Gig Guide! For you! April part 1.

Here we go! I'm going to write a little gig guide, in an attempt at actual music blogging.
These are mostly the gigs i'm going to, which naturally means i'm recommending them.
Well, i'm planning on going to them. Which means i might be there.
I'll post Myspace links so you can give the bands a listen. Hit me up with comments and such, i'd love to hear if you'll be around, or if i've missed something important, or if anyone really finds this useful/reads it at all.
I'll probably post the complete list here, but not do all of the write-ups at once. That would take forever! I'll probably do them a week or so in advance.

Here's the first part of April. It's very punk. April is shaping up to be very punk, actually. Apologies if you aren't into that.

Friday 4th: Baseball (Melb), Ohana and Dead China Doll at Spectrum (Oxford St, Darlinghurst), 18+
Baseball's album is finally out, and it's really great. They are a pretty heavy rock band with a lead vocalist who also plays violin, and Pikelet is their drummer. Their sound is kind of thrashy, but the frenetic violin sounds give it a pretty unique spin.
Sydney shows for Baseball have been pretty rare lately, so don't sleep on this one. Ohana from Wollongong are great, too - their type of music is more precise, think My Disco with a bit more of a melodic, perhaps even "emo" influence (and i do use that term with some reservations).
Myspace: Baseball, Ohana

Friday 4th: The Thaw, Dead Farmers, Radiant City (Melb) and Fail at Helen Rose-Shausberger Laboratorium (1/17 Waterloo st, Surry Hills), 8pm, $8, all ages
So, the night that we finally get a Baseball headline gig, there's also a killer gig going on in an art space. The Thaw are an all-girl group who have been in the Sydney DIY scene for a number of years now, and play some great noisy rock. Think early Sonic Youth and Colditz Glider. Dead Farmers are one of my fave Sydney bands, playing some really raucous rock n' roll that sounds influenced by garage rock and more jammy stuff like Comets on Fire. Radiant City i haven't seen yet, but they sound pretty huge. As for Fail, this seems to be their first gig. They are described as "wimmin centric hardcore bliss". Cool!
Myspace: Radiant City, Dead Farmers
Web site: The Thaw

Monday 7th/Tuesday 8th: Off Minor (US)
Monday: w/ The Diamond Sea + Eucalypt, Sydney Gallery (302 Cleveland st), 9pm, all ages
Tuesday: w/ The Diamond Sea + Strangers (NZ) + Crux, Maggotville Warehouse (Fitzroy st, Marrickville), 8pm, all ages
Tour Poster
Off Minor are a hardcore group from Philadelphia. They've toured a couple of times, but not for quite a while, but seem to have a pretty good following here. They also toured the US with My Disco.
Heaps of local DIY bands state these guys as an influence, and their reputation for live shows is huge. Their recorded work is great, too. Looking forward to this one.
The Diamond Sea, from Melbourne, support at both shows. A relatively recent band, they sound a little more melodic in comparison, and seem to be compared to Sleater-Kinney a fair bit, which can't be a bad thing.
Of the other supports, I only am familiar with Eucalypt, who are a great hardcore-influenced (and probably Off Minor-influenced) instrumental band from Sydney.
Myspace: Off Minor, The Diamond Sea, Strangers, Crux

Wednesday 9th: Jamie Hutchings at the Tokio Hotel (Cockle Bay Wharf, Darling Harbour), 8pm, free!
This just might turn out to be a breath of fresh air in what is a really, really punk-filled month. Jamie is the lead singer of Bluebottle Kiss, one of Sydney's finest, but he's been working on a solo album up at Saddleback, where a bunch of great Sydney singer-songwriters such as Jack Ladder and Holly Throsby have done their albums. There's a song from it on his myspace called "Sir I Am Going To Have To Ask You To Leave". Check it out.
According to his myspace, this is where Home bar used to be, and a quick google tells me that "A complete redesign and a gourmet pizza menu from renowned pizza creator John Lanzafame (of Hugo's Bar Pizza) has seen new life breathed into this waterside hotel, formerly known as Home Bar". Sounds tasty, and perfect for a date. His myspace also says that he'll be playing two sets. What an informative myspace.
Should be a lovely, and potentially cheap evening out.
Myspace: Jamie Hutchings

I'll post about more gigs later. But for now, look over this list for the rest of April. There may be some things that catch your eye.

• 08-04-11 Spectrum + Dimmer + The Lovetones, Gaelic Theatre


• 08-04-12 Witch Hats, Spectrum


• 08-04-12 Dave Nada, Oxford Arts Factory


• 08-04-16 Grand Salvo + Machine Translations + Firekites, Factory Theatre


• 08-04-17 Laura Jean, Seymour Centre


• 08-04-18 The Lucksmiths, Hopetoun Hotel


• 08-04-19 Die! Die! Die!, Oxford Arts Factory


• 08-04-23 Vialka + The Laurels, La Capana


• 08-04-24 Klever, Club 77


• 08-04-25 My Disco + Fabulous Diamonds + Ohana, Oxford Arts Factory


• 08-04-26 Against Me!, Metro Theatre

Yay music nerding!