Kimbra - Settle Down (Live at the 2012 ARIA Awards)
Anyone who criticises Kimbra can just [profanity removed].
This will make a fine addition to my wall of posters (also known as my living room).
Where, oh where will I manage to fit it in though?
Panorama of existing posters included for context.
Kimbra - Come Into My Head
She can do no wrong!
Splendour Friday 2012
I have just realised that I haven’t shared my thoughts/experiences from Splendour in the Grass with y’all yet, so here they are in dot point form. (Had to hide behind a “Read More” because it got quite lengthy… Sorry about that!)
Kimbra - Age 11
A decade before she graces the top spot of the American singles chart, future pop star Kimbra Johnson is an effervescent 11 year old girl-next-door investigating the mechanics of making a hit recording in a series of segments for this TVNZ kids show. After consulting music industry experts (including Anika Moa and Francesca Rudkin) and receiving some vocal tuition, she’s ready to record her song ‘Smile’. The venue is Rikki Morris’ studio where an arrangement is ready for her and she lays down one of the first of what will be many vocals to come.
Kimbra - The Build Up
My Favourite Albums of 2011
Falls Festival 2011 - Marion Bay
Here’s some of my thoughts about the recent Falls Festival in Marion Bay. Better late than never, as they say… It’s a bit lengthy so here’s a shortened version: I had fun.
My Favourite Gigs of 2011
Hottest 100 Votes
In reality, there is probably only 2-3 songs from my favourite 10 of the year in this list. The others aren’t available because JJJ are horribly inconsistent in selecting which songs are available for voting and which are excluded. In previous years I’d have voted for my favourite 10 songs that were available in the voting, but I really couldn’t be bothered this year so I’m just filling up on local bands that I’d like to see make it in.
- Abbe May - Design Desire
- Brous - Streamers
- Felicity Groom - Siren Song
- Gomez - Options
- Grey Ghost - Space Ambassador
- Kimbra - Cameo Lover
- Portugal. The Man - Got It All (This Can’t Be Living Now)
- Stonefield - Black Water Rising
- Teeth & Tongue - Unfamiliar Skirts
- tUnE-yArDs - Bizness
Upcoming Gigs
Thursday 8 December 2011 - Felicity Groom @ Federation Square (Free)
Friday 16 December 2011 - Darren Hanlon @ Northcote Social Club (Sold Out)
Thursday 22 December 2011 - Big Scary @ Federation Square (Free)
Thursday 29 December 2011 - Falls Festival @ Marion Bay (Sold Out)
(Aloe Blacc, An Horse, Crystal Castles, CSS, Dan Deacon, Fleet Foxes, The Grates, The Jezabels, The Jim Jones Revue, Kimbra, Metronomy, Missy Higgins, Regurgitator)
Friday 13 January 2012 - Sons & Daughters @ East Brunswick Club Hotel ($45)
Sunday 15 January 2012 - tUnE-yArDs @ Corner Hotel ($45)
Saturday 21 January 2012 - Eleanor Friedberger @ Northcote Social Club ($30)
Tuesday 31 January 2012 - Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds @ Palais Theatre ($96)
Wednesday 1 February 2012 - Soundgarden @ Sidney Myer Music Bowl ($100/$135)
Thursday 2 February 2012 - Röyksopp @ Palace Theatre ($75)
Friday 3 February 2012 - Anna Calvi @ Corner Hotel ($53)
Wednesday 8 February 2012 - Incubus @ Festival Hall ($95)
Thursday 9 February 2012 - Portugal. The Man @ Corner Hotel ($50)
Tuesday 21 February 2012 - Death Cab For Cutie @ Palace Theatre ($72)
Tuesday 10 April 2012 - Seasick Steve @ Corner Hotel ($69)
Kimbra - Vows
Rating:
8/10
Key Tracks:
Cameo Lover; Settle Down
Sounds Like:
Parklife Set Times
Parklife has just released set times (see here). I am only really there to see Death From Above 1979 and Lykke Li, but luckily the timetable will give me a reasonably full day with the other handful that I wouldn’t mind seeing.
1:45 Kimbra
2:30 The Naked & Famous
3:10 The Aston Shuffle
5:45 Santigold
7:30 Gossip
8:45 Lykke Li
Now, if West Coast manage to beat Carlton in this weekend’s final, Geelong v West Coast will be on at the MCG next door at 2:20. Given that I’ll be unlikely to get a pass out from Parklife, I will probably just skip the first three bands, go to the first half of the AFL then go in for DFA1979…
Either way, I’ll have an hour to kill after DFA and another hour after Santigold, so if you’d like to grab a beer, let me know.
Kimbra @ Forum Theatre, Melbourne - Sep 9 2011
As the first show of her first full-scale national tour it’s not unexpected that Kimbra may have been feeling a bit nervous. She admitted as much a few times during her set but regardless, it was clear from the onset. The few previous times I had seen her live she has completely owned the stage but tonight she was timid and apprehensive. Her normally dominant vocals were lost in the mix early and the first few songs were performed to an imaginary point about five metres above the crowd. With the fifth song of the night - Nina Simone cover and album-track Plain Gold Ring - Kimbra appeared to have gained some of her confidence back, but then the show was put on hold for a (surprisingly early) costume change.
From this point the night progressed much better but with the early disappointment of the higher profile songs on the album it was always going to be a hard slog to finish above expectations. The worst part of the night was the absence of my pre-album favourite song Break and the highlights were Plain Gold Ring and Call Me.
Apologies for the somewhat negative review but I go to a lot of gigs so I have very high expectations, especially from artists who have impressed me in the past. I’m not saying that the show was bad, just that it wasn’t as great as I’d hoped. It’s not going to stop me seeing her live.
All fanboy/fangirl hate mail can be directed to the Ask link on my profile.
Rating:
7/10
Photos (by East13 Photography, not me)
