Courtney Barnett Live @ The Tivoli
26 March 2022
Courtney Barnett brought out the lampshades and lit up the Tivoli with her unique blend of countrified suburban life poetry and gangly Suzi Quatro guitar rock, more hard-hitting on stage than on album. Highlights included ‘Small Poppies’, ‘Elevator Operator’ and ‘History Eraser’.
The Whitlams – Gaffage and Clink Tour
Live @ The Fortitude Music Hall, 17 September 2021
Half the Whitlams were joined by Brisbane bassist Ian Peres for a rescheduled evening of Tim Freedman’s jazz-lyric-infused indie piano rock. All three musicians were in fine form. Highlights included You Gotta Love This City, No Aphrodisiac, and Up Against the Wall.
Monty Python Live (Mostly): One Down, Five to Go
Live at the O2, London (2014)
A farewell performance showing comedy pioneers Monty Python to be, at the end, just as irreverent, surreal, politically incorrect (or overcorrected), cheerfully crass and, not infrequently, in appallingly bad taste as ever. Unapologetic nostalgia buoyed by new material and snazzy dance routines.
Ben Folds: The Symphonic Tour
Live with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, cond. Nicholas Buc (QPAC, 12 March 2020)
Ben Folds and his piano… plus the QSO! A vibrant and versatile, heartfelt performance. Songs that came out particularly well with orchestral treatment included ‘Erase Me’, ‘Steven’s Last Night in Town’, and the traditionally improvised (now Brisbanised and symphonised) ‘Rock This Bitch’.
Dylan Moran: Dr Cosmos
Queensland Performing Arts Centre (5 December 2019)
Irish comedian Dylan Moran was in fine, free-flowing form last night, gilding his societal observations with intelligent and rapid-fire absurdist exemplars while expounding on the generation gap, growing up in Ireland, accepting middle age, and the inherent failings of the male gender.
The Cat Empire’s Stolen Diamonds Tour
Live at the Fortitude Music Hall, 19 October 2019
Let there be jumping. The Cat Empire rocked Brisbane with its unique blend of brass, beats, keyboards and vocals, unpacking new gems and improvising solos through a back catalogue that now spans twenty years. Highlights included ‘Barricades’, ‘Fishies’ and ‘Steal the Light’.
Sammy J’s Major Party National Tour
live at the Brisbane Powerhouse, 19 July 2019
A shortish but well-constructed comedy show with limited audience participation and a topical (albeit slightly predictable) political bent. Sammy J is quick on his feet, but his true strength lies in musical humour. His songs—political or otherwise—are witty and wonderful.
American Utopia Tour
by David Byrne, Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre, 21 November 2018
Barefoot and brilliant, Byrne presents new songs and reworked Talking Heads classics in an energetically choreographed fusion of Brazilian beats and industrial sensibility. Complex, layered rhythms meet vocal resplendence. Virtuoso musicians in motion! Top three songs: ‘Lazy’; ‘Born Under Punches’; ‘I Zimbra’.
Roger Waters live at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre
(Us + Them Tour, 7 February 2018)
Roger Waters, not quite evergreen but certainly everpink and still a powerful presence, headed an audio-visual rock extravaganza showcasing songs from 1971 through to 2017. Highlights included a fervid repurposing of ‘Pigs (Three Different Ones)’ into a 10-minute denouncement of Donald Trump.
Ben Folds live at the Tivoli
(Paper Aeroplane Request Tour, 4 February 2018)
Ben Folds rocked the Tivoli sans new material but with irrepressible improvisation and a 25-year back catalogue. Highlights included the spontaneous ‘Mosh Pit’, a wild switch from piano to drums, and the crowd nailing Regina Spektor’s part in ‘You Don’t Know Me’.