Gig Reviews

This section of the site is intended for reviews of (Christian) gigs you've been to, whether mentioned in our gig guide or not...
Will be particularly useful for those who are not sure whether a particular band is for them or not - as a good review will mention the style of music, as well as the quality of music/vocals and the overall feel of the gig...
To contribute a gig review to the site, email us the following details:
Name of band(s)
Date & venue of gig
Style(s) of music
Quality of performance(s)
Overall rating of gig (out of five)
Your name (or the start of your email addie) will be included at the end of the review, so people can learn whose opinions most closely match their own in relation to musical taste... :?

Sam Merriment, The View, Paradyme
The Attic:

at 7pm, hardly anyone was there, and the view hadnt turned up but heaps of people soon rocked up and we got started. first up was sam merriment on his guitar solo.-by this time it was 8pm! sam was excellent and was a pretty good entertainer. he brought brendan up at one stage to sing a song with him. he was mad.

after sammy, intone played. they were pretty good and had good entertainment and a good stage set.
then paradyme played! brendan dressed like billie joe armstrong and looked pretty much like him, minusing the dark hair. their last song played was for the falling-anf ray dedicated it to "dennis in the carpark." after the song, we all hugged sam and got photos and stuff signed.

it was an excellent night but also very emotional and sad as it was sam's last gig. we have found out that paradyme have a new drummer, but we are yet to find out who it is!

Paradyme, Anonymous Gift, Access Denied
The Attic:

Excellent gig...took a couple of minutes for the crowd to get up the front...but it worked. paradyme were up first, but were held back as three of the members were late...soccer game...french and ray nearly killed them! it started off great, no mess-ups, besides being late, and brendan asking for a drink of water, which came in a bottle...he dropped the lid multiple times.

anonymous gift were great, it was just that nobody was up the front 'dancing'. all the energy wasted on paradyme? great music...tney sounded really good and connected well with the audience. three kids...(me, my friend and bass player of paradyme) felt bad so we went up the front to sit near the stage, which then brought more people up the front to dance to anonymous gift.

access denied were the final act...as soon as one note was played, the whole place were up the front dancing and taking photos. they started off with there hit 'reason' which sounded great, even with the new singer.

overall, it was a great gig.
Five socks.

Sorry...forgot to say this

the night was interrupted with a scream from a member of the audience...when the scream was heard, everybody stopped what they werre doing...it turned out it was a dare for her to scream as loud as she could...

Amy of Allawah

Paradyme, Winters Underground, Access Denied (inside); Nikki Kummerow, Paul Hanna (outside)
St George's Anglican Church, Hurstville, Friday 20 May 2005
rock/metal (inside) acoustic (outside)
Great gig, although most of the crowd 'unmoved' (Dancing? You do that at gigs?). Venue looked too small on arrival, but a nice size for the crowd (except at the end, when it was too big for the 'crowd' who stayed on to see Access Denied). Sound was pretty good, although there was a big hum the whole time (guitar amps?).
Paradyme were great, Brendan a bit sarcastic about the 'response' from the crowd (but he kept putting in, think he moved more than the whole audience combined!), their version of 'I Will Always Love You' was terrific...
Nikki Kummerow was beautiful, as always - and Steph Vanden Hengel joined in for a song they wrote together (in Brisbane). Don't know how Nikki can play so well when her fingers are shivering from cold, but she did.
Winters Underground - first time I've seen these guys, and they sound pretty good. Very disjointed metal (at least, to me), drummer has a great growl... Bass player and guitarist/vocalist have a fancy guitar-spinning trick that may be expensive to learn (in terms of guitars breaking!).
Paul Hanna was good, even though he only played a few songs. At this stage (just after 10) it was even colder outside (two girls were zipped up in a single jacket, somehow...), but Paul played on regardless - and there was a rush for the loo once he was done.
Access Denied played a fantastic set, tight and fast as always. As I said, the crowd had disappeared - musta been the youthgroup kiddies hitting curfew, or something... Still, I think there was the most dancing of the whole night (apart from Brendan) during their set. Either the extra space was calling, or people had warmed up (or needed warming up!). If you hear of Access Denied playing, go see them. (Paradyme too - if only for Brendan's commentary).
Give it three and a half socks - if they're having gigs outside in winter, they have to be earlier!
Jeremy

Liz's Farewell to Sydney! (Liz Frencham + Steve Vella, Emma Driver, JigZag)
Cafechurch space, Glebe (St Johns Rd), Saturday 07 May 2005
folk/acoustic
Nice venue, although Liz stuffed the visual balance up by moving to the side (avoiding a creaky floorboard). The free drinks and nibblies were appreciated, especially the choccies... :? Oh, and it's nice to listen to music while stretching out in a lounge... ;}
Unfortunately, could see some of what drew Liz to Steve (and out of Sydney!) in his playing - they're both good musicians, and together they seem to play even better. Liz said drumming (with sticks!) on the steering wheel while waiting at lights helps too... Liz has a fantastic voice, and that skinny bass sounds great too.
Emma Driver was a pleasant surprise. She appeared nervous, but played great. A lot of her songs involved Sydney in some way (either as inspiration or metaphor), especially the public transport system (that poor monorail... not only is it pointless, but it has to see Darling Harbour a thousand times a day!). Nice vocals, with an Aussie accent (not that common when singing...).
JigZag were fantastic, as usual. Apparently no playlist written in advance, Liz calling the shots a lot - and a guarantee (from Liz!) that they'll get together to play lots.
Four and a half socks.
Jes.

JigZag Christmas Party
Rozelle Neighbourhood Centre, Saturday 11 December 2004
folk/acoustic/blues...
Decent venue, but a little 'short' (half-church, virtually on top of stage no matter where you are). Dinner available as well...
JigZag great, as always - playing with passion, shoving in as many requests as possible (especially for their second (and last!) set). Wonderful guest viola, Tara (Reid?). Beautiful sound when violin & viola are playing - they just need more guests who play violin/viola to rock up (and bring their instrument!!) and play with a full violin section... Pass the parcel was great, but inverted - only pass while they're talking between songs, not while the song's on (got two minties! Pity I didn't get the CD, but the t-shirt (in the first parcel) would've been too small for me anyway... so it was obviously not meant for me!).
Four and a half socks (too short!! Needed another hour or two, at least!!!)
Jes.

Paradyme & Anonymous Gift
Macca's, Taren Pt Rd, Saturday 20 November
rock
Paradyme opened, great - bumped into them while taking children to get lunch on way home from Cronulla, as they were setting up. I'm greatly comforted by the fact that Brendan will always love me... even if he forgot a verse or two. :? Only caught set-up for Anonymous Gift... even on McHappy Day, kids only take a certain amount of time to eat, check out the fire engine and police car, and get fingerprinted...
Three and a half socks.
Jeremy.

Taylor
Supper Club, BlackStump '04, Saturday
acoustic harmonies
Beautiful harmonies and complementary pplaying - even synchronised removal of capos!! Their songs were all for others - they were giving through their music, and it showed.
Four socks.
Jeremy.

Hey Jeronimo
Supper Club, BlackStump '04, Saturday
Piano pop
Great energy on stage, nice harmonies, and a very professional performance - the lead vocals died, and they kept going without missing a beat! Luckily the sound guy got it sorted during the same song.
3 socks.
Will

JaeL
XPress Tent, BlackStump '04, Friday night
Metal
Great bass through the whole set, and the vocals were fantastic. What other band has a guitarist go through three strings in one song?? Both Es & the A gone, seemingly in the one verse...
Four and a half socks!
Jeremy.

Fingerprint Resistant
BlackStump '04, Friday.
Hard rock
Good hard rock, very fast and heavy. Wonderful girl in a pink jumper sending text messages all through the set - right on the stage, seemingly ignoring the music while she chatted away. She missed out!
3.5 socks.
Will

Ground Effect
Xpress Tent at BlackStump '04, 20:00 Friday
Hard rock
Good hard rock, with a solid baseline. Great for dancing, although due to late arrivals (heavy rain & being a work-day) there were few actually dancing (the Banjo Ranger being an obvious exception...). Michael's last gig as drummer, the band is seeking a replacement...
Three and a half socks :?
Jeremy.