From today, most of the 30,000 punters start the trip to beautiful Woodfordia to take in a little slice of live music heaven: the Splendour in the Grass festival. Gumboots and clothes for all seasons packed, the journey can be a long one for some. I hope you’ve created some playlists for your travel and downloaded the free app from the Splendour facebook page (which, can I just say, is freakin awesome!):
We’re pretty excited to see this awesome lineup appear in real life so we’ve put together a playlist to get us in the mood:
Tracklist is:
Jesus Came To My Birthday Party – The Middle East
Gold Canary – Cloud Control
Undertow – Warpaint
Hurt Me – The Jezabels
Limit To Your Love – James Blake
Monster – Kanye West feat Jay-Z, Bon Iver, Nicki Minaj
“Hotly anticipated” doesn’t begin to convey the level of excitement surrounding The Middle East’s debut album release…
After global praise and extensive international touring for their EP Recordings of The Middle East, Townsville’s local treasures are finally ready to announce a full-length debut – I Want That You Are Always Happy. Released on April 8, the album is dark, melancholy, thick with melody and eventually instilled with hope. In short, it’s stunning (we were lucky enough to witness many of the new tracks including Black Death 1349 and Jesus Came To My Birthday Party during an intimate album showcase in January).
And sure, you can stream album opener Black Death 1349 below, but you can download it exclusively from www.goldenplains.com.au until March 12. The Middle East will perform at Golden Plains on March 13 and will follow their album release with extensive national tour dates throughout June. Japanese, European and North American release dates will follow shortly!
I Want That You Are Always Happy Track List: 1. Black Death 1349 2. My Grandma Was Pearl Hall 3. As I Go To See Janey 4. Jesus Came To My Birthday Party 5. Land of The Bloody Unknown 6. Very Many 7. Sydney To Newcastle 8. Mount Morgan 9. Months 10. Dan’s Silverleaf 11. Hunger Song 12. Ninth Ave Reverie 13. Deep Water
On this chilly grey summer (ha!) morning, my ears and soul were enveloped in a warm blanket of dulcet harmonies pouring out of my radio, courtesy of The Middle East’s Jesus Came To By Birthday Party.
These Townsville kids sure have what it takes to pluck heartstrings and control us like puppets (and I love it!). When indulging in the 2009 Recordings of The Middle East EP I tend to find myself at the mercy of their every emotive whim… Track 1: crumple in tears. Track 2: spirits bolstered with triumphant promise. Track 3: yearn bitterly for relationships lost. Track 4: exalt in the bliss of solitude . And so forth.
On to the new track however… Jesus Came To My Birthday Party is the first track released off their globally anticipated debut album due early-mid 2011. It encapsulates all those things that makes us so fond of The Middle East: tenderly poignant celebrations of youth, stunningly simple acoustic guitar, the odd jaunty whistle, and a touch of buoyant humour (unless they were deadly serious about Jesus’ aforementioned second coming in FNQ).
Give it a whirl below:
Now that the band’s new songs are in the works, they’re getting ready to take them on the road around Australia including guest performances with Ohio phenomenon The National and an intimate rooftop performance in Melbourne with Mountain Man.
Take my advice. Get tickets as fast as humanly possible.
The Middle East Summer Tour Dates
30 December 2010 – Falls Music & Arts Festival, Lorne, Victoria >> Sold Out
31 December 2010 – Falls Music & Arts Festival, Marion Bay, Tasmania >> Tickets
2 January 2011 – Southbound Festival, Busselton, Western Australia >> Tickets
6 January 2011 – Sunset Sounds, Brisbane, Queensland >> Tickets
7 January 2011 – Enmore Theatre, Sydney supporting The National >> Tickets
8 January 2011 – Enmore Theatre, Sydney supporting The National >> Tickets
9 January 2011 – Palais Theatre, Melbourne supporting The National >> Tickets
10 January 2011 – Palais Theatre, Melbourne supporting The National >> Tickets
17 January 2011 – Toff Rooftop, Melbourne w/ Mountain Man >> Tickets
I reckon it’s really important to travel. Whether its in a Rolls Royce or with a rucksack…
Travel gives you perspective and frees you up from the day-to-day. For me it gives me a kind of sense check of what you are doing, where you are going and what’s really important.
Even though I’m in my late 30’s… I am a hopeless case with spending at least part of my holidays on one (or many) of my favourite artists. There is always music involved. I can’t see that ever changing… Add in some of your favourite people in the world and I’m pretty damn contented.I’ve done most musical festivals in the world but for me, Coachella is the best and most intelligent. Goosebumps on multiple occasions. Hairs on arms standing up – check. Really – it’s that good.
Imagine, a dream line up… backdrop it with a lush green space in the middle of the California desert. Surround that with palm trees… Then back drop it with an intense mountain range. Cap it with some snow at the very top just off in the distance. Then add a picture-perfect blue sky and you are getting close. This is music lovers festival heaven.
At night the palm trees are underlit with different colored spotlights…and 5 massive Hollywood-style spotlights are planted around the parameters of the festival shooting into the sky and meeting up in the middle of the festival space. The sunset at the end of each day is something to behold as the sun rests for the night behind the mountains. And when the bands play, they play to a surrounding backdrop of palm trees or a hint of desert… it’s hard to explain in words but hope you are feelin’ me on how good it was. Although there were 60,000 people each day, it doesn’t feel suffocating or over-crowded. It’s clean and well-run. Yep. It’s pretty impressive. And if you believe in energies and spirits and those kind of otherworldly touchpoints… well I think it has all of that going on as well.
But most importantly, I have never seen so much incredible music and such a musically-forward line up as this year. I highly recommend it.
If you’ve not heard today’s incredible 10th anniversary Splendour In the Grass lineup, have you not a computer / radio / phone / ears / eyes????
OK so camping tickets are $450 (ouch), but we’ve done the math & it turns that makes each set $5.55… Five and half bucks to heard the new LCD album live!? The full lineup is below, with our favourite acts on the LHS. (Full disclosure, they’re all ours!)
Laura Marling Ltd Edn I Speak Because I Can CD/DVD with 5 free downloads, postcard artwork, and lyrics booklet
Jonsi blockmounted poster featuring Go album art
Operator Please signed 7″ vinyl of Logic / Logic (Dolby Anol Remix)
Ben Harper & Relentless7 signed blockmounted poster featuring White Lies… art
Gorillaz limited edition Plastic Beach CD/DVD
Hot Chip One Life Stand double gatefold vinyl
Goldfrapp Headfirst collector’s edition cassette
Just head to our sister store at theinsong.com/splendour, buy any of the singles or albums to receive competition details, and tell us in 25 words or less how you plan to warm up for Splendour.
Like every sane Sydneysider, I adore Sydney in summer; the glistening harbour, the deafening yet somehow soothing crickets, the shimmer of heat rising above grass at dawn… and most of all The Sydney Festival! (Personal fave memory is sitting in a deserted Martin Place at dusk whilst The Knife’s Silent Shout was broadcast throughout the city to test the festival audio systems – a surreal kind of bliss!)
If you’ve never done the Festival First Night in the CBD, I tell you it’s a packed out, breathtaking, and FREE evening… Last year, The Cat Empire and Grace Jones performed for over 100,000 people in The Domain alone, with dozens of other stages, art installations, and markets dotted throughout the city – people, people, music, dancing, parades, food, and more people everywhere! Here are some snaps from the 2009 First Night.
Twelve artists including Al Green (!!) and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy are already confirmed for for the 2010 First Night on Jan 9, with plenty more to come. But the Sydney Festival does run for almost all of January, and there’s plenty more than just the First Night. Personal highlights include Laura Marling, Neko Case, Grizzly Bear, Patrick Watson, The Handsome Family, JOHN CALE (!!), and of course the mesmerisingly haunting The Middle East… who incidentally soundtrack the trailer for the 2010 Festival (but are *cough* from Townville *cough*). Check it!
For all you lucky punters heading up to Byron this weekend for Splendour (note that I am NOT one of you), here’s one more reason I am insanely jealous:
Holly Throsby, The Middle East and Leader Cheetah are performing together in a one off all-ages Spunk label showcase at 6pm this Friday (July 24) at the Byron Bay Community Centre. Perfect for a first beer after the loooooong drive to Belongil Fields.
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Track 2: spirits bolstered with triumphant promise. 
