LIVE WIRE – Sydney Live Music Guide August 23rd
This Thursday 23rd August local reggae/funk/rock/jazz virtuoso group The Subterraneans are making a one-off appearance at Blue Beat and they’ll be joined on the night by Rai Thistlethwayte, frontman of Thirsty Merc and the Sonic Mayhem Orchestra Horns. This event, that’ll feature over ten of perhaps the best local musicians, is going to feature some amazing instrumentation and a reconsideration of what ‘fusion’ is really all about. Over at Brighton Up Bar, local six-piece Excellent Robot will be performing their blend of melodic hook-laden indie-pop. The group’s music stretches all the way from garage rock to country to psychedelia and they’ll be sharing the stage with fellow locals The Mountains and Andy Golledge.
On Friday 24th August, Kate Miller-Heidke will be performing material from her upcoming and highly anticipated album Nightflight. The classically trained singer’s last album saw her notch up double platinum sales along with a heap of frequent flyer points as she trekked the globe playing festivals and touring with Ben Folds. She’s quite a popular performer so if you’re interested in getting along to this one you’d best snap up tickets quick as her shows regularly sell out in advance. Alternatively if you prefer a bit more grit and rock’n’roll in your shows, Sydney based Kiwi singer Gin Wigmore will be showcasing tunes from her latest album Gravel & Wine at The Standard. Gravel & Wine reached number one in the New Zealand charts, top 20 here in Australia and the national tour she and her band are about to embark upon is likely to precede a far reaching international album tour.
Saturday 25th August will be an uplifting night of world music as not one but two great African bands will be performing at Notes Live. Afrokings, featuring Malian guitarist/vocalist Moussa Diakete, draw inspiration from Mali to produce a unique form of Afro-soul and funk. They’re joined by Australia’s longest surviving Afro-pop group Okapi Guitar Band, which now features the chart topping Tanzanian pop-star Mr Paul aka Paul Mbenna on vocals. Both these groups are going to ensure that no seat will be left occupied as they reproduce the sound and energy of African nightclubs here in Sydney. Across town, Sydney bred/Berlin based group Expatriate are returning home to launch their second full length album Hyper/Hearts. After playing a series of festivals in Europe along with some high profile supports, the group are doing an East Coast run of shows to promote their latest album and the Sydney show will take place at FBi Social.
Finally, if you’re keen for a relaxed low key event, Monday 27th August sees the return of Eddie Perfect & The Renovators to 505. With Perfect’s satirical lyricism, crooned from behind a grand piano – and the combined instrumental wizardry of The Renovators – this show is set up to be a great way to ease into the week.
