I'm A Reasonable Man, Get Off My Case

Stonefield - Ruby Skies

(2012: Bad Reality EP)

Stonefield - Bad Reality EP

Rating:

9/10

Key Tracks:

Move Out Of My Shadow; Yes Master

I don’t think it’s any secret that I’m a big fan of Stonefield. This EP is only their third physical release, but it’s definitely their best. They have just been announced as one of the first gigs at the reopening of Ding Dong lounge on July 7 so get yourself a ticket.

Stonefield @ Northcote Social Club - April 24 2012

It might be time for Amy to step out from behind the drum kit. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been a big fan of what Stonefield have been doing for the past two years - I wouldn’t have seen them five times live otherwise. What I witnessed at this show though was, I hope, the evolution of the band. The “novelty factor” of Stonefield has been flogged to death since they came on the scene - be it about their age, the fact that they are all sisters or that Amy is a singing drummer - and I know they can’t be too happy with these labels.

The show started off like any other and was progressing as expected, on the way to being just another good show. There was a handful of new and unreleased tracks, including personal favourite Move Out Of My Shadow - which I’m very glad to see in the tracklist of their upcoming Bad Reality EP.

With only a handful of songs left in the set the band invited a friend on stage to play drums, freeing Amy to become a standalone frontwoman. The result would surely have pleased the band and their entourage because she was great. Everyone already knew she has the voice, but what we now know is that she has the stage presence to match it with the best.

Rating:

Stonefield - 9/10

My Photos

Better Photos taken by Rebecca Houlden

Setlist

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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

Stonefield - Yes Master

(Source: stonefieldband)

The Age 2011 EG Music Awards - My Votes

Best New Talent

Big Scary

Best Group

Grinderman

Best Female

Abbe May

Best Male

Mike Noga

Best Album

Other (Abbe May - “Design Desire”)

Best Song

Teeth & Tongue - Unfamiliar Skirts

Best Victorian/Local Group

Stonefield

Best Tour

Grinderman

Stonefield - Black Water Rising

Meet Stonefield (@Stonefieldband)

Live Review: Stonefield @ Northcote Social Club, Melbourne - April 1, 2011

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Stonefield, having previously blogged about them several times. This was the fourth time I’d seen them live and the first headline set I’d seen them play. Obviously the freedom of being the main act gave them the liberty of extending their time on stage, throwing in three or four unrecorded songs as well as a few covers to round out a 50 minute set.

Through The Clover and Walk My Way were the highlights of the older songs, while the as-yet-unnamed track that was also played at St Kilda Festival (featuring all four sisters on vocals) was the highlight of the new tracks. Covers of Frank Zappa & John Lennon - Baby, Please Don’t Go and Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love were impressive as always, but the encore cover of Jimi Hendrix - Purple Haze was a little lacklustre

As always, the girls were humbled by the size of the crowd and were comfortable on stage. It was their second consecutive headline show in Melbourne to sell out and their last headline show before heading over to play some British festivals (Glastonbury amongst others), so it’s clear that developing a strong fan base will be no challenge for Stonefield. The challenges that do lie ahead will be all internal - avoiding conflict within the group, maintaining their love of performing that is so clear when they grace the stage and resisting the urge to churn out recordings quickly at the expense of quality. Best of luck to them.

Rating:
Stonefield - 8/10

Live Review: St Kilda Fest - February 13, 2011

This is nearly a week late, but as they say: better late than never. For the benefit of anyone reading this from outside Melbourne, St Kilda Fest is a free single day event where the streets of one of Melbourne’s most popular suburbs are closed down. Bars, cafes and restaurants have people hanging from the rafters, there are street performers everywhere, showcases of beach-themed sports (Beach Volleyball, Beach Soccer, Kite Surfing, etc.) and most importantly - live music.2011’s St Kilda fest was the best lineup that I’ve seen since being in Melbourne. The last two that I’ve been to have only really offered one band worth seeing but this year boasted Gareth Liddiard, Paris Wells, Jebediah, Kimbra, Stonefield, Hungry Kids of Hungary and Tim Finn. I managed to see all except Gareth Liddiard. Overall the quality of the performances was great, but only just made up for the hassle of squeezing through 400,000+ slow-walking people while trying to move between stages. Click through for artist reviews.