Posts Tagged: blues
14
Jan 09
Ash Grunwald, Gomez & the Black Keys hit the Big Top
On Friday night, I headed to Luna Park to catch a highly-anticipated (by me) gig at the Big Top.
First up was Ash Grunwald, who I’ve been listening to lately but have never known much about. I was surprised by the fact that Grunwald is a one-man show. He does the guitars and vocals and operates a snare, kick drum and toms using his feet. Great plan, in theory, but if you break a string and get flustered (and admit that to your audience), you’ve got no one to hold things while you get your shit together. While Ash rocks at what he does, his feet were half a second behind the rest of him. Get a drummer, son.
21
Nov 08
Scott Matthews can pass my stranger any day
Fuck me, this man is brilliant. Scott Matthews hails from Wolverhampton in England and burst onto the UK charts back in 2006 with his debut album, Passing Stranger. You might have heard the mournful single, Elusive, on Triple J and thought you were listening to some previously undiscovered Jeff Buckley. But Elusive is just the tip of the iceberg and barely begins to showcase Matthews’ talent.
Passing Stranger is a collection of beautifully crafted urban folk-rock gems. From crunchy blues riffs to sliding guitars to delicately picked melodies, Matthews has perfected his acoustic sound. Woven into his songs is an entire medley of unexpected instruments to keep you on your toes, including tablas and a French accordian – each track is a magical experiment. Continue reading →
19
Nov 08
Shoot The Player
“… I usually don’t do things like these but since you want to make something beautiful, I’m in… ”
And so begins the journey of the latest Shoot The Player film with Swedish musician, the Tallest Man on Earth.
Shoot The Player is a website dedicated to making single shot music videos of singer-songwriters on the streets of our town, Sydney. I’ve been following the site for a while now, ever since a friend of mine was in a video himself, and I’m never disappointed by the injection of inspiration I get from each new upload.
9
Nov 08
A change is gonna come
I was born by the river, in a little tent,
And, just like the river, I’ve been running ever since.
It’s been a long time coming,
But I know – a change is gonna come.
Oh, yes it will.
17
Apr 09
I’ll fest your blues in a minute.
The stampede to see Toni Childs.
It’s been three days and the post-blues blues are sort of beginning to fade. The 2009 East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival was my first Bluesfest, and proved to be a superb way to pop the cherry and chill out in Byron Bay for a few days.
What was awesome?
1. Blue King Brown – I’ve never seen BKB live before but the energy and mood of their whole set was simply joyous. Natalie Pa’apa’a was smoking in some short-shorts and a leetle black singlet. I chugged two Smirnoff Ice’s and danced the whole way through.
2. Seasick Steve – what a fascinating man. The 68 year old guitarist still looks like the hobo he used to be (and took frequent swigs of whisky from a bottle under his chair in between songs) but his sound is superb and his stories are humbling. Easily the crowd favourite among the smaller Bluesfest acts. Continue reading →