Alistair Lattimore » Music

Phantom Of The Opera

Al — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:19:39 +0000

This evening I was fortunate enough to see the world acclaimed Phantom Of The Opera at the Lyric Theatre in Brisbane.

I say fortunate, as I some how managed to receive a ticket on the back of a birthday present for Claire from her parents this month. It was pretty awesome actually, as Lucy and Michael wanted to go and see it another time so there were four excellent seats beside one another. Claire and Lucy had seen Phantom Of The Opera three times prior, Michael had seen it once before recently, while this was my first experience.

I don’t know how to describe it accurately enough to do it justice, other than to say that the detail in the set was incredible, the costumes are great and Anthony Warlow has a truly magnificent voice. The female lead for Christine was played by Ana Marina, who I thought had an excellent voice. There is a schene toward the start of the first act, where The Phantom is yelling at Christine to sing for him; it gave me goose bumps!

The show is only on until the 27th April 2008 in Brisbane, so if you can still get tickets to it – I would highly recommend it.

ARIA Awards 2007

Al — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 07:49:04 +0000

The 2007 Australian Record Industry Association awards were held last night, which are always great. I’m always impressed with the diversity of music produced by Australian artists and the 2007 ARIA awards night really highlighted that fact with acts like:

Silverchair
Operator Please
Damien Leith
Sarah Blasko
Sneaky Sound System
Hilltop Hoods
John Butler Trio
Gotye
Kate Miller-Heidke

Of interest out of that list where Operator Please, which are a young band with an average age of 16 who won their way through via a battle of the bands. The Hilltop Hoods hail from Adelaide and offer a unique R&B sound. Gotye, largely a one man band provide electric, synthesised music blended with traditional sounds. Kate Miller-Heidke, well – she was just strange, querky and different but excellent none the less.

The highlight of the night for me though was watching John Butler Trio supported by Kieth Urban perform. While it wasn’t quite the same as a typical live performance from the John Butler Trio, there were hints of the brilliance which the audience realy appreciated.

John Butler Trio, Grand National

Al — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 00:25:51 +0000

The John Butler Trio are currently on the Australian leg of their Grand National tour and we were lucky enough to see them.

The concert was held at the Brisbane River Stage last night and the event was sold out; which officially made it the single biggest crowd in the bands history that they’ve performed in front of world wide; go Brisbane.

The evening was fantastic, with the John Butler Trio playing all of the new songs from their Grand National release with every second song being an older one. The Trio played from about 7:30pm until approximately 10:15pm with no breaks other than for us to applaud for an encore!

Such a great band, you need to do yourselves a favour and go and see them next time they are in your neck of the woods.

John Butler Trio Tickets Arrived

Al — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 12:55:33 +0000

After battling with Ticketmaster for twenty or thirty minutes trying to complete the ticket purchase, my John Butler Trio tickets arrived today. Claire and I are going to see John Butler Trio again, this time at the River Stage in … Continue reading → Related posts:

EMI Removes Digital Rights Management (DRM)

Al — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 06:14:13 +0000

Music industry heavy weight EMI has announced that it will allow the download of their music catalog online without Digital Rights Management attached to the files.

DRM was released with the intention it would curb digital media piracy. Unfortunately, implementing DRM in a manner that worked well for the consumer seemed to be a constant thorn in the side of the media publishers as the consumers pushed back against the use of digital rights management.

Users would download music encrypted using DRM technology and would then not be able to transfer the song from one media device to another, such as from a computer to an MP3 player. If you could move or transfer the file, there was a limited number of transfers available. This problem was circumvented if you were downloading from the Apple iTunes store, as it would allow syncing of the downloaded songs onto associated Apple devices.

As expected, Apple will be the first retailer to sell the newly released DRM free media through the iTunes store at a slightly higher price than a DRM encrypted media file. EMI have stated that they will continue to use DRM technology where appropriate for time or subscription based services. The use of DRM in that area is well within the bounds of its reach in my opinion and is an excellent use of the technology.

From my point of view, this is excellent news. I have refused to download music from iTunes store because the files have DRM attached. Sometime in the near future, I might just swing by the iTunes store and see what they have on offer.

John Butler Trio, Funky Tonight

Al — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 14:01:28 +0000

The John Butler Trio are currently on their Funky Tonight Tour throughout Australia from the 19^th November until the 10^th December.

On Sunday, the Empire Theatre in Toowoomba had the privilege of hosting the John Butler Trio once more. The allure of the John Butler Trio’s blues and roots music was in effect as nearly all of the 2400 seats were in use for the concert. The Empire is a grand old theatre, originally opened in 1911 and used primarily to show silent movies. Unfortunately, the theatre was destroyed by fire in 1933. For many years the Empire Theatre remained unused until it was refurbished and reopened in 1993 where it established itself as the premiere theatre for performing arts in the Darling Downs region.

I have now had the pleasure of listening to the John Butler Trio perform three times in person:

December 3^rd 2006, Funky Tonight Tour
December 11^th 2005, Homeward Bound Tour
May 25^th 2004, Sunrise Over Sea Tour

The first encounter with John Butler in 2004 was the most amazing live concert experience I had ever been involved with. The exceptional guitar skills of John and the beautiful timbre the band creates, solidified me as a John Butler Trio fan in the same concert. The outdoor concert held at the Brisbane Riverstage in 2005 was a spectacle to behold with thousands of fans soaking up the wonderful music and great atmosphere. After having such an excellent experience at the Empire Theatre in Toowoomba two years earlier, I was eager to hear the John Butler Trio perform there again and they didn’t disappoint. Its the true sign of a quality band when they deliver consistently high standard performances live; not all bands can do it – but the John Butler Trio certainly can.

Below are some (rather ordinary) photos snapped throughout the concert on a little Canon Ixus 400:

I tell everyone about the John Butler Trio that cares to listen as I believe them to be one of the most unique bands that have come out of Australia. The guitar skills of John Butler will surpass everyone’s expectations, setting a new watermark for all other guitarists to strive for. With his unique style, you’ll walk away from the concert wondering how he manages to create the sounds, rhythms and where required incredible speed with his guitar. The John Butler Trio percussionist, Michael Barker, also brings a raft of wonderful sounds to the band. Due to the pace that a lot of the John Butler Trio music is played at, Michael would have to be the hardest working man on the stage; regularly wiping himself down after a song with a towel. In some of the fast songs, I don’t know how he keeps up; keeping different beats on either leg and his arms are going in every direction at once. Shannon Birchall on the bass is also great, the deep mellow sounds of the bass really add a special element to their music and when he busts out the solos, the audience really appreciates what they are hearing.

If you ever get the opportunity to get tickets to see the John Butler Trio, you really must treat yourself. The band really do deliver masterful performances which you’ll be sure to remember.

John Butler Trio, Homeward Bound

Al — Mon, 12 Dec 2005 14:12:36 +0000

The John Butler Trio are currently on their Homeward Bound National Oz Tour.

On Sunday, it was Brisbane’s privilege to host the band at the River Stage. For those that don’t know, the Brisbane River Stage is a semi-natural grassed amphitheatre backing onto the Brisbane River. It has space for about 12,000-15,000 people in a mixture of sitting and standing.

I have had the pleasure of hearing the John Butler Trio play twice now. My first encounter was in 2004 at the Toowoomba Empire Theatre, for his initial Sunrise Over Sea tour. The atmosphere that a theatrical theatre provided was surreal, it was electric. Claire and I left the concert in total awe; we would have bought another set of tickets and gone back in to hear it all over again.

My second encounter was at the River Stage. Since it’s a large outdoor area, I didn’t think the concert would have had quite as much impact – I was wrong. The sound was excellent and loud, very loud. The River Stage would have been at close to capacity I think, with 10-12,000 people there. Everyone was well behaved, which was great and for the most part everyone remained seated (where appropriate) so that everyone could get a great view of the concert.

Andrew came with me this time, it was his first John Butler experience and he was thoroughly impressed with the talent on display. This first thing that hits you is the array of unique sounds he manages to draw from his guitars, superb. Once the first song or two are over, you then get to appreciate just how hard he is playing when he starts ramping up into some of the faster songs – wow. As the concert progresses, the other band members are taking more and more of a role, until at times they are the sole focus of the music and John is backing them.

Even though we were outside with a huge audience, John still drew you in. At one point, he unplugged the leads from his guitar, walked to centre stage and played Peaches & Cream into a single microphone. He asked the audience to try and remain quiet and it was, as before, brilliant. There was another instance where John was backing the drummer and he is literally urging the drummer to go harder and faster. That was a display of absolute percussion talent – I think everyone was lifting their jaws, the roar of the crowd when it finished certainly backed that.

The three photos were taken by Andrew on my Sony Ericsson K750i mobile:

There are songs on the Sunrise Over Sea album where John’s guitaring has you in awe, however as impressive as it is, it isn’t a scratch on what he delivers on stage. John has an absolute gift for the guitar, which is hard to explain unless heard live. If you ever get the chance to see him live at a town near you, I would whole heartedly recommend you purchase the best tickets you can get your hands on and enjoy the ride – pure brilliance.