{A Weekend Alive with Live Music}

Well my toes are tired from tapping and my ears are well and truly satisfied after a weekend jammed packed with some amazing live music performances.

Friday night kicked of the musical mayhem with my first visit to Fortitude Valley Venue The Hideaway. My new internship with 4ZZZ has given me the chance to listen to the music of some great Indie bands that I may never have stumbled upon otherwise and Owls of the Swamp are no exception. They grabbed my attention a few weeks ago and with a little further research I discovered their Friday night gig!

Owls of the Swamp

The venue is cozy and has a intimate, island vibe. I'd say there was a maximum of thirty excited spectators which meant I could enjoy a of few of my favourite things: a seat, a great view of the stage and no waiting at the bar! Pete (aka Owls of the Swamp) was simply amazing. If you love your Indie folk tunes as much as I do give him a listen (why not do it right now).

Brisbane Indie Rock outfit Drawn from Bees were next to hit the stage. Turns out my lovely giggin buddy LK was old friends with the cellist performing with band for the evening. I won't bore you with too many details but they were great. The band has a few key members and multiple guests are drawn to the stage well....like bees, at different times for different tracks.

Drawn from Bees

Exhausted after one night of great music (and a few too many wines) LK and I dragged ourselves to The Tivoli to see the hunky spunk that is Matt Corby. Wowzers, I've never seen a line like it at this venue, Matt it seems is a very in demand man (I cant imagine why). After a slow crawl into the venue we snabbed a spot that was well towards the back but luckily a bit elevated.

Grace Woodroofe

Grace Woodroofe was the only support for the evening. She has a killer voice, super strong with a sexy raspy quality and we loved the track she kicked off with. Towards the middle of the set the mood got down right depressing, It did nothing to boost my waning energy levels. Her music has a 90s grunge rock appeal, and for me her album wouldn't be something I could listen to in one setting but would welcome to a play list. In saying that I would have had this album on repeat as an angsty teen.

Matt Corby

Matt was magnificent! Talent, charisma, charm, rugged good looks, a smile that is, well just a bit nice and a voice that you could never get sick of. If he returns to Brisbane I wouldn't hesitate to head along again (and again, and again.)

This week my day job has taken me to chilly Sydney.... I wonder what artsy treasures I might stumble upon while i'm here... stay tuned!

Happy Brisbane Sunshine,

KT

{A Sunday Saunter}

After a few failed attempts I finally made it to QAGOMA to check out the Creative Generation Excellence in Visual Art display. Thirty one pieces created by 2012, year twelve art students from across the state are on display. They were selected from over 500 entries and I have to say they are fantastic, these kids have talent!

Here's a sneaky peak of some of the works. Of mention is the piece in the top right hand corner that is made entirely of paper! Very fine and beautiful work indeed. Who this piece was by and its very clever name elude me at this point in time.... guess you will have to head along and see this lovely work for yourself to find out! 

Another that really impressed me is the top left below, It's By Brisbane Grammar student Lachlan Marshall and is titled Fractured view. I was sure it was a photograph until I read the label... It's a painting! Wow eee!

The overwhelming winner for me was a portrait by Cleveland District High School Student, Jordan Azcune. Maybe I'm a little biased towards this local work having lived in the Redlands for most of life so I'll let you decide!

All in all it was a really fabulous (and free) exhibition, it's continuing until August so make sure you pop along and see the states up and comers in the world of Visual Art!

Being that I was already in the area I took the opportunity to pop into the State Library to check out the QLD Live Band Culture display. 

It was a little disappointing I'd have to say. Firstly it's tiny in comparison to publicity that surrounds it. Secondly it really neglects current band culture in Brisbane, yes there is a fancy mural to current bands and a life size photograph of one of the walls in iconic live music venue The Zoo.... but that's it! The best bit for me was the audio visual display that features some figures key to the survival of Brisbane's live music scene sharing their stories. Really interesting stuff. 

It looks like there is a program of music events to accompany the display and I would recommend heading along to an actual performance then perusing the display after. One its own, not really worth the trip. 

Speaking of live music, I'm off too enjoy two nights of giggin in a row this weekend! How spoilt am I? I hope you have some amazing weekend plans too.

Happy Sauntering,

KT

{Mad for Matt}

We've all been waiting patiently for the smooth croon of Matt Corby to treat out ears with some new music and that wait is finally over!

Matt Dropped his new tune Resolution just after 8am this morning and it's a winner with me. Give it a Listen here!

I'm off to see him play at The Tivoli next Saturday with my sister.... Swoon...Can't wait!

Happy Hump day!

KT

{Catching Courtney won't cost you a thing!}

Chances are you've heard of Melbourne singer Courtney Barnett. Her single History Eraser has enjoyed a long stint of play on the airways. I'm loving her music, it's old school slacker sounds and anti-folk lyrics.

Image from here

She is currently on the road supporting Something for Kate which means she is in Brisbane this week. That means you have three chances to see her and two of them are completely free! 

You can of course catch her at the Something for Kate gig but if you are watching the pennies, catch her in-store at Jet Black Cat Music West End on Wednesday, 6.30pm or in a Sunday sesh at the Southside Tea Room, 4pm.

Been living under a rock and haven't heard of Courtney? Give her a listen here!

There is heaps of other fabulous stuff (some of it free too) happening in town this week, looking for something to do? Check out the links list to the left titled Event Envy!

Happy free giggin,

KT

{Fantazzztic New Beginnings!}

Happy Monday kids! I hope your week has kicked off well. Mine was just spectacular. I started my very first day as a Music Department Intern at Community Radio Station 4ZZZ today!

I was beaming with excitement as I left the house today and I wasn't disappointed. My day was pretty fab I'd have to say! I've still got tonnes to learn and definitely need to brush up on my musical genres but I can't wait to get back in there in a few weeks time! It's nice to be working in an area I'm passionate about, even if my role is pretty minor.

Any hoo enough about me, there are some pretty awesome things happening around town this week so check out the events I envy links list to the left. I've stumbled across some great new toe tappin tunes for this week too (a lot of them Local or Aussie), make sure you check them out!

Anyone else embarking on new adventures this week?

Happy Monday,

KT

P.S. Tune into to 4ZZZ @ 102.1fm

{Revelling with the Rubens}

Last night signified the final outing in what has been an exhausting but seriously awesome week of live music for me. My trusty gig partner Cass and I went to see The Rubens at the The Tivoli. After deriving much enjoyment from their drummer's biceps (and of course their music) at last years Splendour in the Grass we jumped at the chance to see those muscles (and the band) again!

MT Warning

Support act MT Warning took the stage first. The Indie Rock band from the birth place of much musical talent, Byron Bay didn't disappoint. The sheer power of the lead singers voice wasn't missed by any! I really fancied their set and will be getting more familiar with their tracks in the near future.

Oh Mercy

Then the stage turned blue for Melbourne's Oh Mercy. Their set was polished, live performance perfection and I expected nothing less from these experienced musicians. It was quite surprising to see such an established act supporting a band on their first tour and I was left wondering if some of the crowd may have been in attendance purely to see Alex Gow in action. 

The Rubens rockin out

After a wait that in my opinion was faaarrr to long The Rubens hit the stage. The Tivoli have invested in a very exy lighting rig and they are certainly not afraid to use it. The band rocked out behind a light show that left River Fire looking like garden variety fairy lights. The music was great, the crowd interaction top shelf and those arms....... I wouldn't be challenging Drummer Scott to an arm wrestle ever!

I was a great night, an even better week and I'm spent! Tonight I have a date with the track pants and couch! What live music treats have you seen this week?

Happy Saturday, party on,

KT

{Local live music loving}

The theme of this week for me is live music and today was no exception. This time the venue was Room 60 and the bands, two I wasn't really familiar with. Harry Brown and Fire and the Whistle Theory. I'd come across Harry on a weekly Soundcloud expedition but as for the other, I knew nothing - and that was exciting as hell, would I discover something new and awesome?

Within moments of being on the stage it was apparent that Harry Brown had that 'thing', I guess you could call it presence, or charisma perhaps. There were plenty of Hiccups along the way and it was by no means a polished live performance but it lent itself well to the teeny tiny venue and was super fun! I kind of felt like I was at house party, in a random garage listening to a spontaneous jam. There were originals, both comical and serious and some spectacular covers including Britney Spears and my favourite for the night the Captain Planet theme song! Harry was down to earth and at times comically self deprecating, overall a seriously likeable guy. His EP is highly likely to feature in my collection soon.

Harry Brown

Next up were Fire and the Whistle Theory - three guitarists, a drummer and lead singer crammed onto the cosy stage. At first the vocals were lost, smothered by the instruments but after some quick adjustments by fellow musician Harry, I was suitably blown away by singer Mason. Amazing vocals- smooth but rough, bluesy but rock, spectacular range - so not what I was expecting to hear at a free local live music night! And like the previous performer this guy had 'it', scores a 10/10 for crowd interaction with me! I don't think these guys have a release yet but i'll be following them closely on Soundcloud, Unearthed and Facebook to make sure I don't miss their next move.   They have scored a main stage spot and the Red Deer Festival this year - If you are planning on going don't miss them - you'll be sorry you did.

Fire and the Whistle Theory

Only one work day left till the weekend! Yeee Haaaa! What have you got planned? I think I might head out the the Tivoli for some more live music tomorrow night (just for something different).

Happy one sleep till the weekend,

KT