Posted by Danni Le Toullec on April 10, 2011
Fresh from their March tour of the US and appearance at SXSW, The Jezabels played to yet another packed crowd at Sydney's Metro Theatre on Friday night.
The band has been pumping the touring circuit of late and fans are lapping it up. Following a busy Summer festival season that saw them tear up the stages at Falls Festival and Peats Ridge Festival and sell out eleven shows on their national Dark Storm tour, lead singer Hayley Mary, Sam Lockwood (guitar), Nik Kaloper (drums) and Heather Shannon (keys) are noticeably more in tune with each other and their sound than ever before.
Not too long ago, I saw them perform in a paddock under a canopy of stars in the Glenworth Valley. This time around Hayley's lofty voice nestled into the more intimate setting and the emotion in "Hurt me" and "Easy to Love" was more tangible, although those high-reaching notes were not easily mimicked by punters attempting to sing along. Sheathed in black, Hayley stalked the stage, her lithe body and liquid movements creating a distinct feline quality. More...
the jezabels, ernest ellis, metro theatre, groovin the moo
Posted by Danni Le Toullec on January 3, 2011
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For some folk, NYE is all about glamour, champagne, high heels and fireworks. For others, it’s about spending quality time with the fam. Then there are the exceptional few (thousand) that wouldn’t call it New Years without tents, gozleme, heat and multiple days spent bowing down to the sweet, sweet sound of live music.
Now for the latter, the family friendly Peats Ridge not only delivered, it came through with great tunes, acrobatics, art, and a muted carbon footprint. It even won the ‘Best Achievement in Sustainability’ award at the 2010 Australian Event Awards. Held in the picturesque Glenworth Valley on the Central Coast of New South Wales, it was the perfect setting for riverside camping, not to mention those delicious potato spiral-on-a-stick! There were countless workshops on offer each day, including pilates, yoga, poi twirling, hula hooping, juggling, West African dancing and drumming.
As for on-site venues selection: guests could wind down on cushions and rugs in the Chai Temple, ponder among suspended bird cages in the Boudoir De La Fox, enjoy the sounds of music bouncing off the mountains at the Bellbird stage, stomp the ground in the Dub Shack or pass your time in The Land of Hopeless Utopians – a massive 13.5m diameter geodesic dome that used solar power to create a 360 degree kaleidoscope projection.
Day One
ARIA Award winner of Best Female, Washington pulled a large crowd at the Bellbird main stage; although her vocals were somewhat swallowed up by the valley. The Jezabels didn’t suffer the same problems. ‘Hurt Me’, ‘Easy to Love’ and ‘Disco Biscuit Love’ rang out loud and clear. Having supported the likes of Tegan & Sara and Josh Pyke, they have proved that they are more than capable of holding their own. We scampered off into the creek to cool off and then moved on to the natural slushee stall for an icy guava beverage before seeing Swedish exports, Shout Out Louds. They played great folk anthems filled with catchy lyrics and a perfect ratio of the town bicycle, also known as the synthesizer, mixed with some good old fashioned acoustic guitar. Angus and Julia Stone played against a beautiful background of wire-suspended clouds and hot air balloons that, combined with Julia’s tranquil voice, gave their performance a whimsical quality. Their cover of Grease's “You’re The One That I Want” went down a treat. More...
peats ridge festival, glenworth valley, washington, the jezabels, matt corby, ernest ellis, kate miller-heidke, angus and julia stone, trentemoller, shout out louds, jonathan boulet, decoder ring, jinja safari