The National Gallery of Victoria turns 150 on May 24!
You know what that means, homies…
Oh yes…
Party weekend May 28 & 29!
Check out whats on here.
x KoD
Tehachapi/Northeast Party House/Planet Love Sound @ The Workers’ Club 27/1/11
•January 28, 2011 • 2 CommentsGosh darn I love a good solid band lineup.
Made my way down to the Workers’ Club on Brunswick St last night to see Planet Love Sound, Northeast Party House and Tehachapi. Beer; music; cool times. $5 entry – this works out to $1.66 each for PLS and Northeast Party House, and $1.68 for Tehachapi (they are two cents more as they were the headliners). So much quality music for such little money.
I meant to take a photo or two for this post since I didn’t for the last one about PLS, but goddayum I’m lazy and useless sometimes.
The best thing about this gig was that the three bands fit so well together, despite each of them sounding quite different from one another. Constantine was right when he commented on my last PLS post that PLS and Tehachapi are complementing sounds; NPH were the perfect bridge between them too.
P L S
Now probably isn’t the best time to admit this, but I need to clear my conscience at some stage, so I may as well do it now – in the 4+ years that I have been listening to their music, I never once made it to a Dukes of Windsor gig. Yeah see told you I was pretty useless. I blame this largely on the fact that I was always working nights and weekends in hospitality, and thus was out of the live gig loop for a couple of years. Then they moved to Berlin, and I haven’t been able to sleep since due to the guilt (presumably; it could be due more to the amount of caffeine I drink though). But I found out about PLS through the Dukes’ facebook page, and in the few weeks since doing so, have already seen them twice. And will probably see them once or twice more before they go back to the land of beer steins and bratwurst. So I kinda feel like a bad person. Does this make me a bad person..? 😦 Anyway this really has nothing to do with last night’s gig. Various things that do have to do with last night’s gig are: I really, really, really like the layered vocals. I noticed this more last night than I did at the Penny Black show. I like their balance of guitars and programmed beats. They have more of a folk-y sound than dancey (such as Northeast Party House, for example, who are more dancey) whilst still being largely guitar-driven. Mind you, when I told Leon about the gig in the afternoon he was convinced they were an electro outfit due to their name, probably because the last gig I took him to was Love Connections, and they are pretty electro. PLS songs are catchy, but deceptively catchy; the catchiness creeps up on you until all of a sudden you realise you can’t get those songs out of your head. Looking forward to the debut album!
Northeast Party House
To be honest, after PLS played I was pretty damn hungry and a bit tipsy* by that stage (not to mention standing around by myself in the middle of the room… nigel-no-friends much..?) and very nearly did an expedition to Smith St Maccas before Tehachapi started playing. Glad I didn’t, as I got to witness a collective of crazy cats called Northeast Party House get everyone in the front of the room jumping around (and really, what can a cheeseburger meal do for me that a big bag of Doritos on the way home can’t?) Their sound is large, atmospheric; a bit dancey but still with that live-band vibe. “Dance band”..? Can you have a dance band? I guess so. They sure did pick up the crowd’s energy, and seem to be rather aptly named. I get the feeling that they are the sort of band where anything could happen at one of their gigs, and I can’t wait to find out what. More please!
Tehachapi
I’m a fan of atmospheric, dramatic music; preferably with some nice big guitar riffs thrown in here and there. Epic soundscapes for the win; yeah! Tehachapi’s set was like one big long epic soundscape. There were softer moments to break up the big guitar sound, and I love the way Constantine’s and Laura’s vocals contrast, but are complementary to each other. Their vocals are quite haunting. There is a lot of emotion put into their playing. I’m also really impressed by people who can play drums that energetically and sing at the same time and still sound great. There are long stretches where their playing is devoid of vocals; this reminds me a bit of This Will Destroy You (the Tehachapi track Stars Are Dying is probably a notable example of this comparison). I’d already listened to their album a bit previously, but seeing a band live is usually quite different to listening to their recorded material (unless of course you are The Killers and you just come out on stage and play like you’re playing your cd), and in the case of Tehachapi, the live show was considerably more intense and emotional. And they had a smoke machine. And you can’t get that listening to iTunes.
x Kitten of Doom
* I blame this minor detail on the fact I went to a certain Fitzroy pub in the afternoon to pick up my pay, and the other staff who were there made me drink two pints before I left. They FORCED me. True story. Then at the Workers Club the dude behind the bar FORCED me to keep drinking beer. Also a true story. I’m not making either of these statements up.
New Everfresh wall at NGV Studio
•January 27, 2011 • Leave a CommentThose awesome Everfresh dudes have finished their wall at NGV Studio.
And it looks sweeeeeeet!!
Clickety-McClick-Click to see their blog post with the full size pic!
The wall was done by Phibs, Rone, Maka, Meggs, Wonderlust and Miso.
Oh my ga-od I love it!
x Kitten of DOom
Goddamn I love The Fox!
•January 21, 2011 • 2 CommentsThe Fox Hotel, on the corner of Wellington Street and Alexander Parade in Collingwood.
Great food. Great beer selection. Great staff.
Great rooftop!
They also have ping pong, pool, and a 80s tabletop arcade game.
Last Halloween they decked the place out in fake cobwebs and spiders and other scary stuff.
That earns extra points in my book.
Not that they need any extra points!!
Last night I ordered the ocean trout with chat potatoes, asparagus, and bruschetta (tomato and fetta) for the second time. It was just as amazing as it was the first time I ordered it, except this time I was sober. Check it out (last pic).
Ben had their steak, as he usually does, which comes with mashed potato and salad. He swears that their steak is consistently the best steak he has ever had. I have tried it and it is damn good. The mash is damn good too.
And I can’t emphasise this enough – seriously one of the greatest rooftops on the northsiiiiide!
x Kitten of Doom
So much great art
•January 20, 2011 • Leave a Comment
by Bousure
If you appreciate interesting art, check out some of my favourites on flickr.
by Faiz ul Hasan
I have more favourites on flickr than images of my own! Reminds me, I need to get about five rolls of film developed…
by Janneke
x Kitten of Doom
Planet Love Sound @ The Penny Black, 14/1/11
•January 18, 2011 • 4 CommentsI only discovered Planet Love Sound recently when I saw a message on Dukes of Windsor’s facebook page advertising a PLS show that night. PLS are comprised of two members of Dukes – Oscar Dawson and Joe Franklin – along with vocalist Tina Stefanou. I was unable to attend the advertised show, but I did get to see them at a last-minute show they played at the Penny Black in Brunswick on Friday night, as the support for Howlin’ Steam Train.
I was familiar with a couple of their tracks before the show, Thirsty and On the Run (check out their facebook page for free tracks). These both sounded great live – more guitar heavy than their recordings, which are quite electronic based. Tina is a tiny girl with a huge voice, and with such stage presence it’s hard to draw your eyes from her. I loved the tracks I hadn’t heard before too, and usually I have to be somewhat familiar with a song before I really get into it.
So Planet Love Sound get a big thumbs up from me. While all three members are from Melbourne, they are based in Berlin (as Dukes of Windsor have been for over a year now). I understand they will be back there in a couple of months, so now is the time to check them out.
Upcoming shows:
- Jan 23 – Wesley Anne, Northcote
- Jan 27 – Worker’s Club, Fitzroy (supporting Tehachapi)
- Feb 6 – The Evelyn, Fitzroy (supporting Hunting Foxes)
- Feb 11 – Grace Darling, Collingwood (with Timothy Carroll & Video Day)
- Feb 12 – Pure Pop Records, St Kilda (with Timothy Carroll)
On a side note, Harmony Byrne played before PLS at the Penny Black on Friday, and she was delightful. She too covered Roads (I posted a video several weeks ago of Dan Lethbridge, Nick Milwright and Nick Batterham covering this lovely Portishead song). Handy with both a guitar and a keyboard, I would like to see her play again at some stage.
x Kitten of Doom
Secret Wars Melbourne, Round 4 – Drewfunk vs Braddock
•January 14, 2011 • Leave a CommentSecret Wars has already been a huge success both overseas and in Sydney, and now it’s Melbourne’s turn.
This event sees well-known street artists come up against each other in one-on-one battles. Each artist has 90 minutes to draw whatever they like using only black markers, on a big white wall. At the end two judges read out their votes, and there is also a crowd vote (decibel reader + loudest crowd cheer = winning vote). The winners from the initial four rounds will meet each other in two semi-finals; the winners of those will battle it out in the final.
I made it down to 1000₤ Bend to see Round 4 between Drewfunk and Braddock on Wednesday night. It was very close, with both artists scoring a judges vote each (the previous three rounds have all seen both judges votes go to the one artist, automatically making them the winner). This round was decided by the audience vote, Drewfunk emerging the winner – with a decibel reading of 119 to 116!
Results so far (winners in bold):
- Round 1 – Scale vs Itch
- Round 2 – Phibs vs Pierre Lloga
- Round 3 – Ken Taylor vs DEB
- Round 4 – Drewfunk vs Braddock
Semi-final 1 – Scale vs Pierre Lloga (Feb)
Semi-final 2 – Ken Taylor vs Drewfunk (March)
You don’t want to miss the semis!
Kitten of Doom
Greatest rental property EVER.
•January 7, 2011 • 4 Comments
Plain and unassuming from the front...
448 Rathdowne St, Carlton North.
Seriously it’s so amazing I can’t believe it’s a rental property and not for sale.
LOOK AT THAT SPA!
-
- Plain and unassuming from the front…
The room with the spa is mine. I’ll let you all borrow it if you’re really nice to me though.
x Kitten of Doom
Space invader vodka jelly fail
•December 29, 2010 • Leave a CommentVodka jellies shaped like space invaders. Good in theory, not in practice. Like communism.
They look amazing. But slight problem – I can’t get them out of the mould without them tearing.
On the upside, I am finally listening to Girl Talk‘s new album, and it is SHWEEEEEEEET!
x KoD
Fourth Floor Collapse take a musical tram trip up Brunswick Street
•December 28, 2010 • 1 CommentFourth Floor Collapse are an awesome formerly-of-Perth-now-of-Melbourne band who I first heard on Triple J back in late 2005 – or was it early 2006? – and voted for them in the next Hottest 100. They were that good. I saved their name in my phone when I heard them on the radio so I could look them up later.
I have seen them play around Melbourne a few times, firstly at the Rob Roy (2007), then the Empress (2007), then the Espy (2008), then finally the East Brunswick Club (also 2008), the latter of which proved how much they had matured as a live band. That last one was an amazing show; Ashes sticks in my head as the greatest performance of the night.
I seem to keep missing their new shows, or they cancel the ones I am able to make – it’s just not working out. And this makes me sad. But I came across this today:
I miss you guys 😦
New show pleeeeeeeeeeeease?
Also… is there any footage/audio of their late 2008 show at East Brunswick Club that anyone knows about? And what was the name of the brass band who supported them and did that awesome rendition of Killing in the Name ?
x Kitten of Doom
(Half of) Fourth Floor Collapse at The Empress in 2007
Kitten of Doom 