 years. It continues the association began when Eno produced three classic Talking Heads albums and the ground-breaking solo record ‘My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts’ (1981).

The partnership, which has produced much of Byrne’s best work, has inspired the current touring show. Whilst Eno may be absent physically, he is more than present spiritually as Byrne covers classic and current Byrne/Eno material in a concert which, although only four weeks old, has been lauded by U.S reviewers and may well be Byrne’s most acclaimed ever!

With a ten-piece band – five musicians, three backing singers and three dancers – all dressed in white, Byrne has raised the bar yet again in the marriage of music, art and theatre.

It’s not surprising that Byrne has once again created something very special. Since the beginning with his band Talking Heads, he has always pushed the envelope, taking popular music into new directions, both in terms of sound, lyrics and visual presentation. Outside of music, he remains a prolific artist, photographer and film-maker.

In “Songs Of David Byrne and Brian Eno”, Byrne performs songs from their numerous collaborations including the new album, the three Talking Heads albums and ‘My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts’. The show has just commenced a six-month world tour in the US and is absolutely not to be missed.

The Church are the tour’s special guests. As their 25th anniversary approaches, the band continues to push the boundaries of what a rock band should be. They make music without regard for current trends and have remained enigmatic and innovative. The sonic perfection of The Church will be a wonderful appetiser.

Running Times:
7.30pm – 8.30pm The Church
8.30pm – 9.00pm Interval
9.00pm – 10.50pm David Byrne

Tickets on sale this morning at 9:00 AM!

Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as “fair use”, for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s).

Filed under: Brian Eno, David Byrne, Sydney Opera House, Topspin

Brian Eno and Peter Chilvers’ Bloom

Pioneering modern ambient composer/musician/producer Brian Eno has teamed up with Peter Chilvers (who also worked on video-game Spore with Brian Eno) an an interactive Apple iPhone/iPod touch application called Bloom [App Store]. Here is Apple’s description of the application:

Developed by ambient pioneer Brian Eno and musician / software designer Peter Chilvers, Bloom explores uncharted terriotry in the realm of applications for the iPhone and iPod touch. Part instrument, part composition and part artwork, Bloom’s innovative controls allow anyone to create elaborate patterns and unique melodies by simply tapping the screen. A generative music player takes over when Bloom is left idle, creeating an infinite selection of compositions and their accompanying visualisations.

“Bloom is an endless music machine, a music box for the 21st century. You can play it, and you can watch it play itself.” – Brian Eno

Features

- 9 different mood settings
- Random mood shuffle
- Adjustable delay
- Shake to clear
- Evolve when idle

Here’s a video demonstrating how it works:

I’ve been playing around with this application this afternoon, and it’s a lot of fun. At AU$4.99 or US$4, it’s definitely worth a try.

Since we’re talking about Brian Eno, I might as well remind everyone of his recent collaboration with Talking Heads front-man David Byrne called Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, self-released with the help of Topsipn. I highly recommend that you purchase this record for a few reasons. While the music is great (one of the best rock records to be released this year) for the most part, you should purchase a copy as a way of supporting their release method.

Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as “fair use”, for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s).

Filed under: App Store, Apple, Bloom, Brian Eno, David Byrne, Everything that Happens Will Happen Today, iPhone, iPod Touch, Peter Chilvers, Spore, Topspin