Adam Buxton at The Seymour Centre, Sydney

As part of the Sydney Festival, British radio-presenter, comedian and actor Adam Buxton brought BUG to the Seymour Centre. Following sell-out runs at Edinburgh Fringe and London's British Film Institute,  BUG took a sold-out room on a journey through the new democracy of video-making, checking out well-known masters, newcomers on zero budgets and a few funny youtube clips just for the hell of it (Fenton! Jesus Christ!).

Anyone who watched Adam & Joe on late-night television back in the day or listens to their radio show on BBC 6 Music will know that Buxton is a disarming, funny and instantly likeable presence, and this proved again to be the case as he bounded on stage and burst into song before sharing some of his favourite clips with the audience.

You know how when you go round your mate's house and they are all, like, "you've gotta see this awesome shit I found online,"? Well, that was essentially what BUG's debut Australian show was like. There were a few in-jokes for fans of Buxton's radio programme (but not enough to alienate the uninitiated), some of his own creations (a child-friendly version of an NWA classic, entitled Help The Police), some technical glitches which added to the home-grown and intimate vibe and, importantly, plenty of really interesting and thought-provoking clips. For instance, is this one genius or wrong on every level?

Some of the funniest moments of the evening came as Buxton dissected genuine Youtube comments and debates that were posted about the featured videos, while the most jaw-dropping clip was saved until last. At the end of an irreverent, highly entertaining and fun evening, the above Manchester Orchestra offering was nice way to close in that it served as a reminder of what a powerful medium the music video is.

Review by Bobby Townsend

41 Strings at Sydney Opera House

Nick Zinner of Yeah Yeah Yeah's fame brought his ambitious 41 Strings project to Sydney's Opera House this weekend. The performance saw him play guitar while conducting an impressive line-up of acoustic and electric strings, ranging from violins to electric bass, with some drums and synths adding further layers

The composition used Vivaldi's Four Seasons as inspiration and was enhanced by visuals from acclaimed video artist Daniel Askill, which were projected onto the roof of the Concert Hall. The performance chronicled the ups and downs of the seasons in a mass of strings and percussion. At times pensive and moody, elsewhere brimming with joy, 41 Strings was beautiful and mesmerising. Zinner looked nervous and a little uncomfortable as he conducted the classically trained musicians that surrounded him (understandably enough - it would be pretty intimidating) but grew into his role as the music soared through the - criminally not sold-out - hall, to huge appreciation from the crowd.

However, while 41 Strings was wonderful, it was eclipsed by the night's first act, which was a special performance of companion piece, IIII, from Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Brian Chase and Soft Circle's Hisham Akira Bharoocha and Ben Vida (all of whom co-collaborated on 41 Strings). A drum circle was led by Bharoocha and, again, was based on Four Seasons. Bharoocha, Chase and Vida were joined by Ryan Sawyer and Matthew Watson as they led 16 additional drummers. It was jaw-dropping stuff: a delight to the eyes and the eyes, as a stage full of musicians drummed in perfect time, teasing the audience with a composition that started slowly and built to a truly exciting and invigorating climax. This performance was, without question, the highlight of Sydney Festival so far.

Review by Bobby Townsend.

TUnE-yArDs and Wild At Heart wow the Honda Festival Garden in Sydney

The Jagermeister Hunting Lodge and The Famous Spiegeltent in Hyde Park offered incredible free entertainment on Thursday night as part of the Sydney Festival. Firstly, America's tUnE-yArDs (aka Merrill Garbus, pictured above) performed songs from her album BiRdBrAiNs. The show was massively inventive, with Garbus, as is her way, utilising the hell out of a loop pedal to create a layered, frenzied sound which transfixed the crowd. Most notably, the songwriter's vocal was really powerful as she built up tribal howls into something trance-like that got the girls in the front row dancing. She may be the subject of a huge amount of hype right now, but this intimate 45-minute show proved that she is worth it. Merrill Garbus is indeed a very interesting artist.

After this show in the Hunting Lodge, Wild At Heart (pictured, below), a band led by Holiday Sidewinder & Pia May of Bridezilla fame, provided a night of Lynchian delight at The Famous Spiegeltent. They performed renditions of memorable soundtrack titles from cult-classic films such as Wild at Heart, Fire Walk With Me, Blue Velvet and, boldly, Eraserhead, as well as the television series Twin Peaks. On a stage drenched in moody blue and red lighting, the group's performance was suitably atmospheric, with Sidewinder's voice beguilingly soaring across the ornate venue. Set-closer Wicked Game was a highlight, as was Blue Velvet. They are back at The Spiegeltent on Friday 27th January for another free show. If you like Lynch and/or good music, you would do well to attend.



Meanwhile, there is also more FREE goodness to be had at the Hunting Lodge. Just announced, Soft Circle will be playing tonight (Saturday 21st January, 8.30pm). They are Hisham Bharoocha and Ben Vida, who are in Australia for Sydney Festival’s 41 Strings by Nick Zinner. Like tUnE-yArDs, they offer layered effects of looped sounds, drums and vocals.

Also added to the schedule is Ngaiire, who came to Australia at 16 having spent a lot of her life living in the jungles of Papua New Guinea in a little grass hut with no electricity, television or internet. Her eclectic sound draws from influences as diverse as Sarah Vaughan, Rufus Wainwright, Jeff Buckley and the enigmatic Erykah Badu. You can see her on Wednesday 25th January at 8.30pm.

More details of the intimate free shows at the Hunting Lodge (like the one pictured above - which saw tUnE-yArDs receive a huge ovation) can be found at www.facebook.com/JagermeisterAustralia. Meanwhile, keep it Bobbysix for news on the awesomeness going on at The Famous Spiegeltent, the Sydney Festival, and, you know, just in life in general.

Words and pictures by Bobby Townsend.

Nick Zinner interview

Bobby Townsend interviewed Yeah Yeah Yeahs' guitarist Nick Zinner for Sydney's Drum Media about his 41 Strings project. Here's what he had to say: 

It's been a long journey for Nick Zinner, from playing tiny, raucous shows with the fledgling Yeah Yeah Yeahs in New York City at the turn of the Millennium, to his self-penned orchestral piece being one of the main attractions at the 2011 Sydney Festival. While the musician has always been ambitious and inventive, it isn't a career trajectory that he gave much thought to, back in the early days. “I didn't think something like this would be possible at all,” he laughs. “It was the furthest thing from my mind.”

However, not only is it possible, but it is very much a reality. With two shows at The Opera House, 41 Strings is a piece written for acoustic and electric strings and percussion and is led by the versatile Mr Zinner, who plays guitar and conducts a four-part classical piece featuring guitars, violins, violas, cellos and bass. Oh, and not to mention three drummers and synths as well. Using the Four Seasons as inspiration, the music chronicles the ups and downs of the seasons and is at times dark and moody with hints of melancholy, while elsewhere full of hope and elation. “Essentially I was asked to create a composition to perform at a free event in New York that was a celebration for Earth Day,” he explains when asked how the idea came about. “It was the 40th anniversary and they just asked me to write anything I liked. I'd always wanted to create something like this. Although I had done a little bit of writing for strings for film soundtracks a few years before and also for Karen [O, singer of Yeah Yeah Yeahs], I'd never done anything that was so open-ended and so big. It just seemed like an exciting project to take on. It was a great opportunity, to spend a lot of time thinking about it and working with those sorts of capabilities.”

And so, after a successful outing in the guitarist's home country, 41 Strings has now been given the opportunity to travel all the way across the world to Australia. It is a privilege not lost on the American. Zinner is generally a quiet, laid-back fellow, but there is an upbeat tone in his voice as he exclaims his anticipation. “I'm so excited and happy about it. It's truly amazing that I get to go over and to be able to perform something like this.”

While he will be taking along a bunch of musicians that performed with him in New York, including Hisham Akira Bharoocha (Soft Circle, The Boredoms), Ben Vida (Soft Circle), Brian Chase (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and string arranger Gillian Rivers, Zinner has also been busy recruiting musicians from Australia. “We're using the Sydney Youth Orchestra and I've been searching for guitar players over the past few weeks.” Fortunately for him, and for the country's musical reputation, it has been a fruitful quest, with plenty of potential candidates throwing their plectrums into the ring. “So far, it's good. It's really good,” he beams. “There are a lot of great guitar players in Australia and I've just been getting recommendations from friends that I have over there. We've pretty much found everybody, which is very exciting.”

So, with the line-up of Team Zinner complete, he arrived a few days prior to his appearance at the Sydney Festival for some serious last-minute rehearsing (as well as a quick DJ set at the Hunting Lodge in Hyde Park). “We're looking at four days, which is good,” he says when talk turns to how much time he will have to turn his hotchpotch collection of talented mates and strangers into a fully-functioning orchestra. “Four days should be good,” he repeats. At first, it sounds as though he is trying to convince himself more than anyone else, but actually, it turns out that he is genuinely relieved at how much time he will have. Four days is double the preparation time he was afforded before 41 Strings' debut in The States. “It's really mostly for the guitar players. When we were doing the New York performance, we only had two days and that was really hectic. Everything about the performance was, like, trial by fire.”

Buoyed by the success of the New York shows, Zinner speaks calmly and with confidence about his turn at the Sydney Festival, where he will play and conduct, surrounded by the musicians, who will be, in turn, completely surrounded by the audience. However, when asked about the fact that he will be taking to the stage in the iconic Opera House, his nonchalance is replaced, once again, by genuine excitement. “It's unbelievable. I've never even been inside that place,” he buzzes. “It's a true honour and I feel really lucky to be able to have that opportunity.”

While the clamber for tickets to see 41 Strings from an intrigued Sydney public proves Nick Zinner to be a rather important figure in the music world these days, it seems hard to believe that it has been over a decade since he, Chase and O got together and started creating visceral, thrilling, catchy-as-hell New York punk rock. One wonders whether it feels that long to the guitarist. “Most of the time, no, but sometimes it does. Ten years is a really long time for a rock band. You know, most of them don't even last three years, so it's pretty incredible.” Even after ten years, the desire to keep on evolving and bringing out new material remains strong for the three-time Grammy-nominated trio. “We've been writing on and off for the past year or so. We have also been working on Karen's Stop The Virgens opera and now we're putting our heads together and working on some more Yeah Yeah Yeahs stuff.”

Whether he is exhibiting photos, crafting ambitious live orchestral pieces, working on film scores or collaborating with the likes of Bright Eyes, Scarlett Johansson, Damon Albarn and Santigold, it seems that Nick Zinner always has a hundred projects on the go at once. “I go crazy if I'm not doing something,” he admits. “I've just been writing stuff and I'm scoring a film right now. I did a photo show a couple of weeks ago.” However, the truth of the matter is that, while he is a creative soul, ever wishing to push his own boundaries and try new artistic ventures, he isn't the multi-tasker you might expect. Rather, he focuses fully on each individual project before moving on to the next one. “I feel like, whenever I'm working on something, I try to only work on that. When we're working on Yeah Yeah Yeahs, none of us can do anything else because we're touring or writing or recording and I try to give myself 100 percent to whatever project I'm working on.”

Zinner's dedication to his art bodes well for anyone heading to see 41 Strings at the Opera House. If his back-catalogue of diverse creations is anything to go by, it'll be absolutely fantastic.

41 Strings takes place on Sunday January 22nd at 5.30pm and 8.30pm. More information can be found here, and don't forget a limited number of tickets for both shows will be available at the Tix For Nix box office on Sunday morning.

Tim Finn opens the Jägermeister Hunting Lodge for Sydney Festival 2012

On Tuesday night, Sydney Festival opened the Jägermeister Hunting Lodge, located in the Honda Festival Garden in Hyde Park, just next to The Famous Spiegeltent, with a VIP party which featured a 45-minute set by legendary singer/songwriter Tim Finn (above). 

The rustic and enchanting pop-up venue is made entirely of logs, complete with a wooden deck, timber floor, stone fireplace and 12-metre-long bar and, between now and the 29th January 2012, the semi-permanent space will be home to a series of intimate secret shows and off-mainstage surprises from Sydney Festival music headliners, as well as one-off performances from Australian and New Zealand musicians including Josh Pyke, Emma Louise, Brous and many more.

Tuesday's VIP shindig saw Tim Finn (above) perform an eclectic 45-minute set which included his solo work as well as Crowded House and Split Enz stuff. Brown-suited, sweating under the lights, stomping around the stage and supported by a full band, his set was deliciously upbeat and - of course - ended with a singalong of the classic Weather With You. Well, you don't have the career that Finn has had without knowing how to please a crowd.

Pre and post show, the glitterati of the local music scene - including members of Cameras, Holy Soul and The Preachers - enjoyed Jägermeister cocktails in the cool evening air in the gardens outside the lodge. It was a lovely occasion, and typical of the kind of relaxed-yet-inventive offbeat charm that the Sydney Festival has always offered. If you want to head along to the Hunting Lodge for any of the amazing free events that they are putting on (like, ooh, I don't know, an exclusive DJ set from NICK ZINNER! This Saturday at 11pm), then ticket registration is required, full details of which can be found at: www.facebook.com/jagermeisterAustralia.

Words by Bobby Townsend. Photos by Eliza Sys (except for fireplace photo, courtesy of Jagermeister Australia)

Sydney Festival First Night

Sydney Festival kicked off on Saturday in traditional style, with a huge, city-centre party which was free for everyone. As is traditional with Festival First Night, the afternoon is for the families before the prams make way for the partygoers as the sun descends.

An early treat came in the form of the simply delightful Holly Throsby (below), who performed songs from her children's album, See! (which would certainly make a good companion to Kimya Dawson's cheeky yet life-affirming Alphabutt). Playing with a full band and with a couple of cameos from Darren Hanlon, the singer/songwriter found herself faced by an audience whose average age was about 20 years younger than her usual demographic. However, it was hard to believe that this was the first time she had ever performed such a show, as she managed to comfortably and completely engage the collection of toddlers that stood before her in wonderment.

Not only did she have their undivided attention for the duration, but she even evoked some enthusiastic audience participation. Her songs were educational, catchy and fun, while offering enough in the way of melody to keep the parents happy too. If you missed it, you can catch the show at The Famous Spiegeltent during the festival. If you have children/younger siblings, this would be an awesome first ever gig to take them to.

Bookending Throsby's wonderful show, Casper Babypants did a similar job in keeping the younglings entertained. Who he? Well, Mr Babypants is Chris Ballew, the twice Grammy-nominated songwriter and lead singer for the four-times platinum rock'n'roll band The Presidents of the United States of America. You know, Peaches and all that. He has since written four albums aimed at a new knee-high audience.

While his set was going on, across Hyde Park legendary UK DJ Norman Jay was getting the party started from atop his bus. His set - which ran from early afternoon until 11pm, would take in pretty much every genre imaginable and it didn't take long for a dance-off to ensue. While plenty fancied themselves as being a bit tasty on their feet, it was this dude (below), that stole the show. He stepped into the circle looking like a Mathlete yet emerged a hero, having busted some SERIOUS moves. Don't believe it? Just look at the faces of the people watching.

The day continued with all manner of street theatre while across the many stages was a broad spectrum of musical talent , including Washington, Manu Chao, Electric Empire and Jamaica’s mento masters The Jolly Boys (pictured, top). The festival runs until the end of January, so check out the full schedule of events here. Oh, and here are a couple of handy tips for you. Firstly, download the Sydney Festival app. It's good. Secondly, if you missed out on tickets to anything/are poor, then you should utilise the Tix For Nix booth in Martin Place. A limited number of tickets for EVERY SHOW (sold out or not) go on sale at 8am on the day of the performance for just $25. We lined up overnight to see Lou Reed a few years ago and it was an incredibly rewarding experience.

Here are a few more shots of the Festival First Night:

Words and pictures by Bobby Townsend.

Kitty, Daisy & Lewis to play FREE Sydney Festival show!

 

The Sydney Festival is amazing, bringing together some of the finest and most diverse music, theatre and art for three weeks in the Australian summer. In addition to this, the first night is a completely FREE extravaganza across a number of locations in the heart of the CBD. You can't ask for better value than that. The exciting news is that it's this Saturday.

Because it is 1. Free and 2. Amazing, The Sydney Festival First Night can be something of a shit fight, as the whole city seems to turn out for it. Still, if you're prepared to battle your way through the crowds, then there is some excellent entertainment awaiting you. None more so than the unbelievably brilliant Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, who will have Hyde Park a-rockin' and a-rollin' at 5.40pm. We are huge fans of the London-based siblings. Their performance at Manning Bar was not only our favourite gig of 2009, but one of our favourite gigs of all time. It turns out that they rather like BobbySix.com too (check out the testimonials further down the page). So our simple advice to you is, DO NOT MISS THIS SHOW.

Here is a short clip we filmed of that awesome gig at Manning Bar:

Once you've danced your legs off to these guys, there is loads of other stuff to see and do, most notably Arrested Development at Martin Place. Have fun!

Words by Rob Townsend

Musical memories - No 1. Antony finally opens his mouth

I’ve been to a lot of gigs in my time and have seen more bands than I can recall. Some were mind-blowing, some terrible, most have landed somewhere between being slightly below average and quite good. I have experienced, though, a few occasions that make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up when I think of them. Not necessarily entire gigs, but just something - a moment, a song - that endures where other memories fade. I thought I would share a few of these via occasional posts here. First up, a moment that took my breath away.

It all started at 9pm on a balmy summer night in Sydney in 2007. The Sydney Festival was in full swing and, as always, there was a booth in the city centre that sold a limited number of tickets for every show for just $25. The catch was that you could only get these tickets on the morning of the performance. With Lou Reed set to play his Berlin album in its entirety at The State Theatre, I decided to queue all night in order to secure a ticket. The 12 hours that I lined up for were amazing fun and transformed the gig into an awesome two-day experience. Friendships were born that exist to this day as members of Sydney bands Bridezilla, Whipped Cream Chargers and Chicks Who Love Guns hung out, played cards and gently strummed guitars while we all waited for the sun to appear from behind the high-rises and signal the opening of the box office. By just after 9am, the queue snaked for blocks. Some people were cosily tucked up in sleeping bags, some were dozing away the effects of the previous night’s alcohol, others were dressed in suits, ready for a day at work. Many would miss out on tickets. I, however, pasty-faced and bleary-eyed, would soon be making my way home, ticket in hand, for a few hours’ sleep before the big night ahead.

After all that, the Berlin show didn't turn out to be as remarkable as I’d hoped. Maybe I was simply too tired to fully appreciate it. The night before had left me feeling jetlagged, and my vantage point - standing at the back of a seated theatre - didn’t fully immerse me in what was happening onstage. Also, I found myself growing increasingly frustrated that, to the left of the stage, Reed had two backing singers that he was barely utilising. They were Sharon Jones and the unmistakable figure of Antony (and the Johnsons) Hegarty. I really wanted them to open their lungs but, at best, they were bit players.

The gig came and went, Reed shuffled off the stage and I presumed that was the end of a good, if not great, evening. However, after a few minutes of applause, Reed and co came back for an encore. Having already played Berlin in full, it dawned on my sleepy brain that there was every chance he would bust out some hits. Excited, my newfound buddies and I sprinted down the aisle towards the front of the venue, avoiding rugby tackles from security guards on the way to join a crowd of about 100 of people who had left their seats to create an impromptu standing area before the stage (from where I took the picture of Reed at the top of this post). From feeling as though I was barely at the gig at all, I was now almost within touching distance of the great, grumpy man.

The encore was fantastic. Spurred on by a crowd who were by now all on their feet, Reed belted out three tracks, including Sweet Jane, in which Jones got to let loose. It was during Candy Says that, at long, long last, Antony got his moment in the spotlight.

Of course, the harsh glow of the spotlight is not something that the singer especially likes and he awkwardly hid his hands inside his sleeves and shuffled uncomfortably, but, holy smoke, when he opened his mouth unaccompanied, some 90 minutes into the gig, it was one of the most beautiful moments I have ever experienced. His voice was truly otherworldly, like the saddest of angels singing, and it transcended everything that came before and after it in the State Theatre that evening. I was transfixed, mesmerised and awe-struck. I lost my breath. Not in a metaphorical sense, I remember literally struggling to breathe as the air seemed to disappear from my lungs. Amid an otherwise fairly raucous encore, I recall a gasp from the audience as the first note left Hegarty's mouth and then complete silence and serenity filled the room until his turn ended to a crowd reaction that bordered on pandemonium. As I walked out into the warm Sydney night, it was in the knowledge that this moment - along with the camaraderie of the previous night - would live with me forever.