LIKE SEVERAL THOUSAND OTHER AUSTRALIANS, I LOGGED ON TO MY MOSHTIX ACCOUNT AT 8:55AM, EAGER TO SECURE MYSELF A SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS TICKET.
SADLY, I AM NOT ONE OF THE 17,500 WHO WILL BE TRAVELING TO BYRON BAY IN JULY AND DANCE TO THE LIKES OF JACK WHITE, THE SHINS, BLOC PARTY, SMASHING PUMPKINS OR AT THE DRIVE IN. THE ENTIRE FESTIVAL INCLUDING DAY-TICKETS AND CAMPING SPACES SOLD OUT IN 43 MINUTES. HOWEVER I DO FIND THE CAPITAL LETTERS ARE MAKING ME FEEL BETTER.
An Original Sharpie Design On The Back Of My Lecture Notes
IF ANYONE HAS SEEN THE SPLENDOUR FACEBOOK PAGE TODAY, THEY WILL HAVE SEEN THAT I AM NOT ALONE IN MY WOES. MANY PEOPLE WERE NOT ABLE TO SECURE THE TICKET THEY DESIRED. WHILE SOME BICKER OVER SCALPING (SOMETHING THAT SPLENDOUR ORGANISERS HAVE GENERALLY MADE ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE WITH SECURITY MEASURES) THE REST OF US HAVE RESIGNED OURSELVES TO THE INEVITABLE. ALTHOUGH THE FESTIVAL DID NOT SELL OUT LAST YEAR, THE WEEKEND'S CAPACITY THEN WAS ACTUALLY AROUND 30,000 - MAKING THIS YEAR A CONSIDERABLE DECREASE. PERHAPS ORGANISERS WILL HAVE TO RECONSIDER THEIR DEAL WITH THE BYRON BAY COUNCIL. IN THE MEAN TIME, I'LL JUST CONTINUE TO FEEL SORRY FOR MYSELF AND LISTEN TO THE SHINS.
JACK WHITE | BLOC PARTY (ONLY AUSTRALIAN SHOW) | SMASHING
PUMPKINS | AT THE DRIVE-IN (ONLY AUSTRALIA SHOW) | THE SHINS | HILLTOP HOODS | THE
KOOKS (ONLY AUSTRALIAN SHOW) | MIIKE SNOW | GOSSIP | DIRTY THREE (ONLY
AUSTRALIAN SHOW) | LANA DEL REY | 360 | AZEALIA BANKS | TAME IMPALA |
EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY (ONLY AUSTRALIAN SHOW) | BAND OF SKULLS | LADYHAWKE | THE
AFGHAN WHIGS | MISSY HIGGINS | WOLFMOTHER | METRIC | KIMBRA | MUDHONEY | 50
YEARS OF DYLAN | SPIDERBAIT | DJANGO DJANGO | GYPSY & THE CAT | SAN CISCO |
LAST DINOSAURS | ELECTRIC GUEST | MUSCLES | ANGUS STONE | DZ DEATHRAYS | HOWLER
| LANIE LANE | FUN. | BIG SCARY | MICHAEL KIWANUKA | SEEKAE | FRIENDS | YACHT
CLUB DJ'S | BERTIE BLACKMAN | JINJA SAFARI | BLUE KING BROWN | YOUTH LAGOON |
POND | THE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS | YUKSEK | TIJUANA CARTEL | BALL PARK MUSIC | THE
RUBENS | BEN HOWARD | BLEEDING KNEES CLUB | ZULU WINTER | THE MEDICS | SHIHAD |
HYPNOTIC BRASS ENSEMBLE | HUSKY | KATE MILLER-HEIDKE | FATHER JOHN MISTY | EMMA
LOUISE | CHET FAKER | HERE WE GO MAGIC | PARACHUTE YOUTH | MOSMAN ALDER | THE
CAST OF CHEERS | WOLF & CUB | GOSSLING |
Bloc Party
Banquet - Live At Glastonbury
After all the speculation, leaked plans and waiting, the lineup for Splendour In The Grass has finally been announced. Although some of the acts were no surprise, others revelations were quite unexpected. Jack White, Bloc Party, The Shins and Azealia Banks all let slip in some form of other that they would be visiting Australia 'soon,' however other headliners were kept well and truly secret.
Jack White
Love Interruption
No lineup ever satisfies everyone, last year in particular was criticised and even suffered in sales. However with the recently reunited At The Drive In at the helm, I believe Splendour organisers should be proud of what they've produced this year.
At The Drive In
2012 Coachella
Personally I am already excited to see Jack White, Smashing Pumpkins, Miike Snow, Bloc Party, ATTDI and The Shins to name a few, as I imagine is much of Australia (it's been a while since any of them have graced our shores). It's also pleasing to see the promotion of some of Queensland's newest bands to the lineup like Bleeding Knees Club, Ball Park Music, Emma Louise, DZ Deathrays and more. I have actually seen over 20 of the acts on the bill, which is probably an indication I should stop going to so many gigs, but also makes me even more excited to see some of the acts again. The Kooks at Falls Festival on New Years Eve were absolutely brilliant, thanks to them Naive is the first song I heard in 2012 - they are really so much fun.
Emma Louise
Jungle
This festival spends the more money on acts than any other in Australia and as such continually brings a combination of huge international acts and new talent (see Django Django, Zulu Winter etc). Although this then means that punters must pay a fairly steep price to see their beloved rockstars but I can't imagine it is easy to convince acts to visit a small town in Australia in the middle of Winter without some sort of cash incentive!
Since its inception in 2008, Record Store Day has become a worldwide celebration of all things vinyl. This year labels and artist have really outdone themselves with the number and quality of limited releases we can expect to arrive in some record stores on the 21st of April. The whole list of special releases is on the website (below) and they really are something special. Personally I'd love to have the Arctic Monkeys 7" purple vinyl of R U Mine + a brand new B-Side. But it's only a very limited release so I don't favour my chances of scoring one.
Hundreds of Independent Music Stores around the world are celebrating with in-store performances and many other surprises. Most exciting would have to be the musical gems created by a little store by the name of Third Man Records, based in Nashville, USA. They are truly the the Willy Wonka factory of vinyl making. The company released a teaser of the cool records they would be releasing for Record Store Day 2012. Everything you could imagine, including multi-coloured vinyl, etched surface vinyls and my favourite, a blue liquid-filled vinyl. (WOW!)
THIRD MAN RECORDS
Record Store Day 2012
Brisbane's own popular independent record store, Rocking Horse, will be having a store-wide sale and performances from local acts, Jungle Giants, Blank Realm and Rattlehand. Check out the Facebook event for all the details! It will be a super fun day, but if you do come across the Arctic Monkeys vinyl, HANDS OFF!.. No seriously, I am willing to go to extreme lengths, even fist blows if necessary to get it!
To the majority of people, vinyl records are either just some dusty, outdated technology belonging to an old generation, or an eccentric interest of an alternate few. However despite the decline in music sales globally, record sales have actually continually increased over the past few years, so perhaps vinyls will always have a place in the hearts of music lovers. I'm definitely looking forward to Saturday at any rate :)
“I think it’s high time the mentors, big brothers, big sisters, parents, Guardians, and neighborhood ne’er do wells, start taking younger people That look up to them To a real record store and show them what an important part of life music really is. I trust no one who hasn’t time for music. What a shame to Leave a child, or worse, a generation orphaned from one of life’s great beauties. And to the record stores, artists, labels, dj’s, and journalists; we’re all in this together. Show respect for the tangible music that you’ve dedicated your careers and lives to, and help It from becoming nothing more than disposable digital data.”
South By South West (SXSW) has become the most prestigious music showcase in the world. Over 300 000 people converge on Austin, Texas every year for a week of music buzz, secret shows, showcases and music announcements.
To name a few, we can thank SXSW for the information that Jack White intends to tour Australia 'soon,' or that label Secret Sounds has postponed a debut Australian tour from new band, Zulu Winter stating,
"After witnessing their scorching live show at SXSW, the Secret Sounds promoters have decided to keep Zulu Winter up their sleeve for a special Australian debut performance at Splendour In The Grass this year.”
Obviously, attending SXSW is extremely high on my do to list, but until my finances are able to support such an excursion, each year I paw through the reviews and watch dozens of videos just to feel a little included.
This is where I found the above video of Kimbra, I highly recommend you take a few minutes to experience her rendition. She is steadily proving herself to be one of the most talented new musicians around. Her powerful vocals and use of mixing boards make for a brilliant performance.
Kimbra is touring Australia this May. She's playing at The Tivoli on Tuesday 15th May
