VARIOUS stars of the music world again descended on the Hunter and Newcastle in 2018. Legendary septuagenarians Bob Dylan and Cher wound back the clock to enthrall fans, in their inescapably different ways, while some of Australia’s hottest young bands like the Smith Street Band and Holy Holy continued to cut their teeth in Newcastle’s sweaty pub venues.
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Meanwhile, events like Groovin’ The Moo and This That kept festival-goers engaged on and off the stage.
The Newcastle Herald’s music writers and photographers were out there among the mosh pits, theatre stalls and winery slopes to capture some of the year’s finest moments.
Sensory overload. Tick. Captivating high energy. Tick. Banging tunes. Tick. Australian electronic dance giants, Pnau, covered all the bases with their visually-spectacular performance at the University Of Newcastle.
Pre-show Pnau leader Nick Littlemore promised their most eye-catching performance and they delivered with interest.
From the opening moment where a large mystical eye pulsated on the video screen, this show dazzled with green laser lights and Aztec-inspired costumes.
But while Pnau’s performance was an elaborate visual feast, it would have felt soulless without a hypnotic musical display.
Fresh off the success of their comeback album Changa, Littlemore and co focused heavily on their latest record and tracks like Go Bang, Chameleon and Young Melody turned the sold-out Bar On The Hill into a scene from heaving Ibiza.
Much like their contemporaries, The Presets, Pnau have the ability to seduce traditional rock fans with their hypnotic tribal beats due to crafty songwriting. Pnau aren’t just about big beats and drops, there’s real melodic hooks at the crux of their material.
Dressed in a tight and colourful body suit and mask, Divine was a constant whirl of pumping arms, knee lifts and thrusting hips.
Undoubtedly the star was Pnau’s latest frontwoman, American-Guyanese singer Kira Divine. There’s certainly stronger vocalists, but her charisma and perpetual movement assured she was compelling viewing.
We wrote: “She danced like an aerobics instructor after their fifth cup of coffee. Dressed in a tight and colourful body suit and mask, Divine was a constant whirl of pumping arms, knee lifts and thrusting hips.”
There were more polished musical performances throughout the year, but for sheer energy and entertainment Pnau were at the peak of their powers.
For sheer importance to the historical fabric of popular music, no one who toured Newcastle in 2018 could compete with Bob Dylan. The man’s songbook is littered with classics that will undeniably remain relevant 100 years after Mr Zimmerman exits stage left.
However, Dylan even in his ’60s and ’70s prime has never been the most consistent live performer. Therefore expectations were significantly low when the 77-year-old passed through Broadmeadow’s “big shed” for the first time in 15 years on his Never Ending Tour.
But Dylan produced more than a decent show, it was actually great. Not it your typical stadium-rock manner with dazzling lights and explosive showmanship, but in old-school musicianship.
Dylan and his excellent band spent 100 minutes exploring his expansive catalogue and providing elaborate reworkings.
Blowin’ In The Wind was given a country transformation, while Tangled Up In Blue became almost unrecognisable as a lounge jazz piece.
“Some songs received greater reinventions than others,” he wrote. “While many fans find it annoying, it does force the audience to actually listen intently, rather than use the show as a mere karaoke soundtrack.”
That was essentially the beauty of Dylan’s performance. He wasn’t pandering to nostalgia and replaying the hits like they sound on the records. That’s what CDs and vinyl are for.
This was a performance of a songwriting colossus providing an intriguing, albeit a tad weathered, revising of his treasured work.
City Calm Down’s Hunter debut sadly coincided with the Socceroos’ World Cup match with Denmark, with led to a half-filled University Of Newcastle.
It was unfortunate because those who tore themselves away from the soccer witnessed one of the year’s most compelling rock shows. Armed with their brilliantly-dark second album, Echoes In Blue, the Melbourne post-punk revivalists sounded like a band in their prime.
Gangly frontman Jack Bourke’s baritone was brilliant throughout as he tore through energetic tracks like Pride and Border On Control, or more emotionally-driven moments like Joan, I’m Disappearing, about a middle-age man who suddenly finds himself divorced and lost.
Echoes In Blue is an ambitious album and to do it justice City Calm Down expanded their four-man operation with an extra
guitarist and two-person brass section and it gave the performance a grandiose feel.
Nowhere was this more evident than on their triumphant finale, In This Modern Land. We wrote: “Part Bruce Springsteen, part Joy Division, it was euphoric and spine-tingling. With the stage awash with orange glow, Bourke’s voice soared in the chorus, backed by a wall of synths and brass.”
4. JACK RIVER, CAMBRIDGE HOTEL, SEPTEMBER 26
Every so often in music you witness a star as they’re ascending. It’s an exciting sight.
You know that aren’t the finished article yet, but the magic is there. You understand the best is still coming.
That was Holly Rankin, aka Jack River, in 2018. It felt like a homecoming for Rankin, who hails from Forster.
Her parents and friends were there among the packed Cambridge, eager to hear tracks off Rankin’s acclaimed debut album Sugar Mountain.
The last time Rankin had performed in Newcastle it was 2012 and she was on “the Lass O’Gowrie’s nondescript stage” performing with her former folk-rock band Desire The Horse.
But this time she was dressed in a sparkly body suit and glittery eye shadow standing in front of screaming fans. Rankin had truly become the Jack River character. An indie-pop star.
She spent the majority of the performance positively beaming as fans sang back word for word of her ’90s-inspired power-pop tracks like Confess, Limo Song, Fool’s Gold and Ballroom.
“River appeared genuinely shocked by the enthusiasm, which almost drowned out her vocal,” we wrote.
Where Jack River flows next will be intriguing to watch in 2019.
5. TROPICAL F—K STORM, CAMBRIDGE HOTEL, MAY 4
If you rocked up expecting to simply hear a different version of The Drones, you would have been disappointed.
While Tropical F—k Storm is one half of The Drones in frontman Gareth Liddiard and bassist Fiona Kitschin it was a new band entirely in sound, thanks to drummer Lauren Hammel and guitarist Erica Dunn.
Instead of merely accompanying Liddiard; Kitschin, Hammel and Dunn shaped TFS’ sound, giving it a more melodic, yet maniacal edge, than The Drones.
The Cambridge’s Warehouse bar was one of the first stops on TFS’ tour to promote their thrilling prog-punk debut album A Laughing Death In Meatspace – released that day – which paints a dystopian world where mankind is completely disconnected by technology.
Of course Liddiard’s usual intensity was on full display.
At times he appeared to throttle the microphone and the smaller room only added to the electric atmosphere.
Kitschin took lead vocals on a punchy version of The Divinyls’ Back To The Wall and Liddiard kept Drones devotees happy by polishing off versions of Taman Shud and Baby.
One thing is clear, Liddiard and Kitschin don’t need The Drones. Tropical F—k Storm have enough lightning in their arsenal to create waves of their own.
6. DASHVILLE SKYLINE, DASHVILLE, SEPTEMBER 30-OCTOBER 1
Since making its debut in 2015, Dashville Skyline has been in the shadow of its bigger and more established cousin Gum Ball, also held at the Lower Belford family property.
In 2018 it stepped forth in all its alt-country, Americana and psych-rock glory.
Backed by its strongest ever line-up featuring The Waifs and CW Stoneking, Skyline attracted 1500 punters on its final day. Many were lured by the laid-back country vibes and family-friendly atmosphere as children visited the animal petting zoo, while mum and dad cut the rug.
Skyline was littered with show-stopping performances. Kurri Kurri’s Tori Forsyth nailed her mid-afternoon set with her blistering vocals and gothic alt-country. The exclamation point was her cover of Audioslave’s Show Me How To Live.
CW Stoneking had only a month earlier supported Queens Of The Stone Age with a full band, but solo on stage at Dashville the true magic of his kooky brand of blues-folk was revealed.
“Stripped back he’s quirkiness, wit and inescapable knack for melody was heightened,” we wrote.
Some of the other highlights were provided by Hunter voices. Newcastle’s Americana troubadour Ben Leece unveiled songs from his debut album No Wonder The World Is Exhausted with a Roosters scarf wrapped around his microphone stand and Kurri Kurri’s Melody Pool provided a glimpse into her new material, which is grounded in more upbeat rock territory.
7. SMITH STREET BAND, BAR ON THE HILL, MARCH 21
“I’m lacking match fitness. We didn’t do a pre-season or stretch,” Smith Street Band frontman Wil Wagner told Newcastle punters several songs into their raucous set on a steamy Wednesday night.
Wagner and his Smithies have been playing Newcastle for a decade, but this was the Melbourne band’s largest show in our city, thanks to hit fourth album More Scared Of You Than You Are Of Me.
The pouring rain outside made for humid conditions inside the Bar On The Hill which surged with energy as Wagner belted out their folk-punk favourites like Birthdays, Passiona, Young Drunk and the crowd-pleasing Death To The Lads.
“Wagner was a sweat-dripping mess, but he never slackened the pace,” we wrote. “His abrasive and heavily Australian vocal mightn’t be for everybody, but it perfectly suits his lyrics of vulnerable masculinity.”
Wagner produced one of the best shows of 2017 when he performed solo at the Small Ballroom.
That night the small stage was invaded as he sang the closing Young Drunk, but he continued to play and sing despite being trapped in the middle of a rugby scrum.
The Bar On The Hill show may have lacked similar rock’n’roll drama, but this was the performance of a band who possess genuine emotion.
8. WILLIAM CRIGHTON, GRAND JUNCTION HOTEL, MARCH 27
The beauty of William Crighton is he’s an ever-changing beast. Sometimes he’s a wild rock’n’roll showman like he was at Dashville Skyline. Sometimes he’s a fiery preacher, like he was at 48 Watt Street.
At Maitland’s The Junkyard on a humid Tuesday evening Crighton introduced his followers to his more tender side.
Accompanied by his wife Julieanne inside The Junkyward’s dining room, Crighton gave a special unplugged preview of his second album Empire, as well as songs from his debut.
Due to the performance being recorded for a future live album the air conditioner was turned off creating a stifling intensity within the room. It only added to the quiet drama. It was so intimate you could see the beads of sweat on the end of Crighton’s nose.
There’s also something remarkably powerful about singing “I want my money back” from Jesus Blues with a small group of people it such a tight space. Every person there felt like they walked away clutching something special.
We wrote: “Crighton’s new album, Empire, has loads of his trademark powerful energy. But the songs from it that were played on this night, stripped back to their essence, took on an unmistakeable clarity.”
9. SIMPLE MINDS, NO.1 SPORTSGROUND, NOVEMBER 24
Well this didn’t match year one of the Newcastle Supercars in 2017. This wasn’t 20,000 race fans packed into the Foreshore belting out their favourite Aussie pub rock anthem as Cold Chisel tore up the stage.
What it lacked in atmosphere Scottish new wave heavyweights Simple Minds made up the difference in polished showmanship.
Jim Kerr, while lurching at times into daggy dad territory with his dance moves, was a captivating frontman of a well-oiled machine, driven by drummer Cherisse Osei.
The hits came thick and fast. Waterfront, Love Song and Promised You A Miracle, but of course the biggest reaction came for Don’t You (Forget About Me).
On a side note, No.1 Sportsground needs more live music. The Cooks Hill ground passed the test. Good sound, comfy and easier to get home from than a winery gig.
10. SCENE & HEARD, WICKHAM PARK, NOVEMBER 4
Almost 20 years may have passed since alternative rock dominated the Australian music scene, but time hasn’t diminished the love. The inaugural Scene & Heard music festival was a raging success.
It was nostalgic, sure, but all the acts delivered. This wasn’t a mere pay cheque.
Given the bill included The Living End, Something For Kate and Spiderbait, the surprise highlight was Killing Heidi. Ella Hooper, now 35, proved she’s a far more accomplished performer than she ever was when Killing Heidi made her a pop star at 16 with songs like Weir.
We wrote: “No one could accuse Hooper of phoning in the performance. Dressed in a purple leopard print bodysuit Hooper had hearts racing and feet dancing in the afternoon sun as she pushed her body and vocal to the limit through songs like I Am, Outside Of Me and Heavensent.”
PAUL DEAR’S TOP FIVE
Pnau, Bar On The Hill, July 18: From every aspect, this show was exceptional. The sound was excellent, lighting was stunning, the energy and performance was incredible. From a photography point of view the lasers and lighting were challenging but it resulted in some dramatic images.
The East Pointers, Lizotte’s, January 7: This gig rated high on my list because before shooting this show I was completely unaware of their existence. I am still in awe of their musicianship and emotional intensity of the music they create.
Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite, Sydney Opera House, July 22: Listening to Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite perform live was like being wrapped in a big soft warm blanket. I was privileged to be the only photographer shooting at this show.
William Crighton, Grand Junction Hotel, March 27: In the silent moments of this gig you could hear the person next to you breathing. Another photographic challenge as the only lighting in the room was two table lamps on the stage with 40-watt bulbs. This created a great atmosphere from an audience perspective.
The Beautiful Girls, Cambridge Hotel, January 7: A wonderful performance, so effortless as a result of years of performing and touring. It felt like everyone at this gig loved the Beautiful Girls and they in turn loved every single member of the audience.
JIM KELLAR’S TOP FIVE
Bob Dylan, Newcastle Entertainment Centre, August 22: It was if Bob Dylan had never heard the chatter of his fading talent. The legend showed up and delivered a stunning masterpiece of rock’n’roll theatre.
Angus and Julia Stone, Civic Theatre, May 12: Catching them near the end of a world tour meant they were in top form, weaving their magic with a distinct pop sound and exquisite musicianship.
Ben Harper, Sydney Opera House, July 22: A fusion of jazz, rock and folk coupled with an intensely-focused personality that oozes warmth, wit and intelligence. Doesn’t get much better.
Xavier Rudd, Civic Theatre, August 5: Talk about a musician with relatability, Rudd continues to mesmerise his rock-solid fans with his chilled-out vibe and irresistible world beats.
William Crighton, Grand Junction Hotel, March 27: The best way to see a star is stripped back with no distractions. Crighton revelled in this intimate atmosphere.
