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I heard that it's totes vibin' over at WordPress, so I'm joining the cool kids where it's all at...or something like that. (Actually, I just prefer the authoring/editing backend that WordPress offers...)

Thank you to all who have followed this little lowly blog about beer and those bars and bands that help make beer extra good. But DON'T GO...just update your links!

I have now moved this blog over to the new site at: www.beerbarband.com

Find me there and read my latest post about Stone & Wood Garden Ale!

Cheers...

A quick Beer Bar Band Halloween

What? Halloween? What's that?

Yes, it's mostly a foreign concept here in Australia...but it's also an excuse to theme another day full of beers, bars and bands. And we can now, because Pumpkin beers are now available in Australia! (Read Jenn's blog post for more on that: Boo! Spooky Pumpkin Ale Scones)

So here is a beer, a bar and some bands with a Halloween feel for this dark night of pumpkins and lost souls...

BEER - All Hallowed Ale by HopDog BeerWorks

Recently arrived on the shelves of Melbourne's craft beer retail, HopDog BeerWorks is producing some very tasty hybrid style beers with a twist that celebrate the craft of beer. Craft beer!

All Hallowed Ale is a Belgian Pumpkin Ale brewed with roasted pumpkin, specialty sugars and spices. It pours a golden-amber, providing a pumpkin appearance. The Belgian yeast dominates the aroma and flavour, but the pumpkin is also clearly there on the aroma. The pumpkin is a bit lost in the mouth though, as the Belgianness of cloves and a little banana plus bitterness take over. Good softer hits of spices and sweetness....but not enough pumpkin for me. I did not pick the 7.3% abv because it is very easy drinking.

My experience with pumpkin beers is very limited so far. Unfortunately the best one I have tasted is still about two weeks away from being available in bottles - the very pumpkin Artisan Pouseure spiced pumpkin ale from Moon Dog Brewing. We tasted this year's batch at last week's Fed Square Microbreweries Showcase and it was just exactly what we want from a pumpkin beer.

BAND - Aussie Halloween-ish songs

When I look for some spooky rockin' locals on my playlist...well, it's a bit of a stretch. Nonetheless, I head straight for a bite of girl punk from the last decade. Maybe more fluffy than dark, but all good grisly fun...have a listen...

Zombie Girl by The Spazzys

Dating The Undead by Sin City

There's plenty of appropriate songs from the locals guys too...like Deadman by Expatriate and Dead Dog Standing by Ratcat, plus plenty of tracks from Grinspoon. Of course there is also plenty of Halloween style fuzz from the Aussie metal scene...but my own playlist lacks the short-fast-loud at the moment (and this post has been too hastily last-minute to mine that rich well).

BAR - The Tote Hotel, Collingwood.

The bar that died then returned to life!

At age 30, The Tote was shut down under the weight of bad government policy for live music venues. It was revived by several spirits who care deeply for the culture and sound of Melbourne's music. Read the story on Wikipedia or buy and watch the brilliant documentary, Persecution Blues: The Battle For The Tote.

Dark, hard rocking, sticky carpet (less sticky now though...since the original bandroom carpet was torn up at time of Tote death). Many Halloween appropriate bands have blown through the speakers of The Tote bandroom, Cobra room and front bar. An icon of Melbourne's live music scene and culture. Often scary...but thankfully there is Mountain Goat beer in the fridges. Rock on...forever.

Long live The Tote.

Play this...and run for your beer!

September is Sucktember this year in Beer Bar Band land. As noted in my previous post for The Session, I'm in training for my second half marathon and hence needed to do some serious work on reclaiming fitness and pace after a lazy and indulgent winter.  Since May the days have been very short and very cold, resulting in the seeking of comfort through much fine cheese, dark chocolate and imperial ales.

So, the last 3 weeks - 25 days now - have been completely dry, as well as lacking any sweets/treats, even soft drink. With intake minimised, my training regime has been maximised. It has been intense, hard and painful, but the results are showing. I have been running at least 3 times a week, including very long runs every weekend. It’s necessary for all-round health…especially as someone who enjoys drinking so much good beer, of which there is no shortage around Australia at the moment!

My running may be much more amateur and sporadic than some of the other beer runners from across the globe, but I am proud to be part of the beer running brigade.

One week to go in Sucktember* and I’m on track. I've almost hit my weight goal and I have been able to reclaim my sub-4min.20sec/km race pace over 7-10km. Most importantly, I can cover the half marathon distance again without dying. On Sunday I made it to 21.55km.

When I finish the Melbourne Half Marathon on October 14, my reward will be our now traditional 'refuel with carbs and good beer' session at Mrs Parma's and Beer DeLuxe in Melbourne city. It's the motivation!

As with the vast majority of amateur runners in this portable-music generation, I run to music played from a smartphone strapped to my arm. I haven't used music in a race yet (mostly due to race etiquette and concentration whilst in the middle of a large crowd)...but am strongly considering it this time around just to help me get through the distance.

On countless running playlists you are bound to find the typical workout hits, such as the 80's classics of Eye of the Tiger, Born to Run and Scandal's The Warrior (yep...all of those songs are on my playlist…because as motivational gear-ups, they just work!). Oh...and no, my playlist does NOT include Flock of Seagulls' I Ran (So Far Away).

I love Australian rock, so the tracks that fill my ears as I run are a driving collection of tunes from local bands.

So here are 10 songs I recommend every music loving Aussie (and everyone else!) includes on their running playlist. It's a collection of strange, random and classic songs that have the beat, energy and somewhat appropriate lyrics to get you through the distance...

Ten Aussie Rock Tracks For Your Running Playlist

(Note: none of the below videos really do the songs justice...not in the way the original album versions thrive when in your ears!)

1.  'Till The End - The Living End (from State of Emergency, 2006)



Lyrics that drive you onwards: "'Til the end, 'til the end. I'm never gonna give up 'til the end, 'til the end. I'm not gonna stop til I've tried, not until I'm satisfied!"

The back catalogue from Melbourne’s rockabilly punk-rock-pop trio, The Living End, is full of excellent running playlist songs thanks to the pace of their punk-ish influence. The opening track from "State of Emergency" is nothing short of perfect. Fast, high energy and all the lyrics can easily be translated to a war cry for prevailing over a long run: "I'm never gonna give up 'til the end!"

Other rocking appropriate Living End songs for a long run include: Roll On, Into the Red, West End Riot, End of the World, Save the Day.


2.  1000 Miles – Grinspoon (from New Detention, 2002)



Lyrics that make you want to run further: "A thousand miles, come get all your files, put on that plastic smile, a thousand miles. Go go go, go go go!”

Like The Living End, much of the music (plus many of the song titles) from Western Australian rockers Grinspoon are ripe for running. The lyrics to 1000 Miles are brash and violent...but they'll get you running! This song ignites with a hard-rock electric guitar country-twang then... "Well, I got drunk and I got stoned, shot my family left my home, went out on a killing spree, 'coz what you did was fucked to me", sung by a (quite possibly) drug-fucked Phil Jamieson during the height of Grinspoon’s early success.

Other Grinspoon tracks to beef up your playlist: Champion, More Than You Are, Bleed You Dry, Just Ace.


3.  Pace It – Magic Dirt (What Are Rockstars Doing Today, 2000)


MAGIC DIRT - Pace It from Glendyn Ivin on Vimeo.

Lyrics that pick up the pace: “Oh can you feel it, something comin' closer to you're body. Oh can you see it, someone's taken over from where you started…”

The album "What Are Rockstars Doing Today" was a big change in output for Magic Dirt. After their fuzzy loud and long, experimental garage rock beginnings during the early 1990s, many fans saw this album as a pop-sellout after the band signed with Warner Music Australia. However, songs like Pace It proved the Magic Dirt still had their garage grunge origins inside them. It's a song that builds and drives you faster with front-up electric guitars and Adalita's repetitive call of "can't see it, can't feel it, can't steal it, can't keep it, can't need it, can't believe it, can't trace it, can't face it, can't lace it, can't taste it, can't pace it, can't erase it..."


4.  Say Something - Something For Kate (Echolalia, 2001)



Lyrics that say you better run: "I don't want to stand and compute, I want days and weeks to burst out of you..."

Ok, so the often nerdy, philosophical and emotional lyrics of Something For Kate are a stretch to apply to running...but as a long time favourite local artist, they feature strongly on my playlist with solid tempo and energetic songs, especially from their first three albums. The album "Echolalia" helped me through some dark days of my twenties and so songs like Say Something are second nature to me, allowing me to tune out from the task of running and mentally escape to those rocking gigs at The Corner Hotel.

More Something For Kate speed work: Prick, Electricity, Hallways, Working Against Me, Cassandra Walks the Plank.


5.  Knockouts - Ouch My Face (from Ouch My Face EP, 2009)



Lyrics that drive you onwards: "Can you handle this?"..."I'm bulletproof, baby..."

This hard rocking trio from Melbourne's small bar scene rocked my face damn loud one New Year's Eve at The Espy, after which I bought their self-titled EP. This sweet heavy track, of which I really can't decipher any of the other lyrics, has been on my running playlist ever since.

I guess you'd describe their music as a bit of mid-90s post-grunge with a little screamo. They are one of those raw little gems you discover on dark late nights out enjoying live music at random pubs and bars.

When you want to run far, it's all about mind over matter...which is beautifully encapsulated by the opening statement of Knockouts from lead singer and artist, Celeste Potter: "Can you handle this?"

Run this too: Junk Punk Baby


6.  Miracle Mile - Expatriate (from Hyper/hearts, 2012)



Lyrics that drive you onwards: "I ran a miracle mile to live it today..."

Whilst the first single from their long awaited second album, released in July this year, is not my favourite Expatriate song, it certainly kicks off strong, is lyrically appropriate and definitely does the trick on a running playlist.

If you can’t be bothered making a playlist, Expatriate’s first album, "In the Midst of This" works well as a running playlist on it’s own (with the one exception of ballad You Were There).

Expedite your playing with more Expat tunes: Crazy, Are You Awake, Get Out Give In, Gotta Get Home, The Spaces Between


7.  Hurt Me – The Jezabels (from She’s So Hard EP, 2009)



Lyrics that drive you onwards: "Still now I can hear the dogs bark, I can hear the dogs bark..." ... "Hurt Me, Hurt Me, Hurt Me, come down to the world..."

Guess what, long distance running hurts! To get through it…sometimes you just have to ask for that hurt. And what makes you run faster than the thought of being chased by vicious dogs?

The first three EPs released by The Jezabels, before they smashed through to Aussie popularity with the release of their debut album, are full of great running tracks thanks to the fast hands of drummer Nik Kaloper. Hurt Me opens their second EP release, "She’s So Hard". It's full of emo and dark religious undertones...but the beat and recurring theme of hurt makes this song perfect for running. It was the song that helped get them noticed before the release of Mace Spray saw them explode across national radio via TripleJ.

More songs from The Jezabels to bring the party to your running playlist: Be A Star, Disco Biscuit Love


8.  Go Go - Ratcat (from Blind Love, 1991)




The go lyrics: "Can't stand still, can't say no, gotta go fast, yeah I gotta go. Go Go (gotta Go Go) Go Go here Go Go there Go Go Everywhere !! So speed kills I'm in for thrills, count me in, I play to win."


My wife was a Ratcat fan girl in her teen years...so I discovered them almost 20 years later through her collection (and catching a Simon Day solo gig at The Retreat back in 2010). Ratcat's 90' garage pop hits the right beat and fun for picking up the pace.

Also: Racing, Run & Hide, Yes I Wanna Go


9.  My Car Doesn't Break - Spazzys (from Aloha! Go Bananas, 2004)



Lyrics to bring the speed: "Alright, lets go, step on the gas, it's time to lose this disco trash. Cruising, moving much too fast and I can't make it on time, flying down the boulevard, sun is shining, feeling fine."

Ahh yes...in the middle of the last decade there was the Spazzys, Australia's best all-female Ramones tribute band! Ok, so they weren't really a tribute band...but they were VERY Ramones in sound and style. They even ended up touring and playing with Marky Ramone. They had some minor hits, most notably a cover of My Boyfriend's Back, which may have been too cutesy punk-pop to capture their live energy and punk-ish rockability, so their Video Hits efforts were dismissed by the audience that would have loved them in the pub with their threeway rock-chick vocals. Say what you want about this flash-in-the-pan, they rocked live and they were fun. They promised a better second album...but it was never delivered. The fast Spazzys songs roll nicely on a running playlist, whilst dripping in memories of 2003-2005.

Get spazzy on your run with: Action City, Zatopeks and Zombie Girl


10.  Blood, Sweat and Beers – BugGiRL (from Blood, Sweat & Beers EP, 2009)



Lyrics that drive you onwards: "You gotta sweat, you gotta bleed, rock and roll is all you need... blood, sweat and beer!"

Brother and sister pub-rock duo, Bug GiRL, bring the AC/DC and Motley Crew sound to the 21st century with these lyrics that just say it all... sweat for beer!

Bug up your run to the pub with other tracks like: Fire Highway, Motor City Lover and V8 Motor

Other great, sometimes random, Aussie songs on my running playlist:

• Baby2 and I Don't Ever Want To Change by The Drones
• Benedict and Military Strongman by Jebediah
• Buy Me A Pony by Spiderbait
• Go Go Go and Let's Heart Attack by Bit By Bats
• Killer by Whitley
• Lullabies, Lies and Goodbyes and Mix Tape by Big Scary
• Honey and Sgt. Suffer by Papa vs Pretty
• Imorta, Little Death and Say It by The Clouds
• Teenage Rampage and Boys Boys Boys by Sin City
• Cassandra by The Galvatrons 

Get out there for a run! You don't need to go far, just get started. Keep at it and soon you'll be running much further than you ever expected. You're heart will thank you and the beer you drink will be so much more rewarding. Cheers!

*5 days to go and about 33kms of running to knock over...then it's time to taper and once again taste a beer...!

Beer Bar Band's Winter Solstice

9:09am on Thursday 21st June 2012 and it's the Winter Solstice here in Melbourne. This annual occurrence has brought us another miserable cold damp dark day across the city, so we are very thankful that the days will once more stretch longer towards Spring.

To celebrate, here is a short post for the shortest day...a beer, bar and band with a rather loose connection to the Winter Solstice...

Beer - I wish I could recommend for everyone to grab a Dieu du Ciel Solstice d’Hiver bareleywine, but I have never seen it available in Australia, despite the regular availability of several other Dieu Du Ciel beers from Canada. Solstice d’Hiver is one of few quality craft beers brewed specifically for the Winter solstice, as the name indicates.

Today requires a deeply dark, full bodied, big warming beer. An Imperial Stout it will be. And there are many such fine local beers to celebrate these days. However, on this darkest day of the year, it can surely only be the Murray's Brewing Company barrel aged Heart of Darkness Imperial Stout.

Bar - Hmmm...any suggestions for Melbourne's shortest bar? How about Pony...? Ok, the Pony bar isn't as short as some bars around here, but ponies are short! Also, Pony is a very small venue and always dark. Grungy but cosy, Pony is actually very Winter Solstice. Best of all, you can head their today and celebrate the passing of the solstice all night long (...it's open until 7am).

Drinks, couches and live music. Find Pony at 68 Little Collins Street Melbourne.

Band - Ok, I didn't dwell too hard on this and I'm out of time...so here is the lyrically short, dark and seasonally appropriate Winter by Melbourne duo, Big Scary (...hear the rain):

"Look to the sky, as she opens up on me...hands in my pockets, and a smile that only...she understands..."

Band - Last Leaves

Gig: Last Leaves
Support: Charles Baby
Venue: Earthly Pleasures Cafe Belgrave, tix $7
Date: Thursday 3rd May, 2012

Once upon a time there was The Lucksmiths. For more than 15 years they soothed the souls of Melbourne and beyond with characterful soft indie tunes. And then they were gone. But they were not lost.

Some may call it rebirth, others may see a continuation(-minus-Tali). Regardless, today we have Last Leaves...a new Melbourne band featuring ex-Lucksmiths Mark Monnone (bass), Marty Donald (guitar, vocals) and Louis Richter (guitar) with the barista/artist-sometimes-known-as Great Earthquake, Noah Symons (drums).

Yes, Last Leaves look and sound very much like The Lucksmiths...what else would you expect. Nevertheless, in the absence of frontman Tali While, Least Leaves is a very different beautiful beast, bringing back some of the Lucksmith lyrical soul and sound with new musical life.

Unfortunately we discovered The Lucksmiths too late in their existence. During their final year before disbanding we quickly feel in love with the band's lyrics driven, cosy and mellow yet cheery songs. Fortunately, we were able to catch several of their gigs in that time, including the farewell tour shows in both Brisbane and Melbourne. It was a sad passing as we left their final show at The Corner Hotel. When we heard that new music will flow again from Lucksmiths-esque hearts and minds, it was a welcome tune.

One of the first gigs by Last Leaves was held at Earthly Pleasures Cafe in Belgrave earlier this month. By day this historic and heritage listed stone manor is a relaxed cafe serving excellent food for breakfast and lunch. At night on weekends Earthly Pleasures provides a dinner service. On occasional nights it becomes a live music cafe and bar. For me, the best feature of Earthly Pleasures is that they serve good local craft beer. Their bottled beer list includes good brews from Cavalier Brewing, Hix, Holgate Brewhouse, Mornington Peninsula Brewery, Red Hill Brewery and more...perfect accompaniments for the food, surrounds and music. (Oh...and it does also help that Earthly Pleasures is less than one kilometre away from where we now live.)

This gig coincided with our monthly "date night". It was a typical cold evening in the hills but we were soon warmed by the Earthly Pleasures fire-place and the enjoyment of the Mornington Peninsula Brewery Brown Ale, as stalwart acoustic-folk-rocker of the region Charles Baby provided the support set.

Charles is a capable performer and solo voice, but he lacks something of an X Factor to really take him beyond being more than a good support. Charles Baby is a quality artist...just not captivating. Although, he did create a special little moment when his set provided a mash-up of Radiohead and Yazoo. I love such moments from a solo acoustic pub gig.

The small crowd swelled to an almost full house as Last Leaves took the "stage" (or designated corner). It was the kind of local crowd were everyone probably knows everyone, except for the couple of newbie locals...maybe.

The start was uptempo full sound by Last Leaves. The musical legacy of The Lucksmiths was clearly apparent, but the Last Leaves sound was making an early statement in the rock direction, as opposed to the often-labelled "twee pop" of their former incarnation. Yep, Last Leaves are a pumped up Lucksmiths...and that is awesome. More importantly, and maybe in contradiction to my words, Last Leaves is a new sound. Their style resumes or simply evolves many of the Lucksmiths quirks in rhythm, pace, breakdowns, vocals and lyrical depth as they regal stories of everyday life around Melbourne...in particular, around the local Dandenong hills. As a whole picture, however, Last Leaves breathes their own unique character and soul. And that is how it should be. A new band with a new life to offer, yet providing a connection to something we all loved before.

One guy in the audience even declared the Last Leaves sound as "fat and sassy", which was welcomed with laughter by many. Drums provide the obviously new dynamic to the still-very-Lucksmiths guitar and bass sound, alongside the expanded squeals and little airy "U2" moments from Louis Richter's electric guitar.

There was a moment of bliss behind the realisation that we were enjoying slow beer, drinking the brilliant Holgate Hopinator, at a gig close to home, which featured 3/4 of The Lucksmiths. Good times of years past had joined us at our new home in the hills...with the added bonus of fine craft beer.

Hell, after a couple of Hopinators I had written in my notebook: "The Lucksmiths vs The Drones kinda equals Last Leaves!". Sounds like my type of paradise.

With the songs too new to know, I can only recall that the set included "The nights you drove me home" and "Where I lived and what I live for". Marty Donald has been quoted as saying "It's early days, of course, and things are still taking shape, but already the new-found sense of space in the songs' narratives is reflected in their more expansive and dynamic sound"...and that sums it up nicely. It was a great gig, in a venue that was a superb fit for the music.

(Hint for gigs at Earthly Pleasures: for the best sound, head up the balcony!)

.

If you liked The Lucksmiths, you will love Last Leaves. If you are looking for something new on the local indie rock front...check out Last Leaves!

Band - Whitley Reunion Show at Northcote Social Club

Gig: Whitley Reunion Show
Support: Lester The Fierce
Venue: Northcote Social Club, tix $25 (all proceeds to charity)
Date: Wednesday 4th January, 2012

Like many of the bands I blog about here, Lawrence Greenwood’s band project – Whitley – was first experience as a support act. The impressive tunes of the then unknown artist lead us to buy the Whitley albums and become fans of the always entertaining his gigs. Although Whitley implies a band and a music concept, Lawrence Greenwood himself was really always Whitley. He is the constant and creative owner-driver behind the name and often performed solo as Whitley.

Whitley released two eloquent and expressive albums, The Submarine and Go Forth, Find Mammoth, which were very well received but many critics. Both albums remain on high rotation across my personal playlist.

The last Whitley gig we witnessed was an excellent night of dense sound at The Corner Hotel in November 2009 for the Go Forth Find Mammoth tour (which Whitley later shitcanned due to a seemingly unresponsive crowd of hipster wankers...more on that later...). In early 2010 Greenwood announced that he would end the Whitley name/concept with one final national tour, which we missed in favour of running away to get married in Far-North Queensland.

So, Greenwood took his leave from the Australian music scene and hightailed to Europe. He left in search of lyrics plus a new sound and experience through which he would create a fresh solo release under his own name. Unsatisfied with the result, he had returned to Australia for Christmas and reset his course for creating a new album in Peru during 2012. The return home provided Lawrence with an opportunity to reform the original Whitley crew and play the old songs to their Melbourne friends and fans one more time, with all proceeds from the gig donated to charity to help underprivileged children in Peru.

Like many others, we snapped up tickets for this reunion show at the Northcote Social Club, where I’ve never seen a bad gig. And despite Greenwood's flustering after a year of not playing live, this gig was no exception.

First to grace the stage on this sold-out night was brand new band Lester The Fierce. Similar to the Whitley concept, this recently formed foursome supports the lyrics and music of their driving force, the brooding vocalist Anita Lester. With dark poetic lyrics scored by their soft alt-rock sound, Anita’s quality voice and musical mindset has clearly been shaped by that of Kate Bush, Florence Welch and maybe even Katie Noonan.

Their songs were constant and tight, presenting their own unique musical flavour and presence that also felt somewhat nostalgic. I enjoyed Lester The Fierce, they were something new without trying to be anything other than a band playing their songs.

Their last song was their first single, “Holland”, which provided the best example of the Lester The Fierce ethos. With lyrics that cry to be heard, it featured Flo-like harp strings and a sweet and slow building bombastic drums driven by a simple acoustic guitar riff.

Anita Lester will be one to keep and ear out for. Her band has a unique sound but it still needs to develop along with their stage presence. All up, they played a solid set and proved to be a quality lead-in for Whitley.

Lawrence Greenwood and his Whitley crew spared no time reclaiming their welcome place on Melbourne’s live music stage, launching into the lush and loud “Killer” from Go Forth Find Mammoth. A sigh of relief came as the awesome sound told us that this gig was that real deal, not just some random afterthought.

The set continued with the hits and favourites from the second album, including “Bright White Lights”, “I” and “Poison In Our Pocket”. The band apologised for being under-rehearsed. Rehearsals, they declared, had involved more food and beer and actual refreshing. Thankfully, there was no need for the apologies! The talented band played as though they had never stopped touring together and playing live. The vibe of the gig was positive and friendly. If there was a stuff up, it was barely noticeable and/or no one cared. The crowd had no great expectations. We all just happy to be seeing Whitley play live again.

Greenwood has stacked on the kilos during his sojourn, of which he was happy to make light. He declared himself to be not match-fit for a live gig. Refreshingly, he seemed brighter and more at ease with his allotment in life than the former Whitley. I suspect this has been from the perspective provided through seeing more of the big bad world...and it has served him well. Most of all, his voice was unchanged. Vocally, Whitley remained perfectly in-check, a powerful demonstration of a quality voice.

Muddled and surrounded by a stage full of lyric sheets (from which he could never find the song he was looking for) Greenwood was nonetheless in fine form. He played every song in his entirety without any fault that I could detect.  The sound had some raw moments, but the mix was great and the music did not disappoint.

A call to the audience for requests during a bracket of three solo songs lead him to signing a new song. Once again Greenwood became flustered at the requirement to recall the chords and lyrics, yet when he started there was no reason for any concern. With his eyes closed, the quiet song came to life beautifully.

The diverse crowd, probably of the older and “plainer” leaning for a Northcote gig, was chipper and appreciative. Loving random heckles gave Greenwood plenty of opportunity to show-off his quick sense of humour that could match a seasoned stand-up comedian. Having been away from the stage for a year, tonight he seemed a little less ready to react at first, but he soon found his voice and remained as entertaining as ever. He was definitely less bullish than in the past, which I suspect is a consequence of some calming and maturing travels.

Greenwood is well known for his jocular attempts at controversial shit-stirring during gigs. He has often made absurd attempts to alienate someone in the crowd for no good reason other than sly entertainment. Back at that Corner Hotel gig in 2009 is was something about mums and kittens. This time, in the heart of hipster central Northcote, highlighting his enjoyment of the night's audience atmosphere, it was the perfect poison arrow line of: "I’m so glad you’re not all hipster cunts. We have an enemy and we know now who it is.” It clearly struck a chord with several in the crowd, whilst most had a good laugh or a little cheer.

Moving on...with the full band back on stage, “Head, First, Down” had the audience in full voice, as the band continued to demonstrated their natural ability to play together tightly, rehearsals or not.

Older songs dominated the second half of the gig. “All Is Whole” from The Submarine was given new life with an impressive jazz-like drum solo. It was a special moment in the gig as drummer Andy Reed took free reign to craft a relaxed yet rudimentary, crescendoing snare driven solo. It has been far too long since I’ve witnessed a fine long drum solo at any small live music gig! MORE, I call for!

“Lost In Time” had everyone lost in the Whitley timeline. The track was played as though it had just been released, taking us back to Whitley’s beginnings. The song would have been a very appropriate finale, but there was room for one more…an encore without the charade of the encore. Greenwood remained on stage, rightly deciphering that the context of this gig did not need him to depart-and-return at our educated begging.

The gig was closed with the opening track from Whitley’s debut album and fan favourite, “Cheap Clothes”. It provided a warm and fuzzy ending, leaving us satisfied and grateful that we had experienced what was not due to be experienced. This one-of gig was entertaining, fun and musically excellent. And it was all for charity.

Band - Expatriate at East Brunswick Club

Gig: Expatriate, “Miracle Mile” gig
Support: Them Swoops, Undercolours
Venue: East Brunswick Club, $15 tix
Date: Thursday 15th December, 2011

Late last year we noticed that Expatriate, a Sydney band that made something of a splash around Australia’s live music scene in 2007, would be playing an almost inconspicuous gig at the East Brunswick Club. Tickets were only $15 and we had good memories from the Expatriate gigs that we saw four years ago. So, we jumped on the opportunity to hit one more gig around the old suburbs in 2011. More importantly, we knew that it would sadly also be our last ever gig at East Brunswick Club. The venue, one of my top 5 live music rooms of recent years in Melbourne, has fallen victim to developers who will suck cultural life out of the place in favour of making a buck on building apartments (boo!).

Anyway…Expatriate gig…good band, good price and one last hoorah to a good venue…hence, we were excited to catch these synthy-pop-rock boys who had produced the excellent album In the Midst of This (an excellent soundtrack for running to!) then went quiet for so long.

So it's a shame the Expatriate set was a bit of an dud. More on that later though.

We arrived as first support, Them Swoops, were starting up. At first this local three piece had a very working class feel about them. They played a type of indie-pop-fuzz-rock with a splash of psych. Upbeat, they worked well as a young band, effortlessly in sync with each other and creating their own brand of sound. They happily announced and played their rhythm driven songs to an almost empty room. I suspect the only other people in the room besides us were staff or band members from the next support. Tracks included "Backflips", "Take Your Time" and "Work Around It". They also played a song called "White Rabbit", which was eerily appropriate as I drank a White Rabbit Dark Ale.

Them Swoop’s short final song was probably their best, as the rhythm guitar chords that dominated their set was replaced by a solid riff. Overall I thought they were a quality first support, but probably need to discover some type of X-factor to take their young band to the next level. Good set, Them Swoops!

Undercolours took us back to American high-school pop rock of the 80s for the second support. A collision of Bruce Springsteen, Bryan Adams, Air Supply, Journey, Cheap Trick and so on, along with the guitar effects of U2. Their set was like listening to the soundtrack to a 80s John Hughes film, which is fitting considering the guitarist looked like Emilio Estevez!

Undercolours were fun but in a novelty kind of way. They played well, but their sound was too familiar. I felt like this band been done before. There was also a slight air of cockiness to them, in contrast to the "we're just happy to play and have fun despite the empty room" vibe of Them Swoops.

The Undercolours novelty wore off on me quickly as every instrument began to sound like a cliché of the 80s Americana rock sound. That wave has passed for now.

The crowd had swelled in readiness for the main act, but it was far from capacity and the energy was quite restrained. Maybe it was the mid-December Thursday night factor, but few in the audience were willing to approach the front of stage position.

We first saw Expatriate support Something For Kate in 2006, followed by their own headlined gigs in 2007. Our Expatriate live highlight was one packed high energy night at The Corner Hotel.

Unlike those gigs of four years ago, Expatiate hit the stage and began this gig in very understated fashion and to somewhat restrained cheers and applause. It set the low tone of the gig.

The set was opened with new radio single "Miracle Mile" followed by unheard song "Do You Remember", which will feature on the band’s new album Hyper/Hearts that is due out in March. The unfamiliar track lulled the crowd a little.

The anticipated energy was reclaimed when the semi-epic, Cure-reminiscent, "Are You Awake", the lush final track on their In the Midst of This album, was a surprise third song. The excitement was back...but it was short lived.

Early on the band declared that they were underdone and not in their best form after a long break from playing together live...and it showed. This was their first gig back in Australia since relocating to Berlin over the past three years. Several stuff-ups were obvious and some songs seemed undercooked. The band's expressions during the show were very plain. They lacked the full sound and flamboyant energy of the past, which we had been anticipating to experience again. Maybe the lack of audience energy to feed off sullied the band.

Thankfully David Molland did manage to pull off some classic bass rock-out poses...

Next came several more new songs, which seemed more like band practice than a gig. Most of these new tracks seemed relatively slow and mellow for Expatriate and seemed to hinder the crowds desire to recall the songs and spirit of Expatriate circa-'07.

With the crowd holding back about two metres from the stage, lead singer Ben King’s former practice of spending much of the gig half inside the crowd was cut off. At times it seemed like he was weighing up whether to reach out into the audience or not. He never did, staying put on the stage.

The atmosphere was lifted by hits "The Spaces Between" and "Crazy", but the levels were still far below former glory. The sound was much more raw than in the past, with the use of effects seemingly limited.

Despite the band's overall rusty showing, drummer Christo was on fire. He effortlessly drummed true and with flare. The man's fast hands and techno-driving beats showcased his pure skill. Christo must be one of the best young drummers in an indie Aussie band at the moment. I’d love to see a fast-hands drum-off between Christo and Nik Kaloper of The Jezabels.

A song called "Design" finished the gig. The band gave a neutral "thanks" and departed.

There was a slow and weak call for an encore, which eventually built into a decent enough appeal for one more song. But Expatriate were done and no more to be seen. The lights stayed low and house music remained off for long enough to give the impression an encore was imminent, but when nothing eventuated the flat mood and slight disappointment of the night was only confounded.

Expatriate are a great band, a class act, but they were just off their game tonight. Back to the rehersal room, boys! There's polishing to be done.

Here’s hoping they are back in full force when the new albums hits the streets!

Don't just listen to my one view about this gig though. Other reviewers had a much more positive experience on this night and saw it quite differently to me. So, check out the reviews at:

• Vulture Magazine: http://vulturemagazine.com.au/expatriate-at-the-east-brunswick-club/
• The AU Review: http://www.theaureview.com/melbourne/expatriate-the-east-brunswick-club-15-12-11

There's also a good recent interview with Ben King on Mess & Noise at:

• Expatriate - There's Trepidation Mixed With Excitement

Goodbye 2011 - the Beer Bar Band Top 10s

2011 has been a very good year, a very full year…probably the best year of my life. The personal milestones were massive: celebrating our first year of marriage, buying our first home and running our first half-marathon.

Twenty Eleven was also a very beery year. Foremost was the excellent shock and awe of the first Good Beer Week, as well as many other beer events like The Local Taphouse’s Great Australian Beer SpecTAPular (GABS), plus countless new brewers and beers advancing the cause of the craft and enjoyment of good beer.

Here is a quick wrap of my Top 10s from 2011, Beer Bar Band style...

BEERS

I have enjoyed far too many beers from across the world this year, hence the task of quickly compiling a top 10 from all beers would require much more brain power than I'm willing to offer whilst on holidays. Therefore, I have limited this list to beers from the Australasia region that were unique to or new in 2011:

1. “Empress” Imperial Mocha Porter by Holgate Brewhouse – brewed for GABS, bottled in 750ml bottles and sold for $65 and poured on tap at Holgate, Beer Deluxe and into growlers from Slowbeer…we had it all because it was just so good! A huge beer, full thick and silky coffee chocolate…it was everything you wanted it to be.
2. “Tall Poppy” India Red Ale by 8 Wired – I have loved everything produced by 8Wired and it is hard to leave out the Batch 18, iStout and Sultan from this list, but the Tall Poppy was the most original beers I had all year.
3. “Rex Attitude” by Yeastie Boys – the most crowd dividing beer from this year and I loved it. This golden ale brewed with 100% peated malt offended many with it’s extreme smokey-to-burnt-rubber-bands aroma. I revelled in the aroma that you can smell from 100 feet away and found this beer to be a very enjoyable and even sessional golden ale.
4. “Thorny Goat” Cross Breed Black IPA by Mountain Goat and Thornbridge (collaboration) – Australia’s first international craft brewing collaboration. It needed a few weeks after release to really develop its fullness and when it did Thorny Goat was a beautiful bold India Black Ale, trumping many of the style that were brewed in Australia this year.
5. “Karma Citra” Black IPA by Feral Brewing – another new beer produced for GABS and another India Black Ale that sat with the best of the best in the style this year, scoring bonus points by showcasing the Citra hop in excellent fashion.
6. “India Saison” by Nogne O and Bridge Road Brewery (collaboration) – another international collaboration and another showcase of hops, featuring new Australian hops in Danish brewing. This beer also makes the list because it was an excellent beer, but more importantly a unique brew with big character.
7. Cask-conditioned Imperial Stout on handpump by Red Hill Brewery – one of my favourite local betters got even better this year, thanks to the Red Hill Brewery’s decision to install a traditional English handpump beer engine at their café bar and cask condition their popular winter seasonal especially for the handpump, including dry hopping
8. “Hop Zombie” by Epic – an absolutely massive yet still very drinkable hop bomb of an ale
9. “Ninaksi's Angel” Belgian Tripel by the Women of Beer – Abby ales are not easy to brew, so this characterful spice-filled Tripel  clearly showcased the talents of our local female brewers.
10. Everything by Moon Dog Craft Brewery – crazy, inventive, fun, honest, big ass craft brewing. Make up your own mind about their beers, but each one will no doubt be a truly new and unique drinking experience.

An honourable mention also goes to Mountain Goat Brewery for bringing back their “Bigfoot” stout this year! The beefed up Surefoot Stout, which has been missing from the market for several years, was just awesome this winter.

BARS

Once again...in the name of rapidly publishing this post...this list is limited to new bars that have opened this year of bars that I visited for the first time this year.

1. Oscar’s Alehouse, Belgrave – my new local, where good people, really good beer and great conversation really collide with the bonus of live music wrapped up in a very relaxed vibe.
2. The Wheaty, Thebarton Adelaide (first visit) – as I blogged last week…I think The Wheaty is Australia’s best pub. 
3. Penny Blue, Melbourne city (first visit) – a hidden gem chock full of character and good beer. 
4. Temple Bar and Brasserie, East Brunswick (new) – the next big little thing, modern beer and food focused bar where social interaction is the centrepiece. 
5. The Courthouse, North Melbourne (first visit) – brilliant food and brilliant beer, bringing modern gastro-pub fine dining in line with the flavour profiles of craft beer. 
6. Atticus Finch, East Brunswick (first visit) - awesome beer garden (complete with hop vines!), very East Brunswick, good prices, great staff...but best of all...their beer events (such as Beer School) and themed meals and beer flights.
7. 8. 9. & 10. Scratch Bar, Milton & Bitter Suite, New Farm & Kerbside Lounge, Fortitude Valley in Brisbane (all new) – I have no been to either of these bars yet, but will very soon. They are on this list because I love what these bars are doing for craft beer in Brisbane. Every report back from visitors to this bar and every status update these bars make on social media get a big LIKE from me in agreeance. 

Oscar's Ale House (...full blog post coming soon!)

BANDS

Albums release in 2011

1. Vacation by Big Scary
2. Rewiggled: A Tribute to the Wiggles by Various
3. United in Isolation by Papa vs Pretty
4. This Modern Glitch by The Wombats
5. Little Hell by City & Color
6. Prisoner by The Jezabels
7. Only Sparrows by Josh Pyke
8. The King is Dead by The Decemberists
9. Kosciusko by Jebediah
10. Maricahi el Bronx II by The Bronx

Very honourable mentions to Busby Marou (self titled) and So Forever by Husky.

Gigs of 2011

It was a quiet year on the gigging front for us this year, because so much else we happening (read: saving for and buying a house). We only made it to 10ish gigs, so here are the main 10 in order...

1. The Drones at The Corner Hotel – a WOW gig for any Drones fan. Amazing setlist, amazing sound, powerful & energetic, but most of all…the Drones at the fucking Corner!
2. Gareth Liddiard and Dan Kelly at the East Brunswick Club – brilliant & intense...a night to remember, a night of drunken yet sobering comedy and amazing songman ship combined with impressive musicanship.
3. Papa vs Pretty at Northcote Social Club – had been meaning to see this young band for a long time and they did not disappoint. Fun and energetic, but most of all...shredding to the max that works so well in modern rock!
4. Paul Dempsey at The Corner – seasoned performer Dempsey always puts on a solid show for an appreciative crowd, highlighted by his use of covers and the playing of several new Something For Kate tunes.
5. Big Scary at East Brunswick Club – the mellow “Four Seasons” gig was pretty. The first proper headline tour for Big Scary, provided the highlights through the new tracks of Mix Tape, Purple and Gladiator that would end up on the Vacation album
6. Josh Pyke and Jackson McLaren at The Grace Darling – returning to his roots with a stripped back, intimate solo acoustic gig yet Josh was still able to impress again by showing off a new edge with the use of a loop pedal.
7. Busby Marou at Northcote Social Club – could any other band bring Rockhampton pub country rock to Northcote? I think not! A special mention for their live cover of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun which they carried over from their TripleJ Like a Version performance.
8. The Jezabels at The Corner – New found popularity brought in a heavily hipster and young crowd of new fans, but the Jezabels showed that they could still adapt their big sound to a small band room after a year playing to big crowds on the festival circuit.
9. Josh Pyke at The Corner – whilst I believe Josh at his best solo acoustic, he was definitely in his element with the full band at The Corner. Bringing his new album to the live crowd, the band jelled well through the well selected set-list.
10. Expatriate at East Brunswick – look out for a blog on this gig soon…it was something of a dud gig, but still worth having on my list to make up the 10.

And that's it from me this year. Time to see out the year with a mini keg of 4 Degrees Pale Ale from Four Hearts Brewing.

See you in 2012! Cheers!

I'm coming back... Beer Bar Band style!

Yes...*cough*...the dust sure is building up around here at Beer Bar Band. But never fear, I'm on my way back! (like you care!)

It has been a massive couple of months in this BBB blogger's world. Firstly, the wife and I bought our first home then we ran our first half marathon. We have also judged a homebrew competition and enjoyed a bunch of excellent beer events, new beer releases and, of courses, great gigs.

Recent highlights also include...

The Festival of the Frothy celebrating The Crafty Pint's 1st Birthday:

A huge beer trivia party night in The Atrium at Federation Square was held in honour of The Crafty Pint website's first full year of sharing the good word about good beer in Australia. The crowd was packed with familiar beer-loving faces and the beers flowing from the Beer DeLuxe taps (exclusive to attendees of the event on the night) were spectacular, with very special mentions going to the Feral Brewing King Brown (Barrel-Aged Imperial Brown) and the Moon Dog Brewery Perverse Sexual Amalgam (black sour beer). Most of all, the simply awesome people of Holgate Brewhouse provided 30 bottles of their decedent 12.5% Beelzebub's Jewels, one for each table, to enjoy with a cake that had been baked using the same beer!

Our table of tweeting beer lovers, writers and home brewers (team name: "Feeling Frothy...in my pants!") finished around middle of the pack in the trivia stakes, but the social fun, solid organisation/coordination by Beer DeLuxe & staff and good beer was the winner all round.

For a video wrap of the night (spot me?) via The Post Project, click HERE.

GO TEAM "Feeling Frothy...in my pants!"

Team "Facial Hair of the Dog"

Funky Bunch Trivia Host, Tom Delmont aka Road Goat

Happy Birthday Mr Pint!

Another Fed Square Victorian Microbreweries Showcase:

After attending several Fed Square Microbreweries Showcases I thought I had seen it all. However, the 2 held this year have both thrown up plenty new and interesting options to explore. Hence, I am back to being an excited attendee every time his Showcase comes around. Tasting highlights from this week included the new Golden Ale from the new Two Birds Brewing, the Bridge Road Brewers & Nøgne Ø collaboration brew, an India Saison, Moon Dog's non-barrel-aged Black Lung smokey porter (can't wait for the business!). It was also great to meet Paul Mercurio, who was there for his book "Cooking with Beer", which the wife loves and has used to cook several delicious beer infused recipes with. Delicious!

For future events, check out: www.fedsquare.com/beer

The Drones "A Thousand Mistakes" tour gig at The Corner Hotel last Friday:

Yep, just another great gig by The Drones, with the added bonus of a fantastic set list of rarities, including the semi-epic "Luck in Odd Numbers" from Havila and "Sitting on the Edge of the Bed Cryin" from Wait Long By The River.

The sound was surprisingly excellent (for the sometimes patch Corner bandroom, depending on your position) and the energy was all there. Several broken strings slightly dampened the ending of some songs yet showed off the vigor that the band was playing with. I even drank a few stubbies of Melbourne Bitter during the gig...because The Drones and MB just go well at midnight.

The gig ended with a very RocKwiz moment, as support act Adalita joined The Drones on stage for a cover of Bob Dylan's "Oh Sister". Great stuff!

And BEER:

Yes, so much good beer continues to flow around Melbourne at the moment, primarily thanks to the huge rise in growler stations over the last 6 months. I have now made good use of draught beer fills from growler stations at Slowbeer, Blackhearts & Sparrows, The Local Bottleshop, Chapel St Cellars and Holgate Brewhouse. Still keen to make use of the Bridge Road Brewers growler station at McCoppins in Fitzroy.

I have also taken on a slightly bigger role at the back-end of Australian Brews News as a pseudo Assistant Editor (or is that "Assistant to the Editor") support role and am very excited about further expanding that area in future and my beer writing in general.

Oh, by the way, for beer loving podcast listeners out there...check out the Radio Brews News podcasts for some interesting local conversations about all things beer, hosted by Matt and Pete.

Your BBB blogger in-between Matt and Pete aka Prof.

And now...

Next week we move into our new home. It will be a huge change but will also provide me with more time and space to commit to this blog...and more.

All my life I have lived in the inner Melbourne suburbs, where the beer/bar/bands scene is plentiful, vibrant and accessible. For the sake of affording a decent sized house, we are now moving out to the hills and the very outer Melbourne suburbs, where my styles of beer bar bands are less present. Thankfully, my new suburb actually has some good beer, a bar and bands...and a whole bundle of potential!

Yes, I suspect I will soon be reviewing and even "part of the furniture" at Oscar's Ale House, rocking out during countless gigs at Ruby's Lounge and buying plenty of good beer supplies from Olinda Cellars...maybe!

I will definitely miss living walking distance from my local beer bar band central of the past 4 years: Slowbeer (ok, only been open for a year, before that it was Dan Murphys), The Royston Hotel (*love*) and Mountain Goat Brewery (more Double Hightail please!)


And now starts my quiet campaign for a craft microbrewery with a cellar door or bar out in the Dandenongs...

...maybe something as exciting and fun as the good good men of Moon Dog Craft Brewery

...CHEERS!

Oh...and go follow: http://soakedinbeer.blogspot.com/