Puff 'n Stuff

The first announcement's out for Big Day Out 2009, and a third of the tickets are already gone thanks to the likes of Neil Young, Arctic Monkeys, The Living End, The Prodigy, Sneaky Sound System, My Morning Jacket, Pendulum, TV On The Radio, Simian Mobile Disco, Bullet For My Valentine, The Ting Tings, Cut Copy, Cog, Youth Group, The Grates, Birds Of Tokyo, TZU and Eddy Current Suppression Ring, with more acts to be announced in November. It's already promising to be good sweaty fun with a high probability of sunburn and blistered feet. Better get cracking though, because tickets are already on sale with a limit of four per customer to deter all those scalpers Puff hear so much about.

All Tomorrow's Parties is a new festival to be launched down under in January next year (though only on the East Coast, much to Puff's chagrin), with Nick Cave & The Badseeds set to haunt your dreams as the main act and festival prgrammers. The result is a simply amazing line up, with Spiritualized, James 'Blood' Ulmer, M. Gira, Harmonia, The Saints, Fuck Buttons, Primitive Calculators, The Stabs and former Go-Between Rob Forster already on the bill. Check out www.atpfestival.com for the full line up and venue details if you dare.

Another festival announcement to get incredibly excited about is the Laneway Festival, which will expand with another stage and introduce the indie cinema to the Fowler's Live courtyard on Sat 7 Feb next year. Most importantly, though, is the music, and there are some rippers in the line-up, including Stereolab, Jay Reatard, Girl Talk, The Hold Steady, Architecture In Helsinki, Four Tet, El Guincho, No Age, The John Steel Singers, Port O'Brien, Holly Throsby and, as always, many more.

The Good Vibrations festival has become a regular in Puff's diary over the years despite their continued refusal to visit Adelaide. Another strong line up has been released for 2009 with Sam Sparro and Fatboy Slim headlining alongside The Presets, The Roots, Stanton Warriors, Kid Kenobi, MC Shureshock, The Potbelleez, The Cuban Brothers and many more. Puff has attempted to coax the management of the festival to Adelaide with crates of Farmers Union and Frog Cakes, but so far they remain unmoved.

No need to travel for Stereosonic though, as that festival will be coming right into the heart of town, taking place at Bonython Park on Sat 29 Nov. Among the line-up are Sneaky Sound System, Carl Cox, Paul Van Dyk, Booka Shade, Midnight Juggernauts, Infusion and Ajax.

It'll be a daisy age party at Shores On A New Year's Day (at the Shores complex on New Year's Day, natch) with De La Soul returning for another year with the Jungle Brothers in tow this time. There'll be a bit of rock this time around as well, and a strong local representation with Wolf & Cub, DJ HMC, Lady Strangelove, The Touch, The Swiss and New White Sneakers just a few of the acts appearing.

And finally on the festival front, the ticket release for Soundwave has been pushed back to the end of this month. This won't affect early bird purchases which can be made at www.soundwavefestival.com, however if the global financial crisis is effecting your credit rating, best wait to make that cash purchase once the release is finalised.

Though he snubbed us on Weddings, Parties, Anything's reunion tour earlier this year, Puff can't hold a grudge against Mick Thomas, and you probably can't either. Which is why you'll be there to catch the erstwhile singer/ songwriter as he kicks off his solo tour at The Grace Emily on Sun 23 Nov.

L!ve On Light Square is on the move from the old Night Train building. The crew will be setting up shop just around the corner at the former home of Tonic as the residential devil finally consumes their current site. This will mean longer hours, better disabled access and a sunny alfresco seating area will now accompany the diverse range of music acts and friendly staff.

You Am I are currently touring to promote their ninth album 'Let's Be Dreadful'. Tim and the lads will be at the Gov on Sat 1 Nov, alongside psychedelic rockers Tame Impala who are receiving quite a bit of attention from their self-titled debut EP.

Also coming to town after months on the road in support of The Grates are the John Steel Singers. The Brisbane lads are set to launch their own national tour 'In Colour' during November. They'll be supported by The City Riots and The Shiny Brights at Jive on Fri 28 Nov.

Another local act on the move is Delamere. This five piece who formed earlier this year have just launched their debut EP 'Imaginary Things' and are all set to make a name for themselves. Catch them in glorious technicolour at Fowler's Live on Fri 7 Nov or the following night at the Old Gaol in Mt Gambier before they trek off to the east coast on their quest for musical glory.

The secret is out - Adelaide's The Secret Game have returned to town after a brief hiatus with the release of their debut EP on the way. The lads will play Elizapalooza on Sat 25 Oct alongside The Getaway Plan and The Funkoars, before heading up to Darwin late November in support of The Butterfly Effect. Sounds like a hard sort of life, really.

Puff is loving The Gov at the moment because they seem to have opened their stage to just about everything - take CW Stoneking & The Primitive Horn Orchestra, for example. Their current 'Jungle Blues' tour will be here on Sat 18 Oct for one night only, and the evening promises a mix of hair-raising stories, voodoo tunes, full-blown jungle epics, desolate guitar and singing-country-blues, calypso-styled, black magic murder ballads. Eerie!

Australian diva Vanessa Amorosi will be in Adelaide shortly. Following the success of her single Perfect (which has just gone Platinum), fans will be able to see Vanessa live at The Gov on Sat 25 Oct for one of three dates on her latest tour. She'll also be dropping into Mannum and Robe if you fancy following her entourage while she's about.

Metal music will be doing its bit for charity in homage of the legacy of the late Kieran Charles Mueller on Sat 25 Oct. Ten local bands are volunteering their time to put on a show at Channel Events on Gouger to raise money for Canteen; the Australian organisation for young people with cancer. If you can't make it down to thrash it out, donations are welcome. Contact pythonpromotions@gmail.com for more information and get behind the cause. There will also be a compilation CD available on the night to raise extra funds.

It's just one big feelgood party at the moment, with legendary jazz-funk fusion group Headhunters embarking on their first ever Australian tour during October with shows at The Gov on Sun 19 and Mon 20 Oct. While down under, the boys responsible for God Made Me Funky and Chameleon will be recording with former Australian Idol contestant Daniel Mifsud, with their collaboration Song For Change to raise money for the not-for-profit organisation Foodwatershelter Inc. The band will also donate part of the proceeds from their tour to the cause.

Planning ahead may not be Puff's forte, but Rise Against are a band that's not afraid to make a date in their diary and stick to it. So they've given everyone plenty of time to get ready for their show at Thebarton Theatre on Wed 25 Mar with The (International) Noise Conspiracy and A Death In The Family.

The Boys Of Summer Tour has been announced for 2009, with Carpathian, Comeback Kid, Verse and Against to bring some delicious hardcore crunch to Fowler's Live in January. Again, this show isn't for a while, but Puff feels it's better to let you know about these sorts of things as soon as possible.

Who doesn't love the rattly old sounds of the fiddle and banjo? 'Old-Timey' Melbourne group the Hogeye String Band sure do! From a time before Bluegrass, in the heart of America's south in the Twenties and Thirties come a bunch of dudes in suits, string ties and white hats to strum you into ecstasy at The Exeter on Sat 25 Oct. Be sure to bring Ma and Pa, some backwards social views and barn straw.

Two Sydney acts will be playing Enigma shortly, proving the magnetic attraction of this city's massive balls to east coasters. Boy/ girl garage/ electro outfit WOW will be wearing sunglasses at night when they play at Enigma on Sat 18 Oct following up Parklife and Field Day festival sets, whilst indie lads To The Throne will be alongside Tyger Tyger and more of Sat 1 Nov.

Brisvegans Avalon Drive have spent most of their career on the road touring with bands like INXS, The Veronicas and Fallout Boy. They are currently set for their national 'The View From Afar' tour, which will hit Enigma on Sat 6 Dec, coinciding with the release of their brand new EP of the same title. They'll be supported by Missing Hours out of Melbourne for all shows. so Puff hopes they all get along well together.

Adelaide DJ/Production duo Phonatics have a single, Take Control, due for release in the next few months through Vinyl Pusher, and will be playing alongside Vinyl Pusher label boss Marcus Knight at Channel Nightclub on Sat 18 Oct.

Tasmania's finest death metal sons, Psycroptic, are set to launch their latest album, 'Ob(servant)' with what they promise Puff is "the biggest pacific rim tour EVER undertaken by an Australian/ Tasmanian band," though the only dates South Australians need to note down are a show at Fowler's Live on Fri 28 Nov and one at Mt. Gambier's Old Jail on Sat 29 Nov.

Singer-songwriter Howie Day returns to our shores after his support slots for Whitley for his first ever headlining Australian tour, playing at Jive on Fri 29 Nov.

Puff's not sure exactly what Epicure are going for with their new single, Snakes And Foxes, but if their intention is to shock, then they've certainly achieved that. I mean, just look at the lyrics: "when we last spoke/ you were drinking blood from some other guy's throat/ when I last heard/ you were putting smokes out on your little girl." Outrageous stuff, really, and Puff can only wonder what they'll get up to at their show at the Unibar on Fri 7 Nov.

What is it about New Zealand bands changing their names? Whatever prompted them to do so, at least most Antagonist fans will have no trouble remembering their new name, Antagonist A.D. Still combining modern hardcore with old-school ethics, they'll be playing with The Broderick, who probably wish they could change their name, at Fowler's Live on Sat 6 Dec.

Halloween is a strange time, when people feel the need to dress up like the sexually suggestive undead at house parties and do wicked things to the neighbours. This year you should give your neighbours a break and head down to see a kick ass live set from Young And Restless at the Ed Castle on Fri 31 Oct, with support from Fire! Santa Rosa Fire! and the Mad Shapes. Go dressed as your favourite Halloween character. Puff's is Sandra Sully...

With his dad doing his own tour at about the same time, Justin Townes Earle could have ridden a wave of nepotism and what good will's left between them to an easy support slot, but that's not that way this modern day troubadour rolls. No, he wants you to go see him in his own right when he plays at the Grace Emily on Wed 26 Nov.

Another show coming to The Gov which is worth is mention are Jackson Jackson with special guests the Femmes Fatales on Sun 26 Oct... And finally, Puff would love you to check out Melbourne singer/songwriter Crystal Thomas And The Flowers Of Evil as they launch their CD at the Grace Emily on Thurs 16 Oct.

Get Out of The House!