E^ST + Golden Vessel, Mid Ayr @ Black Bear Lodge, 01.10.2015
On the Wednesday night I stayed in the Valley after work as Kirin J Callinan was playing a random Brisbane show at Brightside. After having some food (burrito), I headed to the venue at around 8:30pm only to find that the headliner was playing a 10:40 to 11:30pm set. On a Wednesday. So I just […]
BIGSOUND 2015, 10.09.2015 – Part 1
As for Parts 1 and 2 from the first night of showcases, these photos are presented alphabetically rather than in chronological order from the night. Looking through them now it’s hard to remember anything or anyone that really stood out from this selection of bands. Maybe Darts, maybe Sui Zhen? That’s the trouble with cramming […]
The Courtneys + Hinds + The Furrs + Soviet X-Ray Record Club @ Black Bear Lodge, 19.02.2015
Even at the time it felt like this was going to be one of the year’s best shows. I felt sorry for The Courtneys, headlining the night and having to follow Hinds and having to do so to a much reduced audience. I don’t know the story about why or how Hinds found themselves to […]
Bedroom Suck Records’ 5th Birthday Party @ Black Bear Lodge, 19.10.2014
Time may be getting faster every year but it’s crazy to look at how much Bedroom Sucks Records have achieved in the last five years, their first five years. As the man said, they’ve put out some of the best music in Australia in that time and keep going from strength to strength. By comparison, […]
Velociraptor + The Good Sports + The Maryettas @ Black Bear Lodge, 24.04.2014
First published on Collapse Board The first rule of writing about Velociraptor is that you have reference how many people play in Velociraptor. The second rule of writing about Velocirpator is that when it comes to live reviews you have to mention what ‘mode’ Velociraptor are playing in for that particular show (i.e. how many […]
The Steady As She Goes + Occults @ Black Bear Lodge, 13.02.2014
I have the (not very good) photos to prove I was at this show but forgot to log it in my all-singing, all-dancing spreadsheet of gigs I have attended/photographed or write any notes about it. It was only when I was doing some backing up and syncing of my hard drives that I stumbled across the photos […]
Bitch Prefect + Cured Pink + Primitive Motion @ Black Bear Lodge, 29.11.2013
I was disappointed with the latest Bitch Prefect album and mentioned it to someone that was reviewing it that it made me think that the whole Dolewave sound had gone as far as it could go. Fast forward a few months and it’s been amusing to see a bunch of articles about Dolewave and a […]
Palms + Babaganouj + Tiny Migrants @ Black Bear Lodge, 04.10.2013
I always had a soft spot for Red Riders. They were one of the bands that I kept seeing when I moved to Sydney in 2004 and I always felt they were a cut about a lot of the other Sydney bands around at the time. They just had the better songs. Having moved to […]
Mere Noise 10th Birthday Party: Vegas Kings + HITS + Tiny Migrants + Death Rides A Horse @ Black Bear Lodge, 07.09.2013
Seeing the Vegas Kings tonight really makes me miss Ric’s circa 2005/06. A few years ago Black Bear Lodge would have been packed and an easy sell out, and it’s really surprising that it isn’t, even more so as it’s free entry. I guess the trouble is that all those 20-somethings grew up, started families […]
Beaches + Per Purpose + Occults @ Black Bear Lodge, 14.06.2013
Everyone is a photographer these days. If you’ve been to a gig in the last few years you will have no doubt noticed the fact. From mobile phone cameras, through digital compacts and all the way to DSLRs, everyone is at it. For better or worse, everyone is at it. For worse is the change […]
Texas Tea + Shifting Sands + Johnny & The Fembots @ Black Bear Lodge, 09.06.2013
It’s been a long while since I’ve seen Black Bear Lodge (the old Troubadour) this busy. It’s Texas Tea last show until 2014, with the band heading off for a European tour and then Kate heading off to Sweden for the year, which hopefully brought in a fair number of people. It’s also the Sunday […]
Super Wild Horses + Day Ravies + The Kramers @ Black Bear Lodge, 17.05.2013
Amazingly there has been some recent discussion regarding whether you should bother going to see the support bands. It might be just me, but it seems like there’s been noticeable decline in music writing in the first half of 2013. There’s very little in the way of creative writing or developed and considered prose; it’s […]
Blues Control + Blank Realm @ Black Bear Lodge, 10.10.2012
All work and no play. Sometimes you need to be incentivised to work late into the evening, knowing that the light at the end of the tunnel (even if it only a short-term, one single evening reward) is heading straight from the office to a show, a well earnt drink and some bands. A $10 show for […]
4ZZZ Radiothon @ Black Bear Lodge, 24.08.2012
It’s the first of two nights of 4ZZZ’s annual Radiothon, tonight at Black Bear Lodge, tomorrow at The Bridge Club in the city. The first/last time I saw Tight Slip I was fairly dismissive of them as being yet another Brisbane post punk band, influenced by the same acts as all the others and not […]
Texas Tea @ Black Bear Lodge, 17.08.2012
Following on from a blast of 2005 courtesy of The Dangerman last time, tonight brings another step back in time to those happy days in the Brisbane music scene and the first band I ever saw after moving to Brisbane, Texas Tea. The band are playing the same room as they did then, but as […]
Kirin J Callinan + Nite Fields + DCM @ Black Bear Lodge, 21.06.2012
Recent months have seen an apparent dearth of gigs in Brisbane. It’s not that I’ve lost interest in photographing but just that I am becoming more picky about the acts I want to give up a night for. Looking through the recent listings of gigs in recent weeks (and for upcoming weeks) there’s very little […]
