Boy and Bear at The State Theatre, Sydney

Sophie Metcalfe reviewed and photographed Boy and Bear's gig in Sydney last week:

It has been a while since I’ve been to an all-ages gig. I think we can all agree that the all-ages plaque is usually an instant repellent for anyone who’s post teen. An environment involving small greasy things with underdeveloped limbs prodding our sides and screaming ‘I love you’ toward the stage. But, if there’s anybody thinking of enduring such a crowd – then The State Theatre is the place to be.
No wait - Boy and Bear at The State Theatre is the place to be.

It was great to be in an atmosphere where the excitement started from the opening song of the first act. Tin Sparrow began with their chai scented folk like a welcoming hug. Following this was Jungle Giants and although I usually switch off when any Vampire Weekendesque indie-rock comes my way – I actually caught myself bopping along somewhat pleased! By the time Boy and Bear came on, the excitable young things, the palatial setting and the man walking around selling candy and ice cream had seduced me. So no matter what went down I had already given this night a thumbs-up.

Opening with Rabbit Song – the boys quickly reminded us why we were all there. Grabbing our attention with flawless harmonies and a fluid light display, Boy and Bear had captured the attention of everyone in their hot little hands. One thing to be said in particular is that they have a great onstage presence. Engaging in banter that isn’t flawlessly witty, but rather a relaxed and goober-esque interchange between mates, it made you feel like you were in their garage drinking their dads' Coopers and just having your usual Sunday night session. They have a knack however, of going straight from having this grand old chinwag to slipping into a beautifully executed, intimate minor melody.

They glided through an impeccable set which was sprinkled with heckles from girls ranging from ‘marry me Dave’ to ‘I love you’ and there was even a sneaky ‘fuck me’. By the time the set got to Feeding Line, the girls were out of their seats and lining the walls of the theatre; everyone had fallen in love with
them all over again. There was an endearing little spiel about how they don’t like the idea of encores and then told us of their ‘mock-encore’, which involves pretending to leave the stage. Dave shoots one last heart melting glance to the audience, the girls scream a little more and then they play their ACTUAL last song.

Thank you Boy and Bear – for pulling a cynic out of her depths and giving her a truly fantastic, light-hearted night at the theatre.

Words and photographs by Sophie Metcalfe.

Georgia Fair interview

Georgia Fair’s Ben Riley talks to Heidi Pett about the band’s debut album, touring, and how he dreams of collaborating with Snoop Dogg:

“One day, Jordo just mentioned at lunchtime that he was into System Of A Down and I was like, ‘Yeah, me too,’ you know, as you are in year eight,” Ben Riley laughs as he explains the unlikely musical bond which brought he and band-mate Jordan Wilson together. “We decided to start this sort of System of a Down/Nirvana cover band and we just started jamming on weekends and having a bunch of fun and mucking around.”

Although Ben (above, right) insists that they’ve matured since those school days, having “picked up acoustic guitars, grown up a bit and learned from our mistakes”, this relaxed attitude and genuine enjoyment is something which has stayed with Melbourne’s Georgia Fair as their star continues to ascend. From signing with Sony after being picked up at a gig, having their song Picture Frames featured on a Big M advertisement to working with Bill Reynolds of Band of Horses, the pair from Sydney’s Northern Beaches are “stoked” to have had such a good run, and still seem quite content to muck about and simply let things unfold. They are, however, pleased to have managers now. “They’re really good at organising us. We’re not too good at doing that ourselves”.

‘Stoked’ is a word which comes up a lot, and it’s the best way I can think of to sum up their attitude. What really comes through is that the pair are having fun as they explore what they’re capable of. The fact that other people also get a kick out of what they do seems almost incidental, which is not to say they’re ungrateful for the support they’ve received from listeners and industry alike. Rather, Ben is quick to thank and extol the virtues of Band of Horses’ Bill Reynolds for his work during production, and in helping them develop their sound through cutting most of it live. “With the [self-titled] EP, it was our first time in the studio we kind of went a bit over the top with layering and didn’t have the production that we really wanted. And think we’ve just kind of matured a bit in the studio this time round. Bill had a big hand in that. He taught us a lot about how to make real records.”

They were similarly pleased about scoring the support slot for The Panics on the recent Rain on the Humming Wire tour, relishing the opportunity to spend time with and learn from “really good blokes who’ve been around for a bit and know the ropes. They managed to impart some wisdom they’ve gathered over the years”. With Georgia Fair’s own national tour in the works for early next year, the boys admired how, for an established band, The Panics ensure things remain in-house and family-based. “They’re very much a grassroots band and keep everything really close to their hearts. The way they tour is a really refreshing way of doing things and they’re very hands-on.” Despite earlier jokes that the pair rely on their managers to get them places on time, it’s obvious that this involvement and attitude is something which will stay with Georgia Fair.

It’s a mind-set they extend to their collaborations as well. When talking about single Marianne from their Times Fly EP, Ben emphasises how the process of recording with Dave Hosking and Tim Hart from Boy & Bear and Lisa Mitchell happened really organically. “Jordan and I invited Dave and Tim to come in and lay down the drums and stuff. They took a verse and that was kind of the way it stayed for a while. We were really happy with that but then, by chance, Lisa was in town a few months later and it turned out that we hadn’t quite finished, because, when she came in and put her vocal down, it kind of put the icing on the cake. We really enjoyed that collaboration and I think the reason why it worked because it wasn’t a forced thing. It just kind of happened. It was like, ‘Hey, do you wanna sing on this one?’ ‘Yeah, yeaah cool,’ ‘Oh, okay yeah. We’ll do that. It’ll be fun.’ We’re not gonna sit down and force ourselves to do something. If it fits it fits.”

Making friends on tour and creating music together is all very well, but when I ask about plans for future collaborations, Ben laughs and is quick to throw Snoop Dogg’s name into the ring, before admitting, when pressed, that it probably wouldn’t fit with their current style. However, with early influences like System of a Down, these boys could conceivably take their sound anywhere. For now though, they’ve found a happy niche somewhere in the crosshairs of indie, folk and pop. With songs that dredge memories of salty eyelashes and the light sting of sunburn on sticky limbs pasted to hot car seats, their latest album is destined to become something of a summer soundtrack for long days at the beach and time spent on the road with open windows.

Asked whether their experiences of touring affect the writing process or make it difficult to find time to pen songs, I can almost hear Ben shrug as he says in an offhand manner, “So long as your head’s screwed on, you’ve got thoughts going through there and you’re constantly coming up with stuff.” The “stuff” that Georgia Fair come up with involves sweet vocal harmonies and an unaffected brand of folk which they are busy sharing with others in venues around Australia. This week, the pair are supporting Howling Bells, before embarking on their own East Coast tour in early 2012. Ben is clearly excited about returning to the road. “For us, touring is an amazing part of life, it’s something we really love and can’t get enough of at this stage. I miss my bed sometimes but when we’re away we’re so busy and having so much fun that we don’t really think about it too much and you just get used to living out of a suitcase.”

Their live show is beguiling to the extent that it caught the eye and more importantly, the ears, of Sony. Ben laughs when I suggest the boys started something of a bidding war between them and Universal, who Georgia Fair “had a thing going with at the time.” They opted for Sony and, rather than nerves when signing with such a major label, Ben saw it as a big positive for the band. “It was more exciting than anything, just getting a company that really likes our music and likes what we do. It just meant that we could start releasing records and being able to afford them, so that was a really big plus for us. It was really affirming.” When I mention how lucky he is to be making a living out of something he so clearly loves, he laughs and then says, quite seriously, “Yeah, absolutely. It would suck if I hated it.”

Before signing off to repack a suitcase he admits he’s been living out of, and taking Georgia Fair’s beautiful tunes on the road, Ben asks me if I’m going to the beach that afternoon. Not quite, but listening to the summery folk of their album is almost close enough.

Georgia Fair’s debut album, All Through Winter, is out now. You can catch their residency at Phoenix Public House in Brunswick on Friday December 9th, 16th and 30th.

Interview by Heidi Pett. You can read her own blog here.

The 2011 ARIA Awards

 Bobbysix.com's Bobby Townsend and Heidi Pett went to the 2011 ARIA Awards in Sydney today. They behaved like consummate professionals. Here's Bobby's review:

As you would expect from any Australian award ceremony, the 2011 ARIA's were a mix of fun, disappointment, excitement, happiness, booze and moderate embarrassment. Team Bobbysix arrived in the searing heat in time to see the crowd go apeshit as Hall of Fame recipient, Kylie Minogue, trod the red carpet. She looked small. And pretty. Taking our seats just in time to see Western Australian MC, Drapht, ably demonstrate how incredibly average Aussie hip-hop can be (and often is), it became pretty clear that the only way to enjoy such an occasion was drunk (after all, I have always been keen to reprise my performance at the 2007(?) MTV Awards when I shouted alcohol-fuelled abuse at Nicole Ritchie and those bellends out of Good Charlotte). So, we got our fucking arses to the bar. 

Maybe it was simply the booze, but the whole thing seemed a very surreal experience: the country's PM gushing over Kylie (not literally), Guy Sebastian seemingly dressed as a human disco ball and, later, crowd-surfing, The Living End winning Favourite Live Act and then putting on a fairly shit live performance, Art vs Science's song being enough to make me want to rip my ears off. Oh, and some dude THAT WE'VE NEVER HEARD OF who apparently won X Factor, swaggering around the stage like a wannabe Pete Doherty and going on an anti-corporate rant during his Best-Selling-Something-Or-Other speech. Irony alert. As Heidi tweeted: "You're from X FACTOR, for fuck's sake."

It wasn't all weird/bad though. Indeed, there were great performances from Gotye and Kimbra and Boy & Bear, while Hamish & Andy or whatever their names are even managed to be moderately funny when presenting an award. We were also happy to see The Wiggles get inducted into the Hall Of Fame. Indie snobbery aside, these guys are unquestionably one of Australia's most important exports.

Just when things seemed to be taking a turn for the better though... hold on, it's those fucking dudes from Good Charlotte again. I swear they have been at every award ceremony I have ever attended. Why? For the love of God, why? Anyway, I suppose them presenting a couple of awards gave us a chance to swear loudly in the direction of the stage for few minutes. Which was fun. By the time Pink (I refuse to spell her name with the ! for an i) undeservedly won Best Something To Do With Not Being From Australia (can you tell we were paying attention?) ahead of Adele, I'd gotten bored and went off to buy ice-creams (which would result in Heidi getting chocolate stains on her lovely white dress - we're nothing if not classy and cool at Bobbysix.com). 

Oh yeah, the winners. Well, we were really pleased for Boy & Bear, who basically cleaned up, winning BEST ADULT ALTERNATIVE ALBUM, BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST - SINGLE, BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST - ALBUM, BEST GROUP and the coveted ALBUM OF THE YEAR.

Meanwhile, Bobbysix.com fave Gotye won SINGLE OF THE YEAR, BEST POP RELEASE and BEST MALE ARTIST to add to PRODUCER OF THE YEAR, BEST VIDEO and ENGINEER OF THE YEAR already bestowed at the ARIA Awards Nominations Event in early October, all for the hit single, Somebody That I Used to Know (feat. Kimbra). Kimbra won BEST FEMALE ARTIST while the legendary BILLY THORPE posthumously won an ARIA AWARD for his final masterpiece, Tangier.  

There were loads of other winners too but, Jeez, we were too busy drinking and loudly singing John Farnham songs (and generally annoying the hell out of the people in front of us who, presumably, had forked out hard-earned cash for tickets) to notice. You'll be delighted to know we'll be back next year for more quality journalism and breathtaking commentary.

Review (in the broadest sense of the word) and shitty iphone picture by Bobby Townsend.

Angus and Julia Stone at The Metro, Sydney

ANGUS & JULIA STONE
The Metro, Sydney
27/03/10

It's nice to be right. I've been championing Angus and Julia Stone since the early days, so it's especially pleasing to hear news that their second record, Down The Way, has kept that largely rubbish Lady GaGa release from the top of the Australian album charts for the last two weeks.

What better way to celebrate your record going gold, than by playing three sold-out shows over two days in your home city? Following Friday night's gig, the siblings played a matinee performance to an under-age audience on Saturday afternoon. Cue a Beatlemania-esque frenzy from the crowd as fourteen-year-old girls took time out from screaming every word of every song to yell requests of impregnation to Angus. If it was all a bit much for the shy, unassuming Mr Stone, then the evening was happily a more chilled-out affair.

Before a subtly-lit backdrop which was decked out like a living room, the duo took turns in playing compositions from their new LP, along with a few classics and a couple of covers. After disposing of recent single, And The Boys, early on, Julia - looking hippily pretty in a floral dress - offered songs of love and melancholy: I'm Not Yours being the unhappy sequel to I'm Yours, while oldie Chocolates and Cigarettes sounded as touching as ever. Angus, hiding - as always -behind beard and hat wooed the crowd with his sweet ditties, while showing a different edge to his songwriting with Draw Your Swords, a taut love song that strains to breaking point.

After being joined onstage by support band Boy & Bear for a cover of Fleetwood Mac's Rain, the brother and sister ended with the wistful Santa Monica Dream. After a few more dates in Australia, the US and the UK beckon. The sheer strength of their new album alongside their ever-growing confidence in the live arena suggests the wave of success they are riding will not be confined to their home country.