Watch: The Hives @ Sydney Metro Theatre

“We're doing shit that we ain’t ever done for nobody before and I would like a fucking reaction!”
- Howlin' Pelle Almqvist

There’s some days we especially love shooting concerts and this was one of them. Swedish superpowers The Hives deliver a special covers spectacular, filmed exclusively by Moshcam at Sydney’s Metro Theatre.

Led by their irrepressible, joyously unhinged frontman Howlin' Pelle Almqvist, it’s a fast, furious and deliriously fun show dedicated to the artists who’ve shaped The Hives' DNA from day one. Boasting old school favourites from Billie Holiday, Mel Dorsey and Joy Ryder and Avis Davis to Australian punk-rock classics from The Saints and Flash And The Pan, the band pay tribute in their own raw, riotous fashion.

Gig Of The Week: Paul Weller @ Sydney Metro Theatre

Watch: Paul Weller

“What a lovely little civilised Sunday night concert this is!” 

It’s hard to imagine the Modfather holding a civilised gathering back in his rebellious days with The Jam, but on this Sunday night – some 30 years since the punk rockers disbanded – Paul Weller and his band ended a trio of Sydney shows with a final, extraordinary performance in the intimate surrounds of the Metro Theatre.

Australian fans had waited more than two decades for Weller’s long-overdue 2008 shows, and when he returned with his Wake Up The Nation two years later, none of that anticipation had dissipated. Few musicians have flown the Mod flag with the same style as Weller, and thankfully that night he delivered the same degree of punk rock passion he had in the ’70s to the eager crowd.

The sharply dressed silver fox delighted them with spirited tunes including ‘From The Floorboards Up’, ‘Into Tomorrow’, ’22 Dreams’. And true to his word (“I promise to play you some old tunes in a little bit…if you behave”), he threw in Jam hits ‘Pretty Green’ and ‘Art School’ plus the classic ‘Shout To The Top’ from his days with The Style Council. Now that’s entertainment.

The Decemberists @ The Metro, Sydney 19.01.10

As someone who starts most days with The Infanta blasting from the stereo in order to shake the cobwebs and head once more into the breach, it's hard to overstate the excitement of filming The Decemberists' recent Sydney gig at The Metro. (Let's gently put aside the fact that they did not play that song live, and move swiftly along. Disappointed? You have no idea.)

Fans are drawn to a band like The Decemberists for a multitude of very personal reasons. While they do not often speak directly to the human condition, they sweep us along with such an array of characters, so richly drawn and acutely observed, that we feel enmeshed in the fabric of their lives, which in turn reflect on our own experiences.

Musically, whether snared by the rich, faux-medieval hooks or rousing chamber pop choruses, the incredibly dense, multi-layered narratives of Colin Meloy's lyrics or just the downright soul-stirring rhythm section that constructs crescendos like no other, this is a band that has carved out a unique place in people's hearts.

And if all that isn't enough, they do a brilliant cover of The Go-Betweens 'Bye Bye Pride'!

WATCH NOW!

Paul Hannigan

Animal Collecive @ The Metro, Sydney 11.12.09

They may have stepped into the wider critical spotlight with the release of their eighth studio album, Merriweather Post Pavillion, but when it comes to their live show, the Maryland crew prefer to keep us resolutely in the dark. Of course this makes shooting a gig more than a little problematic.  No matter. Because through the lacey blackness on stage, punctuated here and there by the occasional flash of fluorescence, emanates a noise so assuredly unique, so compellingly complete, that all you can do is close your eyes and let it carry you off to whatever fantastical place it is that produces stuff this good.

So sure, take a look at the gig, there's some nice moments that let you know what it's like to see a band at the peak of their powers. But above all, turn it up and let this splendid wall of sound break over you and insinuate itself into your memory forever.

WATCH NOW!

Paul Hannigan

Live Concert Playlists

Now it's easy to create a playlist of your favourite live concert performances. Imagine your own fantasy festival and build the ultimate live setlist.

Simply register here and you can add any track to any number of playlists at any time with a single click.

Here's an example:

Watch Rock and other great playlists on Moshcam.

REWIND: Brian Jonestown Massacre, Metro Theatre, 29 August 2008

An occasional look at some of the defining moments on Moshcam

It’s not just Anton Newcombe of course, mesmerising as he is. With Joel Gion centrestage (Soul Brother Number One or gratuitous mascot depending on your relationship with the tambourine), the entire band digs deep into a place where barely defined melody and a percussive heat somehow coalesce into the psychotropic stylings that define BJM in full effect.

We’re almost 3 hours into a show that has seen Anton trade his fragile interest between the Jonestown back catalogue and a series of monologues that become increasingly tangential yet morbidly compelling as the night wears on. He has decided that people are not paying sufficient attention and won’t be getting another song until they do. We are treated to digression on dairy manufacturing “You churn the butter, you churn the butter” (repeat ad infinium) and some frankly slanderous comments about public figures we daren’t repeat here.

And then, just when it looks like he might leave us high and dry, reaching for a defining moment that would never arrive, they pull out a version of Swallowtail that burns with such ragged incandescence that we are left scorched and satiated.

The 8 minutes of distortion and feedback that follows is nothing les than a blue pill from Wonderland, bringing us gently back to where we came in.



Watch the whole gig here

MOSHCAM AT THE ANNANDALE HOTEL

What's left to be said about Sydney's Annandale Hotel? A beacon in what was once the impoverished terrain of Sydney live music, it's the first venue to which any serious band aspires to play. The walls reek of rock 'n' roll history and you can almost feel the ghosts of a host of legendary bands roam the corridors. The main room is live music incarnate - a low stage and ceiling with a great PA and lighting rig. Bands come and go, but one thing remains certain: if you've played The Annandale you're on the map!

Moshcam loves The Annandale so much we put a studio in upstairs so we could capture as many of the great acts as possible that come through the venue, from local up-and-comers to critically acclaimed international bands that play far larger venues in their home countries. So unless you were at the gig, you wont see them like this anywhere else.

So be sure to check back here or visit www.moshcam.com for a complete list of all our free concert videos.

Here's just a few of the highlights:



















And the complete list (click to watch the full gig):

Jason Lowe
The Third Cycle
The Getaway Plan
Goodnight Nurse
Closure In Moscow
Gaslight Anthem
Regurgitator
A Death In The Family
Like...Alaska
Spod
The Jezabels
Whiskey Go Gos
Sister Jane
Under Lights
Stay
The Pet Rocks
The Revolutionary Kind
The Kill Devil Hills
The Holy Soul
The Maladies
Jimmy Stewart
Snowman
The Mess Hall
Violent Soho
Ripping Dylans
Charge Group
The Holidays
Little Red
Magic Dirt
theredsunband
Realized
Hard Ons
Crux
Defektro
Inappropriate Tough Guy Behaviour
Baseball
Jebediah
The Adventure
Willard Grant Conspiracy
Danny George Wilson
Watussi
Amali Ward
Ooh La La
Hailer
Atomicide
Ziggie Flax
Imperial
Des Miller and The Magnetic Heads
Sherlock's Daughter
We Say Bamboulee
Mammal
.hinge
Horrorshow
Spit Syndicate
alamode
The Go Set
Casino Rumblers
Catgut Mary
One Glove
Modern Joy
Vaudeville
The Mischief
David Bridie
The Greasers
Mindy Sotiri
Front End Loader
Ooh La La
Morgan
The Go Roll Your Bones
The Nevada Strange
Warhorse
The New Pornographers
An Horse
Like...Alaska
Epicure
Downhills Home
Streetlight Manifesto
The Resignators
Dan Potthast
The Lovetones
Heartbreak Club
Rubix Cuba
Cap A Capo
The Statics
L.U.S.T.
Young and Restless
Whiskey Go Go's
Lions At Your Door
Sherlock's Daughter
Squat Club
Captain Kickarse & The Awesomes
I Like Cats
Triangle
Super Florence Jam
MRBEN
Butcher Birds
Chaingang
Fait Accompli Vs Goons of Doom
Hercules in NY
Here Come The Birds
Only the Sea Slugs
The Magic Hands
Zeahorse
The Vignettes
To The Throne
Lover
Atrocities
Diamondback Rattler
Youth Group
theredsunband
Shady Lane
Sailmaker
astreetlightsong
megastick fanfare
Ghoul
Toys Become Real
Shane Miranda
Des Miller and The Magnetic Heads
Captains
The Joysticks
Moravia
The Inheritors
The Mounzers
The Dirty Secrets
Saving Grace
Jack Carty & The Party
Gideon Bensen & The Primates
Baba O'Riley
The Retreat
Under Lights
Streetlight
Mickey Gloss
Under Lights
Howie Day
Fairy Light
Kid Confucius
Lions At Your Door
The Waysiders
Ten East
Justin Townes Earle
Perry Keyes
Lucy Lehmann
Lime Spiders
Happy Hate-Me-Nots
The Straight Arrows
WOW
Holy Fuck
Mountains In The Sky
Nunchukka Superfly
Short Stack
Brand New Fashion
Tonight Alive
Sunflower
Squat Club
Underlapper
Shirlow
Super Florence Jam
Captains
Black Mountain
Brant Bjork
Roger That
Martin Martini & The Bone Palace Orchestra
Brian Campeau
Nimeo
The Fearless Vampire Killers
Space Project
The Wahas
The Temper Trap
The Seabellies
Sherlock's Daughter
Evan Dando
Bambino Koresh
Ernest Ellis
Mark Olson & Gary Louris
Melanie Horsnell
Have Heart
Carpathian
Worlds Apart
The Hollow
Screamfeeder
Midget
Magnetic Heads
Grand Fatal
Paul Dempsey
Jen Cloher
Deerhunter
Traps
The Straight Arrows
K-Oscillate
Jen Cloher & The Endless Sea
Elana Stone
Jackson Mclaren
The Jefferson
The Cavemen
Outlier
Kinetic Method
Downsyde
Endusk
Hell City Glamours
The Quickening
Run! Hide!
Sniperival
Gay Paris
Samiam
A Death In The Family
Shonen Knife
I Heart Hiroshima
Ouch My Face
Nitocris
Sydonia
The Optionals
Los Alamos