Tag Archives: metro theatre

Julian Marley + Blue King Brown + The Strides – Metro Theatre, Sydney (10.05.13)

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Julian Marley at Metro Theatre Sydney. Photo credits: Jackie TeAroha for Mosca Media.

Julian Marley at Metro Theatre Sydney. Photo credits: Jackie TeAroha for Mosca Media.

The Metro Theatre is one of Sydney’s leading venues hosting an array of notable and emerging local and international artists across a wide variety of musical genres and more. But once you step foot into the venue, categories and stereotypes are no longer existent. People begin to embrace the music and one another. This was evident on Friday night at Julian Marley’s Sydney show (son of reggae legend Bob Marley). The Metro presented with a diverse range of individuals from the youthful to the old timers, cultures, from all walks of life and there was such a great sense of unison. After all, that is the essence of reggae music – ‘One Love’.

I must mention that the lady who stood next to me at the front row told me ‘this is the first time I’ve ever heard reggae music, I got dragged along to this show and I’m fucking loving it!’. Music is powerful, but reggae music can change your mentality!

Upon arrival, Sydney based 10 piece roots-reggae band The Strides took to stage with songs from their album Reclamation. Still rocking out since we last saw them perform almost two years ago at Notes Live in Newtown.

After The Strides it seemed like a prolonged set up time for Blue King Brown, however, it was well worth the wait. The audience was greeted by the ladies of Melbourne-based reggae-roots band Blue King Brown, with an acoustic set featuring lead singer Natalie Pa’apa’a and vocalists representing West Papua. With only three vocalists I predicted that this would be an intimate and engaging experience, and we were immersed in the rhythm of the music as well as the message that they wanted to share. Natalie illustrated a song about a couple that were separated due to the hindrance of bureaucratic red tape, however they were reunited again. At the end of BKB’s set I was left with a resonating message “Free West Papua” which was clearly stated on Natalie’s acoustic kickbox.

The crowd was anticipating Julian Marley and as he entered the stage, it was apparent that his father’s spirit continues to live on. Marley shared his Rastafarian faith, knowledge, music and of course his father’s life and spirit. There was a sense of nostalgia growing up to the Marley’s voices in my cassette player. No doubt Marley is acknowledged as an individual artist, but he is also an inclusive collaborator with his 12-piece Uprising Band, performing some original tunes as well as father Bob’s hits. Some memorable songs were ‘Boom Draw’, ‘Babylon Cookie Jar’ and Bob Marley’s ‘Kaya’.

It was refreshing to join some of the country’s most thriving reggae bands alongside Julian Marley, and no doubt they were aptly chosen to support him. With a combination of ‘Worldwize’ humanitarian reggae-roots acts, it became an insightful and memorable show. Although I could see that a larger venue could have easily accommodated a larger crowd.

Rating: 9/10

Click here to check out our photographs from Julian Marley’s Sydney show!

Live Review: Six60 – The Metro Theatre (26.04.13)

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Photo: Six60 @ Metro Theatre, Sydney https://www.facebook.com/Six60

Photo: Six60 @ Metro Theatre, Sydney https://www.facebook.com/Six60

There’s something to be said of any band that can hop flawlessly from rock to reggae to drum and bass and back again and take a crowd of people along with them for the ride. And that is that they are undeniable rock stars. That’s just what I’d call New Zealand band Six60 who managed to effortlessly transition between genres this past Friday when they hit the stage at The Metro in Sydney to a sold out crowd.

Opening with their light hearted reggae anthem ‘Don’t Forget Your Roots’ the energetic 5 piece captivated the audience thanks to their boyish enthusiasm and playfulness on stage. Six60 made it clear that they love what they do. In return the crowd assured them that the feeling was mutual by singing (or screaming?) along to almost every note of every word of every song that they played throughout the show. It didn’t matter whether the guys were tackling honey-coated reggae or gutsy rock tinged tracks the crowd was with them every step of the way, and the atmosphere of the show felt a lot like one hell-of-a-party.

Lead singer Matiu Walters’ vocals remained flawless through out the show, despite the fact that he jumped around the stage with boundless energy for 90% of the show and the fact that he’s the only singer in the band – there’s no backing vocalists to help him out. I couldn’t help but ponder how much warmth extra vocals and harmonies would add to the bands sound, but Walters looked like he didn’t mind carrying all the vocal responsibilities at all. And I quickly forgot about my love of harmonies as Walters’ vocals gave more than most do; he was honest and subtle when required on the stripped back numbers but switched to bold and strong on command. All of this delivered with his cheeky devil-may-care attitude, which was perfectly in tune with the rest of the bands mood.

By the time the show got to its encore of ‘Someone To Be Around’, thanks to the crowds unusual chant choice of “Whoop there it is!”, Six60 had delivered a strong show that managed to have the dynamic energy of a stadium rock concert while maintaining the personable, down to earth vibe of your local pub gig. But as humble and carefree as Six60 may appear they are far more than just a pub band. Six60 make having the musical equivalent of split personality not only look easy, but very much like something that every band should take a stab at. After all why should we have to stick with one genre if we can enjoy a mash of them all in one show by one talented band? If Six60 keep dishing out their brand of rock-roots-reggae with a dash of dub then I’ll gladly keep making room on my plate for more of their treats.

Rating: 4/5

Deep Sea Arcade + The Preatures + Fishing – Metro Theatre, Sydney (30.11.12)

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Deep Sea Arcade. Photograph by Nicole Michels

It’s 8:30 by the time my friends and I show up at the Metro, already a little drunk and more than ready for a bit of poppy fun to end the sweltering Sydney day. We must look like a pretty unlikely bunch; my hipster chef friend donning a pirate earring and obligatory moustache, my lawyer/philosopher friend, short with glasses and a business suit, and myself: long haired, un-showered, un-shaven and underslept.

By the time we arrived The Preatures are more than half way through their set, and we’re pretty drunk. The lead male vocalist is prancing around the stage without his guitar, making funny singing faces like an Australian Idol contestant.

I spot Doug from Fishing in the crowd during The Preatures’ set, and head over to chat with him. I don’t know him very well, but he’s always polite and happy to talk.
‘We played for an hour and a half’ he tells me. ‘The whole all ages thing was weird; one guy jumped on stage at like 8:30… who jumps on stage at 8:30?’. He tells me that Fishing are planning to release some new material in the near future, and that they’re currently directing a video for Urthboy of all people.

Doug also remarks that even though he doesn’t listen to this style of music, he’s thoroughly enjoying the Preatures’ set. He comments on the crispness of their instrument tone, and the girl singer’s pretty voice. I have to agree that their strong point is in their arrangements, not their songwriting, but it works in a live context and they do a great job of corralling the crowd, obviously really enjoying themselves.

The wait between sets is short, but there’s heavy anticipation from some of the younger audience members. When Deep Sea Arcade take the stage, they get straight to business, opening with one of their catchier tunes, ‘Seen No Right’. The instrument tone and mix are perfect and every song has the crowd dancing and singing along.

Deep Sea Arcade really are damn good at what they do. They play with plenty of class and professionalism, the long haired lead guitarist casually deals with a broken string half way through the set, the bass and drums impossibly tight, and the songwriting always perfectly tasteful and melodic.

They play most of the favourites from their debut album Outlands, including ‘Girls’, ‘If The Devil Won’t Take You’, and ‘Granite City’. Nick, the band’s singer and engaging-yet-modest front man remarks with a smile ’50 minutes ago I was in my room’, obviously stoked at playing to such a large and responsive home crowd. He gets his phone out and asks the audience to pose as zombies for a photo. They then play their Like A Version cover of The Chemical Brothers ‘Let Forever Be’ which, while being a pretty groovy track, is never really resolved and doesn’t go anywhere. Old Deep Sea Arcade classics ‘Lonely In Your Arms’ and ‘Don’t Be Sorry’ are really well received, and the band leave the stage to a satisfied applause. No one wants an encore, we’ve already had our fill. The hipster, the lawyer and I are all danced out, we pour onto the streets with everyone else to find taxis, busses, designated drivers or just to wander about in the summer night.

Rating: 3.5/5

The Rubens + Bertie Blackman + New Gods – The Metro, Sydney (21.09.12)

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Friday Night at The Metro, Sydney was an amazing night for everyone. From kick-off, New Gods dumped an atmosphere on the crowd; their indie-pop consumed crowd members, they were definitely well-received.

Just after 8.45pm Bertie Blackman came on with her drummer Manny Bourakis, and grabbed the room’s attention. Her performance was rooted in percussion, with dynamic vocals, and a number of instruments played by Bertie herself. Guitar, keys and drums helped to create a catchy beat that had the crowd on their feet. A great performance.

The Rubens were highly anticipated by the crowd and myself, to no disappointment. The number of people in the crowd seemed to double as they stepped out onto the stage and consumed us with their retro-innovative style. The well dressed, well composed band lived up to their hype, satiating the crowd’s thirst for energy and good, accessible music. Popular track and live anthem ‘My Gun’ had the crowd singing, there was a powerful sense of energy amongst the crowd. The Metro Sydney was a great venue for the genre and for The Rubens, intimate enough to improve everyone’s night, yet big enough to hold a sold-out show.

Overall I admire the line up for this show, and each of the bands’ individual shows. I went to this gig in expectation of The Rubens, without much consideration of the supporting acts, but I was pleasantly surprised. The Australian music industry is booming right now, it’s great to see so many individually incredible bands becoming so successful.

Rating: 4.5/5

Photos from the night are here.

Snakadaktal (The Dance Bear Tour) – Metro Theatre, Sydney (11.08.12)

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The Dance Bear tour headlined by the dream-pop Melbourne band Snakadaktal with supporting acts from Sydney locals such as the Blizz Beat dynamic duo Fishing and the captivating indie-pop quartet Sures made their mark at the jam-packed Metro Theatre. Mid to post-teens surged with Red Bull fuelled energy as they danced, pranced and gyrated across the sticky floor to the smell of stale beer and the sound of wonderful music from a talented pool of up-and-coming musicians.

The night was capped off by a groovy performance from Fishing. A pair of hipsterish DJs, Doug and Russel, made hips stir in the crowd with their own creative genre of Blizz beat, a fusion of electro-pop/house/dub, enhanced by catchy and repetitive loops of instrumental and vocal melodic harmonies, conjured with modern gadgetry synthesisers, keyboards and electric drum. They have a distinct sound which appealed to the masses but also a mellow vibe that could be compared to the instrumental side of Moby and Neon Indian.

The next performance was from the Sures, a band which bore features of the pop-rock/punk 80’s and 90’s, and the brimming with potential. Aside from a flamboyant introduction that the crowd deliriously reciprocated, their opening felt raw with some hiccups in the vocal harmonies. However, this did little to mar the rest of their fantastic performance. One of their songs, ‘Romeo’, benefits from an intricate drum line whose melody was simply classy.

The band was intense and dynamic as the four bright-eyed talents conveyed their personality through their music. The closing was a bittersweet moment. An episode streaming with pure musical bliss and then swish, it was over.

Under the shower of rain and cold wind, Snakadaktal began their set with a steady lucid pace that satisfied musical appetites with their vivid melodies. The sounds of Snakadaktal is reminiscent of a Melbourne band Alpine, which also boasted some bedazzled bling in their faces and also opened up for the Jezabels. The Snakadaktal flavour blends the vocals of Sean and Phoebe to convey distinct yet complementary identities. The accompaniment was balanced, showcasing their animated talents and musical vigor.

The highlight of the show was when the song ‘Air’ was played; it was a hair-raising melody enhanced with soulful vocal ranges, a strong emotional bass and steady drums. Soaked from the glistening rain but awed to tears by such an epic experience the night was sincerely not bad. Not too bad at all.

Review Score: 4/5

Photographs from the night can be found by clicking here!

Bluejuice + Loon Lake + The Cairos – The Metro, Sydney (13.04.12)

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Written by Liza Moscatelli

Bluejuice at Metro Theatre, Sydney (Photographed by: Liza Moscatelli)

To celebrate the release of their latest and third studio album Company, which dropped on 11/11/11, Sydney based rock band Bluejuice made their way to local Sydney venue Metro Theatre on their second show of the Company National tour. Supporting the headliners were Melbournians Loon Lake and Brisbane based indie-pop quarter The Cairos. This was an All-Ages event which already had the venue filling right from the start. It was instantly anticipated that it was going to be a good night. It also appeared that there was going to be some serious flavours from a triad of three talented acts coming from three major Australian cities.

The first support act to warm up the stage saw The Cairos playing “Shame” which has gained popularity across Australia. It wasn’t too difficult to see that they warmed up the audience well playing familiar chords from their latest six-track EP Colours Like Features.

The following act Loon Lake set foot on stage playing popular songs including “Bad To Me” from their debut EP Not Just Friends. However, one must say that although Loon Lake and The Cairos have developed a decent fan base and have created a name for themselves, it was evident that the majority of the audience were there to see the headliner – and it wasn’t difficult to see their loyal fans as they desperately weaved to the front of the stage.

Energy rose as Bluejuice erupted on stage and obviously appeared to deck it out in luminous flourescents and didn’t forget to pimp out their instruments. They wore an abundance of fluorescent and odd-looking attire including black capes and green fluorescent glasses frames – without the lenses. They played a string of familiar tunes from their two previous albums including “Broken Leg” as well as some more recent tracks from their latest release such as “On My Own”. It was definitely a vibrant and fascinating experience especially as it was my first time to watch a band play live in pitch black with nothing but black lighting and fluorescent – everything! There was definitely a late 80s to 90s retro feel to the night. Not to mention they had their video clips playing behind them to add to the affect.

Bluejuice know how to rock a crowd as they had people from the audience continuously jumping and singing songs word-for-word. Their set ended after an anticipated encore. I was sure that they left a great impression on the crowd as peoples’ faces lit up and smiles all around kind of gave it away. As I headed out of The Metro some random chick behind me stated to her friend “That was the most fucking awesome gig I’ve ever been to!”. So there you have it. If you get a chance to make it to one of their shows, do so!

Review Score: 4/5

For more information on Bluejuice National Tour and tickets visit http://bluejuice.info/shows