Skipping Girl Vinegar announce new single and 'For the Birds' Interstate November Residency

Following on from their recent ‘Music From Cold Places Tour’, their largest and most successful national run to date, Melbourne alt acoustic popsters Skipping Girl Vinegar have just announced their ‘For The Birds’ dual Sydney / Melbourne November residency. The month-long run of shows is set to coincide with the release of their new single Sinking.

The Melbourne / Sydney ‘For The Birds’ November residency will see SGV play:

•Wednesday nights @ The Northcote Social Club (4th, 11th, 18th & 25th) - Melbourne

•Thursday nights @ RAVAL (upstairs at Macquarie Hotel ) (5th 12th &19th) - Sydney

(Please note the last Thursday night in November there will be no show in Sydney due to the ARIA awards).

All supports for the interstate residency have just been announced, namely:

Melbourne: Wednesdays @ The Northcote Social Club

Wed November 4th
BUCKLEY WARD

Wed November 11th
GEORGIA FIELDS

Wed November 18th
LEENA

Wed November 25th
DRUGS IN VEGAS

Sydney: Thursdays @ Raval (upstairs at Macquarie Hotel )

Thu November 5th
CHRIS ARNOTT

Thu November 12th
JESSE MORRIS & THE THREE BEANS

Thu November 19th
ASHLEIGH MANNIX (SOLO)


Sinking

Download Sinking

Or buy The single/album here

The residencies will be accompanied by the release of Sinking, the third single to be lifted from Skipping Girl Vinegar’s debut album Sift The Noise. The video clip for Sinking is also the third in a series of four animated film clips that coincide with the order of the singles being lifted from the album (ie each clip follows on from the previous one).

Picking up where the clip for title track Sift The Noise left off, the clip for Sinking sees the band enter outer space and is available for viewing online now:



All SGV clips to date have been awarded ‘Indie Clip Of the Week’ by ABC’s Rage and broadcast nationally.www.youtube.com/user/secretfoxanimation


“Share The Secret With Your Friends Group Discount”

The SGV ‘For The Birds’ November residencies will feature a few little points of difference. Firstly, to encourage people to bring a few friends along and ‘make a night of it’ there is a special “share the secret with your friends discount” available on all tickets purchased to any show through www.skippinggirlvinegar.oztix.com.au. Put simply - 1 ticket is $15 / 2 tickets - $25 / 3 tickets - $30 / 4 tickets - $40 meaning tix for all shows get cheaper the more you buy.

Melbourne / Sydney ‘For The Birds’ November Residencies

Melbourne Wednesdays – 4th, 11th, 18th & 25th November
NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB
301 High St, Northcote ph: 02 9486 1677
Doors: 8pm – 11pm
Tickets on sale from skippinggirlvinegar.oztix.com.au and from the venue box office, phonecharge 03 9486 1677 or www.northcotesocialclub.com


Sydney Thursdays – 5th 12th &19th November
RAVAL (upstairs at Macquarie Hotel )
42 Wentworth Ave, Sydney (near Corner of Oxford St) ph: 02 9213 3848
Doors: 7.30pm-10.45pm
Tickets on sale now from www.skippinggirlvinegar.oztix.com.au and from Moshtix outlets, phonecharge 1300 438 839 or www.moshtix.com.au

The Middle East @The Princess Theatre, Woolongabba

The Middle East

I'll be honest and say i didn't know much about this Townsville band before heading out to see them last night. After hearing a lot of hype I quickly checked out their myspace before heading out, saw the 300, 000+ views and a mention of a Pitchfork review and left the house with a picture in my mind of a well established and highly successful band. To my surprise though on arriving at the Princess Theater i discovered i had them all wrong. The Middle East are really just in their infancy, but have enjoyed an amazing amount of success based upon the strength of their single release to date, the EP 'The Recordings of the Middle East'. I wondered at first if the hype was well founded while walking into the all-ages gig - seeing 2/3 of the crowd seated and the church posters on the walls(a venue thing i'm guessing)...but despite some small hiccups i'll discuss below these guys blew me away with both talent and potential. They were great to watch and left me more eager for an album than any band has left me in a long time.

The 7 strong cast must have rolled out 15-20 different instruments throughout the set, ranging from the standard guitars (playing from 1-4 at any one time) to mandolins, banjos, tambourines, rain sticks, keyboards, electronic synths, harmonicas and more. It was obvious that each player was accomplished in their own right, despite the fact that the two frontmen held most of the stage presence for the entire band. There were tight jeans and country-boy clothes everywhere, the bassist sporting a large akubra with all the trimmings to make you think you were watching a country show, until your eyes spanned to the edges and saw the electronic equipment, the trumpet and xylophone. The majority of their songs were downtempo, sometimes leaving you with a thrist for something just a little more upbeat (this was true especially towards the end) but each song commanded deep concentration from the crowd, rarely broken in the spaces between songs. These gaps at times stretched on like uncomfortable silences at a dinner party though - they didn't seem quite comfortable in the spotlight yet and maintained a minimal amount of crowd interaction except for their actual playing. I know there's a fine line between to much chat and too little, but when there's absolutely none coupled with amazingly sentimental songs, it left at times a slightly dry feeling to the experience.

Despite several relatively obvious technical glitches and some on stage stumbling as they played new songs though, the layers of melody intertwined beautifully with all 4 singers showcasing individual and highly harmonious voices. Each song was a real team effort, seeing instruments change hands frequently and lead singers become back-up singers until everything got shaken up all over again. Each song had everyone spellbound, combining all the good elements of alt-country, folk music and vague samplings of indie rock vibes coursing underneath lyrics that went deep into your reflective center, tackling deep issues in a heart touching way that never sounded cliche but just sounded perfect. 'The Darkest Side' appeared early without fanfare but the highpoint of the night was definitely when they played 'Blood' with it's the Arcade Fire-ish outro which gave everyone the body and intensity they'd been waiting for. I would wait in line for hours for a chance to see these guys play again and cannot wait to see what practice and experience breeds. I think youth here is a blessing for a band that already shows so much depth and heart.

Buy the 'Recordings of the Middle East' EP here

Laneous And the Family Yah (again)

I know i posted on these guys a few weeks ago but this album is still on my own high rotation and i seriously love this song. STRONGLY recommend you check out their myspace not least of all to check out more of the following pictures, but also to check out their tour starting today down in Sydney...

Download Searing Life - album version





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Bluejuice "Head of the Hawk' Tour Happening Now!

Bluejuice's last tour of the East Coast was their most successful tour ever...Stav got punched in the face in Frankston and threatened with a beating in Coffs. The band got to watch 'The Devil Wears Prada' in their first ever tour bus. In combination it was a tour that saw Bluejuice gargle enthusiastically at the sight of so many Jimmy Choo high heels whilst also soberly acknowledging the redemptive nature of renewed self-awareness.

It is this combination of violence and feminine emotional awakening that the band hope to bring once again after launching their brand new album, 'Head Of The Hawk' on September 18th,

'Head Of The Hawk' is Bluejuice's magnificent second album. It’s a mixture of old and new, pop and dance elements delivered with the melody, cheek and psychosis fans have come to expect.

Download 'Ain't Telling the Truth' from the album.

Buy a signed copy of 'Head of the Hawk'

Check out their website for full tour details.