melanie horsnell

HIGHLIGHT
artist: melanie horsnell
venue: enmore theater
date: 09 aug 2008
sound: acoustic/folk/pop

"i remember seeing melanie at the essential last year and she was amazing. she still is! she has this very soothing voice that puts you at peace when she sings. her songs are very beautifully written. definitely try to catch her LIVE when you can. meanwhile check out her songs from myspace and pick up a copy of her CD or download them from itunes."

myspace: http://www.myspace.com/melaniehorsnell
official site: http://www.melaniehorsnell.com/

jason mraz

artist: jason mraz
venue: enmore theater
date: 09 aug 2008
sound: pop

"going to a mraz concert isn't as exciting as it used to be. not because this is my 7th mraz concert. it's everything. i am so used to seeing him in a small intimate venue when he plays acoustically with just 1 (toca rivira) or 2 other musicians, performing at a venue with great acoustics, to true mraz fans who shut up and listen while he plays and us fans who know almost every song in his 100+ catalog. so, everything being a big noisy band, the mix was good but the effect is not the same. experiencing a mraz concert is about being drowned by his voice and not the band. next, the crowd. he is big enough to attract kids who just want to be there because he is now the next big thing, who would talk on the cell while he sings, constant chitchatting and gossiping, there to only listen to his hit single 'i'm yours'..etc. i can on and on but i won't. as i predicted 4 years ago, "he is going to be huge" and i am really happy that he has achieve a mega star status now, i am glad i got to experience the best part of his carreer. this is my farewell mraz tour and also my lowest mraz concert rating. moving on to a more positve note ... the duet he did with melanie horsnell, 'lucky' was awesome !"

official site: http://www.jasonmraz.com

trial kennedy

artist: trial kennedy
venue: oxford art factory
date: 09 may 2008
sound: rock

"ok. my first time at the oxford art factory. fucking awesome venue. only problem ... the acoustic. the sound don't seem to travel from the stage. its almost as if there is an invisible acoustic insulation at the edge of the stage. the artists were screaming their lungs out and banging on their instruments (seeing it's a hard rock concert) but all you could hear is muffles. kinda good too coz i left the venue and my ears ain't ringing. as for the band, i think they are pretty cool. the lead singer has got a really good voice, again, pity it didn't travel very far. a few great tracks esp. 'neighbors' that stayed in my head. would sure love to see them again in another venue."

myspace: http://www.myspace.com/trialkennedy

the holidays

artist: the holidays
venue: the spectrum
date: 03 may 2008
sound: rock

"eventhough the spectrum is a really cool venue, the frustrating thing is that acoustically, its never great. theres too much noise and that often overshadow the melody and the vocals. I blame the engineer. tune down the bloody drums. its cool to rock but its not a solo drums show. good looks is not enough to put on a good show but the crowd were jumping. need to check out their EP to judge the music, melody and lyrics wise. get their new EP anyway. its out !"

myspace: http://www.myspace.com/theholidays

the kaya ladies

HIGHLIGHT
artist: kaya ladies
venue: will & tobys
date: 02 may 2008
sound: acappella

"another breathtaking performance that blew me away @ will & tobys. totally unexpected. great harmonies, songwriting skills and fantastic show. they are great with interacting with each other showing how much they enjoy doing the show. even the covers they did, they made it their own. these ladies got a style of their own. if only their clothes were more cohesive. again, picked up the CD but the CD experience wasn't half as good as live.

myspace: www.myspace.com/thekayaladies
web: http://www.kaya.net.au/

essential 2008

April 25th 2008 12:10 - 00:15

so, this is not exactly pop but its essential. definitely one of my most favorite event of the year. had a blast. 12 hours of continuous live music. what more can i ask. so much anticipation, embarrassedly, i was the 3rd to arrive. more proud than shame.

Below is the list of who i watched plus my personal review of each of the bands. please note my ratings are purely personal and by no means reflecting how good or how bad they are as musicians.

01
artist: TALONS
venue: gaelic theater
time: 12:10 - 12:40

"the first band to kick off essential 2008. probably the hardest coz the crowd is small. their spirits were quite high though. pure noise. but they were having fun."







02
artist: PIP BRANSON CORPORATION
venue: gaelic theater
time: 13:00 - 13:30

"they got quite good melody to their songs and great at interacting with the crowd. fun to watch."







03
artist: THE JOHN STEEL SINGERS
venue: gaelic theater
time: 13:50 - 2:20

"they were quite fun to watch. if only they would bring down the noise alittle coz they have quite good melody. want to hear more vocals."







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04
artist: CUTHBERT & THE NIGHTWALKERS
venue: gaelic theater
time: 14:45 - 15:15

"a long name to fit the amount of musicians. this is probably the first band that i really enjoy. alot of hooks and good tunes. the mix was really good because i could hear the vocals quite clearly. the background vocalists were awesome. synchonized dancing. very 80s. the crowd were jumping."




05
artist: CENTIPEDE
venue: the madison
time: 15:30 - 16:00

"first band to kick off the madison venue. was looking forward to them but was quite disappointed. the mix were really bad. too much noise and could hardly hear any vocal. pity coz they got quite good melody. it makes you wonder if they just wanna jam really loud because they wanna hide their shitty lyrics ?"





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06
artist: ERIN MARSHALL
venue: the madison
time: 14:30 - 17:00

"definitely the highlight essential. pure acoustic pop. definitely the only show that concentrates on vocals because that's her strength. coupled with beautiful lyrics and style making the show even better. cool bother to help support her."





07
artist: BIRD AUTOMATIC
venue: the madison
time: 17:30 - 18:00

"quite a good band but i was high on erin to fully concentrate on the show. hah"








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08
artist: GRAFTON PRIMARY
venue: gaelic theater
time: 19:45 - 20:15

"omg the crowd were going crazy. everyone were jumping. so was i. electronic rock seems to be the in thing. great melody and hooks."





09
artist: the e.l.f. experiment
venue: the madison
time: 20:45 - 21:30

"more of 2 djs spinning than conventional live performance. still it was fun to watch."







10
artist: WOW
venue: gaelic theater
time: 21:45 - 22:30

"these people were just doing their thang on stage. again just spinning. really. does anyone really need to watch them live ? could easily buy their cd and listen to it at home. still they had great visuals projected and got the crowd jumping. admittedly, so did i."





11
artist: GASLIGHT RADIO
venue: the madison
time: 23:15 - 00:15

"the final band in the madison. was kinda disappointed. again, really bad mix. really noisy, inhibiting the vocals. both they guitarist and bass player turned their backs to the crowd and they dont even have nice asses."







there you go. pity it ended. now i can't wait for essential 2009.

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dmented.tapes mix
noise: the mix. if the instruments are too loud overshadowing the vocals
melody: catch-i-ness and hook
lyrics/mix: good lyrics or if they can be heard
looks/clothes: ok lets face it. we all want our artist to look good. looks sell
fun on stage: if they are having fun or if someone is pointing a gun when they perform
interaction: interaction with the crowd
crowd: crowd's reaction
overall: well, if they could be a pop star and sell millions
-------------------

Athron

HIGHLIGHT
artist: athron
venue: will & tobys
date: 04 april 2008
sound: acoustic

"a performance that blew me away. totally unexpected. good sound, good looks, good music, good lyrics, good voice, good show and more importantly fun ... at an excellent venue. Picked up the CD but the CD experience wasn't half as good as live. in the wise words of his cello player .... you should do more show !"

myspace: http://www.myspace.com/athronsounds