Michael Franti - Acoustic Melbourne Shows

MIchael Franti has just announced that he will be playing two intimate and acoustic shows in Melbourne before he heads to Byron Bay to play the 20th Bluesfest at easter. Franti is a frequent vistor to Australia and was here late 2008 for a series of raved about shows promoting his latest album All Rebel Rockers. Michael Franti & Spearhead blend funk, rock, hip-hop, reggae, dub and roots and their live shows create a party atmosphere with plenty of crowd involvement.
The concert has been billed as Michael Franti with Friends so who knows who will join him on stage. His performance of "Sometimes" at Bluesfest 2003 had Xavier Rudd, Jack Johnson, G Love, John Butler, Sly and Robbie and Radioactive all joining in the fun and went for over 20 minutes. His 2003 acoustic album, "Songs From the Front Porch" is my favourite Franti album and catching the big bare-footed legend in acoustic mode is an event I will not miss again, after missing his acoustic show in Byron Bay 2003.

Tickets for this unique event go on sale from ticketek from Tuesday 10th March. The gigs will take place at the Prince of Wales, St Kilda on Sunday 5th April and Ferntree Gully Hotel on Tuesday 7th April. Tickets are only $44 and will likely sell out in no time.

Mat McHugh & the Black Bird - Ruby's Lounge - 13th Feb 2009

Friday night is the best night for live music and getting to see my favourite Australian singer songwriter at an intimate venue like Ruby's was hard to pass by. A group of friends and I arrived just as the support band Cats are Black got on stage. The band has only been together for 2 months and the singer, Matty Woo, is the tour manager for The Beautiful Girls. They were quite enjoyable as background music for about half an hour but when they got to their last song they had my full attention. For a new band to have even one song as good as "The Beaver Trail Leads to the Country" shows a lot of promise, especially with Matty Woo's voice hitting notes rarely heard since Jeff Buckley died.


Mat McHugh and the Black Bird opened the set with the first single from Seperatista!, "Darling This Scene Must End" which was the first of about six in a row from his fantastic debut album. The whole band sounded great and featured the drummer from the Beautiful Girls, Bruce Braybrooke. The venue was perfectly suited to the laid back tunes and it was a shame the crowd didn't come to life until the band played some songs from The Beautiful Girls repertoire. Starting with "Dela" he got the crowd singing along to "Let's Take the Long Way Home", "Periscopes" which began with Paul Simon's "The Boy in the Bubble", "Freedom Part 2" and an extended jam version of "Music" which lead into a funky version "Ring the Alarm". As there was no backstage area, Mat announced that they would stay on stage rather than head off for encore and finished with "The Bottle" and my highlight of the night "La Mar". All in all it was a faultless set, getting to hear some classics mixed with some new songs made for a perfect gig. I hope this band will play some more shows around Melbourne and make another album, they did play a new song so the may do so.

Mat McHugh (The Beautiful Girls) - Australian Tour - Feb/Mar

This Friday 13th Febraury, Mat McHugh will be playing a solo gig at the awesome venue Ruby's Lounge. It's a great chance to see one of Australia's best singer songwriters play some songs from his debut solo album Seperatista!. It is the start of an intimate set of dates around Australia. See details below

Tune in to Triple J's Breakfast Shift this Friday morning at 7:45am to hear Mat play an original and a cover on Like a Version.
For those who missed it, here is the audio of Mat McHugh live on JJJ having a chat with the Breakfast Shift and performing "The Bottle" from Seperatista! and a great cover of Yazoo's "Only You". Also the video from "Only You"






Mat McHugh (Beautiful Girls) + Cats Are Black
Ruby's Lounge, VIC
1648 Burwood Highway, Belgrave 3160
Fri 13 Feb
08:00 PM
$22 at Door


Its been a stunted start for Mat McHughs solo mission thanks to an untimely motor bike accident that left him bed ridden in the USA for a month. The injuries have healed, the tour has been rescheduled and Mat is ready to bring his solo project out into the live forum and so he announces his Seperatista! Australian Album Tour. Which brings us to SEPERATISTA!, a free-floating animal of rare sensitivity and grace, recorded with a band largely seconded from the Sydney jazz scene. Off-kilter drums, deep bass, horns, piano, organ, melodica and cello flesh out Mat's voice, acoustic guitar and occasional ukulele on an album rich in precious sonic details. $18+BF$22 at door.

http://www.moshtix.com.au/Event.aspx?id=23622&pLock=&vip=&skin=&ref=

Australian Tour Dates
12 Feb 2009 8:00 P
The Toff in Town Melbourne, Victoria
13 Feb 2009 8:00 P
Rubys Belgrave, Victoria
14 Feb 2009 6:00 P
The Palais Hepburn Springs, Victoria
19 Feb 2009 9:00 P
Settlers Tavern Margaret River, Western Australia
20 Feb 2009 8:00 P
Fly By Night Fremantle, Western Australia
21 Feb 2009 6:30 P
At The Beach Scarborough Scarborough, Western Australia
22 Feb 2009 7:00 P
Speigeltent - Garden of Unearthly Adelaide, South Australia
1 Mar 2009 12:00 P
Corinbank Festival Corinbank, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
5 Mar 2009 8:30 P
The Zoo Brisbane, Queensland
6 Mar 2009 8:00 P
Joe’s Waterhole Eumundi, Queensland
7 Mar 2009 6:00 P
Quiky Pro-Show Tweed Heads, Queensland

Below is the clip for the excellent first single from Seperatista! "Darling, This Scene Must End".