Party pics from our latest 3 parties are now up, including Frightened Rabbit @ F.R.I.E.N.D/s 3 Feb, the SOSUEME ALL STARS @ Q Bar 5 Feb, and Bag Raiders at GHETTODISCO 6 Feb.

Hit up the photos section to see these galleries in action.

Big thanks to our buddies the Bag Raiders for a crazy town night of partying, even though it was a cyclone outside… made for a mad-cap vibe!

Party Pics here

Launch of the SOSUEME ALL STARS… amazing!

Stills here

Photos here

We have for you today an amazing remix from the new hype sensation out of Sydney Alison Wonderland, with her debut remix of the popular Sherlock’s Daughter single ‘Kids”. The complexity of structure and finess of this track would have you think it’s been crafted by a veteran producer, which is why I’m so astonished it’s her debut effort. It is really is a level above most of what I’m hearing at the moment and I dare say a good sign of things to come for Miss Wonderland. Sure to be done to death in the clubs!

For more juice on Alison check her myspace or facebook.

Sherlock’s Daughter – Kids (Alison Wonderland Remix) 320kbps
(mouseover to listen or download)

From the Christmas Eve event at the Greengate Hotel 2009 featuring the SOSUEME DJs. This video is compiled from 2,500 photos… amazing work from the Hobogestapo boys:

The much hyped Boy & Bear are a brilliant new four-piece from Old Sydney Town who celebrate a multi-instrumental blend of folk and alt-country. Crooning vocals lift over tangibly raw, plodding guitar twangs and chugging percussion, subtly reminiscent of 70s folk ballads with an infectious velocity and richness that unveils itself as each song is played. Their sound has often been likened to that of Iron and Wine, Fleet Foxes and The Shins. And they’re bringing it live this Friday at SOSUEME (Q Bar) with Baba O’Riley and Bell Weather Department along with your usual resident DJs. Fri 12 Feb, $10 Q Bar.

This is good… really really good. Cross this with their incredible energy in their DJ sets and it’s no surprise they’re hitting the festival circuit fairly hard… keep it up boys!

Philadelphia Grand Jury - The Good News (Yacht Club DJs Remix)

My Chemical Romance regretfully announce that they have been forced to cancel all upcoming engagements, including their appearance at The Soundwave Festival. Singer Gerard Way has been having severe vocal problems and is under doctor’s advisement to forgo the tour in order to receive treatment for his throat and vocalchords and protect their long-term use. “We are really sorry that we’ve had to cancel this tour, and apologize for any inconvenience it has caused,” says singer Way. “The last thing we ever want to do is cancel shows, but we’ll be back to Australia to make it up to the fans as soon as possible.” Tickets for their Big Top side-show are non-refundable… jokes.

Yep, it’s confirmed. Vampire Weekend are back in 2010 for an Australia tour. Contra debuted at #2 on ARIA charts and held a spot in the top 10 for three weeks in a row and they’ve confirmed a national Australian tour in 2010 as part of the Groovin The Moo (GTM) festival. GTM is the only touring festival to feature regional cities in the tour diary hitting up Bendigo, Townsville, Maitland, Canberra and Bunbury. Starting at the beginning of May, you can check out www.gtm.net.au for details, line up, tickets and presale details for MySpace friends, tickets also sold through moshtix. Tickets on sale Tuesday 16th Feb for $95.90+ B/F.

This Saturday sees Lady Lux go old-school romantic as they ring in the sexiest day of the calendar year: Valentine’s Day. Free champagne for early ladies and a stella lineup including Alison Wonderland, Calling In Sick, Josh Flanagan and more. Sat 13 Feb at the Lux in the Cross, get in early, that place is tiny!

Canadian twins Tegan and Sara return to Australia in May for a national tour, following the release of their new album Sainthood last year. Joined by the superb Astronautalis and The Jezebels it’s sure to be an epic tour! Sydney we’re at the Big Top Luna Park Friday 7 May, hit up ticketek.

The guys from Gyroscope have announced their 4th studio album is out this April and in support of the release they’ll be touring nationally in March. The Perth based band have created a solid foundation that is often rare to find and have become part of the Australian musical landscape. Their fourth album Cohesion has big shoes to fill as their last album Breed Obsession took 2008’s ARIA #1 spot, but there is no question that this time round these guys have brought even more to the table. The first track from the album ‘Some Of The Places I Know’ can be heard on the airwaves from Monday 1 February. Tickets go on sale 11 February through moshtix for the Sydney show but check out www.gyroscope.com.au for presale opportunities

We’re very happy to have received the news that the Mountain Goats have announced an Australian tour for April 2010. Their latest album The Life of the World To Come exceeds their reputation for incredible lyrics and you’ll have the chance to see them create an intense and joyful live show on their fifth tour. If you haven’t head the album yet, find out why Rolling Stone declared their main man Darnielle as one of the best songwriters of the 00’s. They’ll be stopping in Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and they’ll found in Sydney on Tuesday April 13th at Manning Bar. Tickets on sale Friday February 12.

The band that were named as one of Rolling Stone’s Artists to Watch in 2009 and who were voted to number 15 in Triple J hottest 100 are brining over their entire 11 piece band from their home of California. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros first Australian tour is set just before their debut performance at Coachella and you’ll be able to catch them at the Metro on March 30th. Tickets are already on sale so you better be quick! They are winning passionate new followers at every turn, and are earning themselves a very special place in the hearts of the Australian music industry. These guys give a performance that is so full of energy that if you don’t end up dancing and singing along you mustn’t have been paying attention at all. Get your tickets through Ticketek.

The artist run underground jazz club of Sydney is moving out of the shadows and into a legitimate space. 505 (208 Cleveland St, Surry Hills) is now running as a dedicated live music venue 6 nights per week. The venue is in its sixth year and this move is going to see weekly residencies on two nights Jazzgroove on Tuesdays and Cafe Carnivale on Thursdays. Ahh legitimacy… it catches up with us all at some point.

The three-piece alternative/indie/punk band known as The Thermals are leaving their home town Portland, Oregon for an Australian East Coast tour! Their latest record Now We Can See is out now and they’ve earnt themselves a string of awesome reviews. They’ll be playing Oxford Art Factory on Tuesday 9th March and then going on to Wollongong and Newcastle. Wherever you are, find them.

Hearing a much loved song through the radio has nothing on seeing it live, well luckily, Deep Sea Arcade are taking to the stage to give your piece of live, in the flesh, glory of Lonely In Your Arms. It’s been blaring through the speakers courtesy of the mighty folk at triple j, FBI and 2SER. These Sydney based boys have earnt themselves as your favourite psychedelic sons and they’ll be officially launching ‘Lonely In Your Arms’ in March. Playing Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and Lennox, they’ll come back to their home town of Sydney to finish it off in with 2 performances at the Beach Road Hotel in Bondi on March 4th and 11th. We’ll see you at both.

The Nevada Strange have announced the release of their debut EP, “Drowned By Law". The band has said the title comes from the contrast of harsh natural environments and a judgemental metropolis. The launch will be this Friday 12th from 8pm at The Rat House - 8 Cunningham St, Haymarket (near the Mandarin Club off Pitt St). They’ll be joined by Rice Corpse, Whores, and None Music on the final leg of their tour. EP drops 18 Feb.

Over the past eight years two music fans from Melbourne, Stage Mothers, have been putting on showcases for Aussies wanting to make their break in the States called ‘The Aussie BBQ’. This year we’ll get the chance to have our own Aussie BBQ in Melbourne and Sydney consisting of some of the acts travelling to the States for the 2010 Aussie BBQ as well as a few from previous years who performed in Los Angeles, Austin as part of the South by Southwest and New York. More than 100 acts have played these events in the USA including Powderfinger, The Temper Trap, John Butler Trio, Kisschasy, Little Birdy, Missy Higgins, Sarah Blasko, The Drones, The Grates, The Panics, The Vines, You Am I and Yves Klein Blue to name just a few. These events are the biggest showcase of Australian music in the US or A. The Sydney event takes place at the Annandale featuring sets by The Goldhearted, Goons Of Doom, Sherlock’s Daughter, City Riots and more to be announced along with a free BBQ and giveaways courtesy of Elwood Jeans. ¬ Tuesday 2nd March 2010 The Annandale $15 + bf. Doors open at 6.30pm. Free BBQ early!

Kiwi brothers Evermore last year supported P!nk her European tour and as a result the band scored record deals right across Europe where they’re about to release an album featuring singles from their previous three Australian releases as well as three new tracks. The band wanted to make the songs available to Australian fans first so they are going to release a collection of their best work thus far. Evermore hits stores on March 12 and features all the bands hit singles plus three new songs recorded especially for this compilation, including the new single ‘Underground’. A limited edition version will include a DVD of documentary footage including the band travelling around Europe with P!nk. They performed 40 shows to over 450,000 people across Australia and P!nk then invited them to Europe to play as main support on another 40 stadium shows. They’ll be performing around Sydney from 17th March onwards, all details at www.evermoreband.com.

The Washington Post describes them as “the most ear-shatteringly loud garage/shoegaze band you’ll ever hear.” Cross that with a radtacular name like A Place To Bury Strangers and you’ve a tick in each box! Having run levels into the red on sound desks across the world A Place to Bury Strangers finally bring their mesmerizing mix of pain and pleasure to Australia for the Exploding Head tour. Sydney, they’re hitting up OAF on Thursday 11 Feb, tix on sale now.

We are delighted to announced that Paul Dempsey and his band will embark upon their “Burning Leaves” national tour throughout April. This will be Paul’s one and only Australian headline tour for 2010 before relocating to New York City for the remainder of the year. Joined by Dan Kelly and his “Dream Band”, this tour is shaping up to be very exciting indeed. Sydney we’re at the Metro on Saturday 17 April, tickets are on sale next Monday 8 Feb from pauldepseymusic.com. Don’t delay, may be your last chance… ever!

Phoenix chilling in the wings at Falcona HQ

Mozart is the correct answer, but many will automatically refer to the more contemporary and generally more popular Phoenix (above photo is a couple of the guys in our office after their last Sydney show). News from their camp post scoring #4 on the triple J hottest 100 last week is that their announcing a second Sydney show on their upcoming tour. It’s at the Big Top Wed 3 March. Supported by Miami Horror, tix on sale this Friday.

It’s not long to go until The Good Vibrations Festival and we’re happy to add another side show to the mix as well. The Killers have decided to treat their fans with an exclusive intimate show (not that kind!) at the Enmore on February 12th. If you’ve never heard of these guys you’ve been living under an earth sized rock as they’ve received 7 Grammy nominations and have been filling their trophy cabinet with a mix of MTV and NME awards. The band that gave us songs Somebody Told Me and Mr. Brightside have announced they’ll be taking some time off after this tour so this could be your last chance to catch them for a while. As always Frontier Touring members get the first grab at tickets with the presale starting on Monday 1 February at the hangover friendly time of 2pm, while general tickets will be on sale 9am the following Wednesday through Ticketek.

If you’re not in the know of Club NME, you’re about to be. Club NME is a legendary club night from the UK. It has six UK clubs and nine venues across the Europe and US and now it’s our turn! Yep, in February you’ll have a chance to get your piece of the action along with some of the best party starters including the Philly Jays (Philadelphia Grand Jury), Yacht Club DJs, Purple Sneakers DJs and Andy Rourke the legendary bassist for The Smiths will be in DJ mode. They’ll be stopping by Brisbane, Melbourne and finishing in Sydney at Manning Bar on 27th February with tickets through moshtix.

The JB Seed has become an integral part of the Australian Arts& Music Industry contributing over $533,000 worth of funding to over 200 Artists and Music Managers and as we enter its sixth year running there’s been a name change. The name change towards The Seed isn’t because John Butler and co-founder Danielle Caruana are wiping their hands of the project, it is rather to recognise the contribution of the community and call it their own. It only took two years before the generous contributions rolled in from the like of Paul Kelly, Missy Higgins, The Cat Empire, The Waifs and many others. All grant categories are now open on the website along with a new program The Seed And Skinnyfish Indigenous Community Music Initiative, to create opportunities and encourage positive outcomes in community life through music. All details can be found at the new website www.theseedfund.org

Well, February got even busier and better. The Necks who are known for being legendary improvisers are going to be in Sydney for one show only on February 19th. These guys have been making music for 22 years and their sound is still uniquely their own, trying to box these guys into a genre is impossible because their live shows are completely improvised. They’ve released 15 hours, played at All Tomorrow’s Parties and have been touring Europe, The States and the land of Oz. Tickets are through the Metro Theatre box office.

If you’ve been reading your Rock News you’d know that Ozomatli are going to be playing live in Sydney on March 25th and this time we’ve got more exciting news for you- their new album, Fire Away, will be out on March 20th. The guys that have won three Grammy awards will be jumping on the Blues Fest wagon along with a bevy of other amazing performers while also stopping around Australia for sideshows filled with their pioneering mash-up of hip hop, salsa, and cumbia. This album seems to have a calmness that says “do what you want in your life right now, there is no need to wait any longer.” If you haven’t gotten your tickets already do so now, also get ready for their album release, check out www.ozomatli.com

David McCormack & The Polaroids have just finished up a national album tour for Little Murders released in October of last year. The album and tour itself received 5 star reviews and you’ll find David McCormack and The Polaroids back on stage for a special co-headlining show at spectrum on Friday 12th February, with The Lovetones. Little Murders is available right now at all good record stores and iTunes so grab yourself a copy and get down to Spectrum on Feb 12th.