Patrick Wolf - The Metro

Patrick Wolf returned to Sydney with his full band in tow. It was a much more energised show then the last time he was here. Costume changes, much swanning about on stage and even jumping into the crowd at one point. He's a great showman, an incredibly talented musician and in a live situation his voice is stunning. I'd be very surprised if he isn't playing a much larger venue next time he's here.

It was a bit of a popfrenzy showcase tonight with great support from Mist and Sea and Paper Scissors.

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The lighting is never phenomenal at the Metro, but luckily, a kind soul at popfrenzy sorted me out for a photopass so I was able to get in to the pit and duck between the other photographers to get my shots. I'd also like to give Patrick Wolf a hug due to his no-flash photography policy. They almost always look crap anyway.

Where's Jerome? promo shoot

I was asked to do promo shots for up and coming Sydney band Where's Jerome? (myspace). It was my first attempt at this sort of photography and luckily I'll get another go at it at their upcoming gig on 15th Oct at the Hopetoun Hotel. I've learnt that next time I do this it'll be much better to shoot closer to sunset (or sunrise) as light can be incredibly harsh in the middle of the day. Either way, it will be fun. There's a nice little review of their first EP here

Maximo Park - Metro Theatre

Maximo Park were last in Sydney a little under two years ago and somehow I ended up standing in almost the exact same place at the exact same venue. Their frontman Paul Smith is very much the heart and soul of the band, jumping around the stage like a mad man, gesticulating wildly - I don't think I've seen so much finger pointing since Jarvis Cocker was last in town. Everyone (band and audience) had a great time.

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I didn't snag a photo pass for this one but managed to get into the front row, I managed to talk my way into the photo pit only to be stopped for entering when the security guy who said he'd let me in was moved elsewhere in the venue and his replacement was a little less flexible when it came my missing photo pass. I was stuck off to the left of stage with no room to move so there's nothing too fantastic here.

Hot Chip - Metro Theatre

A couple of years ago when I was living in London and going out to indie clubs way too much, Hot Chip were a name err... hot on everyone's lips. A couple of years later they're selling out decent sized venues on the other side of the planet. They're a great live act - although five dudes sitting behind keyboards/synths/sequencers isn't the most exciting thing in the world to watch (or photograph), they had the crowd going crazy.

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Hard to photograph these guys as they're all perched behind their keyboards etc, especially from down low in the photo pit, but they had some nice colourful lighting so I managed to get a couple of OK shots.

Patrick Wolf - The Factory

I kept missing Patrick Wolf while I was in London, so I was happy to hear that he was coming to Sydney. He did two acoustic shows, one on Friday night at The Basement and a Saturday night show at The Factory. It was quite low key, Wolf playing with either his violin, a troublesome ukulele or piano. I was expecting a bit more of an energetic performance, but it was still a damn good show (despite his obvious jet lag). He says he'll be coming back in September with his full band, so that should be a whole lot of fun.

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It was reasonably crowded up at the front of the stage, and I didn't want to annoy any of the hardcore fans by blocking their view for more than a few seconds so I didn't get anything amazing. Lighting was quite simple too so there isn't anything too dramatic here.

King Brothers at Spectrum

Insane Japanese punks. I couldn't understand a word they said/sung, I'm not even sure if they were singing in English or Japanese. Spectrum is not a large club but these guys didn't really care. They put on an awesome show and I was lucky to be there, before the end of the night one of their guitarists was dropped VERY hard while crowd surfing and a friend of mine sustained a mild head injury

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As always, not the best lighting at Spectrum, but it'd be virtually impossible not to get a great shot of these guys. Their bass player especially was the king of rock star poses. The venue wasn't packed so I had pretty free movement on either side of the stage.

Wilco - Enmore Theatre

I'm a relatively new Wilco fan, only getting into them (at a friend's constant urging) a few years ago a bit after Yankee Hotel Foxtrot came out. It's a been a while since they've been to Sydney and they rewarded their fans with a set in excess of two hours tonight. The set list was amazing, although it did get a tad self indulgent towards the end, but when they're this good it's quite forgivable. Anyway, if you want a write-up from someone who can write, click here.

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I couldn't get a photo pass for this one, but luckily there weren't any camera restrictions so I was able to get in and shoot to my heart's content. The only downside being that I was stuck in the middle of the crowd and had to shoot between people's heads (hence the occasional shadow in some of the photos). The lighting was fantastic and I would have loved to have been in the pit.

Jarvis Cocker - Metro Theatre

I lucked out as Jarvis decided to grace us with his divine presence at a side show thanks to the V Festival. He played a great set at the Metro. There were some hardcore fans out tonight and the line to the front entrance went all the way down the street before the doors even opened. A few people shouted out for Pulp songs during the set, but Jarv didn't comply. Playing most of the tracks from his new album plus a couple of b-sides (Big Stuff and One Man Show). At one stage someone threw a pair of Holeproof Underdaks up on to the stage, much to Jarvis' amusement. He closed the encore with a great cover of Bruce Springsteen's State Trooper.

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He had the same blue/purple lighting effects happening during the first few songs, but as I was in the front row and security didn't seem to mind about me taking photos I managed to get a few more shots through the set when the lights changed.

You Am I - The Gaelic Club

You Am I were the first band I really got into after The Beatles/Beach Boys/Crowded House when I was in my early teens and one of the first bands I ever saw live (that honour goes to Custard). It's been years since I've seen play a proper gig and they did not disappoint at all. Tim Rogers was in fine form, drinking vodka straight from the bottle, but not in the slightest bit belligerent.

The Presets - The Metro

Another night at The Metro, and a fantastic show from The Presets. I wanted to have room to dance around so I stayed a little bit further back from the stage on one of the tiers. There was a laser show, bubbles, balloons and a pretty damn good light show. There was much dancing and rejoicing.

Support acts were The Valentinos and the hilarious Goons of Doom, with DJs in between each act it was pretty much a non-stop party from the get-go.

Maximo Park - The Metro

Back at The Metro again (quite happily as it's one of my favourite venues). This time for neo-Britpop sensation Maximo Park. Their frontman was manic and aggressive and all over the stage obviously having a lot of fun as was the rest of the band. The audience went absolutely nuts after Apply Some Pressure and the band was visibly overwhelmed by the response. The lighting was a bit ordinary so I didn't really manage to get anything fantastic.

Maximo Park (L) - Starky (R)

Starky are a band that I've been meaning to see for a while now, and they were quite solid. Their sound has changed drastically recently as they've gone from 60's/70's sounding pop to something more in the mould of Interpol which seems quite popular these days. All the same I'd definitely see them again. Oddly enough the lighting for Starky was actually better than Maximo Park so I was able to get better photos.

Pinky Tuscadero - Spectrum

Up and coming Sydney band Pinky Tuscadero are fantastic. They've got a great frontwoman with an amazing voice and there's a sense of fun and theatrics when they're on stage. They wear their Split Enz influence on their sleeve (or in this case, their cheeks) and have a good number of incredibly listenable songs. Definitely one to watch.

Pick up a demo of their song Sellout here.

Spoon - The Metro

Spoon were workman like. They performed really well, but it just felt like they something was missing. They sounded great but it just felt like there wasn't much happening on stage. The lighting wasn't amazing, but I did the best I could.

Dappled Cities Fly were fantastic. I've seen them a bunch of times now and they never disappoint.

Hot Hot Heat - The Metro

Hot Hot Heat were lots of fun, a really solid peformance and the crowd was pretty into it. They played a lot of stuff from the new album and quite a few tracks off the previous one as well. The lighting wasn't amazing and I think my meagre knowledge and relatively low grade camera could only do so much...

Faker were the support this evening and weren't really my thing. They've got a couple of anthematic tunes and got the teenage girls screaming, but I just wasn't into it. Their singer did have an quite a few ROCK GOD poses up his sleeve though.

Martha Wainwright - @Newtown

Martha was pretty damned amazing, her voice is incredibly powerful and despite the fact that she didn't have a full band with her (just her producer on piano/bass), the songs sounded great. She'd chat with the audience between songs which led to one rather enthusiastic girl yelling WOO! for about 30 seconds after a dispariging comment was made about Bush.

Support from Josh Ritter, who was quite possibly the smiliest musician not to be in the Polyphonic Spree. Alt-Country acousticy guitar ballads. Rather good.

The Dears at The Gaelic Club

I was in bed with some kind of godawful fever, so I couldn't go to this gig. Apparently it was quite good and I missed out. I could have gone but probably would have passed out or wound up in hospital or something. I like my music, I like it a whole lot, but I wasn't in the mood for being hospitalised. Luckily my friend Travis was there to pick up the slack and took these fab photos:

Mark Morris (Bluetones) at Spectrum

Supported by: The Ca$inos

Mark Morris (of the currently on hiatus Bluetones) played a little gig at Spectrum on a Monday night, a decent crowd turned up and Melbourne band The Ca$inos put on a great show as support.

Wolf & Cub + The Grates

They played at @Newtown, which is still the most annoyingly named venue in the history of the universe. They were supporting Death From Above 1979, who weren't really my thing, but I had free tickets and had heard good things about Wolf & Cub (who were amazing) and The Grates I already love, so away I went.

The Grates on the left, Wolf & Cub on the right

Expatriate @ Spectrum

Brain fried now, not writing anything. Here are photos:

The Delgados @ Gaelic Club

At the Gaelic Club in Sydney tonight. It was a miserable and rainy night, the Glaswegians brought their weather with them, except for the cold bit. However they were pretty damn happy to be here and put on an awesome show.

Dappled Cities Fly @ Gaelic Club

Supporting The Delgados, I love these guys, they always put on a good show.

The Grates @ Spectrum

The Grates are super fun live, everyone seems to be comparing them to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and there is a slight similarity, but The Grates have more of a cartoony fun feel to them. I chatted to their label's promo manager at the show and it turns out that they're going to be in London at the same time as me and she invited me along to their shows. Hooray!

The Shins @ The Metro

The Shins played two shows in Sydney:

• Sunday February 6th
• Monday February 7th

For the Sunday show I was up in the seated section to the right of stage, for the Monday show I was front and centre. The Monday show was a bit more fun, but both nights were pretty damn good. James Mercer looks far too much like Kevin Spacey.

Expatriate/The Presets @ Spectrum

Two of my favourite Sydney bands playing on the same bill at Spectrum was always going to be a sell out crowd. It was crowded as all hell with barely any room and the lighting wasn't exactly awesome which made it a little difficult to get decent shots, so these will have to suffice.

Expatriate (left) and The Presets (right)

The Polyphonic Spree @ The Enmore Theatre

Quite possibly one of the best shows I've ever seen. Drop your cynicism at the door, put on your robe and rock the fuck out. Oh and hug someone.