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Whoever named tonight's event 'Uh Huh' should be given a gentle slap round the face for concocting such an uninspiring name for such an inspiring line up. The Corner is sadly sparser than expected tonight but those of us present are up for a full on (especially with no mind numbingly annoying and boring lengthy sound checks) night of cutting edge Rock and Roll in the company of some of the hottest and most vibrant bands in the Country.

Playing Rock & Roll with a drum machine is a tough task, trying to maintain passion, emotion and flexibility within the confines of a machines rigid confine. Whilst TV for Cats aren't the most engaging band to watch, their lack of human backline doesn't notice and musically they are as flexible and fluid as any band with a sweaty skin pounder in the back row. The tunes are bright, edgy and catchy, with ingenious arrangements and musical tricks scattered throughout their set.

Allow me the indulgence of stepping outside the traditional third person / present tense to make an observation on context, situation and assumption. Once I saw Cameron (lead singer of Baseball) sat at a tram stop, his usual crazy haired self, decked in the un official uniform of Melbourne musicians, tight jeans, singlet and Dunlop volleys. Outside of his element people were avoiding him, labelling him as one those 'crazies' and best ignored or stared at. In his element fronting a rock band all eyes are upon him again but this time there is no doubt about what this crazy haired man is here for.

One man talking solidly for three hours with no breaks and only taking one drink the entire time is a pretty intense experience for all involved, especially when one of those is Henry Rollins. He stands rigid in one spot, legs arched, tense, constantly looking as if he's about to leap into a fight. He covers topics from war and politics to loving music and sex, never elitist and never patronising. He tries hard to remain down to Earth and on the side of the common man, at times I find this hard to believe, for example he continually mentions his 'Utilitarian hovel' unyet lets slip that it has 3 bathrooms. Also whilst I whole heartedly support his 'Live every day as your last' attitude and his encouragement to seek, accept and grasp all opportunities, he is Henry Rollins and in a lot better place to be offered and act upon opportunities than many. Don't let me paint the show in a bad light however as this is a truly informative and inspiring show full of observations, anecdotes and intelligent witticisms on the state of the world. He is engaging, never wandering even slightly close to boredom and maintains an equal level of passion and energy throughout his entire set. I know little of Henry Rollins career but after discovering such a like minded soul who shares so many similar beliefs and motivations I shall be digging more into his past, present and future, hoping to be further roused and renewed in my own ventures.

The Knockouts are straight ahead psychobilly rock and roll, feeling slightly stifled but warming up towards the end of the set. Strangely similar in delivery to old Ska band, the Selecter, their material is fairly paint by numbers, simple and uncomplicated conjuring images of Smokey bars in the American deep south, surrounded by far too much leather and cigarette smoke if it hasn't been banned yet?

Let down the wall, try not to use a piano, you'll amaze yourself.

An image man does what his image can

Putting on gigs in venues that are a little outside of the normal circuit is always a challenge, you pick a good night of the week, get a good line up together and promote the hell out of it unyet attendance is still not what it could and should be. Such is the lot of the Noise Bar tonight, a buzzing and eclectic line up but just because it's that little bit further from Coolsville the 40 or so people here are the only ones privileged and smart enough to realise a good deal when they see one.

I have a recently rediscovered passion and interest for History, absorbing many tomes over the past few months, my favourite being brief surmises of 'all of History'.

I am a big fan of the Jam; they rate in my top three bands and depending on what mood I'm in, they are my favourite band. Not only that, they are a big influence on my music and a motivation to get into music in the first place. I had always resigned the band to the 'bands I'd love to have seen but know I never will' list stored away at the back of my mind, so imagine my surprise when nestled amongst the plethora of reformations recently I noticed that they were reforming, well, sort of. From the Jam (I assume the name is due to legal reasons) are two thirds of the Jam, Bruce Foxton (Bass) and Rick Buckler (Drums), without songwriter, guitarist, vocalist, front man and (lets be blunt) the most famous Paul Weller. I have always thought that the story of The Jam's rhythm section is one of the saddest in Rock&Roll history, from being in one of the most successful bands of the late 70's / early 80's they were royally (or should we say royalty) shafted by Weller and their manager (Weller's father) almost immediately ending up back in crappy jobs or on the dole, I believe that they were a competent three piece, not just a talented songwriter with two other guys and that Weller's treatment of them was inexcusable. When the reunion was announced Paul Weller was approached but apparently his reaction was 'Over my dead body', so I was intrigued to know how the band would replace him. Well, they replaced him with two people, in the form of Russell Hastings (Guitar and Vocals) and Dave Moore (Guitar and keyboards) from Jam tribute band, the Gift, whom Rick Buckler actually played with for a period of time. There is a hint of sadness to the whole idea but it would be as close as I ever got to the real thing so I donned my best mod suit and headed off to St Kilda. Firstly I was struck by the encouraging range of ages in the crowd; there were a fair amount of beefy and balding middle-aged men, but also a smattering of youthful faces (including me!) enjoying songs as old as them. More encouraging was the quality of the band, the four-piece line up creates a bigger sound more reminiscent of the Jam's recorded output than their live sound, you lose the original feel but hear the famous songs recreated faithfully. Russell Hastings does an amazing Paul Weller impression, his accent is impeccable, possessing the same spitting and arrogant attitude as the 20-year-old Modfather, he is either an astonishing actor or is another son of Woking (Weller's home town). The remainder of band are still full of vim and vigour, Bruce Foxton pulls off leaps and scissor kicks still as lithe as he ever was, Rick Buckler looks as mean as in his youth, barely lifting his glare from behind his drum kit. After 90 minutes of still fresh and relevant songs the band leave the stage to rapturous applause and serve a reminder that if you've still got it then why not flaunt it, even if you are missing a seemingly essential member.

<b>How did everything begin, why did you want to get into music in the first place? </b>

<b>You started playing and writing music from a young age (12 - 14), why so young? What motivated you to do it? </b>

When you feel like the odd one out, like a fish whose water's run out.

Isn't it funny how people's legs move in harmony with each other when they walk together,

Embers are an experimental four piece consisting of two saxophones, bass and drums who make an extraordinary amount of noise, conjuring incredible and unbelievable sounds from their instruments. I spoke to Adam Simmons and Kris Wanders of the band, their answers are shown in normal text and italics respectively, and their answers just goes to show the differences between band members?

Children Collide are part of plethora of Melbourne bands successfully achieving the one aim of many Australian acts, that of international success. After storming shows at SXSW, across the US and the UK the band is now stopping briefly to finally solidly their line up, management team and to record a debut album. During possibly one of the most technically plagued interviews I've ever conducted in which a passing thunderstorm continually disconnected us, I managed to glean a few words from guitarist / singer, Johnny.<br><br>How, when and why did you decide to start the band?<br>I used to live with our current bass player (Heath) and our first drummer, I was writing heaps of songs, the drummer bought a kit and we just started jamming and getting trashed in the lounge. We got offered a gig, then another, then another and it kept snowballing from there. Nothing premeditated, it just happened from getting trashed together.<br><br>There are quite a few that start like that!<br>Yeah.<br><br>You formed on Halloween, so it was the band's Birthday yesterday, how do you feel about the bands life so far and where it will go from here?<br>Yes indeed, Happy Birthday to us! We've been on a pretty solid upward trajectory since we started and it can only get better. We've got to travel, we've been around the world twice, we're recording our album in LA in February and we're getting to do what we want to do.<br><br>You've been going for two years, doing pretty well and so far without an album, why has it take so long to get round to recording an album?<br>I guess because we've changed management and labels a few times and it often comes down to those people to help you plan such things, so every time our plans have changed to. Now we're with a label we really want to do our album with and a management team that we're confident in, so feel we can do it properly and make the best album we can. If someone had approached us in the first year we would have probably jumped at the opportunity to make an album but it wouldn't have been right, now it will be the best album we can make.<br><br>Despite not having that crucial album that a lot of industry people are always after, you've still managed to attract industry interested in working with you, how have you managed to do that?<br>It hasn't always been roses, we have missed out on a few things, for example until recently we've missed out on national tours and festivals like Splendour in the Grass because we didn't have that album. We've just been at it hard, rehearsing a hell of a lot, always putting on a good live show and that impresses people and that keeps the ball rolling.<br><br>You've also had a lot of drummers haven't you?<br>We're up to our forth drummer, we figure it's the same as changing labels or management, when people are focusing on an aim or a goal, and you don't share the same goals with other members of the band, then you have to change and find someone who does share a similar outlook. I'm afraid there's no gardening accidents or spontaneous combustions, just artistic differences.<br><br>You've been playing in a lot of countries, what's been your favourite show so far?<br>We spent a lot of time in the UK, I loved hanging out in London, but probably some of our best shows have been in the States, the first show at SXSW was one of our best ever and the crowds were enthusiastic and appreciative which is all you ever want in a show really.

Bright Yellow are floppy. Floppy hair, floppy shirts and floppy rock. Their smooth, loose and laid back rock infused with psychedelic overtones is an odd and possibly bad choice for a support band and their set doesn't quite seem to be hitting the spot with the crowd at the Evelyn tonight. However the band admirably and competently press on, ignoring heckles such as 'Play a song we knowî at the very least gaining respect from those in the audience paying them any attention.<br>At the complete opposite end of the spectrum British India are so full of energy and dynamism it feels that they may literally 'blow the roof off'. Declan Melia on vocals is so full of passion, enthusiasm and charm you can't take your eyes off him as he bounds around the stage, his battered and tramp like shoes surely a testament to the grim reality of life as a professional musician when the lights are off and the crowd's gone home. Will Drummond on bass is the epitome of cool, polo neck collar up, dressed in black and catching the eyes of many a girl in the audience even if he wont acknowledge it. Nic Wilson provides a set full of blistering solos that lift the crowd in all the right places and Matt O'Gorman on drums never lets up for one second, pounding away profusely for the set's entire duration.<br>The band are young, and have thus far seemingly crafted an entire set of epic anthems, which may bore the pants of some older and more jaded punters but for their fans, they can do no wrong. The songs could occasionally be deemed to be verging into that dreaded 'emo' territory, but very occasionally and very slightly, so lets let them off that hook. Cast aside aspersions of age, experience and song writing maturity, the songs may all be a little similar at this point, and all be based around the same sorts of themes, but these kids know how to rock a damn sight better than some twice their age and put on an astounding show. From the second the band takes to the stage until they leave after an encore that could have quite easily lasted all night there is an electric atmosphere that few bands have the ability to generate.

It's very disorientating to enter a venue previously visited on the other side of the world in a completely different place, but that's the wonder of the Speigel Tent.

This is the Trojan Horses first gig in two years and the rapidly filling Gershwin room at the Espy is enjoying the warm Summer evening that is the perfect accompaniment to the band's lilting Ska beats. Most of the band members take turns on lead vocals, injecting their own unique styles into each track, they're sharp, tight and from the crowd's reaction, obviously sorely missed in their absence.

For those of us in the Southern Hemisphere summer has just reared it's hot and sweaty head, and with summer comes festivals and international artists! So suddenly Australia is awash with bands from across the globe playing what are affectionately termed 'Sideshows', it's good news and bad news as everyone struggles with time and money to catch all the acts they want to see who will probably never return to these shores any time soon.

Ding Dong is sadly a little empty tonight, maybe everyone is at home performing some last minute research into the capabilities of their local party candidates. We hope.

My latest column is an interview with Experimental noise four piece 'Embers'.

The past 10 days I've been stupidly busy with some freelance work editing videos for a State government project, ohh the glamour!

My latest column is a brief foray into the Politics of Music in Melbourne, and poses a few questions, some of which I may be wrong on, and some I may be right on...

<strong>Why did you guys decide to get together and form a band?</strong><br /> When we first met each other 18 months ago we were pretty disillusioned with other things in our lives, University wasn't quite what we expected it to be. We saw like-minded people in each other and decided to do something together.

The Drones are an Australian Indie institution, but largely unknown outside of their growing and loyal fanbase. Yet another interview I entered without knowing a great deal about the subjects, however, after hearing so much about them from friends, I was eager to learn more. I spoke to Mike Noga (Drums) about the bands busy history and how he celebrated his 29th Birthday by being mugged in London, life on the road!

I reviewed one of <em>Dr Dog</em>'s past albums, though now looking back through their productive back catalogue, with an album every year, I'm not entirely sure I remember which one it was. The band subscribe to the pack them in and out quickly approach, <em>We all belong</em> is 38 minutes long and not exactly over produced. It is eleven tracks of laid back bluesy, maybe 'swampy' multi-instrumental rock, chocker-block with slick harmonies and chunky riffs, all skilfully played by a bunch of mysterious Americans who's names all begin with the letter 'T'. It's simple, straightforward, uncomplicated and succinct. Just like this review.

The Drones are something of an enigma, they posses an extremely loyal and fairly large fan base throughout the world, but outside of their followers, they remain largely unknown. As an illustrative point, The Doorman of the Corner is heard to say in response to a passer by, 'The Drones are playing tonight, never heard of them, must be popular though, it's sold out.î

Kathrin deBoer of Bellaruche has a star quality, an ability to captivate and draw in a crowd, no matter how large. She fills the vast stage at the regal Metro nightclub with a stunning appearance and presence, her delicate and kookily sensuous dancing keeping all eyes firmly planted on her. This is before even mentioning her silky smooth voice that effortlessly floats above Bellaruche's chilled and mellow tunes, with guitar provided by the infinitely smiley Rickey Fabulous and scratches and beats provided by a last minute substitute (due to a plethora of immigration problems) in the form of Brisbane's DJ Thief.<br /> The band set the mood admirably and the sold out crowd are starting to slowly bob and move their feet to music provided by DJ Thief, the mood is electric, friendly and up for a long night. The air starts to fill with the smell of Marijuana, and whilst this flaunting of the smoking ban annoys some of the crowd it wouldn't feel like a Reggae/Dub/Hip-Hop gig without that fragrance hanging in the air.<br /> There's something to be said for making occasionally forays into less familiar genres, to witness the talent and technical ability that some musicians posses, and to see how some crowds actually show their appreciation for the music they are watching, rather than attempting to look fashionable the entire set.<br /> Perhaps the best and most fascinating thing about Fat Freddy's Drop is the individuality of all the members, Joe Dukie is the epitome of cool, pristine attire and seemingly the most controlled and effortless voice in the business. Warryn, Tony and Ho on horns each posses their own comically differing traits, Tony is sharp and restrained, looking like a cooler English Public School boy, and Ho has no shame, stripping off throughout the gig and treating the crowd to some of the most outrageous and embarrassing dancing. The band plays so well together, and put on such a professional, tight and enjoyable show it's hard to resist the throbbing beats and seductive melodies. It's clear that a lot of the set is improvised, with basic song structures in place for the feel of the evening to take hold, but the band are such a tight and close unit that it only takes a slight wink or nod for everyone to know what's going on and what's happening next. It means that no two shows are the same, but any crowd lucky enough to be witnessing Fat Freddy's Drop is guaranteed to be part of one of the most vibrant and dynamic shows in town.

It's a lazy Sunday afternoon after a seemingly long weekend as music fans slowly start to emerge in the fineries of summer, T-shirts, Thongs and a slight glow as the days get warmer and the nights get longer. No one wants to stand tonight, rather lounge around The Northcote Social Club's floor and Sir aren't going to force them to commit to anything as they ease out the weekend with their sullen blend of sordid sexiness, love laments and brooding ballads. Jesse Jackson, the bands' male vocalist gloriously underplays his role as 'front man' and band leader, eyes rarely meeting the audience, his baritone voice wooing the crowd despite his tales of sadness and betrayal. Guest vocalist Jane Badler purrs through songs, her lips pouting, her eyes alluring, she posses that perfect 'Holywood' blend of glitzy glamour and restraint, giving you just enough to be lured into her trap, but no more. The band provides a near perfect bed of backing music to proceedings, creating and maintaining just the right moods for each song. Much like the subjects of several of their songs, the band leave to soon, the crowd wants them to spend more time, but it's not to be.Guy Blackman and Sly Hats have just returned from a two month world tour, and tonight is their homecoming show. The guys look tired so they've got a backing band together for the occasion and take it in turns to play each others material. The songs deal with subjects common to artists of this ilk with both artists sitting at opposite ends of the spectrum, Sly Hats leans to the side of romanticised and fantastic tales of life and Guy Blackman weaves narrative lyrics around tales from his life, moving into a new area, his Mum, things like that. The music is 'nice'; a horrible word to use, but it's the best description that will gain instant understanding. The tunes trip along in a happy-go-lucky manner, ending slightly prematurely, but never challenging or demanding too much from the audience. These two songwriters are almost brotherly in appearance and their songs share an equal degree of similarity, a fine pair of musicians who produce great music apart and even better results together.