Steve Kilbey and Greg Dulli sharing a stage… that’s two kinds of wonderful. And just look at the intense joy on their faces. The way they’re feeling it. Steve, Greg, if you’re listening… bring this fire to the studio, then bring it live to Brisbane!
So good people, put this in your Thursday pipe and smoke it! The Afghan Whigs with Steve Kilbey ripping through a version of The Church’s, One Day.
Filed under who listens to the radio?
I have been doing a lot of thinking about the importance of collaboration this past fortnight, which lead me back to one of the finest collaborations of recent times (at least that I am aware of); a genre-bending splice of speculative fiction, film and music by Jeff VanderMeer, The Church and J.T. Lindroos based on VanderMeer’s novel, Shriek: An Afterword. It’s a collaboration that takes maximises the talents of each contributor; plays to their strengths and then stretches them… VanderMeer is a multiple award winning writer, but until Shriek had not ventured into the realm of film / soundtrack, in their 30 years as a band, The Church have established a cult following across the globe, making their name as art-rock pioneers, but as a group, had never soundtracked a film and Lindroos is better known for his work as an artist, Shriek being his first foray into film. But when the elements combine, it is with tremendous force!
There came a force so beguiling that even a cold-minded scholar must surrender to it. There came a war so strange that bullets became delicacies. There came a night so terrible no one could name it. And one man’s obsession may hold the key to the survival of a city…
If those words are not enough to hook you, then why not watch the trailer, featuring voice over from The Church’s Steve Kilbey & Tim Powles.
But please… do not stop there, the short film in its entirety is now online for your viewing pleasure. This is the type of collaboration that inspires me to keep pushing myself as an artist.
Filed under discussions
How did you spend Christmas eve?
Me, I was among the sold-out-crowd that gathered at The Powerhouse to experience the grand magic of The Church as they played their second Brisbane show on the Future Perfect Past Tour. A tour that would see the band deliver three albums in their entirety; their worldwide breakthrough album, Starfish, fan and band favourite, Priest=Aura and their latest opus, untitled #23.
As the band takes the stage for untitled #23 opener, Cobalt Blue, their is a tangible feeling that many of the audience may be hearing these songs for the first time; it is a feeling that spreads like rapture through the room, with each song getting a bigger reception. Set highlight #1 is the anthemic, Space Saviour. Kilbey’s voice has never sounded better and he belts this out with a new found force while churning out one of the spaciest, driving riffs you are ever likely to stomp your foot to. This is followed by set highlight #2, the sparse-noir of On Angel Street. Lyrically, Kilbey is at his most personal, and as he stands looking up into the single spot singing:
You should change the message on your machine
so sad, so strange baby to hear my name
makes me cry when you say we’re not at home
you can’t help but feel a deep ache. And set highlight #3, is the epic, Anchorage. The band are at their sprawling best, and Kilbey delivers one of the vocals of his career, bursting from the at times spoken into the sweet bluster of the chorus. From my seat in the crowd, one thing is clear… untitled #23 is a modern classic.
After a short break, the crowd filter back in for the second serving, the sonic masterpiece that is Priest=Aura. ‘Priest’ has never left my top 5 albums of all time and I can’t see the years ahead changing that. So as the swirling atmospherics of opener Aura start up, I prepare to lose myself in its ethereal landscape. Following the apocalyptic beauty of Aura, Ripple shimmers through the room and lights up every face. This has been a staple of the band’s live set since the albums release and tonight’s version proves why, with the band rising to a sublime crescendo. Other set highlights for me include Lustre; its scathing lyric:
If I never see you again
That will be way too soon
And if I ever get over this
I will be over the moon
I hope that something new comes along
Something more my style
I hope that someone else comes along
And makes it worth my while
still as incisive as ever; Swan Lake, which to this day leaves a sweet pang of hurt when Steve sings:
Oh my ugly ducklings, nobody loves you
Daddy said he’ll buy you some ballet shoes
But he spent all he had on hash
And avoiding another crash
Now who will look after you
the epic jangle of Kings, the manic theatrics of The Disillusionist, the ephemeral Old Flame, the rock & ramble of Chaos and album closer, Film, where Steve takes on lead guitar duties and blows me away… As the band walk off to prepare for Starfish, I am feeling overwhelmed. The perfection of ‘Priest’ is glowing brighter than ever…
[check out my review of the band at Twin Towns for the link to watch Aura played in full]
And in what seems like a blink, we file back in one last time for the jewel that is Starfish. Album opener, Destination is big, rising and crashing like a wave, then, just as the audience begin to brace themselves for Under the Milky Way, Peter Koppes launches into the opening riff of Blood Money. It’s a great way to break the tension and Tim Powles makes the most of it by asking Peter if his iPod is broken or on shuffle. With Starfish, every track is an immediate hit, the crowd rising in voice with each song. And there are some incredible moments… Steve ad-libbing from Springsteen’s ‘Backstreets’ at the end of Lost is a personal favourite; while the guitar interplay in North South East West is scintillating; Marty rocks Spark, harder than ever and Hotel Womb is an absolute triumph, as the band charge to one final climax.
To play three albums back to back on stage is an ambitious undertaking and one that few bands could come close to pulling off, but tonight The Church are staggeringly brilliant. The Future Perfect Past Tour… well, for mine it is Perfect, Perfect, Perfect…
Filed under discussions, who listens to the radio?
These words take on greater meaning each time I see The Church play live. After 30+ years playing together as a band, through the headiest of highs and the darkest of lows, they have emerged as one of the most consistently breathtaking live acts on the planet. And last night’s show at Twin Towns was no different.
As the stage fades to black, the band bounce on stage, exuding youthful energy and leap into the swirl of opening number, Aura from fan (and band favourite), Priest = Aura. This song has at its hear the essence of everything I love about the band: the grooving pulse of Steve Kilbey’s bass, the percussive drive of Tim Powles and the intoxicating guitar interplay of Marty Willson-Piper and Peter Koppes. From Aura, they slide straight into one of my personal favourites, Sealine (from the criminally underrated, Forget Yourself). Steve is relieved of bass duties and is free to roam the stage, summoning the glittering spirit of the mirror ball dancing above him. As a front man, Kilbey is animated, throwing himself into every note of the song. Pangaea (from their modern classic, untitled #23) is up next, rounding out the opening clutch of songs.
The rest of the show is studded with some gems from their back catalogue: Metropolis (Steve announces that it is 21 years since they troubled commercial radio with this song), the chiming, Almost With You, the epic guitar freakout of You Took (for me, one of the set highlights, with Peter pressing his guitar into the amp stack creating a delicious wall of feedback), the song that has become our unofficial national anthem, Under the Milky Way, the riff-o-rama of Tantalised, the always slinky, Reptile, the sonic luminosity of Destination, the pummel and sway of, Grind and a joyous, Unguarded Moment, which Steve declares, is a song they have taken off mothballs just for the Twin Towns crowd, a song that when discovered in another 500 years will put a curse on its finder.
Each of these gems shines with diamond-hard-clarity, but it is The Disillusionist and Angel Street where the band are most triumphant. The Disillusionist is a hypnotic blend of theatre, spoken word and dark carnival whirls. Kilbey is shamanistic, cracking and warping and writhing across the stage. And Angel Street leaves a deep ache, as Steve leads us on an intimate, noirish journey to the crashing end of a relationship.
Sitting in the audience, it is hard not to feel buoyant as the crowd tonight (well at the least the people near me) are happy just to lose themselves in the music.
And for me, the day was made extra special when young T.H.E. Nunn met Steve Kilbey and was given a poet’s blessing; Steve chanting, ‘you will not rebel by hating poetry, you will love poetry, you will be a poet, you will remember these words.’
Roll on Christmas eve… as the band are playing their second show on the Brisbane leg of the Future Past Perfect Tour, where they play three classic albums – untitled #23, Priest = Aura & Starfish – in full… it’s going to be three and a half hours of bliss to kick off the festive season!
Here’s some brilliant live footage of the band playing Priest = Aura live, to let your heads unwind.
Filed under discussions, who listens to the radio?
That’s right, the day just keeps on getting better! Tonight, at 10pm (Eastern daylight savings time, so 9pm here in Brisbane), Music Max TV will screen a one hour special of The Church’s spectacular gig at The Sydney Opera House: A Psychedelic Symphony. Here’s my review of the gig, which will go down as one of the best I ever see. This my friends, is must see!!! I do believe a DVD of the show will be hitting the shelves for christmas.
Filed under who listens to the radio?
The Church have long been an important part of the Australian music (and my own personal) landscape. For 30 years they have remained vital, creative and original, which is something to be celebrated in this fleeting digital age. One of the things that keeps this band vital is their social conscience, and tomorrow night, three key members of The Church – Steve Kilbey, Peter Koppes & Tim Powles play The Red Rattler in Marrickville to raise money for Autism Spectrum Australia. All money raised will go toward funding the education of young people with autism, a truly worthy cause. If you are not aware of autism, I can highly recommend reading Gabrielle Bryden’s ‘The Autism Files‘. These posts are from the heart, and highly informative.
So, if you are in or around Marrickville tomorrow night, get along and support a great Australian independent band and help make a difference in many young people’s lives. And for those of us who can’t be there, here’s a clip of The Church rocking out on KEXP Radio last year:
Filed under events & opportunities, who listens to the radio?
One of the great things about being a fan of The Church has been discovering so many of their collaborators, one of my favourites, the gorgeous Margot Smith, who sadly passed away yesterday after a long battle with alcohol. Margot’s voice had that otherworldly quality, that ability to slip inside you and dance. Both her debut album, Sleeping With The Lion & her follow up, Taste are (like so many Australian albums) long out of print and sadly forgotten, but both are classics and to quote Steve Kilbey, if you can beg, borrow or burn them, you won’t be disappointed (there is a great write up by Steve about his time with Margot here as well as a few songs). There has been talk of recorded material for a third album, so let’s hope it sees the light. Another songbird, flown too soon…
Filed under who listens to the radio?
So what better way to celebrate than heading down to your local and splashing out on some new music… If you are in Brisbane, try Rocking Horse Records (245 Albert St, Brisbane), where there will be live music from local legend, Ben Salter (he is on at 1:30pm) + many others; or head to the mighty fine TITLE (60 James St, Fortitude Valley) as they are celebrating by knocking 20% off everything in store.
For more details, head to the Record Store Day website. If you need some encouragement, here’s a couple of clips to send you on your way…
The first is New Vagabond by former Bluebottle Kiss frontman, Jamie Hutchings, from his new album, Avalon Cassettes:
And I couldn’t resist posting this clip of The Church live on their Past, Perfect, Future Tour, playing the sublime Anchorage from their 2009 LP, Untitled #23:
Both albums would make a fine addition to your collection…
Filed under events & opportunities, who listens to the radio?
Almost a week on from A Psychedelic Symphony and my brain is still firing…
From the moment George Ellis and his incredible 67 piece orchestra take the stage, the night is one of the most blissful of my life. They open with a superb arrangement of Metropolis, and as the band settle in, front of stage, the anticipation in the crowd is tangible. Kilbey whispers into the mic, there’ll never be another quite like you, the crowd burst their seams and the band surges straight into Sealine. Free of his bass, Steve has a new energy, attacking the vocal with fervour, It’s a miracle, let it alter you, and the packed house begins to give themselves over. Lost follows and the arrangement is soaring and lush and then it’s crowd favourite, Almost With You.
Three songs into the set and the bands musical prowess is shining through, the orchsetra, exploring spaces in the songs and swelling their already expansive sonic landscapes.
Anchorage and Pangaea from 2009′s, Untitled #23 are up next. Anchorage not only shows off Kilbey’s vocal depth, it also highlights his theatricality as a front man, and Pangaea has a new found sonic richness. Then we are taken back 30 years to where it all started… the slowed down, sensual throb of Unguarded Moment brings the crowd back to bursting. Kilbey’s voice is smooth and deep, Marty & Peter’s guitars interwine and Tim keeps the engine pulsing. The band then fire things up, unleashing a full-tilt version of Myrrh. The orchestra flexing their muscle as the guitars shift into overdrive…
Steve then hands lead vocal duties over to Peter and he delivers a superb version of Never Before, before moving to the keyboards as the band prepare to close the first set with the epic, Grind. For the first half of the song, the band adopt acoustic mode, allowing the strings to swirl and mesmerise, but as the orchestra leave the stage, Marty straps on the electric and we are left with just The Church on stage… it’s then, you remember why you are here. Marty’s solo is blistering, Kilbey is just about doing the splits, Peter’s keyboard is hauntingly beautiful, and Tim is giving his kit a delicious thrashing. The first half closes and the show has already exceeded expectation.
The second half of the show opens with the gorgeous, Happy Hunting Ground. It is a real treat to hear the orchestra make this soar. The band hit the stage again and tear through a cover of The Dave Millar Set’s classic, Mr Guy Fawkes. Then it’s the first of a string of highlights. Ripple is phenomenal tonight. Peter’s guitar work is sublime and the strings lift the chorus to dizzying heights. Reptile is up next and again it is Peter that steals the show. His guitar work toward the end of the song is nothing less than thrilling… Then we are treated to Two Places at Once, a song that has only sporadically made it into live setlists over the years. Steve and Marty trade verses, and the whole room seems to come to a stand still. It is one of the many ‘pin drop’ moments of the night. But nothing could have prepared the audience for what comes next… The Disillusionist.
Kilbey is absolutely possessed, channeling the lyric and moving like a dervish. The arrangement is epic, a wild mix of rock’n'roll, poetry and theatre. I was completely transfixed. Marty then takes lead vocal duty for Spark, which possesses a youthful energy, before the mood shifts with On Angel Street, Steve crooning some of his most personal lyrics, You should change the message on your phone/ So sad, so strange baby to hear my name/ Makes me cry when you say we’re not at home.
Then it’s the big one, as Steve says, the most popular Australian song of the last three million years, Under the Milky Way. And what can I say… the room is surging, every face in the room lights up. The second set closes with big rocker, Space Saviour. Tim’s drumming is frenetic, the cymbals getting more than a good workout. The crowd are on their feet, the band is waving and blowing kisses but no-one is leaving yet.
They return with Already Yesterday, followed by a shimmering version of Invisible, that also blends in The Velvet Underground’s classic, Heroin and again, allows Kilbey to really let go vocally. The crowd are on their feet for a second time, the band leave the stage, but still no-one is ready to go home.
The final act opens with Operetta. Truly, this song sounds like it was written for an orchestra. I have loved this song from the moment I heard it, but tonight’s version has a new magic. And finally, Marty’s guitar starts to rumble and the band break into wild-rocker, Tantalised. People start to pop up out of their seats and the room is shaking. The band remind us of their potency and we are all held in their spell.
The roar of the crowd is still inside me, and I imagine will be for some days to come. I have said to everyone who has asked me about the show that it’s nights like this that you live for.
Thankfully for the many that couldn’t be there, there will be a DVD release later in the year.
Filed under events & opportunities, discussions
I can’t even begin to say how excited I am about flying to Sydney tomorrow morning to see my all time favourite band, The Church play the iconic Opera House with a 60-piece orchestra as the final event in their 30th anniversay tour (started last year). They have dubbed it A Psychedelic Symphony, a title fitting of a band that have pushed well beyond the realm of their 1980′s commercial popularity, into a deep vein of swirling guitar, snaking bass and driving drum beats, to create a sound that has filled almost 30 albums and EP’s and thrilled audiences the world over.
I feel like The Church have always been with me; each of their albums create distinct memories and are tied to much of my personal history. That said, there is nothing nostalgic about the band, or their sound and I am certain that when the guys do tour on their 40th anniversary, it will be on the back of another album that pushes beyond what has come before it. That is what the army of Church fans have come to love about the band.
So before I start to gush, I want to leave you with what the band do best… play live. Here’s the band playing The Disillusionist from their epic 1994 album, Priest=Aura, with Kilbey in raging rock/poet form. This was recorded last year in El Ray as part of their Past Perfect Future Tour. The Disillusionist is one of my favourite lyrics ever… and he does the Indian Rope Trick/ the one that makes you seasick (read the full lyric here).
And the great news is, tomorrow night’s show is being recorded for a DVD release. Will keep you all posted.
Filed under events & opportunities, who listens to the radio?
