NEWS
USA TOUR DIARY MARCH 2009
18 APRIL 2009
A quick reminder before the tour diary...
Greenfest Launch
Sunday 26 APRIL Perin Park, Brisbane
Noon / Free / All-Ages
(more shows below)
and now...
ROBIN BOAT'S MARCH 2009 USA TOUR DIARY - PART 1
(Check the myspace album for tour photos)
Day 1 - LA
We technically start before day one in the Victorian town of Birchip which is about four hours out of Melbourne. So, played the gig, was great fun. Got in the cream volvo about midnight and drove back towards Melbourne Realised country towns close their petrol stations after midnight even if you have been driving your volvo on empty for 40k or so. Luckily our Bendigo detouring gambit paid off and we made it to Melbourne in time to catch the 6am flight to LA.
20 hours later we touch down in LA (still on the morning of day one somehow). The moon was upside down. Crazy American moon ha ha. Checked in. Ate gigantic breakfast burritos and made it to Aussie BBQ at the Echo just in time to see Red Riders who were on just before us. Show was great fun - amazing how grateful you are to jump around after 20 hours on a plane. Saw mucho more good music then the dappled cities kids introduced us to their favourite mexican place. I love mexico. Why can't it be south of Australia's border? The night quickly deteriorated as we ended up at a party with no beer and then went elsewhere to find that everywhere in LA has a 2am liquor license. Sheesh.
Day 2 -
Our hotel had a GIANT waffle making machine which was exciting and messy. We went and met a bunch of people at Rhino who license our recordings - they were malto friendly and took us into "the box set room" where we got a whole bunch of swag. They also gave us moon pies which are an american hybrid of the wagon wheel and madeira cake. We then hung around in the corporate gardens eating our moon pie and feeding bits of it to a squirrel so we could photograph it. The squirrel lunged at me and scratched up my hand. I went to security and he was all worried and said "we better call an expert" while picking up the phone. then he put the phone down again realising he did not know the number of a squirrel expert and gave me some stuff from the first aid cupboard instead. We then went said hi to our publisher Chrysalis before jumping on an airplane.
Day 3 - Austin
Early flight. and a taxi to find our hotel is in an urban wasteland with only a 24h ihop for company. I was asleep all of this day so I remember nothing more. Austin is not unlike Brisbane btw. Much less people but lots of warmth,beige buildings, a big river and lots of bats.
Day 4
The chronic insomnia set in around this point which is fine when your running on gig time so that's the last I'll say about it. Opened the KCRW showcase today and pretty much hung around there all night as one great band after another awesomed us into verbs. We were pleasantly surprised to have a bunch of early birds there who came down the front and danced around. "Other Lives" were after us and they were amazing - authentic beardy psych-folk from the heart of the US. They lent us an acoustic too. Fangs! Next up were Port O'Brien who share a second name with James Boat and were a lot more rockin than they're alaskans-in-the-midday-sun performance at laneway fest. The closed their set by giving everyone in the audience pots and pans to bash. Then Angus and Julia Stone were next - they had the editor from rolling stone there to see 'em, you know, the guy who's head is in all those music documentaries. Charles left at this point to see Billy Bob Thornton's band. Finally, school of seven bells closed out the night after some lengthy set up issues due to problems with their backing tracks and by this time the joint was PFP. our only detour was to go an see our US managements other artist Katie Herzig, from Nashville, she was playing as part of this Gin-Club Style Nashville switch up the singers style band.
Day 5
Today we got militant and went in early to see some music before our show. This is where we discovered the SX class system. We were middle class which wasn't enough to get me past the massive queue (Quoth American lady "queue" that is quaint. You mean line? are you British?) to see Rural Alberta Advantage. After this I vowed to get to every band I wanted to see one band early so I wouldn't miss them. Prior to the RBA mishap I did get to see Graham Effin' Coxon though!! He was playing an acoustic set in a little tent to about 40 people and it was wizard! He is a mofo of a guitar player. Which did not come across in Alex James' biography (although now I know to eat a carrot after every bottle of champagne to keep the breath fresh).
OK, lets accelerate a bit here this is taking too long. After I missed Rural Alberta Advantage I ended up seeing one of my favourite bands of the festival - Micachu and the Shapes (although OB was seeing Cold War Kids and M.Ward at this point so...). Listening to them is much easier than having them described to you so GO! Saw some of Dirty Projectors then went to camp out for one of Japan's best-loved Psych bands (from the actual 60s this time) Flower Travelin' band - crazy million string guitar, vocals like bob marly with some bad ass plastic ono grooves. Endless Boogie were on before them and did just that playing 2 songs but it was great mean old New York rockenrolla boogie - not 'funky' thank you. Then ran back to friends for our Sounds Australia showcase but found I'd lost my passport and couldn't get in. bugger. Ran back to FTB, found it in a garden bed how? Ran back to gig which was packed with crazy people. I was kind of flustered but everyone said told me it was great so I'll believe them. I even thought I saw one of the Drones dancing to 'light of love' (later confirmed by said Drone). Holy Shit! They killed it every time they played btw. Then we lugged gear - why do so many nights have to end this way?
Day 6
Aussie BBQ - we played first up at midday uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurgh. But it was still good fun as was the whole afternoon thanks to Mary and Glen. Good, messy fun. Sitting in the dirt fun. So much free Australian native-plant beer. Broken up by a quick detour to see Dappled Cities who I missed most of because they'd been brought forward 1/2 an hour. They're new shiz is sounding very very very good though - can't wait to hear the album. Went to the same place for dinner again which was the only place we found that had vegetables in the food. OB wanted to go see Coxon but then forgot on the way and I lost him. We didn't stick around for the follow up - a 'super' group featuring members of Hanson and wheezer. I'll leave you with the hazy memory of standing buried up to my ankles in pebbles while blurred figures danced around me holding giant cans of fosters...
Day 7
This was the only festival day we weren't playing and I name it free day cos I got free jeans from Australia, free mexican breakfast from Canada, free beer from Perth (still Australia I know) and free music from Texas. Caught Red Riders and Dappled (full set this time) in the day and then gunned down to the free outdoor stage for the incongruous triple-barrel lineup of beach house, Canabinoids feat. Erykah Badu and Explosions in the Sky. Beach House - Top Marks. Erykah Badu - Forfeit due to late arrival (as in she only did one song that started when E in the S were supposed to). Explosions in the Sky - Effort A+ Mix C-. So I went back to the main drag a little disheartened and became more so when I realised I'd lost my passport AGAIN (I also lost my keyboard stand, sunglasses and a copy of Dr. Faustus on this tour). Most of the rest of the night was spent sorting through trash at the outdoor stage until someone handed it in. I pretty much used up all my luck points for the tour at that point. So on to The Mae Shi who were great when they weren't a hardcore band and then Silversun pickups who I didn't get into because SXSW cancelled all the door lists :( . Tonight and SXSW ended the way all things should - hangin' with my band buddies back on the porch.
Day 8
SXSW over. Nothing to do in Austin. Slept all day. Other boat persons went to find fabled Kmart which only sells Country and Western Clothes. Woke to find the upstairs were a bunch of legends write for this magazine called BRM and taught us about Madlibs and a whole bunch of new dirty American words. They also showed me how to walk to the walmart where I purchased beer and a 4-pack of plastic imitation grillz. They kept us entertained till we left for the plane the next morning.
PS. Dallas airport is bigger than the island of Manhattan. Wtf?
STAY TUNED FOR PART 2
Still to come: The Boat People in NYC and Return to LA
------------
GIGS
Sunday, 26 April 2009
Greenfest Launch
Perin Park Brisbane Noon Free All-Ages
Saturday, 02 May 2009
WARWICK PEACE FESTIVAL
Warwick, QLD
Friday, 05 June 2009
GREENFEST
5th-7th June Brisbane, QLD
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
AMUNC Brisbane Live
The Hifi Bar Brisbane Tickets $20+bf via www.thehifi.com.au Rocking Horse, Butter Beats, Rockaway Records, Sunflower Pacific Fair, Disasterpiece, Mosh Pit Music, Kill The Music and Gooble Warming.
FIRE AND FLOOD FUNDRAISER WITH POWDERFINGER / THE GRATES + NEW USA DATES ANNOUNCED
27 FEBRUARY 2009
FIRE AND FLOOD FUNDRAISER - POWDERFINGER, THE GRATES + MORE
Hot Off The Press - we can announce The Boat People will be joining Powderfinger, The Grates, Robert Forster John Steel Singers and Dan Parsons to play a very special fundraiser for victims of the recent Victorian bushfires. Diary ready? OK, write this down - March 6th at The Tivoli.
USA SXSW SHOW DETAILS ANNOUNCED
We can also now announce the details of The Boat People shows at SXSW and in LA/NYC in March. See below for dates. We've thrown a bunch of photos from CMJ (NYC October 08) to get you in the mood. Unsettle My Heart has been added to over 20 radio stations in the USA and we hear they've just inked a deal with Rhino Independent (part of the Warner Music Group) who will represent The Boat People's masters in the US to film and television. Stay tuned for more OS shows yet to be announced.
MELBOURNE THIS SATURDAY
Oh and a last minute heads up for Melbourne fans - The band will be hitting the Toff in Town on Saturday with Dash and Will. They'll also be rocking Birchip for the Racing Carnival on March 14.
SXSW - NYC - LA SHOWS
15 Mar 2009
Aussie BBQ at Echo w Dappled Cities My Disco The Fumes and more
Silverlake Los Angeles, California
18 Mar 2009
KCRW SXSW Showcase at Buffalo Billiards w School of 7 Bells Port OBrien and more
Austin, Texas
19 Mar 2009
Sounds Australia SXSW Showcase at Friends w Red Riders Birds of Tokyo The Fumes and more
Austin, Texas
20 Mar 2009
Aussie BBQ at Brush Park Sqr opposite SXSW HQ w The Drones The Grates Youth Group Josh Pyke etc
Austin, Texas
23 Mar 2009
Pianos NYC, New York
26 Mar 2009
Aussie BBQ at The Bell House w Infusion The Grates Youth Group and more Brooklyn NYC, New York
+ More OS dates to be announced
Other Shows coming up:
2 May 2009
Peace Festival Warwick, Queensland
5 May 2009
Greenfest 5th - 7th
Brisbane, Queensland
TRIPLE J HOTTEST 100 VOTING OPEN TODAY!!
26 DECEMBER 2008
Merry Christmas everyone from The Boat People! We hope you all had a great day and that boxing day finds you happy, gift-laden and not still too full from Christmas dinner!
As many of you will know, Australia’s amazing, nationally broadcast youth/alternative radio station Triple J runs it’s annual Hottest 100 music poll from today (Boxing Day)! It is the biggest music poll in the world and this year we want you to vote for The Boat People’s track “Awkward Orchid Orchard” which has been a Triple J staple over the last few months.
Voting opens on Boxing Day (26th Dec 2008 – TODAY!) and will close 18th January 2009 and it’s very, very easy to do!
All you have to do is use this link
http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/hottest100/vote.htm
Then click the Vote Now button. An option will appear to select songs from either a list of song names or artists. We recommend you select song name, look under “A” and click on “Awkward Orchid Orchard” by The Boat People, fill in your details and you’re away!
The Triple J website will then email you a confirmation link straight away. So go straight to your email, click on the confirmation link and you’re vote is done and counted!
This final step is very important so make sure you give them your real email address!
Thanks everyone! It will be fantastic for The Boaties to have our track in the Hottest 100 so please pass this on to anyone who would be interested.
Merry Christmas!!
The Boaties
CMJ MUSIC MARATHON NYC/ KCRW LIVE SET / US+UK TOUR / CHANDELIERS OZ ALBUM TOUR 2008 / SMH 4 STARS / REQUEST / AWKWARD ORCHID ORCHARD + EMUSIC COMPETITION
07 AUGUST 2008
CMJ Music Marathon NYC/ KCRW Live set / US+UK Tour / Chandeliers OZ Album Tour 2008 / SMH 4 stars / Request / Awkward Orchid Orchard + eMusic Competition
CMJ Music Marathon / KCRW / US+UK Tour
The Boat People have been selected to showcase at the College Music Journal Music Marathon in NYC (see bottom for a list of past performers). They'll also be touring the US with a live set on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic. They play Spaceland (Silverlake) on 18th OCT with more shows to be announced. Finally the band swings past the UK for a follow up to their May trip before heading home.
Chandeliers Australian Album Tour August 2008
This run kicks off next week with a show in Canberra on Robin's Birthday then Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne follow on consecutive weekends. Come wave your hankie before the band embarks on their OS jaunt...
Tickets from www.moshtix.com.au
Updated Lineup: Japan's (Paris-based) Tujiko Noriko joins The Boat People at Bon Amici in Toowoomba to weave her bjorkish, múmish sampligraphy.
Thursday, 14 August 2008
Transit Bar (Canberra)
with The Dawn Collective
Friday, 15 August 2008
Chilli Lounge (Wyong, Central Coast N.S.W.)
with Jaywalker and Head of State
Saturday, 16 August 2008
Spectrum (Sydney)
with The Small Hours and Melanie Horsnell
Sunday, 17 August 2008
Brass Monkey (Cronulla, N.S.W.)
Thursday, 21 August 2008
Bon Amici (Toowoomba, Qld)
with Tujiko Noriko
Friday, 22 August 2008
The Zoo (Brisbane)
with Rocketsmiths and Skinny Jean
Saturday, 23 August 2008
Cooloongatta Hotel (Cooloongatta)
with Hoodoo Gurus and The Dawn Collective
Saturday, 30 August 2008
East Brunswick Club (Melbourne)
with Plastic Palace Alice
Just for the record, Custard did, do and will always rock the party.
WIN! A one year subscription to Emusic!
We have had many people trying to guess all the bands in the Awkward Orchid Orchard Clip. Some have got close but no-one has found each of the 52 official clues so we are taking it up a notch by turing it into a competition with some sweet sweet prizes.
By correctly guessing the 52 band names you can win one of these prizzzes...
1 x One Year subscription to eMusic (360 songs)
3 x runner up prizes - 3 month eMusic Subscriptions (90 songs)
6 x Boat People packs including Chandeliers CD, 2008 t-shirt, poster and badges
Click Here to Enter
Request at our Behest...
CMJ past performers
!!! - And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - 2 Many DJs - Aesop Rock - Against Me - Album Leaf - Alex Chilton - Aphex Twin - Afghan Whigs - American Analog Set - American Music Club - Ani Di Franco - Annie Lennox - Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra - Antipop Consortium - Antony & the Johnsons - Apples In Stereo - The Arcade Fire - Archers Of Loaf - Atmosphere - Band of Horses - Battles - Beastie Boys - Beep Beep - Ben Folds Five - Ben Harper - Ben Lee - Beth Orton - Bettie Severt - Bis - Blackalicious - Black Eyed Peas - Black Kids - Blues Explosion - Boss Hog - Bouncing Souls - BT - The Bravery - Brazilian Girls - Brian Wilson - Bright Eyes - Broken Social Scene - Built To Spill - Butthole Surfers - Calexico - Camper Van Beethoven - Cardigans - Cheap Trick - Chemical Brothers - Chris Whitley - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clinic - Coachwhips - Coheed and Cambria - Colder - The Concretes - Consolidated - Cornershop - Cracker - Crystal Method - Daft Punk - Dandy Warhols - David Bowie - David Byrne - David Holmes - The Dears - Death Cab for Cutie - Death Comet Crew - Death From Above 1979 - The Decemberists - Deftones - Devendra Banhart - Deerhunter - - Dogs Die In Hot Cars - The Donnas - Doves - Dungen - Dust Brothers - Echo & The Bunnymen - Elbow - Elliott Smith - - Sleater-Kinney - Sneaker Pimps - Snow Patrol - Son Volt - Sonic Youth - Soul Coughing - Soundgarden - Soundtrack Of Our Lives - Spank Rock - Spiritualized - Spoon - The Strokes - Sufjan Stevens - Sunn 0))) - Superchunk - Superdrag - Super Furry Animals - System Of A Down - Talib Kweli - - Tori Amos - Travis - Tricky - TV On The Radio - The Twilight Singers - VHS Or Beta - Waco Brothers - Weezer - Whiskeytown - Wilco - Willie Nelson - Wolf Parade - X-ecutioners - Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Yeasayer
18 JULY 2008
WIN Stuff / JB HiFi / ChaosMusic / Geek / Mess and Noise Review / Triple J Request / August Tour Dates
- - - - -
WIN! A one year subscription to Emusic!
We have had many people trying to guess all the bands in the Awkward Orchid Orchard Clip. Some have got close but no-one has found each of the 52 official clues so we are taking it up a notch by turing it into a competition with some sweet sweet prizes.
By correctly guessing the 52 band names you can win one of these prizzzes...
1 x One Year subscription to eMusic (360 songs)
3 x runner up prizes - 3 month eMusic Subscriptions (90 songs)
6 x Boat People packs including Chandeliers CD, 2008 t-shirt, poster and badges
Click Here to Enter
Haven't got Chandeliers yet?
Go grab a copy from the Best Sellers/New Releases display at your local JB hi-fi or for for Internet shopping types...
Chaos Music Special Offer
You can get Chandeliers for $19 with free shipping and badge.
Follow this
link to get this tasty special deal for a limited time only.
Don't forget to include the promo code : BOATIES
Geek Melbourne - Chandeliers Giveaways
Melbournites should pop down to Geek, Carlton's favourite Indie discoteque (cnr Princess and Canning st) on July 25th where they'll be giving away a few precious copies of Chandeliers. Bring your pomo pants and watch the gogo dance too if you are so inclined...
Chandeliers Review - Mess and Noise
The Boat People have always suffered from being from a town, Brisbane that is not well-known for its pop bands - the Go-Betweens notwithstanding. Hence, The Boat People have found it hard to win the support their songwriting deserves, despite penning one of the finest Australian pop singles of recent years, the Q Song Award-winning 'Unsettle my Heart'. Even so, they've quietly racked up a string of other prizes, a loyal following and plenty of praise from the critics, all without quite breaking through.
Perhaps that's why Chandeliers is such a satisfying album. The Boat People's key songwriters Robin Waters and James O'Brien have always had a good line in quirky pop gems, but Chandeliers sees them transcend their cutesy-ness and reach for something fuller and more accomplished. What emerges is a genuinely great Australian pop album that can comfortably stand alongside acknowledged classics like Woodface, Granddance or 16 Lover's Lane - each of which, it can be argued, this album draws inspiration from.
Chandeliers also has the additional assistance of J. Walker (Machine Translations) as producer, who has polished and burnished these songs to a fine sheen, without going overboard on the studio wizardry. In particular, he has coaxed a superb timbre from Waters' voice, which has matured and grown from its former occasional brittleness.
What about the songs? There's a lot to recommend. The single, 'Awkward Orchid Orchard', has a trademark Boaties feel, with soaring three-part male harmonies and a hook that recalls the best work of The Apples in Stereo, Of Montreal or The Shins. 'Born in the 80's' is a bouncy up-tempo number that feels like a summer afternoon spent listening to The Smiths, while 'Hours n Hours' is a lyrical love song. The final track, 'Millagri', is one of the album's best, with an alt-country feel that will gladden the hearts of Wowee Zowee-era Pavement fans.
It's been a hard slog for The Boat People, but this sophomore album shows it has clearly been worth it. Crisply produced and wonderfully written and arranged, Chandeliers is superb, mature pop music, as good as anything you'll hear in this genre this year. International recognition beckons.
by Ben Eltham
Triple J request
Keep 'em coming y'all (or we'll make our words even sh'rt'r).
Chandeliers Album Tour- August 2008
14 Aug 2008 Transit Bar (Canberra)
15 Aug 2008 Chilli Lounge (Wyong, Central Coast N.S.W.)
16 Aug 2008 Spectrum (Sydney)
17 Aug 2008 Brass Monkey (Cronulla, N.S.W.)
22 Aug 2008 The Zoo (Brisbane)
30 Aug 2008 East Brunswick Club (Melbourne)
