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Sydney Ska and Deathrock this weekend

November 5, 2010 by

Just a quickie as my mum-in-law is in town and staying with us, and Candice aka SuperkawaiiMama is in town and I’m meeting up with her tonight. Argh – so much going on! Not to forget the Nuffnang Sydney Bloggers Christmas Party at the Bavarian beer Cafe next Wednesday.

So, for now, just a poster of the gig Candice and I are heading to tonight – a touch of ska! Actually, more than that – it’s MAXIMUM SKA!! Any Sydneysiders at a loose end – you know where to come 🙂

There are a number of ska events, notable at the Annandale Hotel this weekend..but a person only has so much room in their social calender!!

Tomorrow night is one of my fave laid back clubs-in-a-pub – Ascension at the Sly Fox. Especially as one of our fave deathrock DJ’s from the Cobweb Club will be playing – Anorexic Dead! Again, if you’re in the vicinity and like a bit of old-school – you know where to come. And now, back to re-dyeing my new head of red hair, and preparing for meet-ups.

Have a great weekend!! Have you got anything planned?

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Punk in Japan. Punkloid, Punkafoolic, Shibuya Crash & Bayside Crash

July 7, 2010 by

I sometimes get asked how I find out what clubs, music events and festivals are on in Japan (so that I can plan to go when cool things are on).

Well, it’s all about looking in the right places online. Even if you don’t read Japanese (which I don’t), you can find out a lot.

Apart from my goth & deathrock interests, I’ve also previously mentioned I’m into ska and punk (see this post for a bunch of links), and I talked about various punk events coming up around March/April here.

I’ve recently discovered some more great resources for checking out punk music in Japan – and discovered some upcoming festivals to boot!

Punkloid
Punkloid is a website that has upcoming news, links to other cool sites and blogs of artists involved in the scene and TA-DA!!! also has an online magazine that keeps you up to date.

Punkloid Magazine

Punkloid magazine is an online zine which started in February this year. It likewise brings you news, upcoming gigs and festivals, has event reports of past ones, reviews, ads from the industry (cds, tattoos etc), new releases, and a section which publishes readers reviews.

The latest issue is number 5, and it promises to be a busy time in gigtown for Japanese punks by the looks of it!

Punkafoolic
Related to Punkloid, this site run by Punk Rock Confidential Japan brings the latest gigs, news, archives of past events and more.

Fat Wreck

The site of fat Wreck Chords Japan also has the latest on bands from their stable, so keep an eye out, and you never know what you’ll find. For example, the Mad Caddies are going to tour Japan in Sptember!

Which leads me to some upcoming events…

Bayside Crash 2010

Shibuya Crash 2010

And just look at the line-up!

Mad Caddies is a well known name in the west, but I also know Japanese bands Dallax, Radiots, Redemption97 and Mugwumps. (Hiro from Radiots is also in Junior, a previously mentioned favourite of mine). Take Back the Beers is just an awesome name, and a band that deserves to be heard 🙂

This could really tempt me to swing back over there early September, especially given that there is a Tokyo Dark Castle on the 4th from midnight. Hmm…

If you’re heading to Japan or already there and like punk, check out these resources – oh, and don’t forget the Tokyo Gig Guide while you’re there!

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Gigs, festivals and a hectic social calendar

February 24, 2010 by
Haha, when I’m slow on the posting front, you can be sure I’m having a hectic social life, and this past week has been no different! Friday night was dinner with friends in Newtown at Peasants Feast, followed by cocktails at Kuleto’s, then beers at the Townie…
Saturday night was seeing the almighty AC/DC, supported by Wolfmother (who were also great). Then Sunday was the Soundwave Festival, with the likes of Faith No More, Jane’s Addiction, Eagles of Death Metal, Aquabats and many more. Monday night I worked and then last night (Tuesday night), we saw Orbital – what a fantastic show!
So it’s all left me with precious little time for thoughtful posting. I’m flat out recovering, frankly 🙂
But back to Saturday night, a few pics on the way to the stadium: 

I wore the Barbie circle lens in purple – I haven’t reviewed these yet,  but they were very comfortable.
And the band ACCA DACCA!!! I actually got tears in my eyes when the opening chords of “Back In Black” played. I’ve known this music since I was a teeny girl, yet it’s the first time I’ve seen them. They might be in their 50’s/60’s, but they still ROCK!!

The train prop was really stunning, especially with the smoke/steam coming out of it, and flames at times!
The giant Rosie not only sat on the train (yes, phallic symbols ahoy), she even tapped her foot and moved her shoulders to dance in time to the song – amazing, and very funny 🙂
All in all it was a SUPERB gig. I don’t go to stadium gigs much, and I forgot how exciting a big spectacle like this can be.  Next up is Prodigy next week. Our dance card is pretty full at the moment – and I love it.
It is one my fave things to do with my man – go to see bands we both love.  Yes, we do dinners and all of that, but there is something about experiencing exhilaration together that just makes us both glad to be alive, and glad to be together. Luckily we have very similar musical tastes, despite our 8 year age gap.
But I don’t want to come across as a “smug married” as Bridget Jones would say, so that’s it for now.
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Upcoming punk gigs in Japan – Wild Rover, Frenzal Rhomb, Punkspring

February 5, 2010 by

FRENZAL RHOMB

My favourite Aussie punk pranksters Frenzal Rhomb are going to be touring Japan later this month…so if I have any readers there, make sure you go along!! They’re touring with Gold Coast punkers Skyway.

They play twice in Tokyo – Shimokitazawa on Feb 20 and Shibuya O-WEST on Feb 24, as well as Nagano, Nagoya and Osaka. Line-up and dates are below, or for see Blue Murder for more details.

2/19 @Nagano Hakuba
FRENZAL RHOMB, MATTER, LIVE CLEAN STAY YOUNG, SKYWAY

2/20 @Tokyo Shimokitazawa Basement Bar
FRENZAL RHOMB, SKYWAY, ELECTRIC SUMMER and more

2/21 @Osaka Second Line
FRENZAL RHOMB, SKYWAY, SPREAD and more

2/22 @Nagoya Huck Finn
FRENZAL RHOMB, SKYWAY and more

2/24 @Tokyo Shibuya O-WEST
STRIKE ANYWHERE, FRENZAL RHOMB, SKYWAY, FC FIVE

THE WILD ROVER

One of the best days I had last year in Tokyo was at the irish punk festival called Wild Rover – my write up on the day is here.  I LOVED The Cherry Coke$, Junior and Royal Shamrock, and saw Junior again the week later, cos they were just that good 🙂

Well, the Wild Rover 2010 festival details are now up – woohoo!!

It’s on Monday 22 March in Shibuya, with a few bands playing the day before on Sunday 21st at Glad starting at 6PM, tickets are 2000yen.  Many of the bands from last year are playing, but there are new ones to discover too.

AAAAND…the Wild Rover hits Osaka on Sunday the 27th!! There’s a few less bands but no less fun.

PUNKSPRING
This year Punkspring is on April 4, and look at the calibre of bands!  I haven’t been to the festival before, but have seen a bunch of the bands – Gallows! Lost Prophets! Stranglers! Face to Face!  Ok, too many exclamation marks already…
There’s a whole bunch of other stuff coming up too, but that’s enough for one post. Gotta go check out flights to Tokyo…
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Blood, Sweat & Beers at the Annandale Hotel

January 31, 2010 by

What a day yesterday was!! My buds and I headed to the Annandale Hotel in Sydney for the “Blood, Sweat & Beers” festival, which showcased a swag of bands in the punk, paddy punk and psychobilly arenas.

The event started at 1pm or so, but we were never gonna get there that early, if we expected to stay til midnight! We were planning to be there in time for Los Capitanes (a cool ska band from the ACT), but didn’t quite make it.  We stopped in the street to catch this pic of my outfit – yes, it really is street fashion, heh.

My fab blue leopard punk pants and overskirt, as well as the leopard belt and lime green skull ring, are from Sexpot Revenge in Tokyo.  I love this label!!  A black fishnet top over a black bustier, punk cuffs and my skull necklace from i-socks in Malaysia, finished the outfit. Oh, and mustn’t forget the huge, dark circle lenses for that spooky demeanour 🙂
We hit the Annandale by 7, and started catching up with old mates and Joey, the double bass player for the Fireballs, who were headlining.  There were gorgeous fillies:
 
as well as cute boys
Mattoo, to the right (above), is an awesome tattoo artist who now works at Bondi Ink.
Jordan, left, has a punk kidswear label called Kid Vicious. Cam, centre, is vocalist for Sydney rock outfit Rhyme Abuse. Simon Nott, to the right, is the UK mate who’s been staying with us, and he writes for punk, rock and metal magazine Big Cheese. Not content with filing stories from afar, he’s been known to tour around with the Living End in their tour bus, and indeed just came up in the sweaty van with the Fireballs from Melbourne!  More on these in future posts.
Had a chat with Aaron aka Captain Reckless (ex Zombie Ghost Train) about his upcoming album for Captain Reckless & the Lost Souls.  Carly and Brigitte from the Dark Shadows were also at the gig, taking an uncharacteristic break from touring and recording.  We dragged them along with us to Deathrock/Goth club “Cobweb” afterwards – but more on this later.
The band that stopped us socialising in the front bar and compelled us to go in and watch, was The Rumjacks. Superb!! An irish pogues/punk kind of band with killer gritty, gravelly vocals and a real driving force. I’d not seen them before, but the music was raw and infectious, and I danced my ass off.
The Casino Rumblers I had seen before, but their show was even more polished and assured, yet maintaining that raw badass vibe we know and love. Somewhere between psychobilly and punk, yet with a killer horn section, they kind of defy description.
 Sydney City Trash I hadn’t seen in a while, and was  incredibly impressed with. Billed as country punk, to me they are hard folk punk – I don’t like country but I love these guys!
Finally it was time for the headlining act from Melbourne, The Fireballs – and what a freaking show!!
Joey the double bass player came out in what looked like his boxers, and had a six-pack to die for! Not bad given that these guys have been around for years, and he’s no spring chicken.
the other band members weren’t too shabby either.
In the moshpit it was going off!! I got dragged in for a minute, but didn’t stay.
The Fireballs played ferocious psychobilly til we were all wrung out – but we still cried for more when they announced it was their last song. They managed to knock another one out before kicking the drum kit over and calling it a night. Phew! It had been a great night, and I’ll be sure to attend the next one.
Seriously, if you’re into punk or psychobilly, check out the links and listen to all these bands. I guarantee there’ll be a few that’ll blow your socks off.
Before I left, I picked up a copy of the new aussie punk magazine “Renegades Empire“. Today I read it cover to cover; it’s a great resource for upcoming gigs and cd releases,  and a fab read.  They also have a blog, so you can keep up to date with punk gigs in Australia.
After the Annandale, it was time to check out the new Sydney Deathrock/Goth/Batcave/Punk night called Cobweb. Part 2 of my night is coming up…stay tuned..
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