By James Jennings
This month’s top five gig recommendations include: K-pop behemoths Blackpink, booming beats, beautiful Blood and a man bigger than Bach.
Weyes Blood
Opera House Joan Sutherland Theatre, June 1 and 4
Weyes Blood describes herself, perhaps with tongue in cheek, as sounding like “Bob Seger meets Enya”.Credit: Neil Krug
It’s always a thrill to witness an artist at the top of their game. LA native Natalie Mering (aka Weyes Blood, pronounced “Wise Blood”) certainly fits that bill. Her latest album And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow, a moving collection of songs channelling ’70s US west coast folk and chamber pop, is deservedly earning rave reviews.
Touching on themes of loneliness in the digital age and environmental collapse, Mering does heartbreak like no other, but doesn’t forget to throw in a healthy dose of hope to accompany the melancholy.
Come along to one of her shows and see if Mering’s tongue-in-cheek description of her music as “Bob Seger meets Enya” is apt.
Max Richter with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra: Ambient Orchestra
Opera House Concert Hall, June 3
If there is a version of a rockstar for the world of contemporary classical music, it’s German-born British composer and pianist Max Richter. His catalogue boasts more than a billion streams – beat that, Bach – and his album Sleep is the most streamed classical album of all time. His revered work is also often used in film and TV, such as recent hit show The Last of Us.
Beat a billion streams, Bach: Max Richter.Credit: Rhys Frampton
Although his music often employs electronic flourishes, the synths are taking the night off for Ambient Orchestra, which features acclaimed British soprano Grace Davidson accompanying the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, which will be conducted by Matthew Lynch.
Richter says he has created a suite of music to be used “as a space to reflect on ideas and feelings”, which is just the more eloquent way of saying, “Here are some tunes to kick back and chill to, my dude.”
Kelman Duran/Vv Pete/Utility
CTA Business Club, June 3, Phoenix Central Park, June 6
It’s a big month for local rap and club music label Trackwork, the brainchild of producer and composer Utility (known to his mum as Austin Benjamin), with two noteworthy events on the calendar.
Mount Druitt MC Vv Pete has been played on New York’s revered hip-hop station Hot 97.Credit:
The first has been named Club Service, a night of digital art and music featuring Utility and the hard-hitting raps of Mount Druitt MC Vv Pete (Veronica Peter), whose music has been played on New York’s revered hip-hop radio station Hot 97.
She’ll be joined by several other artists, including Dominican American musician, visual artist, filmmaker and scholar Kelman Duran, who was featured on Beyonce’s latest album Renaissance.
The trio will get together again on June 6 at Phoenix Central Park, one of Sydney’s newest performance spaces, where shows are free, with tickets allocated via a ballot process.
Andrew Gurruwiwi Band/Setwun and the Soulstranauts
Tumbalong Park, June 15
Attending all the top-shelf gigs on this month is a sure-fire way to send yourself broke, so it’s reassuring to know there are still some quality shows around that, delightfully, cost absolutely nothing.
This free outdoor gig will no doubt come with some added Sydney winter chill, but fear not: you’ll probably be dancing so hard you’ll barely notice.
The best things in life are free: Andrew Gurruwiwi.Credit: Joshua Preston
Bringing the funk and reggae vibes is Arnhem Land’s Andrew Gurruwiwi Band, a seven-piece led by, obviously, Andrew Gurruwiwi, a blind Yolngu elder who, if you’re lucky, may bust out his keytar and take things next-level funky.
DJ Setwun and his live band the Soultranauts will also be serving up a set of soul-jazz jams bound to keep your feet moving.
Blackpink
Qudos Bank Arena, June 16-17
Every decade or so a manufactured boy band or girl group will come off the assembly line and ride a tsunami of fan hysteria all the way to the top of the charts, before inevitably splitting up so its members can pursue less successful solo careers.
Blackpink: One of their shows is the closest to modern-day Beatlemania you can get.Credit: Supplied
Blackpink’s mind-boggling wave of success shows no sign of breaking any time soon, with the record-breaking K-pop behemoths racking up music streams and video views in the billions.
If you want to witness some modern-day Beatlemania from the group Time magazine labelled 2022 Entertainer of the Year, Blackpink’s Jisoo, Jennie, Rose and Lisa will be unleashing their vaguely “urban” polished pop at two shows set to be bursting with fans going absolutely spare.
What gigs are you looking forward to this month? More Vivid Live goodness from the likes of Devonte Hynes, Ella Mai, Thundercat, Ethel Cain, Madlib or Squarepusher? Or maybe one of the slew of touring Aussie artists, including the Jungle Giants, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Boy & Bear, King Stingray, Middle Kids and Mo’Ju? Or perhaps an old-school favourite like the Damned, mum-botherer Michael Buble or ’90s hip-hop icons the Pharcyde? Let us know in the comments.
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