Puff'n'Stuff

Oooh, has Puff got some sweet news for you this fortnight, Adelaide! It's now official that the most exciting festival event to hit Australia in years - the V Festival - will be bringing the very best of its killer line-up to Adelaide in April! That's right, the V Festival has hand-picked some of the hottest acts from its 2007 line-up to play at Memorial Drive, featuring The Pixies, Jarvis Cocker, Phoenix and other special guests on Tue 3 April, as well as The Pet Shop Boys, Groove Armada, Gnarls Barkley and The Rapture on Wed 4 April. Tickets are currently on sale through Venuetix so go grab em' quick-fast!

Your radio is about to come alive each Thursday night starting from next week, with 'Wireless' at HQ playing the biggest current radio tunes with free entry before midnight, wicked drink specials and happy hours all over two rooms of wireless madness, people! The mid-week mayhem covers all your bases - from The Killers to Kanye, from Blink 182 to Beyonce...So head on down to HQ on Thurs 22 February for the Wireless launch party which will feature Adelaide's own Is This Art?, as well as resident DJs Sam, Rmac, Burge, Sedukt and White.

Aviator Lane's first show for 2007 will be happening on Fri 23 February in support of Holly Throsby and Dan Kelly at Jive. If things have seemed a little quiet for the guys lately that's because work has begun on a debut album, following two independently released EPs - their latest, self-titled EP has been placed at number ten on Three D Radio's recent top 100 countdown. Not bad, guys.

The Rhino Room is set to go off in celebration of the venue's ninth birthday, so put your dancin' shoes on as the 'Rhino transforms into party mode over two levels with dance-floors, plenty of comfy couches and all your fave party tunes all night long. Special guests will be HMC and Kim Dezen including DJs Shep, Madcap, Dr Wah Wah, Track Team (winner of Fringe DJs comp) as well as loads more, so get your butt down to the party of the year on Sat 24 February.

Colonel Kernel, hailing from the hills and playing an energetic fusion of funk, reggae, rock and Cuban beats, are bound to keep you dancing all night long too when they make an appearance at the Grace Emily Hotel on Sat 24 February. With only a handful of gigs behind them so far and an already dedicated group of followers, these boys are not to be missed.

Things have been a bit quiet in the Kasavett camp of late, it's true, but having your drummer get married can do that to a band! Nevertheless, the band will be storming the stage at the Crown And Anchor on Fri 2 March with special guests Cannon (featuring ex-members of The Kits), who will be making the trip from Melbourne, as well as The Grey Strangers with Jono (ex-Everest) out front.

On Fri 2 March Fighterpilot will put the pedal to the metal for a full-throttle rock invasion of the old Imax Theatre stage at Higher Ground, along with The Dairy Brothers, Double Handed and Rejusa. The 'Pilots have been in the studio tuning up their new album and are itching to crank it up for a test drive with you and a few hundred mates on board. Also on the bill are The Dairy Brothers (pictured), Double Handed and Rejusa.

The Best Of Local Anaesthetic series returns with its fourth instalment of loud'n'proud good times on Fri 2 March from 8 pm at the Governor Hindmarsh. The line-up features The Backseat Romeos, Kamikaze, Love Stereo and Summertown, who will all be pounding away on the night in the front bar; headlining punk-rock stalwarts, The Backseat Romeos, will be led by Pete 'The Stud' (ex-Blood Sucking Freaks) at the twisted helm...As Kamikaze's Dick Dale often remarks - "It will all end in tears..."

Dubbed one of the most exciting bands in Australia right now - let's face it, they're everywhere - Red Riders are about to set on their national Replica Replica tour. Recently featured as Triple J's Feature Album, the guys have been garnering critical acclaims all across the country of late so check them out in support of their stellar record on Sat 3 March at Jive.

Brother and sister duo - BrotherSister - are making their way back to Adelaide for their first show in eight straight months after spending some time over in the US and Europe. Their last show in June 2006 was a huge success and their upcoming Sat 3 March performance at the Grace Emily Hotel with Belittle League and Flying High Radio is expected to attract an even bigger crowd, so get down and experience these guys all over again.

Adelaide's jazz scene has a new home and it's located at the Bartley Tavern, West Lakes Shore where you can catch live jazz every Saturday night starting in March. Showcasing the best of Adelaide's talent in mainstream jazz and endeavouring to substantially contribute to the development of the local jazz scene, the launch will feature one of Australia's most highly-regarded acts in jazz today, The Rick Woodroffe Swing Sessions, on Sat 3 March.

To celebrate the release of their debut album, 'Wonderland', Dead Frenchmen will be playing a national headline tour throughout March. Following the release of their first EP, 'When Ghosts Take Over', and scoring a Triple J Next Crop artist accolade two years ago, the band have been constantly touring with the likes of The Morning After Girls, Midnight Juggernauts and The Howling Bells. At the Rocket Bar on Fri 9 March.

When INXS brought new frontman, JD Fortune, to Australia last year tickets sold out pronto and thanks to the overwhelming response the band received, the guys will be returning to our shores to headline a three-band special bill with the mighty Simple Minds and the supa-cool Arrested Development on Tue 20 March at the Entertainment Center.

Currently putting the finishing touches to a live DVD, Luka Bloom is also getting ready to kick off his ninth Australian tour later next month. Look out for new album, 'Tribe', when it hits the shelves to coincide with his upcoming tour, then head on down to the Governor Hindmarsh on Mon 26 March.

Last seen on these shores in 2005 for their triumphant, sold-out Crouching Fish, Hidden Finger tour, Reel Big Fish have just confirmed their return too this March. Don't miss them with special guests Guttermouth and Bagster doing what they do best in front of an all ages crowd - be at Fowler's Live on Mon 2 April.

He of the ever-creepy facials - the one and only John Mayer - is set to arrive in Australia this April as well to perform a run of shows around the country, including performances at the West Coast Blues And Roots Festival, the East Coast Blues And Roots Festival and the Point Nepean Festival. If you're a die-hard fan Puff is happy to tell you that SonyBMG will be releasing Mayer's acoustic EP, titled 'The Village Sessions', at the end of March too, which will include live tracks, B-sides and unreleased performances with special guests . Puff can smell a treat so grab the disc on Sat 24 March and head down to the Entertainment Center on Tue 3 April as limited tickets are still currently available.

Florida's kings of sun-kissed, spring-loaded anthems, New Found Glory, are back to grace our shores this April, supported by rising pop rockers Paramore. Deemed as their return to form, the 2005 'Coming Home' album helped launch the guys on a more mature trajectory, The all ages show is at HQ on Tue 10 April.

From the country that brought us The Hives, Millencolin and, of course, ABBA, now comes the Swedish four-piece Blindside. For the first time this Easter holiday the Swedish invasion begins as the band head on down to Australia with good mates Antiskeptic and Sleight Of Hand on Thurs 12 April at the Adelaide Uni Bar.

Returning to the stage is also one Sarah Blasko who will be putting on a series of rare and intimate performances across the nation along with an eight-piece chamber ensemble and an array of mystery musical guests throughout the tour. Rather then having support acts, Blasko will be playing extended sets, featuring highlights form her second album 'What The Sea Wants, The Will Have' as well as her breakthrough debut 'The Overture And The Underscore'. At the Scott Theatre (Adelaide Uni) on Sat 14 and Sun 15 April.

Since 1982 Agnostic Front have been amongst the most venerable and notorious outcasts of the New York hardcore movement and from the start released a catalogue of fast and violent hardcore punk tunes consisting of distinctive and aggressive music with a non-stop barrage of chaotic vocals. It's fair to say they've managed to outlive their now-legendary contemporaries like Minor Threat, Dead Kennedys and Black Flag and their fight ain't over yet - with the recent release of their eighth album 'Another Voice', the band are touring Australia for the first time in ten years so come on down to the Enigma Bar on Wed 25 April for a good dose of some angry tunes.

UK's largest commercial radio station, TalkSPORT, has been running a competition to produce a monthly music chart of unsigned bands, with two Australian bands - Tourist and Fourth Floor Collapse - beating off competition from the UK and the US to finish in the number one and two spots, respectively. The bands will be receiving significant airplay on the station and be featured in the London music street press as a result and Australian producer Steve 'Shifty' Sheldon is encouraging any band or artists wishing to participate to send him a copy of their recording and a bio. To qualify all you need to be is an Aussie and unsigned to a major label - easy! Puff hears that the UK audiences have been stunned by the quality of the Australian artists, including Snowman, The Red Paintings, The Boat People, The Panics and Panda Band, who have also received much airplay on TalkSPORT. Send your music to Steve 'Shifty' Sheldon at Refuge Island, PO Box 610, Annerley QLD 4130 or email shiftysheldon@hotmail.com for more info.

As one of the longest-standing bands still proudly waving the flag of New York hardcore, Sick Of It All have made their mark as one of the cornerstones of NYHC, proving that heart, hard work and dedication to the genre is about more than just an image. The four-piece celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2006 and, to coincide, released their 9th full-length album the same year and now their returning down under with support from Canada's Comeback Kid. Check them out at Fowler's Live on Wed 16 May.

On the back of their latest album, 'Crisis', Alexisonfire have announced their Australian tour along with special guests Moneen from Canada and New Zealand's Blindspott, come and see them at HQ on Fri 25 May for an all ages extravaganza.

Crosby, Stills And Nash have regrettably announced they are postponing their Australian and New Zealand tour which was due to kick off mid this month due to medical issues that have arisen for member David Crosby. However, fear not as the band's management have also announced new dates which will see the trio back in Adelaide on Tue 4 December at the Entertainment Center. Ticket holders will not need to exchange their tickets and those wishing to receive a refund can do so at their point of purchase.

Are you a solo songwriter? Well, this just might be your big break because the winner of triplejunearthed.com Flesh It Out unsigned songwriter competition will be flown to the Fuse Festival here in Adelaide (Tue 27-Fri 30 March) where they'll play for some of the biggest names in the Australian music industry. The winner will get to flesh out their song at the intimate song-writing workshop (worth $200), led by Midnight Oil's Rob Hirst and Jim Moginie together with Pete Arthur of Junior and will be provided with four nights' accommodation during the festival. The winning song will be recorded by Triple J's world-renowned music producers and engineers as well as session musos if needed. To be in the running get your best piece of music uploaded to the above website by midnight Sun 25 February, the winner will be announced on Wed 7 March.

Finally, congrats to locals Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire! for winning the Beat Records' O'Ball Band comp last Saturday night at the Adelaide Uni Bar. The guys will now be performing at the O'Ball on Sat 24 February alongside Something For Kate, Sarah Blasko, The Avalances, Regurgitator, The Exploders, The Mess Hall and DJs Josh and Brendon.

In the meantime...

Get Out Of The House!