Guinness Live Thursdays, semi-final details announced

Guinness have just announced that 25 groups of musicians from all four corners of Australia have been selected from over 100 entries to make the semi finals, in the Guinness Live Thursdays nationwide search to find Australia’s best quality live music.

During the past five weeks over 100 bands have entered and over 5,000 votes were cast by fans supporting their favourites. This next phase of the competition is crucial, with an amazing prize on offer whereby the overall winning band will travel to Ireland to represent Australia at the global Arthur’s Day celebrations in Dublin.

The semi-final events will be held in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide on Thursday 1st September and Thursday 8th September. All events will be open to the general public who will be able to vote for their favourite band on the night, whilst enjoying live music and of course a pint of the black stuff.

APRA award winning blues and roots artist Ash Grunwald (above), has been the ambassador for Guinness Live Thursdays from the start of the campaign. He said, “I knew that we wouldn’t have any problems discovering quality live music acts in Australia – it is great that Guinness wants to support emerging artists, we have a lot of untapped talent here. But having listened to some fantastic entries, it was really tough to make the decision to narrow the bands down to just 25. This will be a close contest, and I can’t wait to see who makes the final four.”

Fans can also vote for their favourite bands on the Guinness Australia Facebook page. However, even if your favourite band wasn’t originally selected, you can still help get them to the final, as the five bands with the highest votes will be given a Wildcard pass to the semi final stage. The 30 semi finalists from across Australia will then be shortlisted to just four bands who will then progress to the National Final, which will be held in Sydney on 15th September at The Gaelic Theatre. The overall winning band will feature in the Arthur’s Day global celebration on Thursday 22nd September in Dublin alongside internationally renowned acts including the Scissor Sisters, Stereophonics, Paloma Faith and Calvin Harris.

Arthur’s Day is a globally celebrated event honouring the date Arthur Guinness signed the lease on the St. James’ Gate Brewery (in 1759) and introduced the drink to the world. 47 other countries will also be holding high-profile music events and celebrations to honour the remarkable life and legacy of Arthur Guinness.

GUINNESS LIVE THURSDAYS – THE SEMI FINALS EVENT LISTINGS
Thursday 1st September
NSW - Iron Bar Hotel vs Tortured Willow – at PJ O’Brien’s King Street, Sydney
NSW - Luke Dickens Band vs a wildcard finalist tbc – at PJ Gallagher’s Parramatta
QLD - Fairchild Republic vs Paddy McHugh and The Goldminers – at Mick O’Malleys Irish Pub in Brisbane
VIC - My Lasting Reply vs The Modern Age – at Elephant & Wheelbarrow in St Kilda

Thursday 8th September
NSW - Modern Error vs Claire – at PJ Gallagher’s Parramatta
NSW - The Jefferson vs The Acid Monkeys – at PJ O’Brien’s King Street, Sydney
QLD - Punxie & The Poison Pen vs Arcade Made – at Mick O’Malleys Irish Pub in Brisbane
QLD - MC Kitch vs a wildcard finalist tbc - at Gilhooleys in Brisbane
VIC - Between The Wars vs a wildcard finalist tbc - at PJ O’Brien’s in Southbank
WA - Palatial Digs vs The Brow Horn Orchestra – at Rosie O’Grady’s in Perth
WA - The Augustines vs a wildcard finalist tbc - at JB O’Riley’s in Perth
SA - Hawks of Alba vs a wildcard finalist tbc - at PJ O’Brien’s in Adelaide.

ALREADY BATTLED (25th August)
QLD – Founds vs The Penguin Kings – at Byron Beach Hotel
QLD - The Great Shame vs Sharon Friel and The Blue Steel Band - at Mick O’Malleys Irish Pub in Brisbane
VIC – Hotel on Mayfair vs Buddah in a Chocolate Box – at Pugg Mahone’s in Carlton

The Black Keys and Gomez at Luna Park

Here's an extended version of my Black Keys and Gomez review that appeared in Drum Media:THE BLACK KEYS
GOMEZ
ASH GRUNWALD
DR. DOG
Big Top, Luna Park
09/01/09

There are plenty of reasons to dismiss Dr. Dog: the shit name, the straw hats and neckerchiefs, their blatantly signposted influences. However, while all the nuances of their music were washed away by the ugly, booming Big Top sound, there was still plenty to enjoy in their country-rock reminiscence. The Philadelphia five-piece’s intelligently-crafted tracks had alternating lead vocals and some were played with bounce while others, like The Breeze, were more slowly built-up.

“I won’t be long dude. It’s alright,” Ash Grunwald joked with a bored-looking Gomez fan in the crowd. With his dreadlocks and shorts, he wouldn’t have looked out of place busking in the tunnel under Central Station, but it wasn’t long before his bone-shaking blues won the crowd over. Half-an-hour and a broken string later, Grunwald made way for a band that seemed to be the main draw for a large section of the crowd.

Gomez received a rapturous reception as they took to the stage. Anyone hoping to hear the big-hits from their debut album, Bring It On, would have been disappointed though, as the band was clearly saving them up for the special tenth anniversary show the following night. Still, Silence and Rhythm & Blues Alibi sounded great. While they might look more like school teachers than rock stars nowadays, new song Back Seat Driver showed they still have fire in their bellies. The most notable aspect of their performance was Ben Ottewell’s vocal. Even ten years after he first unleashed his rich, gravelly voice on an unsuspecting music public, it still sounds extraordinary.Under the backdrop of a massive dream-catcher and totem-pole, The Black Keys set about ripping the room apart with their garage-blues. Drummer Patrick Carney was an absolute monster – all arms and legs – as he bashed the skins harder than anyone has ever hit anything. Meanwhile, beardy guitarist/vocalist Dan Auerbach came up with one catchy blues riff after another. An extended version of the delicious Girl Is On My Mind was a highlight, as was 10am Automatic. It was visceral stuff, like The White Stripes back when they were thrilling and dangerous.

Two scruffy dudes with drums and one guitar doesn’t sound like the kind of music that would be irresistible to dance to, but there didn’t seem to be a single person in the room who could keep still during their hour-long set.