Tom Loud and Ghostwood rock Pot Luck's Halloween party

We were excited to see Sydney's Tom Loud (above) perform at FBi Social's Pot Luck on Friday night. DJ/VJ Loud mashes the fuck out of songs and videos to create an audio-visual orgy of awesomeness. His set was funny, inventive and offered bomb after bomb. It was hard to know whether to watch the big screen, sing along, laugh our socks off, or dance like maniacs. The Bobbysix representatives in the room did pretty much a combination of all of the above. His mash-ups were AH-MAY-ZINGGGG and surely the result of a ridiculous amount of hours spent on Youtube.

Rage Against The Machine vs Pingo? Yes please. The filthiest splicing together of Nigella Lawson quotes you'll ever hear? Yummy. Salt 'n' Pepa segueing into Prince? Yowser. A Fresh Prince of Bel Air singalong? Oh, go on then. His turn on the decks got an initially shy room dancing like loons for a couple of hours and was the most fun you could have with your trousers on. We didn't even take a sip of alcohol all night. We didn't need to.

Before this, Tyson Koh span some tunes while punters crafted their own Halloween outfits and local band Ghostwood (above) played a fine set too. We've been following these guys since the very start (back when they were called The Ghosts), so we were happy that their new stuff sounded impressive. The sweeping newie, Cutlass, was especially epic.

Pot Luck is always an incredibly fun yet chilled evening; the music is top drawer and the hard-working organisers go out of their way to ensure there is always something artistic and interesting to see and do. Which, in a Sydney scene that is often half-arsed and lazy, is really refreshing. So, if you like good times, you should follow FBi Social on Facebook and Twitter to keep right up to date with all the good shit that Pot Luck has got going on in the future.

With amazing entertainment like this, it is little wonder that FBi Social recently won the Time Out Bar Award for Best Entertainment.

Words and pictures by Bobby Townsend

Free I Oh You mixtape!

Here at BobbySix.com, we like to bring you heaps of new music and the occasional free download. Today though, we have outdone ourselves. We're not just pointing you in the direction of one free song, but rather an entire album of amazingness.

So, thanks to our friends at I Oh You, we bring you Coming Up, Not Down, a free compilation of songs by some of the most promising up-and-coming musical talents conceived within the borders of Australia. This collection of impressive tracks is available via the I Oh You website  for the next month or so. So get downloading right away.

In amongst 15 tracks, Coming Up, Not Down features the jangly carefree guitars of Bleeding Knees Club, NME darlings DZ Deathrays, former Getting to Know... stars Parades and dear friends of Bobbysix.com, Ghostwood. Not a bad little collection.

Here's the full tracklisting:
1. Bleeding Knees Club – Camp Out

2. Kite Club – Very Necessary

3. Dune Rats –  Rat Bags

4. Parades – Water Stories

5. Alpine – Villages

6. The Cairos – Listening Party

7. Millions – Those Girls

8. Megastick Fanfare – T is a P

9. Oscar N Martin – Chain Maille

10. Ghostwood – Cutlass

11. Papa Vs Pretty – Sgt. Suffer

12. Hunting Grounds – It Was Never Fun

13. Velociraptor – In The Springtime

14. Mitzi – India

15. DZ Deathrays – Gebbie St

To get hold of this rather excellent  mixtape, head here for your free download.
 

Follow Bobbysix.com at Facebook.

They're no longer The Ghosts, buster

Sydney youngsters The Ghosts have been winning plenty of friends over the past few months. I have seen them play a number of times and they never fail to impress me.Because there are already a plethora of other bands called The Ghosts, they have decided to change their name to Ghostwood. This piece of news gives me the excuse to post my photo of frontman Gabby (above), which was used in Australian magazine TNT last November.

V Festival 2007, Sydney

Does Sydney really need so many festivals? Well, probably not, but with a plethora of international talent on offer at V, punters were happy enough to stump up the cash for yet another day in a field. However, here’s a tip for festival organisers, if you want a reviewer to review the bands you are putting on display, it might be worth making sure they get in on time. I stood in a queue with of host of other Very Important People after the music had started, while stewards tried to organise a wristband to verify that I was over 18. Ironically when the wristbands arrived, my companion, who wasn’t over 18, was happily handed one with no ID check. It’s good to see the system works. Anyway, once through the gates with freedom to responsibly drink alcohol, I took in Sydney’s own Mercy Arms (below), who got proceedings off to a bracing start, with Thom’s vocals soaring over their classically-structured epics, which, as always, were played with honesty and conviction. Judging by this showing, they might just steal your heart this year. Meanwhile, Melbourne’s The Temper Trap embellished their excellent live show by adding a string section which gave nice depth to their fast-paced, invigorating guitar tunes. And yes music fans, that was indeed Bridezilla’s supercool Daisy on violin.While LA’s Softlightes made the most of the beautiful sunshine to woo the crowd with their dreamy, melodic, experimental pop, local kids The Ghosts put in another sterling performance which illustrated exactly why their star continues to ascend at pace. Gabby’s vocal has never sounded so good. This is a band that improves with every performance.

By the time Melbourne’s Muscles had made an energetic surprise appearance, the crowd had noticeably swelled in anticipation of the arrival of Phoenix. “Good evening, my friends,” said frontman Thomas, even though it was only 3.15pm. Still, we happily forgave the much-loved Frenchmen for their slightly incorrect use of English, as they played neat, tight indietronica so charming that the world seemed a much nicer place by the end of their set.
Another French act, Nouvelle Vague, offered some kitsch, instantly disposable bossa nova covers of classic indie songs, including The Buzzcocks’ Ever Fallen In Love?, while elsewhere rock dinosaurs New York Dolls churned their way through an ugly set. Meanwhile, those who sought fun danced along to English quintet New Young Pony Club (above), who had the crowd practically turning cartwheels with their funky favourite, Ice Cream.
“It’s getting a bit chilly in’t it? I hope you’ve brought a cardigan,” said Jarvis Cocker in his familiar northern English drawl. An astonishing 29 years after he formed Pulp as a geeky teenager, the songwriter brought his legendary dance moves to V just as the sun was setting, and performed a collection of solo material which sounded as fresh and important as ever. Between songs, the bespectacled crooner threw confectionary treats into the crowd and chatted with such humour and affability that one would have been forgiven for thinking each and every audience member was a close friend of his. For many people, including me, Cocker (below) represents pure genius, and why anybody chose to be anywhere other than watching his wondrously beguiling performance is a mystery. Following Cocker’s majestic show, Beck really didn’t live up to expectations. He played his hits, his band members had a dance-off and the ingenious live puppet display was a clever touch, but there seemed to be a piece of the jigsaw missing. Mr Hansen was clearly lacking his usual spark, and was apparently suffering from the remnants of a bout of flu. While an off-colour Beck is still more entertaining than many fully-fit artists, the great man is capable of far, far more spectacular performances than this. After all, when the best thing about your gig is a puppet show, you know you’re not at the top of your game.
With queues for the bars and the toilets stretching as far as the eye could see, people who wanted to either expell or intake liquid were frantically checking their watches, as it was soon to be time for the arrival of two really big-hitters from overseas, who, due to the capriciousness of festival timetables, annoyingly performed pretty-much simultaneously. Purveyors of intelligent synth-pop, Pet Shop Boys (below) played hit after hit to a joyous crowd. Sartorially stunning, and with great visuals and dancers, the English duo can really put on a show. It’s also easy to forget just how many classic tunes they’ve penned, and, as the opening bars of each song rang out, the crowd yelped in utter delight. Amongst others, we were treated to Rent, Suburbia and Always On My Mind. Camper than Christmas and infinitely more fun, Pet Shop Boys’ magnificent performance was unquestionably the most enjoyable of the day. Quite simply, those who missed it, missed out.
People who tore themselves away from the Pet Shop Boys experience to finally see Pixies literally role into town might have initially felt slightly disappointed. Sure, they played absolutely faultlessly, but with a serious lack of interaction with the crowd, one sensed they were simply going through the motions. However, all it took was to hear one of their seminal songs to remember just why they are so well-loved. After all, how can anyone stand in the middle of a field with thousands of likeminded fellows singing the “oooh” parts to Where Is My Mind? and not have the best time ever?

After hollering along with abandon to Gigantic, Sydney waved farewell to the American legends, probably for good, and a jubilant crowd shuffled home in the knowledge that they’d just been entertained by one of the most influential bands of all time. So memorable was the overall experience that it no longer seemed to matter whether Pixies had come here to fulfil their desire to play to Australian audiences or merely to milk the cash cow dry.

So, does the city really need another festival? Well, any event that has the clout to offer such an impressive line-up is surely a welcome addition. More of the same next year please.

Review by Rob Townsend

BOOM BOOM MEGA BOOM

While others were busy erecting tents at Playground Weekender, it seemed that every indie kid who remained in the city headed to Candy’s, which was absolutely rammed for the much-anticipated Boom Boom Mega Boom night.The Holidays kicked off proceedings, and represented the zeitgeist nicely enough with their jaunty, spiky and ever-so slightly nostalgic indie tunes. Next, The Hate Game [have we reached a stage yet where we can stop saying that they were formerly called The Vendettas?] belted out their familiar dancey sound. While their tracks perhaps lack a little variety and subtlety when performed live, there is no denying that they sure as hell can get a crowd dancing, and frontwoman Larissa was obviously as cool as ever, with the words “Be a hater, love is boring” scrawled across her back.

Talking of cool frontwomen, singer Holiday’s interesting, breathy and powerful vocal was particularly stunning as Bridezilla took the opportunity to showcase some new material, which further demonstrated their continuing musical growth. The beautifully-attired and incredibly accomplished quintet played with panache, and live favourite Saint Francine proved not only to be the highlight of the set, but the highlight of the entire evening.

Like The Hate Game, Cut Off Your Hands were also recently obliged to change their name [from Shaky Hands], but it was business as usual for the Auckland quartet, who performed with such communicable oomph that they had an already excited crowd going absolutely mental. Frontman Nick climbed the rafters, pouted, sank to his knees, yelled and screamed his way through the set, while the sweat-drenched front few rows sang along, jumped and roared their overwhelming approval.

Headlining a bill that was equally high in energy and quality, The Ghosts’ [now Ghostwood] set had that typical bold sound to it, thanks largely to Paddy’s awesome guitar noise, and proceedings were kept joyfully high-tempo by Westy’s upbeat drumming. Despite having been on their feet for hours, the audience showed no sign of tiring as the teenage four-piece opened with an instrumental track which saw singer Gabby sitting on the stage nonchalantly strumming his guitar while all around him went crazy. A powerful rendition of The Red Version was the pinnacle of another impressive set, which was devoured by an appreciative crowd whose unabated enthusiasm made the whole night that little bit extra special.

review by rob townsend

Drum media End of Year Poll

This year, I was asked to do an end of year poll for Drum Media. Ridiculous as it sounds, it was a lifelong dream of mine. I am forever making such liss in my head. Here is a potted version of what I came up with:

TOP 10 ALBUMS
1. Giant Drag - Hearts and Unicorns
2. Regina Spektor - Begin to Hope
3. David Ford - I Sincerely Apologise For the Trouble I’ve Caused
4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Show Your Bones
5. Goyte - Like Drawing Blood
6. Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
7. Micah P Hinson – Micah P Hinson and The Opera Circuit
8. Tom Waits – Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards
9. Kimya Dawson – Remember That I Love You
10. Muse - Black Holes and Revelations

Album of the year. So says Bobby Six

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
1. Regina Spektor
2. Goyte
3. David Ford

BEST LOCAL ARTIST GIG
1. Bridezilla/The Ghosts/Mercy Arms, Candy’s Apartment
2. The Vines (who’d have thought?), Homebake
3. Sarah Blasko, @Newtown

BEST TV SHOW
1. Extras
2. Family Guy
3. Australian Idol(oh the shame)

BEST FILM
1. Little Miss Sunshine
2. Borat

BEST WEBSITE
1. Myspace
2. Youtube
3. Shesaidhesaid.org

HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR
Not The Ashes. Anything but The Ashes.

PREDICTION FOR 2007
Bridezilla to become massive. If you don’t fall in love with their music, then I’ll eat my laptop.

QUOTE OF THE YEAR
“Lachlan Marks, Rob Townsend and Andrew Street are a bit smug about getting in (to gigs) for free,” according to a disgruntled reader in the Drum letters page.

2006 IN REVIEW
My 2006 started in August, when I moved to Sydney from grey old England. While my knowledge of English and American alternative music is pretty comprehensive, my awareness of the Australian scene didn’t really stretch far beyond Wolfmother and Men at Work. I was therefore happy to discover a vibrant Sydney scene with a real sense of community that made London seem even more up its own arse than I already knew it was. With fantastic young bands and no end of kids willing to go to their gigs, this place holds its own against other cities. Take it from a foreigner. While the NME has spent this year meticulously constructing its own scenes (New Rave anyone?), over here people just allow great bands like Mercy Arms to grow organically, without feeling the need to pigeonhole or label them. Oh, and the weather is better over here too.

This is just a selection of what I wrote. For the full listing go here: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=12792787&blogID=210142284&MyToken=863eed6a-2e88-4487-9257-e47414164618.

Bridezilla, Ghostwood and Mercy Arms live review

MERCY ARMS
THE GHOSTS
BRIDEZILLA
Candy’s Apartment, Kings Cross, 28/10/06

If ever a gig was destined to make a reviewer feel old and talentless, it was this one, boasting, as it did, three of the hottest local acts around right now, all of which are made of up frighteningly young, cool and talented individuals.

Purveyors of kooky alternative/folk noise, Bridezilla hit the stage early and displayed a sass and confidence that belied their tender years. During their short set, the collection of teenage girls (and boy drummer) offered a beguiled audience violin and saxophone solos, robot dancing, and, most importantly, some killer tunes. In the wonderfully named and (literally) too-cool-for-school vocalist Holiday, they have a real star in the making. It is easy to imagine her being the subject of many a swoon amongst the floppy-fringed teenage indie fraternity, as she sashayed her way around the stage, belting out a vocal that fell somewhere between Bjork and Regina Spektor.


Fittingly, on this Halloween-themed night, it was The Ghosts [now Ghostwood] that really stole the show. From the second they stepped onto the stage in suitably ghoulish attire, they tore into galloping indie that grabbed the audience by the throat and dragged it bleeding and awestruck through an exhilarating set that will certainly ensure we will be hearing a lot more from these four young lads in the future. Judging by the way the throng of sweaty masses were practically bouncing off the walls to their infectious tunes, that is a very welcome prospect indeed.There isn’t much to say about Mercy Arms that hasn’t already been said. Having ripped their way through the local scene, these are guys that know they’re good, and they took to the stage with the kind of swagger that only a band that have had record companies tripping over themselves and that have just supported The Strokes can. It’s fairly obvious to see why they have caused such a stir, as they bashed out a polished wall of ethereal noise that gave a nod to eighties bands such as Joy Division.

It’s just possible that this evening may just go down in history as one of those times where people will say: “I was there the night when Bridezilla, The Ghosts and Mercy Arms played at Candy’s.” After all, on tonight’s showing, every one of these obscenely young and exciting acts has the potential to go on and fill venues far, far bigger than this.