LIVE WIRE – Sydney Live Music Guide
After a brief pause for baby Jesus, things get wild as Sydney opens up for New Year’s Eve and it’s ensuing madness and frivolity.
Melt in Kings Cross hosts the final Natural Selection night for the year tonight, featuring indie psychadelics WIM with support by Tin Sparrow and Patrick James.
Rock steady local reggae masters Kingtide have their Christmas show at the Annandale Hotel, also tonight. Dog Trumpet and Big are also in support for what should be a hearty night of skank and groove.
Those still around and up for a Christmas Eve shindig can find it at Club 169 on Oxford St, where local blues troopers The Snowdroppers lead the festivities, followed closely by Bridgemary Kiss.
Anyone who’s peeked outside their front door in recent weeks will know that there’s an overwhelming array of New Year’s Eve events trying to win us over with their bright letters and cool sounding names. Some possible winner include:
NYE on the Harbour at Cargo Bar; Melbourne’s nouveau-disco outfit Miami Horror headline this one with their live show, with DJ sets from Bag Raiders and Breakbot making up just a small part of the supporting bill.
German electronic duo Digitalism are welcomed into the smiling mouth of Lunar Park for Harbour Party, with dance-pop regulars Sneaky Sound System supporting. Sets by Finnish tropical breaks champ Rico Tubbs and France’s Riva Starr make this event a serious contender in the city options.
If live bands are more your thing, the Gaelic Club hosts FBi’s Last Night fundraiser; Paper Scissors, Guineafowl, Gold Fields and Bearhug (to name a few) will all rock out for a good cause, with plenty of Purple Sneakers and FBi Djs thrown in for good measure.
If live bands and camping (or just escaping Sydney) are more your thing, then Glenworth Valley has the goods, with the 100% sustainable Peat’s Ridge Festival running there for its fifth year. NYE acts include Trentemoller, The Break, Kate Miller Heidke, Cloud Control, Jinja Safari, Watussi, Oka, Fire! Santa Rosa Fire! and Spit Syndicate to name a few.
For the troopers, new year’s day has Field Day at the Botanic Gardens. International live and electronic acts make this the most promising line-ups yet for Field Day, with Justice, Duck Sauce, Klaxons and Sleigh Bells leading the pack.
After a day or two grace to allow for hangovers, it’s straight back into it, as the first week of 2011 is a ripper.
Thursday 6th has New York indie synth pop trio The Rapture play the Metro; notable supports are Melbourne based Strange Talk, who are definitely worth a look in.
Experimental future glitch hip hop and other made-up genre fans with be thrilled at Friday 7th’s line-up at The Forum in Fox Studios. Experimental pioneer and John Coltrane relative, Flying Lotus headlines, with Hudson Mohawke, Dam Funk and Gaslamp Killer set to bring the house down.
Saturday 8th at Oxford Art Factory finds Quebecer electro hip hop DJ A Trak – an intimate treat from a world class DJ is worth the pricy entry.
