Get $25 off your Parklife ticket with Bobbysix!

UPDATE: THE BOBBYSIX TICKET OFFER HAS NOW CLOSED. YOU CAN STILL CLICK THE ABOVE LINK THOUGH TO GO TO THE PARKLIFE TICKET PAGE: 

The epically awesome Parklife festival returns to Australia this September/October, and this week an appetite-whetting line-up was announced, not least the long-awaited return of electronic royalty, The Presets. As well as their unmissably massive performance, you can see the likes of Nero, Passion Pit, Citizens and Brighton's Rizzle Kicks. Also, we're especially looking forward to catching Tame Impala, Chairlift, that sweary scoundrel Plan B and electro pop queen, Robyn. 

And the best news? We've teamed up with our mates at Fuzzy to bring you a ridiculously good deal. Click on the above picture or click this link to get $25 off the cost of a ticket. For reals! 25 Bones! All you have to do is follow the link and enter the promo code SIXER to take advantage of this insane generosity.

Grab your ticket now (the offer wil expire at midnight on June 25th). We'll see you at Parklife and will gratefully accept you buying us a beer with some of the 25 bucks we just saved you.

Check out the full line-up for the festival - which visits Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide - on the Parklife website.

Vivid Sydney 2011 announces awesome line-up!

Curated this year by legendary Modular founder Stephen Pavlovic, Vivid Sydney has announced its best line-up yet! From May 27th to June 5th the iconic Sydney Opera House will play host to an eclectic and oustanding mix of local and international talent.

Top of the attractions is a live performance of 1997 album, Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space, by Spiritualized (below). Never a band to do things by halves, they will be getting a helping hand from a gospel choir and orchestra. It is set to be abso-bloody-lutely mind-blowing.

Elsewhere, Vivid 2011 sees the long-awaited debut Australian appearance from Bat for Lashes (pictured, above). Other highlights will include Yo Gabba Gabba! bringing their particular brand of kaleidoscopic madness to the Opera House and Chris Cunningham offering an intense music and video performance in the Opera Theatre.

Looking more locally, Tame Impala will be beating the festival around the ears with their epic psych-groove sound, while Cut Copy and Architecture in Helsinki also make very welcome appearances. As well as all this good shit, there is heaps of free stuff to get involved in. All the deets about the full line-up and tickets and stuff can be found here, and the facebook page is here. Oh, and a heads-up, tickets go on sale on Monday 4th April at 9am. So, you know the drill. You snooze, you lose.

Get involved. It's gonna be AMAZING.

Getting To Know... Nicole Dora

You may have noticed an unfamiliar name attached to yesterday's film review. With Nicole Dora becoming the latest writer to join BobbySix's team of awesomeness, it's only polite to introduce her to you. So here she is, in her own words:

Writing is so wonderful. But there are times when I could liken the activity to giving birth to a litter of puppies. And not in a good way.

I'd love to interview someone without getting even the slightest bit nervous. Sometimes I remind myself of a tiny, tiny mouse. In an attempt to give a proper answer, I’m going to say Obama, but only because his dog Bo is hell cute and I would love to play puppy tug-of-war with him.

I'm currently listening to my ipod on shuffle because there are so many songs on there that I didn’t even know I had, or know who the hell sings them. And anything by The Jezabels because they are freaking awesome.

Sydney is pretty ace. I never thought to appreciate our harbour until I went to New York and peered into their dirty, dirty harbour (I swear it looked red?). I also never thought to appreciate our amazing beaches until I tried swimming at Coney Island (take my word for it, its fun enough to chill on the wharf).

If I could only listen to three albums for the rest of my life they would be:

Tame Impala - Innerspeaker, because if I was in a situation where I had to listen to only three albums for the rest of my life I would feel like I’m tripping balls, and its fun to trip balls to Tame Impala.

Arcade Fire -The Suburbs 

Anything by The Jezabels because they are freaking awesome.

I feel slightly nervous with putting these three choices up so don’t judge me. I promise you albums that narrowly missed out include The National’s High Violet and Warpaint’s The Fool.

When I'm not writing you can find me drinking copious amounts of green tea, teaching myself how to crochet, sweating it out at yoga, wandering up and down King St in Sydney's Newtown, eating Japanese food, eating Indian food, pretty much eating any food that crosses my path, annoying my cat Wally, chilling with my pigeon Lucky, feeding my dog Scruffy, searching for the perfect plastic pink flamingo and figuring out what kind of things I should write in interviews like this!

Check out Nicole's Tumblr here.

ARIA Award Nominations

The ARIA Award 2010 nominations were announced last week (for the English readers amongst you - the ARIAs are kinda the Australian version of The Brits), with Angus & Julia Stone, Sia, Bird of Tokyo, The Temper Trap (pictured, above) and Tame Impala featuring featuring heavily across the categories. If I were a betting man, which I am, I'd put money on Sia and Angus & Julia to win big.

Winners of the major categories will be announced on November 7th at the Sydney Opera House. Tickets for the event are available through Ticketek. Here is an overview of the nominations:

Album of the Year
(I think this one will be between Angus & Julia Stone and Sia)

Angus & Julia Stone - Down The Way
Birds of Tokyo - Birds Of Tokyo
Sia - We Are Born
Tame Impala - Innerspeaker
Washington - I Believe You Liar

Single of the Year
(A tough call. Big Jet Plane has made it onto movie soundtracks while Clap Your Hands is a belting tune. And Washington seems to be able to do no wrong at the moment).

Angus & Julia Stone - Big Jet Plane
Birds of Tokyo - Plans
Sia - Clap Your Hands
The Temper Trap - Love Lost
Washington - How To Tame Lions

Best Female Artist
(Sia or Washington will win this one. Probably Sia)

Clare Bowditch - Modern Day Addiction
Kylie Minogue - Aphrodite
Lisa Mitchell - Oh! Hark!
Sia - We Are Born
Washington - I Believe You Liar

Best Male Artist
(Yawn. next...)

Dan Kelly - Dan Kelly's Dream
Dan Sultan - Get Out While You Can
Guy Sebastian - Like It Like That
John Butler - April Uprising
Paul Dempsey - Fast Friends

Best Group
(This one could be any of the five ways. Maybe Temper Trap or Angus & Julia)

Angus & Julia Stone - Down The Way
Birds of Tokyo - Birds Of Tokyo
Powderfinger - Golden Rule
Tame Impala - Innerspeaker
The Temper Trap - Love Lost

Best Independent Release
(As long as it isn't Art vs Science, I'l be happy enough)

Art vs Science - Magic Fountain
Dan Sultan - Get Out While You Can
Eddy Current Suppression Ring - Rush to Relax
John Butler Trio - April Uprising
Sia - We Are Born

Best Adult Alternative Album
(Angus & Julia? Hopefully)

Angus & Julia Stone - Down The Way (Original Matters/EMI)
Basement Birds - Basement Birds (Basement Birds)
Clare Bowditch - Modern Day Addiction (Island/UMA)
The Cat Empire - Cinema (EMI)
Washington - I Believe You Liar (Mercury/UMA)
Whitley - Go Forth, Find Mammoth (Dew Process/Universal Music)

Best Dance Release
(Dunno. Don't care)

Art vs Science - Magic Fountain
Miami Horror - Sometimes
Midnight Juggernauts - The Crystal Axis
Pendulum - Immersion
Yolanda Be Cool and Dcup - We No Speak Americano

Best Pop Release
(Should be Bluejuice. Won't be Bluejuice)

Bluejuice - Head of the Hawk
Empire of the Sun - Half Mast
Guy Sebastian - Like It Like That
Kylie Minogue - Aphrodite
Sia - We Are Born

Best Rock Album
(Tough one to call, this. Cloud Control or Tame Impala would be nice.)

Birds of Tokyo - Birds Of Tokyo
Cloud Control - Bliss Release
Eddy Current Suppression Ring - Rush to Relax
Powderfinger - Golden Rule
Tame Impala - Innerspeaker

Breakthrough Artist
(Washington, probably)

Amy Meredith - Restless
Cloud Control - Bliss Release
Philadelphia Grand Jury - Hope is for Hopers
Tame Impala - Innerspeaker
Washington - I Believe You Liar

2010 ARIA AWARD PUBLIC VOTED NOMINEES

Most Popular Australia Album
(Don't trust the public to have decent taste. Guy Sebastian might sneak it.)

Angus & Julia Stone - Down The Way
Empire Of The Sun - Walking On A Dream
Guy Sebastian - Like It Like That
Jimmy Barnes - The Rhythm and the Blues
John Butler Trio - April Uprising
Kate Miller-Heidke - Curiouser
Powderfinger - Golden Rule
Stan Walker - Introducing
The Temper Trap - Conditions
Vanessa Amorosi - Hazardous

Most Popular Australian Single
(a pretty weak field here. Temper Trap should win as there's is the best song, but they won't. If Brian McFadden wins, it will act as proof that there is no justice in the world)

Brian McFadden - Just Say So
Gabriella Cilmi - On A Mission
Guy Sebastian - Like It Like That
Guy Sebastian - Art of Love (featuring Jordin Sparks)
Kate Miller-Heidke - The Last Day on Earth
Stan Walker - Black Box
The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition
Vanessa Amorosi - This is Who I am
Vanessa Amorosi - Mr. Mysterious
Yolanda Be Cool & Dcup- We Speak No Americano

Most Popular International Artist
(take your pick from this shitty selection).

Beyonce
Black Eyed Peas (Really?)
David Guetta
Eminem (Is he still going?)
Jason Derulo
Katy Perry (Could be the winner here)
Ke$ha
Lady Gaga (Yawn)
Michael Buble
Mumford & Sons (Even more popular here than they are in the UK)
Owl City
Rod Stewart
Susan Boyle (Yeah, I know...)
Taylor Swift
Train (Jesus Christ... Train?)

There are also loads of other categories that no-one really cares about. Check back in at the start of November and we'll see just how much I got wrong.

Changing Lanes Festival

After much wrangling with the local council, Sunday saw the inaugural Changing Lanes Festival in Sydney's Newtown. With cheap-as-chips tickets selling out in a heartbeat, the event's debut was hotly anticipated and, joyfully, it lived up to expectations, with a fine mix of music and art throughout the day.

Spread over one lane and The Bank Hotel, punters had the choice of three stages for their musical pleasures while, twixt the two venues, they were able to quench their thirst and hunger and browse at market stalls. Nicely laid-back with an audience of chilled music lovers, the vibe was similar to the early days of the St Jerome's Laneway Festival.

Kicking things off was a solo set from Richard (In Your Mind) Cartwright (above). The first time I saw RIYM, I really didn't get it. However, alone with an acoustic guitar, Cartwright makes much more sense. His strange warble sounded delightfully fragile in a Daniel Johnston/Conor Oberst kinda way and his short, sweet set was a great way to start the day.

Earnest Ellis might have a strong voice and big, epic songs, but, not for the first time, they soared right over my head. Conversely, Cabins' performance (above) didn't so much sail over the audience as drill its way relentlessly through their bodies. Their bone-shaking set - which included a cheeky cover of Edwin Collins' A Girl Like You - was loud with a capital L.O.U.D. and their catchy indie with alternating vocalists was the highlight of the day.

But for a couple of exceptions, I've always found Aussie hip-hop to be a fairly embarrassing caricature of its Stateside big brother, and Thundermentals' cliched set did nothing to change my mind. Anyone with decent taste should have instead headed to the Hip Hop Stage where Count Doyle and Captain Franco were not playing anything that resembled hip-hop, but rather mixing some delicious sounds from yesteryear.

Back on the main stage, Bridezilla (above) looked resplendent in red as they performed a handful of promising new songs in their 30-minute set, the last of which really showed the band's desire to push themselves in new directions. This set-closer saw Millie Hall put down the saxophone and take centre stage, playing keys and sharing lead vocals with Holiday Sidewinder. Written by Hall, the poppy number was infectious enough to suggest it will soon be quite the crowd-pleaser, with Hall, Sidewinder and guitarist Pia May delivering some 60s girl-group singalong harmonies.

By the time headliners Tame Impala took to the stage, many of the crowd had found vantage points by climbing walls and hanging off fences and went suitably nuts to the Perth band's psych-groove sound, before the party shifted to The Bank Hotel, where Jingle Jangle DJs were getting things going with some old school rock 'n' roll. As the evening went on, the likes of Levins and HOOPS kept revellers entertained.

Such was the success of this first festival that, next year, you can expect more artists, more markets and more bands. However, there is no doubt that, while this festival is set to grow and grow, it will do so organically rather than chasing the dollar. Anyone who attended on Sunday left with the feeling that this was the start of something really rather wonderful.

Photos courtesy of Emma Daniels. Check back at BobbySix.com later in the week for more photos from Changing Lanes.

Changing Lanes line-up announced

Changing Lanes, the exciting new festival taking place in Sydney's Newtown on September 19th has announced that it will be headlined by Tame Impala, Ernest Ellis and Bridezilla. The rest of the rather excellent and diverse bill can be viewed by clicking the image above or by going here.

There will be three stages, as well as food and market stalls, street performers and art. Throughout the day five local and international street artists will paint live on the Eliza Street-facing wall of The Courthouse Hotel, while the markets will serve up a ready supply of vintage clothing, vinyl, books and more.

There will be live music and DJs in The Courthouse and Zanzibar, ranging from dub-step and electro to 50s and 60s rock and blues. It's set to be a great event. Tickets can, and should, be snapped up here, this is definitely not one to miss.