Avicii - 24 January 2014, The Riverstage

w/ New World Sound, Joel Fletcher

You got to give credit where credit is due. 24 year old, solo DJ, Tim Bergling, better know by his stage name as Avicii, sold out the Riverstage. Not to mention selling out countless other stadium sized venues all over the world. Although being around for quite some time with his studio album True, he has become a true force to be reckoned with.

Starting with the opening of the gates at a hell early 5pm, was Australian DJ Joel Fletcher. Although there was only a relatively small mosh at base of the hill, those who there were up and dancing. He was very smart in his choices of songs to remix, crossing a whole range of songs into true dance tunes, including “Sweet Dreams”, Linkin Park’s “In the End” and Zedd’s “Clarity”. He was smart in his choice of drops and worked the crowd well.

With no more than a minute in changeover time New World Sound were on the decks. Now, this was an all ages gig, with too many teenagers underdressed and many parents there with there pre-teen children. Keep this in mind when I say that the first song NWS played was full of profanities. Hey, I’m the first to admit that in dance music it’s not only ok to drop the f bomb, but expected. But in an all ages gig, I thought it would be a little more tactful. Moving on. New World Sound were not as bassy as I would have expected and had a totally different way of live remixing. Their latest original track was really rad. They are really good at what they do, however they should never be allowed to have a microphone. All their aside comments were completely unnecessary and broke the continuity of the set.

Avicii. Where do I even start? He is very good at what he does. As soon as he walked on stage, the whole Riverstage exploded with energy. As well as his own songs, he remixed versions of Florence’s “You got the Love”, and “Tracks of My Tears”, both of which really stood out amongst the other remix tracks. It still amazes me how a single man on stage can actually connect with the audience, however he was so engaging to watch while he mixed. There was not a single moment where he lost the silly little grin he had on his face. It was infectious. Put that together with the amazing graphic production behind him and it made for a visually amazing show.

While his remixes were thoughtful and well done, it was his originals that really got the crowd dancing like maniacs. Take “Levels” for example. You could hear the entire 9000+ strong crowd singing along and really making it a fantastic experience.

With Brisbane the first stop on his international tour it was an intense, amazing and rather special night. Who can ever have too much dance music right?

The Buzzbees - 9 January 2014, The Zoo

w/ The Con & the Liar, Second Affair

For me as a music lover, I always love to hear and witness musicians on their musical journey. At the Zoo, this evening played host to The Buzzbees’ first headline show. This is such a big deal in the journey and brings the band another step closer to reaching their goals.

Opening the night was Second Affair. It is clear that these guys have been heavily influenced by pub rock, and they have captured the style in their original songs so incredibly well. I mean this as the highest complement. Their songs were intelligent and memorable, with their single “Driving Blindly” standing out particularly in the set. The vocalists worked well together with the lead singing really working the room. Also, the guitar solos. They were amazing! Shared by the two guitarists in turn, each instance was skillful and highly technical, while still capturing the essence of the song. Rad.

The Con & the Liar shook things up a little after Second Affair. The two piece boasted that this was only their fourth public gig together. While I am all for supporting musicians in all definitions of the word, I had no idea what they, as a band, were going for. There was a mixture of experimental jams, blues and something I don’t even know what to call. While they do take on a minimalist approach, there were times where their songs actually needed something else, a bass, another guitar, keys, another vocalist. Something else. When they got the middle, bluesy section of their set, they had a really good thing going on. Everything else was unfortunately, a bit meh.

The Buzzbees. Holy wow. I’ve never been happier to have my socks blown off by a band that I, ashamedly, had never heard of. They had an intelligent way of songwriting that showed that they had something many 'new' bands forget. Restraint. For me, the highlight of the set was a track called "Projector". I think it highlights everything that this band is all about - also, "The Drifter" was standout track.

You know when bands have that extra instrument, like a violin, or ukulele or trumpet just for no apparent reason? You ask yourself, what was the actual point to having that as part of the song. It had no purpose. The Buzzbees' use of mandolin and ukulele was the complete opposite of that. It was apparent that they had written their songs with the instruments in mind. A real treat to witness.

Seriously, I have never been happier to be pleasantly surprised at a gig. These guys have all the talent to go far in this, the Brisbane music industry.