The New Year’s Falls Music & Arts Festival, Pyramid Rock Festival, Field Day, Days Like This!, Big Day Out, St Jerome’s Laneway Festival, Good Vibrations and the list goes on. Nothing like summer festivals to get out there and check out some extraordinary bands. If you’re going to any of these, lucky you. If not, you might want to consider the odd sideshow or two. I am heading to Lorne Falls Festival again this year and can not wait to kick my boots off and lie in the sun. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Editors and Grizzly Bear are my festival favourits. All of them are doing sideshows in Sydney in early January. Yeah Yeah Yeahs will hit Hordern Pavilion, while Grizzly Bear have just announced the date for their third show at the Recital Hall, as part of Sydney Festival. Second time around, I’m quite keen to see Moby, also performing at Sydney Opera House, and the very fun live Norweigan electro rockers Datarock. The Temper Trap, Sarah Blasko, Philadelphia Grand Jury, Dappled Cities and Yves Klein Blue are my local favorite picks. And as always, I can’t wait to hear bands I haven’t quite had the chance to hear yet like The View, The Phenomenal Handclap Band and White Rabbits. White Rabbits are doing a side gig at the Oxford Art Factory in the new year as well.
Now, Days Like This! is not necessarily my type of festival, but boy was I happy to see Cat Power on the performers’ bill. I’m a sucker for female singers with breathy voices, and hers is one of my favourites. I will see Cat Power backed by the Dirty Delta Blues (with Jim White from Dirty Three) perform at Waves in Towradgi as her only Sydney (or 60 km south of) side gig.
I have never been to Big Day Out, but I have managed to catch a few sideshows in the past. This time around I’ll be seeing the Portland, Oregon-based rock band The Decemberists. It’s been a while since I started tracking their tour schedule expecting to see some dates for their, I believe, first ever down under tour. I can not wait to indulge in their theatrical indie folk extravaganza. They will not be doing the Hazards of Love show, which is completely understandable, but a bit sad since I have placed it to sit comfortably within my ‘top 10 albums of 2009’ list. The Decemberists will play at the Metro Theatre.