MANIFEST AT THE CORNER
Introducing the ugly cousin of Saltar Hype Entertainment’s “At The Corner” events: Manifest At The Corner. On Friday May 24, nine brutal Melbourne acts will thrash it out over The Corner Hotel’s two stages. Prepare to have your face melted as King Parrot, Dreadaught, Elm Street, Bronson, Voltera, Contrive, They, Cold Divide and Diprosus all light it up. Tickets $16+bf on sale now from the Corner Box Office or cornerhotel.com.
ROBIN FINCK REJOINS NIN
Yes! Guitarist Robin Finck has rejoined Nine Inch Nails! Trent Reznor says: “The addition of Robin to the mix of players I’ve assembled makes this band incredibly powerful and versatile. We are deep in the rehearsal process and it feels exciting and great to be back at this.” The new incarnation of Nine Inch Nails includes Alessandro Cortini, Josh Eustis, Ilan Rubin and King Crimson/David Bowie/Frank Zappa guitarist Adrian Belew. Last week, bass player Eric Avery (ex-Jane’s Addiction) announced he was departing the newly-reactivated NIN because he was overwhelmed by the band’s touring commitments, in the wake of a whole bunch of touring with Garbage. Avery explains: “I just got home from a year of heavy travel with Garbage, the idea of leaving town for another year and a half, and with all the intensity that Nails demands…fortunately my friend Trent understands all this and appreciated my pulling the plug now instead of deep into 2013 and ‘14.” As for those NIN touring plans, I ran into Belew in LA at the NAMM Show in January and he mentioned he was expecting to tour Australia some time soon. Hopefully it was a veiled reference to NIN.
DESTROY MUSIC AA VENUE CHANGED
The Destroy Music 2013 underage venue for Sunday May 26 has switched to the Phoenix Youth Centre, 72 Buckly St, Footscray. Doors open at 1pm, and tickets are available from The Hi-Fi. All current tickets are valid. The tour features The Ghost Inside with special guests Emmure, Antagonist AD and Hand of Mercy. The 18+ event is still at The Hi-Fi on Saturday May 25.
STEVE VAI TO TOUR IN JULY
Guitar god Steve Vai will be back in July for his first full solo show since 2004. Vai has been back here quite a few times since then, with G3, Zappa Plays Zappa and for a Thump Music master class, but this will be a long overdue chance to see the full Vaistravaganza. Steve’s band for the tour is Dave Weiner on guitar, Jeremy Colson on drums, Philip Bynoe on bass and Michael Arrom on keyboards. He’ll be at The Palais Theatre on Saturday July 13. The My Live Nation Members pre-sale is midday Wednesday until 9am Friday, then the ticket agent pre-sale is Friday May 24 until 5pm Monday May 27. General tickets go on sale Tuesday May 28. Once a concert ticket has been purchased, Vai fans are eligible for a unique and special premium package – the EVO Experience – which includes a meet and greet pass, a Q&A session with Steve Vai, access to sound check, an exclusive EVO Experience laminate and other Vai merchandise items. EVO Experience premium tickets will be available for purchase through Vai’s website, Vai.com. A limited number of EVO Experience tickets are available for each show.
A BREACH OF SILENCE HEAD TO MELBOURNE WITH BORN OF OSIRIS
Brisbane’s A Breach Of Silence are hitting the road and heading to Melbourne next week supporting US rockers Born Of Osiris. The band will play two shows – Thursday May 23 at The Hi-Fi and an all-ages show on Friday May 24 at Phoenix Youth Centre. Tickets from Oztix. A Breach of Silence have effectively created their own type of sound, which fans have dubbed ‘Power Core.’ The five-piece recorded their debut album Dead Or Alive with world-renowned producers Fredrik Nordstrom and Henrik Udd (In Flames, Bring Me The Horizon, At the Gates, I Killed the Prom Queen).
GIG ALERT: THE AMENTA
For the past 11 years, the institution known as The Amenta has steadfastly refused to do anything by the book. With a strong desire for experimentation and the avant garde, and a sadistic pre-occupation with all things ugly, decayed and rotten, the band have consistently released challenging and ground breaking material beginning with Occasus, through to nOn, the multimedia landmark that was Vo1D and the digital EP Chokehold finally arriving with this year’s Flesh Is Heir. The Amenta will perform four visually intense and aurally damaging shows in Australia in July. They’ll be at The Bendigo Hotel on Saturday July 13 with Ouroboros, Whoretopsy and Dead River Runs.
SLEEPMAKESWAVES TWO-NIGHT STAND
Sydney ambient/melodic post-rockers SLEEPMAKESWAVES have announced a massive national tour for June and July, including two shows at The Evelyn Hotel in Fitzroy on Saturday July 6 and Sunday July 7. Tickets from Moshtix. The aptly titled ‘…and so we played everything’ tour will also see SLEEPMAKESWAVES premiering a host of fresh new material, following intense writing sessions over the past few months. With alternating sets each night and a brand new light show, this will be the band’s only Australian headline tour of 2013 and comes ahead of further international touring announcements – and then finally, the recording of their much-anticipated second album.
ROCK ‘N’ LOAD RETURNS TO THE ESPY
On Saturday June 1, the second annual Rock ‘N’ Load Festival returns to The Espy in a big way. The venue’s three rooms will feature some of the best live rock acts from Melbourne and interstate, with over 30 acts across three stages. The bands are – are you ready for this? – Dallas Frasca, The Fumes, King Of The North, The Nerve (single launch), My Secret Circus, Ten Thousand, Massive, Don Fernando, Gay Paris, Dead City Ruins, Battle Axe Howlers, Sudden State, Sheriff, Hotel On Mayfair (EP Launch), Riot In Toytown, Vida Cain, Dive Into Ruin, High Side Driver, Virtue, The Dead Love, Pretty Villain, Destroy She Said, Red Sky Burial, The Human Electric, The Caning, Horsehunter, Animal Hands, Elcaset, DJ Esquire and the Phil Para Band. Tickets are on sale now: $21+bffee from Oztix, the Espy bottleshop, Polyester Records, Greville Records, Fist 2 Face, The Nash (Geelong) and Karova Lounge (Ballarat).
OOPS! – VOROS
A few weeks ago I mentioned the band Voros and listed an incorrect gig date. The band don’t currently have any Melbourne shows booked, but watch this space for when they do! Voros are a five-piece Australian metal outfit featuring former members of Double Dragon and A Red Dawn.
