Elvis returns!
24 OctI was informed by two friends today of the extremely exciting news of Elvis Costello and the Imposters return to Australia for shows – as part of A Day on the Green, and also two very special theatre shows in Sydney and Melbourne. Eeeeeeeeee! I think I need to be at the Theatre show in Sydney on the 30th January and I’ve been in contact with good friends M and D down there – tickets are on sale on Monday. It includes the special Spinning Songbook that I’ve been hearing so much about. The chance of hearing some old classics in a retro setting. I can’t wait!
Details here.
Tune for Wednesday
17 OctIn honour of the fantastic documentary I saw on the weekend I bring you ‘I Wonder’ by Sixto Rodriguez:
Sunday gig
15 OctFriday night I got a pleasant phone call from friend S asking if I’d like to go along with her to see Gomez on Sunday night. A friend of hers had bought two tickets but was really ill with tonsilitis. I decided I could happily take a half-price ticket. Last night we got to the wonderful Tivoli close to 9 to an almost packed house. I was expecting an older crowd. Mostly late 30s, early 40s, but there was a nice mix of old and new fans. I was surrounded by dedicated lovers of Gomez. We found ourselves near the front, our right ear intimately close to the big amp stack. They thrilled us with their tunes. I have a couple of their albums but it’s been years since I listened to them. But they felt familiar and they were so polished and tight – they were a band in control. As my friend S described it, you could feel confident and relax knowing that on stage were musicians that knew what they were doing. A fantastic night of great tunes. They packed so much into the two hours they played for. No sooner were they finished one song were they unstrapping guitars, swapping over instruments and moving onto something new anxious to give the crowd exactly what they wanted.
Unfortunately I heard today that this could be there last tour in Australia for some time. I believe they are entering an indeterminable hiatus.
Searching for Sugarman
14 OctEmbarrassingly I had never heard of Sixto Rodriguez until yesterday about midday. My brother wanted to see a movie in the evening and I was scouring the Palace Cinemas website to find out what had been released this week. I wanted to see Shadow Dancer, but then another movie poster caught my eye – Searching for Sugarman. I checked out the preview – it was very intriguing. A musician from the states who doesn’t gain a following in his homeland but sells a whole bunch in South Africa. But no one there knows who he is. Then a couple of curious musicologists go on a search to find out who this mysterious musician actually was, and whatever happened to him.
I won’t spoil what is to come in the documentary but please do go see it! It’s thrilling, has you on the edge of your seat and it spread a massive cheesy grin all over my face many times throughout. What a gem!
Captain Decibel 