Music
News: Echo & The Bunnymen announce Laneway Sideshows!
One of Liverpool’s most mysterious and talented exports, Echo & The Bunnymen will return to Australian shores in early 2010. Following the release of their tenth studio album THE FOUNTAIN, original members Ian McCulloch (aka Mac) and Will Sergeant will bring their enigmatic live show to the St Jerome’s Laneway Festival in Australia along with sideshows in both Sydney and Melbourne.
The tour begins in Sydney with a show at the Enmore Theatre on Wednesday 27th January before heading to Brisbane for their headlining appearance at the St Jerome’s Laneway Festival on Friday 29th January. The band will then head south to Melbourne for their Laneway appearance on Saturday 30th January, followed by Sydney Laneway on Sunday 31st January. Heading back to Melbourne on Thursday 4th February, Echo & The Bunnymen will then take on the Palais Theatre before heading west for Adelaide’s Laneway on Friday 5th February. The tour then concludes in Perth at their final Laneway performance on Saturday 6th February.
The Bunnymen formed when Ian McCulloch met guitarist Will Sergeant in the summer of 1978 in Liverpool when the pair began recording demos with a drum machine that the duo called “Echo.” Thirty years on with a career steeped in cult success as avant-garde icons of the 1980s, Echo & The Bunnymen have amassed bountiful treasures during their many travels.
Last year, Echo & The Bunnymen took their ‘Ocean Rain’ show on the road – a tribute and retrospective of their celebrated 1984 release. The much lauded return to the stage saw sold out shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall, New York’s Radio City Music Hall and the Liverpool Echo Arena – all of which were also met with huge critical acclaim. Combining post-punk angst with the sort of lavish arrangements made famous by the Liverpool lads, a band rejuvenated, Echo & The Bunnymen also received enraptured recognition from critics and fans alike for their festival appearances at the Camden Crawl and Glastonbury.
Becoming cult sensations in the early 1980s, with classic albums including ‘Crocodiles’ (1980), ‘Heaven Up Here’ (1981) and enduring masterpiece ‘Ocean Rain’ (1984), Echo & the Bunnymen forged a distinct sound amongst their post-punk contemporaries (Joy Division, The Cure) grounded in swirling synths, gloomy pop and inspired psychedelia. Echo & The Bunnymen have until now had a whopping nine studio albums under their belt, with 2009’s ‘The Fountain’ being their tenth!
Ahead of their highly anticipated Australian tour in 2010, post-punk icons Echo & the Bunnymen present their brand new album, ‘The Fountain’ – this 5th December on My World Records through Inertia. A massive return to form for the U.K legends, ‘The Fountain’ is a superbly feisty album of pulsating, uplifting rock anthems.
The album boasts a widescreen, crystalline sound, which provides a big, solid undertow beneath Mac’s lyrics. “I’m just a better writer and better singer these days,” he says, “My voice has got more… honest, which fits these songs. This album is about something, rather than just sounding like it’s about something. It’s about having lived life, but still feeling like a kid. I’m a not traditional songwriter. What I do at my best is poetry.”
Echo & The Bunnymen are ready to bring Australian audiences their exciting new material, which Mac is already proudly calling “the best thing we’ve done since Ocean Rain…”
Get ready for the invocation of their big sound, goth-romantic poetry and strummed steel strings as they reclaim their legacy and reposition themselves on the rock continuum. This is one show not to be missed.
Tour dates are:
Wed 27th January Enmore Theatre, Sydney www.ticketek.com.au 132 849
Thu 4th February Palais Theatre, Melbourne www.ticketmaster.com.au 136 100
Laneway Festival dates are:
Fri 29th January: St Jerome’s Laneway Festival, Brisbane Sat 30th January: St Jerome’s Laneway Festival, Melbourne Sun 31st January: St Jerome’s Laneway Festival, Sydney Fri 5th February: St Jerome’s Laneway Festival, Adelaide Sat 6th February: St Jerome’s Laneway Festival, Perth
Tickets go on sale Monday December 7 for sideshows.
Womadelaide 2010 The Armada, Public Opinion Afro Orchestra, Ethiopiques, Babylon Circus and Ojos de Brujo live @ Botanic Park, Adelaide, SA (5-8 March 2010)
Future Music Festival 2010 Empire of the Sun, Franz Ferdinard, Prodigy, Way Out West and more live @ Sydney, NSW (March 2010)
I’d probably say it was earlier this year, we did a show over in Perth, I think it was a festival. The show was completely sold out & at home we were able to have heaps of friends & family, don’t get me started on the size of the guest list, but the crowd was great. To be able to rock out to so many people from our home as well as the people we know & love it was just great & that’s the stand out for me.
Ideal Lineup? Well despite the impossibility of it I’d definitely say Nirvana. They are & were such an inspirational band of their time & even though they’re no longer around, I’d still love to see them as I missed out. Besides that, I’d love to see some bands from the 60’s & 70’s that are more melody based, such as The Beatles & The Rolling Stones, they really did great stuff & I feel the melody in music has really disappeared today. So to see bands like that play would be great.
Face artist you've seen at a Music Festival? One that really stands out to me still is a set I caught here in Perth by The Music. They were playing the Big Day Out in Perth & I was waiting for another band to come on, but went over to the stage they were on about 25 minutes early. The set by The Music was just amazing, the passion & technique the musicians put on was amazing & to see them up in like tracksuit jackets in summer really was cool & it was just a great set.
Tips for attending a music festival? Pretty much just sunscreen & water. As I mentioned, the place gets really hot in the afternoon & with heaps of people there, the amount of shade becomes a lot less. The water is basically just to stay cool & to survive the day & then besides that just have some booze & food if you need it & all is good.
My Festival Experience
