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Metallica

Sports Authority Field at Mile High - Denver, Colorado 

June 7, 2017

The storm was supposed to roll through early - before opening acts Volbeat and Avenged Sevenfold took the stage. It did. But as is often the case in Colorado, Mother Nature always has a few tricks up her sleeve. This was to be a triumphant return for the band. It had been almost a decade since Hetfield, Ulrich, Trujillo and Hammett graced a stage in this town and the 60,000+ in attendance were primed and ready for action.

One thing that can always be counted on at a Metallica show - when those lights drop, and the strains of Ecstasy of Gold start coming through the PA, the surge of energy is palpable. They didn't write it, but the song is now as synonymous with Metallica as it is with Morricone. The band wasted no time in tearing through a double shot from their new album - title track Hardwired and Atlas, Rise! This defies what Metallica has often done in opening a show with a classic tune like say, Creeping Death but their new album Hardwired...to Self-Destruct is a beast of and album and they know it. 

The band then followed up with two from Ride The Lightning, For Whom The Bell Tolls and the aforementioned Creeping Death. This must have woke the heavens because as soon as The Unforgiven began, so did the rain. Sprinkles at first, but increasing as the song played on. Then came the Lightning. As soon as Unforgiven was done, the band cleared the stage and the announcement came up - everybody clear the outside area and get to shelter as soon as possible. This means tens of thousands of wet, annoyed people were now crammed into the concession area like the angriest sauna you've ever seen. None of this was the band's fault, of course - nor were they being overly cautious. The spring/summer storms here are no joke, and by the time everyone actually got undercover, it was pouring rain and the forks of Lightning coming down were quite spectacular. It was looking very close to the show being cancelled, but as tends to be the case in Colorado, the storm moved on rather quickly and within an hour, everyone was back out, drenched and ready to resume the festivities.

Hitting the stage once again with Now That We're Dead, complete with a Taiko drum battle between all the members, the rest of the show went off without any major hitches, aside from a couple of missed cues and timing issues. While the long wait between Metallica albums has become frustrating for fans, it's remarkable to see that in almost a decade, the band hasn't lost any of their power on stage. Hetfield still stalks the stage while Kirk runs around like a hyperactive kid - hammering through newer classics like One and old classics like Motorbreath. There's not a lot of stadium-worthy rock bands left in this world, but Metallica is worthy and then some. Sure there was some grumbling about the price of tickets of this tour, but see this show, and you'll know where the money went. State of the art sound, keeping the echoes to a minimum and screens as high as the stadium walls. They've come a long, long way from The Stone in San Francisco, but between the high standards of production and the good ol' snake pit, you can tell they still love what they do and it shows. Now if we can just get them back to town before my AARP membership kicks in. 

Hidden Sydney

"The Nevada" at The World Bar

Sydney, AU

25 May - 18 June 2017

Kings Cross is an inner-city locality of Sydney.

The Cross, as it is known by localites, was once the epicentre of organised crime figures and  a booming red-light district..

Despite the recent gentrification and lock out laws that put a damper on the once boundary free zone, King Cross has remained a state of mind.

Hidden Sydney is an immersive, exhilarating cabaret celebrating the hey days of Kings Cross and bringing the lost stories of a bygone era to the surface, featuring an all-star ensemble cast.

Set over four floors of “The Nevada”, the former Sydney brothel that became known for a range of well publicised features.
Once it starts, the lines between life and art instantly start to blur and you instantly become a protagonist in the stories and lives of crime and other colourful figures of yesteryear.

Within the first moments of the experience, it becomes apparent how much attention to detail, research and effort has gone into its execution to make it a dynamic production that unfolds as you meander through the building while staying coherent and true to its narrative.

Spilling any details would spoil the fun of the experience and the broad mosaic that each component contributes to making it a nuanceful whole, ranging from dialogue via physical theatre to dance. Suffice to say that the action begins once you leave the confines of the pop-up bar and stories become alive with you being placed right in the middle of the action of a gritty past with interaction galore.

Hidden Sydney is an innovative, colourful and humorous experience and the talent in this production is outstanding and if you like surprise and are open to a very different theatrical experience, this will be right up your ally and highly recommended to anyone looking for something a bit special during Sydney’s Vivid Festival.

Body Count

Luna Park

Sydney, AU

June 3, 2017

Body Count is quintessentially a heavy metal band with a rap mentality with their material focusing on various social and political issues, along with the credo of gang life.

Fronted by Ice-T who co-founded the group with musical mastermind Ernie C, the band has caused much controversy throughout their career – often so much that their notoriety eclipsed their musical emissions.

A shame really, as their signature dark yet groovy blend, accentuated by equal giving’s of thrash and speed metal parts and peppered with dollop of punk attitude, made for an offering that showed sincere appreciation for each of the musical styles, which in band form can be condensed to the triumvirate Suicidal Tendencies, Black Sabbath and Slayer, while creating their own distinctive style and staying true to their vision.

In a live environment, Body Count is an extension of their recordings with Ice-T MCing, holding court and lecturing, while his worthy constituents deliver sonic ammunition to fuel the machine, satisfying the niche appetites for vintage metal and hardcore.

In 2017 not much has changed for Body Count – erupting into an homage to Slayer (“Raining blood” / “Postmortem”) fairly early on in their set, they kept it heavy and raw with a punk rock approach and their frontman indulging in exaggerations and absurdity to convey underlying messages of the songs and his views on worldly affairs in a bid to infuse the preachy parts with humor.

Big parts of the audience were decked out head to toe in Body Count merchandise and felt very comfortable in the palm of Ice-T’s hand as he commanded the willing masses and reveled in exerting his showman skills, making sure that everyone had a good time.

The band meandered through their career as they covered a wide range of songs off their catalogue, making a nice spread across their entire discography and cementing their status as they bridged the gap between what initially inspired them to start going and the importance of making their stand in the world we find ourselves in these days.

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Photos by T

Nick Murphy (formerly known as Chet Faker)

Opera House

Sydney, AU

June 1, 2017

Nicholas "Nick" James Murphy, better known by his former stage name Chet Faker – a pseudonym he abandoned in September 2016 - is an Australian singer and songwriter. A prolific and accomplished one at that.

The evolution of shedding his previous moniker launched Murphy’s transformation into a widescreen version under his own name for an exciting new chapter of music, mixing past and present influences of what in youthful marketing speak could be classified as “heavy beats and soulful jams”.

Emphasis on soul and personality.

As part of Sydney’s VIVID festival, Murphy premiered Missing Link alongside his existing catalogue for exclusive performances in an immersive, communal 360-degree  “theatre in the round” stage show, which offered the enthusiastic audience a closer intimacy with the stage and put it in direct view vis-avis of each other.

Missing Link is an intriguing collection of a mélange that pushes the boundaries of composition and melody even further than what we have come to love about Chet Faker’s previous emissions, while still being faithful to his trademarked raspy vocal range and the foundation of booming percussive elements.

The VIVID fest, Sydney’s annual outdoor lighting festival with immersive light installations and projections, proved to be an ideal context for Nick Murphy’s Opera House incarnation as his performance was framed by a subtle yet powerful light show, which accentuated t and enhanced the performance and at times even mesmerized the main protagonist.

The light square that framed the band from above complemented the experimental nature of Murphy’s oeuvre, especially when it came to carefully orchestrated ambience and synthetic elements.

Nick Murphy is a seasoned performer and the evening provided ample opportunity to not only show off his dancing skills but it was a testament to how effortlessly he is able to transition in and out of songs with a myriad of instruments, leaning at times into more experimental spaces while maintaining an air of immediacy, soul and accessibility, connecting with the audience both at a deeper level.

A centered, Zenned performance with intense moments that cemented the evolution of an artist that has left the cocoon of his previous incarnation behind and now fully inhabits and shines under his chrysalis.

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Photos by T

GABS Festival

The Dome

Sydney, AU

May 28, 2017

The inaugural GABS fest, which was listed as one of the top 20 beer festivals in the world by the American magazine The Beer Connoisseur in 2015,  caters to both - converted craft beer fans and the uninitiated by showcasing the Australian and New Zealand craft breweries and cider producers featuring hundreds of beers and ciders – including, and that is the major appeal of the gathering, specifically one-time exclusive batches made specifically for the eent along with gourmet food pop up, masterclasses and entertainment running the gamut from music to activations. 

Being a cashless event, tickets are scanned and punters are given an entry wristband, which doubles as a key to GABS, and which can be loaded with any GABS Currency that has been purchased with the ticket, along with a Coopers Festival Glass and the Official GABS Guide handed out at the entry.

What follows is an exposure to a myriad of beers/ciders on offer and sampling a wide variety becomes the name of the game at GABS.

While individual 85ml tasters can be purchased, Tasting Paddles of 5 x 85ml tasters serve as away to sample a range of different beers and ciders, particularly at the Kegtainer Bars where the specially brewed Festival Beers & Ciders are sold.

If you find something you want a little more of, you can have your Festival Glass filled with a 285ml serve of beer or cider.

To compliment the liquid offerings, GABS hosted a market of boutiquey food stalls: Burgers by Josh; Mama Linh’s gourmet Vietnamese Street food; Chrissy's Cuts with her hand twisted sausages made in small batches from free range prime cuts and no gluten or preservatives; The Mac Daddy’s Mac’N’Cheese; Clementine's diet of bacon, brisket and burgers; Dumpling Den and pretty much any other variety of food that generally goes well with beer or cider.

Attractions were present in the form of the Yenda Ferris wheel of beer, the local taphouse craft college, gastronomic journeys of food, beer and cider pairings, pub games galore and the opportunity to purchase a festival beer variety pack with a selection of the best festival beers after the event.

GABS 2017 was another enjoyable and gregarious extravaganza with a healthy demographic of young couples, hipsters, families with children and what is commonly associated with beer fests, i.e. middle-aged men, with the vast majority of patrons well behaved, enjoying brews and good times.

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Photos by KAVV